Bar Ends and Clipless Pedals

I don't understand the principle of bar ends - I put a higher handlebar (about
4 1/2") on my hybrid.
- I can acess the brakes all the time
- also if I hold them on the inside undreneath on the "V" it gives me a poor
mans aero position.
Why add crap when you don't have too??

Also on my 10 speed I was thinking of going to clipless - how do I try them
out?
It would be nice to try them inorder for me to formulate opinion.
(Although I realize most people don't need to know much about something inorder
to arrive at an "Expert decision" and expert status).
One fellow in front of me on a century ride, braked for a light on wet street
and went down - I wasn't going to ask him if he tried to get his foot out.
Also I take an occasional crash (flip) would hate to be trapped.
Thanks In Advance (Provided you're not an Airhead and / or thave too much time
on your hands - Why do people crank up their computers and convey mindless
drivel? - I hope you don't think this applies to you!)
Rob
New York

-nospam wrote:

I don't understand the principle of bar ends - I put a higher handlebar
(about 4 1/2") on my hybrid.
- I can acess the brakes all the time
- also if I hold them on the inside undreneath on the "V" it gives me a poor
mans aero position.

They can provide a better hand position for crankin' up the hills while
standing. They also provide more hand positions, which can be nice if you
ever do long rides on a bike with flat bars.

Why add crap when you don't have too??

Well, if you find they give you no advantages you shouldn't; but there's
no real performance drawbacks in this case. The added weight is
insignificant for almost every purpose. The only real drawback is the
"added clutter".

Also on my 10 speed I was thinking of going to clipless - how do I try
them out? It would be nice to try them inorder for me to formulate
opinion.

If you don't want to buy a pair first, you'll have to either find an LBS
that will let you do a test drive and can provide compatible shoes, or find
a similar sized friend that uses these pedals.

(Although I realize most people don't need to know much about
something inorder to arrive at an "Expert decision" and expert status).
One fellow in front of me on a century ride, braked for a light on wet
street and went down - I wasn't going to ask him if he tried to get his
foot out. Also I take an occasional crash (flip) would hate to be
trapped.

Many clipless pedals will disengage in such situations, like ski bindings.
Once you get used to clipless, you'll find they're significantly easier to
get in and out of than clips and straps, if you've ever used these. (At
least, this is my experience, and the same is reported by most other people
I've heard from).

I've heard very few reports from people who've tried clipless and decided
that they *didn't* like them after a sufficient trial period, although you
may find a few if you search the archives.

I use these or similar on all my bikes:
http://tinyurl.com/4oaca

They only cost $28 Canadian, and I've never had any problems with them. I
bought my first pair thinking I might get better ones if I liked them, but
I've never seen the need to since then.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Hey! I'm only fourteen, sickly 'n' thin
Tried all of my life just to grow me a chin
It popped out once, but my dad pushed it in. -- FZ

Neoinventor wrote:
|| I don't understand the principle of bar ends - I put a higher
|| handlebar (about 4 1/2") on my hybrid.
|| - I can acess the brakes all the time
|| - also if I hold them on the inside undreneath on the "V" it gives
|| me a poor mans aero position.
|| Why add crap when you don't have too??

Bar-ends provide more hand positions which can make a big difference on long
rides.

||
|| Also on my 10 speed I was thinking of going to clipless - how do I
|| try them out?

You buy a pair, install them, get some shoes, and ride. Or, find a friend
who has the same size feet as you and who rides clipless. Talk nice and
bring beer....

|| It would be nice to try them inorder for me to formulate opinion.
|| (Although I realize most people don't need to know much about
|| something inorder to arrive at an "Expert decision" and expert
|| status).
|| One fellow in front of me on a century ride, braked for a light on
|| wet street and went down - I wasn't going to ask him if he tried to
|| get his foot out.

I doubt if his going down had much to do with being clipped in...he was just
likely not ready for the wet conditions.

Also I take an occasional crash (flip) would hate
|| to be trapped.

When I first went clipless, I crashed 3 times (on my first major ride) in 25
miles. All three times I was barely moving. As I recall, my feet came out
expect for the last time. In general though, it's not a big deal as you
rarely go down unless you're an incompetent bicyclist.

|| Thanks In Advance (Provided you're not an Airhead and / or thave
|| too much time on your hands - Why do people crank up their computers
|| and convey mindless drivel? - I hope you don't think this applies to
|| you!)

This is not a good way to elicit meaningful responses, dude.

When I first went clipless, I crashed 3 times (on my first major ride) in
25
miles. All three times I was barely moving. As I recall, my feet came
out
expect for the last time. In general though, it's not a big deal as you
rarely go down unless you're an incompetent bicyclist.


heh heh,

fortunately, i rode clipless for the first time in deep snow (mountain
biking).

I think I fell to one side about 30 times that one ride. It was only a
couple of years later, when I replaced those pedals, that I realized the
right pedal was totally defective. I just assumed it was my fault that my
foot kept getting stuck at a right angle (heel facing directly to my right)!

Anyway, even though they aren't considered 'cool' nowadays, and the
certainly look pretty dorky with riser bars, i think a small set of bar ends
can be really helpful - especially on tough climbs.

As far as clipless - go for it!! You'll learn quickly how to get out of the
pedals. Now I ride anything technical I want - I can get out of the pedal
pretty much as fast as with flats.

They also make me feel very safe on the bike - there's no way my foot's
gonna get knocked off.

cheers,
paul

-nospam (Neoinventor) wrote in
:

I don't understand the principle of bar ends

Bar ends give you more leverage when climbing. They also move your center of
gravity forward, which keeps your front wheel on the ground on steep hills.

You have to be very careful of using the bar ends in traffic since fast braking
from that hand position is very difficult. If you really want more hand
positions, you should get a road-style handlebar with the brakes easily
accessible from the major hand positions.

In article ,
Benjamin Lewis wrote:

-nospam wrote:

Also on my 10 speed I was thinking of going to clipless - how do I try
them out? It would be nice to try them inorder for me to formulate
opinion.

I've heard very few reports from people who've tried clipless and decided
that they *didn't* like them after a sufficient trial period, although you
may find a few if you search the archives.

I use these or similar on all my bikes:
http://tinyurl.com/4oaca

They only cost $28 Canadian, and I've never had any problems with them. I
bought my first pair thinking I might get better ones if I liked them, but
I've never seen the need to since then.

C$28...man that's cheap for an SPD pedal!

I'd like to make a specific recommendation that among clipless designs,
you go for a recessed-cleat design, which is to say a 2-hole cleat that
fits on an SPD-compatible shoe (SPD or compatible, Eggbeaters, Ritchey,
and many more).

The reason is that these are walkable designs. Depending on the shoe,
they range from a bit like a normal shoe to almost exactly like a normal
shoe. Look and other large-cleat designs (SPD-SL, Speedplay, etc.) are
worth investigating if you're a hardcore racer or have issues with "hot
spots" using the SPD-type designs, but for everyone else a shoe you can
happily walk in is a good thing.

You wouldn't think this would be an issue on, oh, a club ride, but a few
weeks back, a 20' section of our club ride was barricaded off for road
work. As the other riders tottered around carefully on their Look
cleats, I unclipped, hopped up onto the obstacle, and jumped down again.
Axo Blackball shoes, by the way, have really nice soft rubber soles for
this sort of stunt. I just like them because paid only C$20 new.

-RjC.
--
Ryan Cousineau, http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.

On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 19:43:07 +0000, Neoinventor wrote:

I don't understand the principle of bar ends - I put a higher handlebar
(about 4 1/2") on my hybrid.

Bar ends give you different hand positions. I find them helpful.

Also on my 10 speed I was thinking of going to clipless - how do I try
them out?

Most good shops would take them back if you were not satisfied with them.

It would be nice to try them inorder for me to formulate opinion.
(Although I realize most people don't need to know much about something
inorder to arrive at an "Expert decision" and expert status). One fellow
in front of me on a century ride, braked for a light on wet street and
went down - I wasn't going to ask him if he tried to get his foot out.
Also I take an occasional crash (flip) would hate to be trapped.

Clipless pedals will not trap your feet on the pedals. A sufficiently
large force, such as happens in a crash, will release them. As far as
whether or not I'm an "expert", that would be for you to discern. But I
have crashed with clipless pedals, and my feet ended up separate from the
pedals. I have also crashed when I used to use toeclips and cleats. I
prefer clipless.


Thanks
In Advance (Provided you're not an Airhead and / or thave too much time
on your hands - Why do people crank up their computers and convey
mindless drivel? - I hope you don't think this applies to you!) Rob New
York

You might get better responses if you tone down your attitude a bit.


--

David L. Johnson

__o | "Business!" cried the Ghost. "Mankind was my business. The
_`\(,_ | common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance,
(_)/ (_) | and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my
trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my
business!" --Dickens, "A Christmas Carol"

"Benjamin Lewis" wrote

(Although I realize most people don't need to know much about
something inorder to arrive at an "Expert decision" and expert status).
One fellow in front of me on a century ride, braked for a light on wet
street and went down - I wasn't going to ask him if he tried to get his
foot out. Also I take an occasional crash (flip) would hate to be
trapped.

Many clipless pedals will disengage in such situations, like ski
bindings.
Once you get used to clipless, you'll find they're significantly easier
to
get in and out of than clips and straps, if you've ever used these. (At
least, this is my experience, and the same is reported by most other
people
I've heard from).

A good friend of mine (and expert rider) shattered his leg in a slow-speed
twisting fall this summer when his pedal (Eggbeater) didn't release. He
presumes that his foot rotation was blocked by his heel hitting the crank.
This may be a real problem with pedals that only release in rotation,
particularly if they have a large release angle (float).