I want to get a fixie for my commute. Part of my ride would be through downtown Boston, which will no doubt require a lot of quick stops for idiot drivers. I’ve noticed that a lot of the messengers use standard pedals without biking shoes, which to me seems safest. One of the reasons I want to ride a fixie is to smooth out and strengthen my pedal stroke, but I think I would lose this if I went with standard rubber pedals. What do you fixie commuters recommend?
I like Eggbeaters on my fixed, especially since I’m mostly riding it in crap winter weather. Platform pedals make good sense for messengers because they’re constantly on and off the bike, all day long, and for hipsters who aspire to messenger chic.
SPD. Easy to clip in and out.
I do pedals with clips (straps). For my 16 mile commute, I can deal with riding in running shoes for an hour. I also like the flexibility to run or do other things after riding and I do not need to carry my running shoes.
I now have 2 bikes with MKS touring/cross pedals / Soma clips / straps -all from Rivendell and love em. These bikes are not fixies…but all-rounders w/ single chainring…used as commuters.
I use SPD mountain pedals. I can ride them clipped or not, and the shoes are very walkable. The downside is that they require quite a bit of pressure to unclip, which, if done often enough, leads to a sore knee.
I use SPD pedals on my fixie. I’ve tried both clipless and platform pedals, and I can assure you that clipless pedals are the safest way to go:
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Your feet won’t accidentally come off the pedals when hitting potholes or bumps.
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With your feet still attached to the pedals, you won’t immediately lose control if you inadvertendly stop pedaling (…in those memorable moments when you forget you are riding a fixed gear!)
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Among other stuff, the fixie will teach you how to clip in/unclip smoother than you ever did before.
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Frequent stops are no problem if you unclip early. Restarting however takes a bit of getting used to: With one foot on the ground, I usually pull the front brake and lift the rear wheel to bring my other, still clipped-in foot into start position.
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You’ll find you don’t really have to stop as often as on a freewheeled bike! On a fixie you can ride slow, really slow, and still maintain control of your bike. And if your bike handling skills exceed mine, then you may even be able to stop without unclipping/putting a foot on the ground, ie. perform a trackstand.
Ah yes! Regardless whether you go clipless or not, the number 1 safety feature on your bike are your brakes. Keep both a front and rear brake on your bike!
i’ve thought about this a lot.
never actually done anything about it, but i keep having new fixie projects in mind that i never get to.
at first, i was thinking that this would be a good situation for the one-side-is-spd, one-side-is-platform. but this really does seem like a situation where cornering ability is key, and the platform, i imagine, would really lessen the amount of clearance.
i rode 2-sided spd mtb pedals for years on my road bike. i found them easy to get into, easy to get out of. no look either way. they’re also adjustable, so you can have one foot that comes out very easily if you want to. (this is what i did btwn when i tore my acl and when i had surgery). w/the 2-sided, you also have the option of having one side tighter than the other, just make some sort of bright color coding to differentiate.
the question then is, do you want to carry an extra pair of shoes with you? or do you want to walk around in your bike shoes all day? i’d bike a few miles on spds w/normal shoes, but not more.
-charles
Crank Brothers Mallet pedals. You can ride them as platforms for commuting, or clipped for stroke training.
I have a set of Forte (Performance) campus pedals. SPD on one side and platoform on the other. Great for a commuter/townie, since you can go clipless or platform. Shimano just came out with a higher quality version, but the campus is $30, which is pretty tough to beat.
Crank Brothers Mallet pedals. You can ride them as platforms for commuting, or clipped for stroke training.
+1
I just got some Mallets for Critical Mass and general riding on my fixie and road bike. They work great. I have some old CDale shoes that look like skateboarder sneakers that I use with them. I can style and ride safely. And if I want to spin down to the store in regular shoes, I can do that as well. When I ride my fixie for long training, I just put my Speedplays back on.
BTW, I think I have been using the same two pair of Speedplays for 10 years now.
Crank Bros. Candy pedals.
scott
I ride eggbeaters on the rat, and candy’s on the nice fixie. Never had an issue unclipping, although in traffic its generally better to go around than to try to stop (this is true for any bike - not just a fixed gear).
It’s possible to ride in regular shoes, but it is harder to stop with the legs in leather soled shoes and eggbeaters… Candy’s make it easier.
I am going suggest the shimano spd sl peadal. i run the 540 model on my fixie. I only have threee bikes: mountain/dust gatherer, tri bike that gets about 4 long rides a year, races, and indoor trainer sessions, and a fixie with drop bars, VT mini aero bars, and front and rear brakes. I commute on the fixie 13 miles each way with only about 1.5 miles on road, the other 11.5 on denver bike paths.
Thanks folks. This is all good stuff.
I use speedplay’s on my fixie. I can’t imagine riding it w/o clipless pedals… not nearly enough control over the bike while on platforms or using toeclips, especially around town. I suppose it might be nice to use SPD’s and have a walkable shoe in case you need to dismount, but it’s never been an issue for me.
I don’t have a fixie (yet) but i have always used cages for my commuters, I love not having to worry about what shoes to wear. I just hop on the bike and go.
Either way has advantages and disadvantages. I rode my fixie to work for a year with Look clipless pedals then switched to platform pedals a few months ago. The Look pedals were better while riding but wearing regular shoes is a big convenience when using the bike for errands. I didn’t notice much difference between them when starting or stopping. If you have the pedals, give each a try and see what works best for you.
Powergrips for commuting, works with running shoes to rubber boots.
I use SPD petals with the plastic blocks they make clipped into one side (i was told these are made so people can get on a bike in bike shops wearing street shoes). This lets me ride clipped in most of the time and to ride unclipped when traffic is nuts near the city core.
I use them with mountian bike shoes which work well on the flat side of the pedals and are easy to walk in.