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Cycling in Waterloo Region
(09-27-2017, 12:42 PM)KevinL Wrote: But you're twice as efficient, so it balances out.

"efficient"...I think that the effort is stretched out over more muscle groups, so your legs don't get as tired, but you still only have one circulatory system, which is also a limiter.
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And now we are decidedly into "cyclist" talk, and not "person on a bike" talk!
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I have always just considered myself just a guy on a bike! ?
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So I have old-school toe clips on the pedals (cages and straps, albeit the cages are plastic).  But I wear normal street shoes when cycling so they slide in and out of the cages quite conveniently. 

Is this a "semi-clipless" setup, then?  Big Grin
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To be filed under "What the hell were they thinking?"

The new trail they are installing on Bridge street south of Northfield will not have a flush curb to allow bicycle access to and from Labrador Dr.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/RegionWaterloo">@RegionWaterloo</a> is installing a new bike path outside my office. Despite going in the right direction, I won't be able to use it. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bikeWR?src=hash">#bikeWR</a> <a href="https://t.co/0kkLfOI3NI">pic.twitter.com/0kkLfOI3NI</a></p>&mdash; Mike Boos (@mikeboos) <a href="https://twitter.com/mikeboos/status/913083617609490433">September 27, 2017</a></blockquote>

If you expand the image, you can see the curb-setting poles and string are uninterrupted through there. Unless you are starting your journey from Northfield, you will need to lift your bike up a curb.
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So a curb is going in, but with no drop? That's no help.
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(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).
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I actually just watched a video on GCN about this yesterday! I was going to post it, but didn’t want to stir the pot too much. Here it is, at any rate.

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What's the general thesis from GCN? I'm in a remote camp at the moment, and trying to watch online videos is an exercise in frustration.
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Pretty much exactly what you said Smile
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I don't buy into the idea of pulling up. The only reason I like clipless is because it keeps my feet from sliding off in heavy rains. I bashed my shin up pretty good in the middle of a night on a 400K when I kept sliding off the pedals. This article makes some good points in favour of flats. I ride flats around town and when I mountain bike. My city bike is set up with a low gear, 36x16, so I get a lot of spinning practise in, and I generally try to keep my cadence on the road around 90 instead of mashing around in higher gears... saves my knees, mostly, but apparently it's more efficient too.
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I always wonder about these things whenever I think about Copenhagen. Like, do they make clipless high-heels? Smile

[Image: 15701838144_223a4daeaf_z.jpg]
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haha I think heels are already hard enough to walk in, can't imagine doing it with a cleat stuck to the bottom! Smile
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(10-02-2017, 11:16 AM)clasher Wrote: I don't buy into the idea of pulling up. The only reason I like clipless is because it keeps my feet from sliding off in heavy rains. I bashed my shin up pretty good in the middle of a night on a 400K when I kept sliding off the pedals. This article makes some good points in favour of flats. I ride flats around town and when I mountain bike. My city bike is set up with a low gear, 36x16, so I get a lot of spinning practise in, and I generally try to keep my cadence on the road around 90 instead of mashing around in higher gears... saves my knees, mostly, but apparently it's more efficient too.

Get yourself a pair of Five Ten shoes (http://www.fiveten.com) ... no more slippage! As someone who exclusively uses flats, I won't ride without them!
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They also make good climbing shoes
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