Über die Wahl und das Einstellen von Schuhen und Pedalen: Unterschied zwischen den Versionen

Now, as to pedals: what kind are best for you? Some bicycles restrict your choices:

There is detailed information on installing, removing and servicing pedals in the companion article about pedals.

Most bicycles allow backpedaling and have three-piece cranks, so you can use any kind of pedal you like. You put one foot down when stopping, and prepare to restart by lifting the opposite pedal to the high-and-forward starting position. With toe clips or clipless pedals, the pedal rises with your foot. With plain pedals, you hook your foot under a pedal. To restart, you step down on the pedal as you let go of the brake levers. The first pedal stroke lifts you up onto the saddle as it gets you moving.

In the video below, Theresa James, aged 13, demonstrates the preferred technique for starting and stopping on a bicycle which allows backpedaling.

Many cyclists keep the saddle too low for efficient pedaling. Plain pedals reinforce this preference by allowing pedaling on the arches of the feet. Also see the article on this site about starting and stopping.

Some pedals have built-in front and rear reflectors, or reflectors can be bolted on. Always use lights at night -- but rear-facing pedal reflectors help increase visibility. They also show whether you are pedaling, so they serve more or less as brake lights. If your pedals can't take reflectors, reflective ankle bands are a practical substitute, and they also provide reflectivity to the sides. We like the wide, Velcro-backed Bike-a-Lite ankle bands -- but no ankle bands really protect trouser cuffs, so, wear socks that reach up over your ankles, and tuck trouser cuffs into the socks. Then only the right-hand (right-foot?) sock is at risk from chain dirt -- and nobody will see it when you get off the bicycle and put the cuffs back on the outside -- even less if the socks are black. Some bicycling shoes also are reflectorized.

Plain pedals can work with most shoes, and are most practical when a cyclist wears a variety of non bicycle-specific shoes -- especially, dress shoes. The feet are free to align themselves on plain pedals -- there is no need for adjustment, though there is also no rotational "float" -- freedom of the foot to realign itself during the pedal stroke. People who ride with the saddle too low for efficient pedaling often prefer plain pedals, so they can pedal on the arches of their feet.

In winter, avid cyclists often switch over to plain pedals so they can wear heavy boots while riding. Children and beginners usually go with plain pedals for easier starting and stopping. (On the other hand, children riding on the back of tandems should have toe clips and straps -- see the article on this site about tandeming with children.)

Toe clips and straps have been used since the 1890s and are still quite popular despite the advent of clipless pedal systems.

One widely-recognized problem with toe clips and straps, as well as Power Grips, is discomfort due to the pressure of the strap on the top of the foot. The strap also impairs circulation, resulting in even more discomfort in cold weather. As noted, adjusting toe straps is hard on a fixed-gear bicycle, because you can't stop turning the pedals.

Clipless shoe-pedal systems work somewhat like ski bindings. They allow easy, hands-free release of the foot -- even more important on a fixed-gear bicycle -- and avoid pressure on the top of the foot. Most early clipless systems (1980s) had cleats that protruded from the shoe soles, but Shimano SPD, Eggbeater, and Speedplay Frog systems, among others, have recessed cleats and walkable shoes. Some walkable systems shed mud and packed snow well, making them practical for almost any kind of riding.

Knee savers

A wide variety of shoes is made for clipless systems -- though if you want cleated business Oxfords or patent-leather pumps, you still have to get them modified yourself. (The market cries out! Really!) You can get sandals, combining high-efficiency pedaling with a 1950s beatnik look. Quoting Sheldon Brown, the founder of this Web site:: "These are my very favorite footwear. In the summertime I go for weeks on end without ever having anything else on my feet. Far and away the most comfortable cycling footwear ever."

The photo is from before 1930. The cyclist is the Frenchman Paul de Vivie, known as Vélocio, a central figure in cycletouring and development of bicycle gearing systems in the early 20th Century. The bicycle in the photo has bi-chain gearing with gear selection by engaging drive on one or the other side. The Dancing Chain, the definitive -- and entertaining -- book on the history of bicycle gearing, includes the photo and describes de Vivie as wearing monk's sandals, no matter what the weather.

There are more options in bicycle shoes and pedals now than ever before -- and there are also some outside-the-toe-box options worth considering. I hope that I have been able to help you choose shoes and pedals, and set them up to work well for you.

Installing, removing and servicing pedals

Sheldon's article in Adventure Cycling about pedals for touring

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