Is shoes clipped into pedals at T1 really faster?

[drjimtaylor]

All the pro triathletes do it and every age-grouper who wants to look cool does it! I’m talking about clipping their cycling shoes into their pedals with rubber bands, doing a mount of some sort (ideally the flying sort), and slipping their feet into their shoes as they begin the bike segment.

The automatic assumption is that it is faster than putting your shoes on in the transition area and just getting on your bike at the T1 exit and pedaling. Why is it the conventional wisdom? Well, because the pros do it. But all know that what most people think isn’t always actually true (think flat Earth).

Aside from the almost-comical, certainly ego-deflating, and sometimes injury-producing miscues when mounting with shoes attached to bike that are not only common among age groupers, but also with pros, what I want to know is whether there is actual scientific evidence to support the notion that this practice is faster that just putting our shoes on at your transition area.

I’ve done my own “scientific” study (with an N=1; me!) and I’m not convinced. I can put on my shoes in about 5 seconds at my transition area. I don’t feel that I’m slowed down running to the exit in my shoes, doing a flying mount, and just pedaling hard right from the start of the bike segment. I’ve tried it with shoes attached to pedals and the time it takes to fumble around with putting feet in shoes seem slower to me.

Any opinions or, event better, cold, hard data about which way is factually faster?

[Birdmantris]

I think it should be self-evident that both:

1. You cover more ground putting your shoes on at 20+ mph than you do standing still

2. Running in cycling cleats is slower than not

Just because a lot of people suck at it doesn’t make it slower

[dkORracer]

I clip my shoes into my bike ahead of time, and do a flying dismount, mainly because I hate running or walking in my cycling shoes. For a 70.3, I don’t do a flying mount though. I run barefooted during T1, stop, put my right foot into my shoe and strap it in, cycle off, then strap in my left shoe. For a sprint distance, I’ll do a full flying mount.

And I do think it’s faster, if you plan to run barefooted and then do a flying mount / flying dismount. No way you can run as fast with cycling shoes, and you’d risk cracking your shoes mounting clips (Shimano, Look) if you did run. But for a 70.3, I don’t think it matters that much. Do whatever’s comfortable for you.

[Xing_triathlete]

It is really faster. The time savings is greater as the distance from bike rack to mount/dismount grows.

[Dan_Funk]

All the pro triathletes do it and every age-grouper who wants to look cool does it! I’m talking about clipping their cycling shoes into their pedals with rubber bands, doing a mount of some sort (ideally the flying sort), and slipping their feet into their shoes as they begin the bike segment.

The automatic assumption is that it is faster than putting your shoes on in the transition area and just getting on your bike at the T1 exit and pedaling. Why is it the conventional wisdom? Well, because the pros do it. But all know that what most people think isn’t always actually true (think flat Earth).

Aside from the almost-comical, certainly ego-deflating, and sometimes injury-producing miscues when mounting with shoes attached to bike that are not only common among age groupers, but also with pros, what I want to know is whether there is actual scientific evidence to support the notion that this practice is faster that just putting our shoes on at your transition area.

I’ve done my own “scientific” study (with an N=1; me!) and I’m not convinced. I can put on my shoes in about 5 seconds at my transition area. I don’t feel that I’m slowed down running to the exit in my shoes, doing a flying mount, and just pedaling hard right from the start of the bike segment. I’ve tried it with shoes attached to pedals and the time it takes to fumble around with putting feet in shoes seem slower to me.

Any opinions or, event better, cold, hard data about which way is factually faster?

I think most people look to pros because, well, pros depend on getting this stuff right if they want to put food on the table. So while of course, there will be outliers doing things differently… the collective “wisdom of the crowd” will point to the optimal way, more times than not. This is not just applicable to pro triathletes. This is applicable to a collective of experts in every field.

Is the “pro way” of T1 shoe mount the fastest? Yes. If you practice it to the point of (your relative) expertise. If you don’t become a relative expert at it, and think you will magically slip your feet in your shoes and rocket off on the bike a la Jan, or Gustav, or whoever… well, of course you won’t. Just like anything else.

Best of luck in whatever path you choose.

[DrAlexHarrison]

In my wife’s experience, with a little practice it is absolutely faster. Maybe 2-4 seconds faster. We set up a homemade T1 measured times taken from T1 entry to about 200 meters outside of our T1 exit / mount line. Our transition zone was TINY and included no running in the shoes. Had it included running in cycling shoes, that 2-4 seconds would have turned into 4-10 seconds and HR would have been higher in cycling shoes because it’s harder to run in cycling shoes than barefoot.

Assuming same running speed & energy use during barefoot running vs. cycling shoe running then:

Barefood flying mount is faster by however long it takes to put on shoes in T1, *minus *any time loss from fighting with shoes on bike.

On courses with long uphill exits from T1, the time loss can be substantial. Other than that, it is not substantial.

On courses with any downhill or flat component shortly after T1, there is likely to be less time loss from not pedaling

My own personal anecdote, and I am probably more representative of most the folks reading this (firmly MOP), than my pro wife:

I elected to have shoes clipped in at Oceanside 70.3 2021, just for fun. I hadn’t practiced. I race totally for fun. I don’t care about my performance. For me, it was probably a wash.

Things that made it equivalent for me at Oceanside 70.3 in 2021: I elected to wear my road cycling shoes and try the flying mount with pre-mounted shoes method. Road cycling shoes don’t have a loop. I didn’t practice that. Road cycling shoes also have 2 boas and a narrow entry hole for feet. Didn’t practice that either. Oceanside heads uphill shortly after getting up to cruising speed. I didn’t have second foot in the shoe for a good bit of that uphill.

For all those reason: if I wanted to wear cycling shoes again at Oceanside, I might consider putting them in in T1. Actually, if legal, I think completing the run to T1 exit, barefoot, with cycling shoes in hand, then donning them off to the side outside of T1 might be the fastest option for me (assuming I elected not to practice before the race).

Other than that small use case, it’s faster for me by a wide margin to do the barefoot flying mount method. (I hadn’t practiced this since 2018.) Tri shoes with loops and wide openings make it super easy compared to the cycling shoes I used at Oceanside.

[kajet]

Whether I run barefooted or in my tri shoes depends on the surface I’m running on.

If it’s shattered glass or barbed wire rolls, I’ll put my shoes on in T1.

Any other surface: I’ll spare myself the inconvenience, slowness, injury risk, equipment malfunction risk and sound effects of banging my look keo cleats against the ground.

[nealhe]

Hello drjimtaylor and All,

You can run in these … must use Speedplay though … and the aero shoes will gain you even more during the race.

V-S shoe on left with pedal retracted like an aircraft wheel … Shoe on right convential mount of Speedplay cleat …

https://view-speed.com/...ro-shoe-modification

[synthetic]

my n=1 is that its better putting shoes on the start for a better bike split, rather then losing time from mishaps stuffing shoes in and getting up to speed… coming off the bike leave them clipped in.

[ianpeace]

I won’t give you my N=1 although it would prove faster. I’d like to offer up an N of ~400. I have worked 22 years full time in the Olympic pipeline and with elite, MOP, BOP, and first-timer non-draft age group triathletes. I have taught some of these athletes (when appropriate) the ability to race with their shoes in their pedals, and - for them - it’s absolutly faster that “running” in cycling shoes.

The vast majority of triathletes enjoying our sport don’t need to even consider this as an option.

If a performance minded triathlete wants to find a few seconds or a minute in their race and doesn’t think they have the athletic ability to do the flying mount - then they can still consider a barefoot dismount and fast run into T2. But… and this is really the critical part… everyone should be taught by a professional, an expert - someone who knows how to teach it and then they have to practice those skills 'til the athlete owns the ability.

The flying mout is far trickier… but so is a tennis serve, a parallel alpine ski turn, V2 nordic, chipping out of a sand trap…and, uh oh, freestyle swimming - and when you commit to quality instruction, and practice… all that stuff and more can be mastered.

But… I’m a teacher so I’m probably biased.

Ian

Ian Murray
USA Triathlon Level III Coach
World Triathlon Level II Coach
USA Cycling Level II Coach
US Masters Swim Level II Coach
Former Total Immersion Weekend Workshop Director
Masters Swim Coach
Master Bike Fitter and Bike Fit Instructor for F.I.S.T. and the Guru Academy
Head Coach and Founder of the LA Tri Club
Head Coach of USOC Triathlon for Youth Olympic Games, Najing 2016 (Silver)
USA Triathlon Development Coach of the Year
Head Coach to multiple Jr Development Camps, Collegiate Recruitment Camps, CAMTRI Championships, World Triathlon Events, Continental Cups, and more.

[MI_Mumps]

Jim, perhaps for your n=1 time yourself running, say, 100 yards in cleats vs. barefoot. That should help with the deciding.

I think carrying the shoes and putting them in right before the mount line is a good middle ground as well - I’m a shoes on the bike guy, but it has almost bit me in the butt a time or two. I’m definitely not running in my Look-style cleats though.

[Titanflexr]

Flying mounts are faster IF done well, and a lot slower if poorly executed. Even after the mount, many folks have trouble getting their feet into the shoes quickly w/o a lot of coasting and fumbling. The tongue gets pushed forward; a pebble stuck to your foot is now in the shoe, the shoe keeps flopping vertically and is hard to slide a wet foot into, etc. etc.

If you want to take the time to get good at it, go for it; but it won’t be faster until you get quite good at it. This is tricky even for many pros:
https://youtu.be/140YBZF1miw

One last note: It’s somewhat course dependent. A big hill or lots of twists/turns coming out of T1 make the shoes-attached-to-pedals approach much less beneficial than a long, wide, straight road out of T1.

[burnthesheep]

Yeah, what % of those do a couple hundred cyclocross dismounts, carries, flying remounts at a near sprint while in the damned mud?

Right. Weaksauce on the running slower in bike shoes.

Anyway, racing cross a lot I always find this topic humorous.

[jaretj]

Do you use road or tri shoes while racing cross?

[burnthesheep]

Do you use road or tri shoes while racing cross?

Asking that question tells me you’ve not done it in conditions where even toe spikes didn’t help.

Pretty sure Wout van Aert could run in wooden clogs on ice better than the flying mounts and runs posted in that fail video above.

And actually, I have ran in spd-sl cleats off the road bike. Just for the hell of it.

[adampom]

N of 1 over here - way faster in T2 with the dismount. Not all that much faster out of T1. I also never practice the T1 mount and I’m too scared to do a real flying mount. More of a stop, get on the bike and hope my feet end up in the shoes sort of thing. I do like the idea of always moving forward.

[Shambolic]

I’m with you but I think it depends largely on your shoes and cleats. I prefer to use cycling shoes but use Speedplay walkable cleats running fine and I only really race sprint and olympic for fun, fitness and to race regularly being more focused on 70.3 to IM results. Often I’ve gone into T1 together with someone watching them run bike in hand out while I fumble to get my shoes on only to catch them trying to get their feet in and straps done up not pedalling as I’ve clipped straight in and powering straight away. Maybe a few seconds in it done well but I’m not trying to stay with the draft pack. My passion is for IM racing where you get a seat to put your shoes on and a lot easier than either standing or taking a knee over your towel so how I largely base my shoe choice. I have a set of lace ups I am going to cut the tongue out of and use elastic laces just to trial for fun. Also can’t be bothered practicing as the first time as a newbie I tried it I unclipped my shoe and it dropped to the ground. Maybe traumatised since but until I start losing races by a few seconds I will stick with putting them on in T1.

[michael_Hatch]

Please please no one should ever put their shoes on in T1 before running to the line to mount their bike.

Otherwise we will never have anymore of those amusing bike mount movies.
We know they’re faster and besides, road rash heals.
Come on folks
It’s easy.

[dfru]

I’m with you but I think it depends largely on your shoes and cleats.** I prefer to use cycling shoes but use Speedplay walkable cleats running fine **and I only really race sprint and olympic for fun, fitness and to race regularly being more focused on 70.3 to IM results. Often I’ve gone into T1 together with someone watching them run bike in hand out while I fumble to get my shoes on only to catch them trying to get their feet in and straps done up not pedalling as I’ve clipped straight in and powering straight away. Maybe a few seconds in it done well but I’m not trying to stay with the draft pack. My passion is for IM racing where you get a seat to put your shoes on and a lot easier than either standing or taking a knee over your towel so how I largely base my shoe choice. I have a set of lace ups I am going to cut the tongue out of and use elastic laces just to trial for fun. Also can’t be bothered practicing as the first time as a newbie I tried it I unclipped my shoe and it dropped to the ground. Maybe traumatised since but until I start losing races by a few seconds I will stick with putting them on in T1.

I agree with this. I use road shoes with speedplay cleats and 2 boas and I put them on in T1. I very rarely get passed by people in T1 and honestly - getting the heck out of the first 200y after the mount line is worth it for me. I’m front of the pack-ish haha but honestly - having just raced Oceanside I can’t imagine having my foot out for the first hill would be faster than being in my pedals from the very beginning but…we all get thru it differently.

[tim_sleepless]

but, but… what about the aero improvement you can get by putting shoecovers on in T1 as well…