10-02-2017, 08:57 AM
(09-27-2017, 12:05 PM)creative Wrote: Once you get used to them, clips improve your cycling efficiency immensely as you not only get power from your down stroke but also your up stroke.
This is actually surprisingly controversial. Research seems to show that most people aren't actually more efficient when using an upstroke, which makes sense when you consider the biomechanics of the human leg. The situation where this changes is when you are trying to apply more power to the pedals than your weight can resist and you need to rely on the upstroke to counter the force of the downstroke - this would really only apply when sprinting or on steep hills, though.
Mostly, I find it's more comfortable due to the stable and solid platform it provides and I suspect that is where most of the efficiencies are found (ie. not needing to engage all the stabilizing muscles in your hips and legs and so on to keep your foot firmly on the pedal).