Update: I put the Garmin Rally back on once I discovered the Shimano SPD sandals. It also means that I don’t have to wear that oppresive HR chest strap. (How the hello to women wear bras all the time?)
I got rid of my Garmin Rally pedals today. I’ll be selling them really cheaply. I also took my cleats off my DZRs and put the rubber inset back. No more sounding like a tap dancer on the concrete. But there are other important reasons that I’ve recently remembered or learned
Clipless make pulling up to bunny hop easy, whether over a curb to avoid getting killed or a log to avoid that last rainstorm’s damage. But I don’t ride a lot of MB trails and generally know what I’m doing on the road by riding the same route all the time so I don’t have to hop up curbs.
My Tevas are getting dusty. Given the amount of riding I do by water it is a damn shame not to be able to ride with them on. Plus they are just so comfortable in the Summer afternoons, which is probably why Hitch swears by them as well.
Say I want to stow the bike and go wandering up the trail a bit—especially now that the boosted frame-pack is an option. I just cannot do that in the Quocs. There are definitely shoes that will work that support clipless, but why. I can wear some of the MB shoes like the Adidas Five Tens I bought to do the same thing. Plus the Five Tens look great, like skater shoes so I can wear them to art openings as well.
After the art show last month I rode my clipless pedals with Adidas and it worked fine for a while, but was always off a bit. Plus the pedals messed up the sole in a specific point.
I’ve had a few close calls when, for whatever reason, I couldn’t clip out of my clipless as easily as normal. This is usually the main reason novice cyclists don’t get them and mostly it is an unwarranted concern that can be worked around. But my regular route is through areas with a lot of stopping and starting as intersections and stoplights.
And even the best pros get caught off balance on occasion and fall on the opposite site of their clipped-in foot because they can pop out of that one after misjudging their balance even a little. The longer the trip, the more likely balance is to be wonky a bit at that watering station, light, or stop sign. Why bother with the risk?
Most fixie riders have flats with cages or straps. They are constantly on and off and even using their feet to stop by using them as a brake on the back wheel or road. So flats are no less “cool” than clipless.
Who cares about cornering at extreme angles when out for a ride getting healthy hitting mostly zone 2 levels of exertion? It does mean that caution needs to be made when rounding those speed bumbs to avoid them and getting too close. I’ve caught even a clipless pedal on one before.
Watts. They are fun and good for pros and indoor training, but they are virtually useless and distracting outdoors. More importantly, they are expensive to do right and virtual eliminate the ability to walk around like a normal person when wearing good footwear that supports them. I love my Quocs, but they are still loud, stiff, uncomfortable and weird looking to everyone else.
The biggest reason besides convenience is simplicity. In fact, it was after watching a guy recount seven years of tips and tricks after living on the bike, bike-packing that entire time that I realized what a simple reason this is. Bike packing requires considerably less stuff than the regular heavy touring (which I’m abandoning). It means you only take exactly what you need, and frankly you only need one pair of shoes and maybe two pairs of socks. If I ever want to actually do an long-range trip, or even just an overnighter, then I have to get used to riding with a lot less, so just one pair of really good all-around shoes.