pedal toe clips

I just did my first sprint Tri in February wearing my running shoes in toe clips on my old road bike. Worked fine and probably saved a bit of time at the second transition. I'm not good enough yet to take advantage of dedicated bike shoes and clipless pedals.

Mark

thanks for the feedback - and found another alternative to ponder - powerclips - just straps - supposed to be easier to get in and out of and can even fit mountain hiking boots.

I ride a hybrid with slicks and straps (aka rat cages). I paid $17 for them at at the LBS. Absolutely worth it.

Yes, toe clips will certianly help you a lot if your not using any right now, but not as much as pedal clips. Climbing hills or trail riding when you can push/pull helps tremendously over just pushing. I have worn anything from hiking boots to sandals with the toe clips on my Mnt Bike. My straps are easily adjustable to whatever show I am wearing.

I was able to save time in my first tri in the transistions not having to deal with changing from riding shoes to the sneakers in T2. My sneakers have lock laces too, so everything was as seamless as I could make it in T1. My friend was 30 seconds quicker than I was out of the water to the T1 timer and I beat him out to the bike course by a whole minute and it was his 4th tri! Another key, don't wear cotton socks as they are a pain to put on a damp foot, get some socks made of moisture wicking fabric, your feet will like that a lot!

Don

Socks? I don't wear socks in a race. How about the rest of you?

If I don't wear sock them my heels will be a mess! Besides I cannot stand wearing shoes/sneakers without socks, just one of my idiosyncrasies!

I see a lot of individuals wearing socks at tri's. Not sure of the split but yes I do see many without.

Don

I got several pair of Wright-socks, and I absolutely love my toe clips. My trail shoes don't really fit well into them, but my racing shoes fit almost perfectly. I now understand better 'unweighting' and 'kicking through' the pedals. My speeds have increased and my power on the hills seems to have increased, too.

The socks are a definite foot saver for moisture and blisters. My feet will start to blister after about 6 miles in cotton socks, but I have yet to have a problem in the Wright-socks (up to 10 miles).