Road Cycling Tips

Clipless pedals use a mechanism similar to a ski binding. The pedals are used with cleats fitted to the bottom of special cycling shoes. When the rider steps on the pedal with the cleat, the cleat locks into the pedals mechanism, and is held firmly in place. Some systems hold the foot at a fixed angle, others allow various amounts of “float”, or angular rotation of the foot on the pedal.

“Clipless” refers to the lack of an external toe clip (cage), but not to be confused with platform pedals without toe clips.

Clipless pedals allow maximum power transfer and efficiency by keeping your feet in place and allowing you to “pull” with your feet instead of only “pushing.”

With most clipless pedal systems, the foot is disengaged by twisting the heel outward. Some of the earlier systems, such as the pioneering Cinelli model, required the rider to reach down and operate a release mechanism by hand. This style is sometimes jocularly referred to as “death cleats.”

The clipless pedals pictured here use the Shimano Pedaling Dynamics (SPD) system, which allows the cleats to be in a recess of the shoes’ soles. This makes walking with the shoes possible.