More trike questions: Clipless?

Hello,

I ride a recumbent trike, and I'd like to get it epuipped with
clipless pedals. Are there any trike riders here who have done the
same thing? Are you happy with your decision to go clipless?

Cullen

wrote:

I ride a recumbent trike, and I'd like to get it epuipped with
clipless pedals. Are there any trike riders here who have done the
same thing? Are you happy with your decision to go clipless?

I'm not actually a trike owner... but I can't see why I /wouldn't/ use
clipless on a trike. No worries at all about unclipping in time, and as
with any other 'bent having you feet held in place is a definite benefit.

It makes more sense on a trike than a bike, and I don't regret using
them on my bike.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Lots of trikers use clipless pedals. I've tried them on various trikes that
I've own and I don't like them but I didn't like them on bikes either so I'm
not surprised. If you like them on bikes then you should like them on
trikes.

I don't like having all the force concentrated into a small area of my foot.
If someone made "whole foot" or "pedal sized" locking system, I'd put it on
my trike. It would be a dangerous thing to have on a bike because you have
to be able to get out of it quickly. On a trike that is less of an issue.
Meanwhile, even the biggest on I tried (the Shimano) was still too small for
my tastes.

Jeff
wrote in message
...
Hello,

I ride a recumbent trike, and I'd like to get it epuipped with
clipless pedals. Are there any trike riders here who have done the
same thing? Are you happy with your decision to go clipless?

Cullen

Jeff Grippe wrote:

Meanwhile, even the biggest on I tried (the Shimano) was still too small for
my tastes.

IIRC Look cleats are quite a bit bigger than most Shimano ones.

The easiest way to prevent a pressure hotspot is use a show with a
stiffer sole.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Jeff Grippe Top Posted:
Lots of trikers use clipless pedals. I've tried them on various trikes that
I've own and I don't like them but I didn't like them on bikes either so I'm
not surprised. If you like them on bikes then you should like them on
trikes.

I don't like having all the force concentrated into a small area of my foot.
If someone made "whole foot" or "pedal sized" locking system, I'd put it on
my trike. It would be a dangerous thing to have on a bike because you have
to be able to get out of it quickly. On a trike that is less of an issue.
Meanwhile, even the biggest on I tried (the Shimano) was still too small for
my tastes.

I would hate to ride a trike for any distance without foot retention
unless it was a delta trike with the bottom bracket considerably lower
than the seat.Y ou do NOT want your feet to come off the pedals and
catch on the ground when riding at any speed above a slow crawl.

Besides "clipless, one could use toe clips and straps on a shoe with
some tread and a platform pedal with a cage that would lock into the
tread, Power Grips [1] or homemade heel slings.

[1] http://powergrips.mrpbike.com/.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
LOCAL CACTUS EATS CYCLIST - datakoll

wrote:
Hello,

I ride a recumbent trike, and I'd like to get it epuipped with
clipless pedals. Are there any trike riders here who have done the
same thing? Are you happy with your decision to go clipless?

Cullen
Done it from the start and makes it easy for restarting, no need to keep
pressure whilst stopped to keep the feet on the pedals.

Chris

"Tom Sherman" wrote in message
...
Jeff Grippe Top Posted:

Besides "clipless, one could use toe clips and straps on a shoe with some
tread and a platform pedal with a cage that would lock into the tread,
Power Grips [1] or homemade heel slings.


I do use toe clips and straps. That is what I've always used for foot
retention. It gives me the entire surface area of the pedal to distribute
the force. I've tried the stiffer shoe and for me, that didn't help. With
toe clips, I can wear any shoes and since I'm not looking for that extra 5%
improvement in power transmission, toe clips work just fine.

Jeff

wrote:

I ride a recumbent trike, and I'd like to get it epuipped with
clipless pedals. Are there any trike riders here who have done the
same thing? Are you happy with your decision to go clipless?

If it is a tadpole trike (2 front wheels) then you should definitely go
with clipless. Do this an an experiment: Sit on the trike on level
ground, and slowly roll the trike forwards with one foot one the ground
until the bar between the 2 wheels hits the back of your calf. Now
imagine that happening at speed. You absolutely don't want your foot
coming off the pedal if you hit a bump with a trike.

Jeff Grippe wrote:
"Tom Sherman" wrote in message
...
Jeff Grippe Top Posted:

Besides "clipless, one could use toe clips and straps on a shoe with some
tread and a platform pedal with a cage that would lock into the tread,
Power Grips [1] or homemade heel slings.


I do use toe clips and straps. That is what I've always used for foot
retention. It gives me the entire surface area of the pedal to distribute
the force. I've tried the stiffer shoe and for me, that didn't help. With
toe clips, I can wear any shoes and since I'm not looking for that extra 5%
improvement in power transmission, toe clips work just fine.

Yes, clips and straps are fine on a trike, since there is no falling
over if one can not dis-engage quickly.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
LOCAL CACTUS EATS CYCLIST - datakoll

"Joao" wrote in message
m...
wrote:

I ride a recumbent trike, and I'd like to get it epuipped with
clipless pedals. Are there any trike riders here who have done the
same thing? Are you happy with your decision to go clipless?

If it is a tadpole trike (2 front wheels) then you should definitely go
with clipless. Do this an an experiment: Sit on the trike on level
ground, and slowly roll the trike forwards with one foot one the ground
until the bar between the 2 wheels hits the back of your calf. Now
imagine that happening at speed. You absolutely don't want your foot
coming off the pedal if you hit a bump with a trike.

That happened to me last fall. I hit a strong bump and my cleat disengaged.
Fortunately for me, my shoe made light contact with the ground and when the
cruciform struck my calf, by leg rebounded forward and upwards instead of
being sucked under the tube. It felt like being hit in the leg by a baseball
bat. I was lucky and rode, using mostly one legged pedalling, the few mile
back home. I spent several days applying ice packs to my calf and lost a
week of riding.

The first thing I did before my next ride was to increase the retention
settings of all four pedal sides. A trike won't fall over while you try to
disengage from a tight pedal like a two-wheeler...something I should have
realized from day one with my trike, but I managed to get by for almost two
years before that near disasterous event.

gotbent aka FRT rider