How To Boost Your Pedal Power
With The Right Bicycle pedals

The right bicycle pedals can make a big difference in the quality of your ride. The pedals that come with your bike are usually the more generic pedals, for that style bike, and are usually standard platform pedals. Most of these will except toe clips, if you choose, and are fine for most riders and most occasions.
Platform pedals

But if you want to boost your performance you need to step up to bicycle shoes and you will need clipless pedals.

Clipless pedals, when used with the appropriate bicycle shoe, enable the rider to exert force to the pedal on both the upstroke and down stroke resulting in much more efficient pedaling.

They are one of the more popular bicycle accessories. They come in a wide variety of styles and shapes though they are specific to a mountain or road bike and the pedals and shoes must be matched.

The clipless pedals designed for road bikes are usually Look standard. They are usually much smaller and lighter in weight than the mountain bike pedals.
Road bike clipless pedal

Mountain bike clipless pedals are usually SPD standard (Shimano Pedaling Dynamics) with a 2 hole system). These are designed to be more rugged.
Mountain bike clipless pedal


With any clipless pedal it is very important to practice removing your foot from the pedal. You do this by pivoting your heel outward about 45 degrees. It's nice to be "one with the bike", and pedal more efficiently, but you need to un-clip any time you stop.

It's best to practice on the grass because you will fall a few times until you get the knack. Again, it's not hard to do but you want to be able to do it instinctively without thinking about it and this takes practice.


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