Old school pedal fitting

[flyingporkpies]

Hi,
On this forum I read a lot about knee and back pain which often comes from pedal/cleat positions.
I was wondering if these problems were so common when cyclists used straps to attach themselves to their bikes? Has the fixed clip in pedal, even with their various float and wedging capabilities like the speedplay sytem which I use, not just created an industry of fixes and therapies?
I was thinking of going 'old school'. Having only tried straps before wearing sports shoes, is there a particular kind of shoe you can get? Maybe you can just remove the cleat from a modern shoe? How do you set this sytem up to be 'pain free'. I already use a wedge and a shim in my right shoe.
Cheers
flyingporkpies

 

[forty four]

the old school strap systems suck compared to clipless pedals just adjust your existing speedplays there the best imo. there is a reason why no one uses toe straps anymore.

 

[Leather saddle]

Well, with all due respect Forty Four you are incorrect. I for one prefer straps. IMO they are more secure than clipless. Watch this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVzNFnOx-RA

 

[Threshold]

Hey porkie in the days when I rode with toeclips and straps the shoes still had a cleat...(with a slot that fitted over the trailing edge of the pedal)

and the potential was the same regarding mis alignment.

When setup correctly modern pedals have enough float etc to work without pain.

...of course doing Greenmount Hill in the 53 x 12 will test your knees/back no matter what setup you have...;0)

 

[marathon marke]

What Threshold says. And some of us would file the cleat slots a bit to make our own "float". Still, I wouldn't want to return to toe clips and straps.

 

[daviel]

I'd just go with a pair of looks. It's nostalgic to consider riding with cleats and straps, but it's complicated and you can't make adjustments easily like you can with modern gear.

 

[lostintime]

Hi,
On this forum I read a lot about knee and back pain which often comes from pedal/cleat positions.
I was wondering if these problems were so common when cyclists used straps to attach themselves to their bikes? Has the fixed clip in pedal, even with their various float and wedging capabilities like the speedplay sytem which I use, not just created an industry of fixes and therapies?
I was thinking of going 'old school'. Having only tried straps before wearing sports shoes, is there a particular kind of shoe you can get? Maybe you can just remove the cleat from a modern shoe? How do you set this sytem up to be 'pain free'. I already use a wedge and a shim in my right shoe.
Cheers
flyingporkpies

If you really want to go "old school" , try going with just sneakers on platforms(I use Wellgo MG-1's). I'm half kidding, half not. This isn't for racing, but since I don't ride competitively anymore I'm free from all the trapping of keeping up with the Jones's.

You can't much more free movement than that.