I'm in whole hearted agreement about leather shoes! The nicest shoes that I've ever owned were a pair of leather Sidi's from the late 70's. Still have them and hope that I lose enough weight that they fit again properly at some point. Anyone have some 43's for sale in the meantime? Aside form all the downfalls in the aforementioned - please see my extended reply to Syke's - "[CR] shoes for clips/straps & TA ref 40 cleats" on other issues. On one point - I must disagree. When you're really desperate to pull out - I've never had to unbuckle - simple adrenalin and chutzpah has always done the job. The newer pedals make it impossible to do a finely tuned "I'm panicking - so I'll pull straight up as hard as I can!" dismount. Per the aforementioned post - this caused me some recent grief. In short - my "new" pedals that are the click and go sort caused me to crash and burn... Granted - it was my fault likley. Getting used to a new thing after decades of doing things one way (don't even ask me about my first trip on a bike with ergo levers...) will have it's problems. In closing - some of my vintage rides have "new" pedals. For every one that does - I still have the originals and my old Sidi's. It just depends on how I feel that morning and the nature of the ride as to whether to go full or partial retro.
Kirk A. Thomas Keeper of "Le Bumble Bee" Arcadia CA USA
At 09:48 PM 4/4/06 -0400, Bianca Pratorius wrote:
>With all the techno advances in cycling, and Look pedals being about the
>best of the slightly off topic ones, still traditional cycling shoes used
>with cleats and clips have a lot to offer. I am going to state the case
>for them now. First, bikes look a touch better with Christophes. Second,
>cyclists walk, and look better with traditional black leather shoes. Even
>with plastic or metal cleats, one can still walk into a store and purchase
>an item without falling on one's face. I can barely walk two feet with my
>Look feet on without looking and feeling like a teetering klutz. Third,
>with properly set up cleats and clips there is no power loss over the
>modern Look (or similar) system. I repeat,, there is no functional loss of
>power or technique. The proof is that track racers often still prefer the
>traditional over the click click plastic route.
>
>Now, clipping out from a tightly pulled strap and cleat IS much more of a
>hassle. You must reach down, and undo a foot before having a chance of
>coming out. I can think of many opportunities when a fast confident clip
>out is needed to save life or limb, or even more importantly, bike.
>
>Garth Libre in Miami Fl.
>
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