As an old-timer, I did all of those except trim the straps. Never thought of it.  The coloured end buttons were a wanna-be customizer’s dream (I still have half-a-dozen). Miles

That happened only because I finally wore out my last pair of old-school Duegis, and the only shoes available at my LBS were these crazy stiff plastic soled things with three threaded holes in the bottom.

I was a bit bummed at first, but just as with my first ever dual control lever equipped bike (purchased later that same year), they won me over pretty quickly.

It still drives me crazy to hear people refer to clipless pedals as “clips”, and to toe clips as, ugh, “stirrups”.  The parents of BMX racers from the southern and midwest states are the worst offenders.

Adolescence is a cruel time

The M71 was a clipless pedal designed by Cino Cinelli and produced by his company in 1971. It used a plastic shoe cleat which slid into grooves in the pedal and locked in place with a small lever located on the back side of the pedal body. To release the shoe a rider had to reach down and operate the lever, similar to the way a racing cyclist had to reach down and loosen the toestrap. The lever was placed on the outside edge of the pedal so that in the event of a fall the lever hitting the ground would release the foot. The pedal was designed for racing, in particular track racing, and because of the need to reach them to unclip they have been referred to as “death cleats”.

I always think that I “click in” to my pedal.  I also liked Alex the Seal.

The saddest (if you are from here) clip/click out – with toe straps – was Shane Kelly at the Atlanta Olympics… Couldn’t find a clip of it (see what i did thtere?) on the net…

better late than never, just found this footage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAd5I4ixIZ0&feature=player_detailpage#t=412s

@Marcus

@DavidI the Yanks were also (legally) blooddoping in LAweren’t they?

I was referring to the same thing happening in Atlanta to Shane Kelly in the kilo – when he was the shortest of favorites. He had clipless pedals and straps…

Blood doping, yes, they admitted it later (pretty much the whole team were doing it) but it wasn’t illegal at that time.

I recall the Kelly incident, he was at unbackable odds before the event. And being a true sportsman he didn’t deliberately fall over to get a rerun, as he would have been entitled to……

I don’t think the re-run rule was in place at that point, pretty sure this was the reason it was put in place, to make sure events like this didn’t happen again.

@DavidI the Yanks were also (legally) blooddoping in LAweren’t they?

I was referring to the same thing happening in Atlanta to Shane Kelly in the kilo – when he was the shortest of favorites. He had clipless pedals and straps…

Blood doping, yes, they admitted it later (pretty much the whole team were doing it) but it wasn’t illegal at that time.

I recall the Kelly incident, he was at unbackable odds before the event. And being a true sportsman he didn’t deliberately fall over to get a rerun, as he would have been entitled to……

Picture appear to show regular toeclips and double straps – I believe next time around he bolted his shoes to the pedals instead (perfectly legal and also done by Vinnicombe and O’Bree, among others)

Stage 21 was the one when Roche needed a oxygen mask to revive him after collapsing on the line.

Or he couldn’t undo his straps quick enough??????

And most famously when asked if he was ok replied “Oui, mais pas de femme toute de suite.”

@brianc

Wanna get over a bad breakup? Buy yourself something nice. And thus I went clipless the summer of 1996 – albeit on my MTB. The guys at the shop said to screw the cleat in lightly, ride around until you got the thing where you wanted, and then tighten up.  Tooled around my neighborhood until I thought I got it right, wheeled into my garage, twisted my foot out and…nothing happened. With my speed approaching zero and any balance fading, I realized the awful truth – with the cleat barely screwed in, there was no torque being applied to clip out. And then I crashed directly onto my hip. Even had the fun of untying my shoes from my feet (whilst still attached to the pedals) to extricate myself. Learned the feel of unclipping and made the mistakes while on the MTB – thus never having to learn those same lessons on my road bike – say in front of a car full of people at a stoplight. My wife on the other hand…

But the therapy did its trick, right? After laying in the oil puddle in the garage (oh, wait, what? You don’t own a land rover? Oh, no oil puddle then…) untying your shoes, your breakup was a ways off in your consciousness, n’est pas?

oui

Or he couldn’t undo his straps quick enough??????

Looked in mag again and found the Team Roster page;

PANASONIC-ISOSTAR
151. Phil Anderson
152. Erik Breukink
153. Theo De Rooy
154. Henk Lubberding
155. Robert Millar
156. Guy Nulens
157. Allan Peiper
158. Eric Van Lancker
159. Teun Van Vliet

Allan Peiper abandoned on stage 21 Bourg D’Oisans – La Plagne, where Laurent Fignon won on clipless pedals!

Yeah – trying to fing the 9th rider! Of that 87 Tour, there were 207 starters and 135 finishers.

Fuck, I don’t know!? Despite my previous positions I think that I think that it’s Van Vliet now…but then again maybe it is Breukink after all?? I CAN’T SLEEP

19. Robert Millar
21. Erik Breukink
27. Phil Anderson
56. Eric Van Lancker
61. Guy Nulens
84. Teun Van Vliet
91. Theo De Rooy
95. Henk Lubberding

Or match a face to a name game….Even though 1986 pictured, It was the Pansonic Isostar team on Merckx frames.

Jules de Wever, Walter Planckaert, Danny Vanderaerden, Guy Nulens, Ludo de Keulenaer,
Bert Oosterbosch, Robert Millar, Eddy Planckaert,Eric van Lancker, Allan Peiper en Teun van Vliet
Jos Lammertink, Gert Jan Theunisse, Theo de Rooij, Erik Breukink, Peter Post, Phil Anderson,
Eric Vanderaerden, Peter Winnen, Henk Lubberding, Johan van der Velde, Henk Baars en Peter Harings.

These names appear in the ’87 finish list, so it maybe a DNF rider.

I was referring to the same thing happening in Atlanta to Shane Kelly in the kilo – when he was the shortest of favorites. He had clipless pedals and straps…

@jimmy Plus his mouth is all wrong. I can’t find a Tour 87 start sheet anywhere, dammit.

I found some results on the internets somewhere.  Plaenckart was not among the Panasonic finishers, so your hunch on him was likely correct.

@unversio

The guy in the photo looks nothing like Nulens.

@Oli

Hmmm, could be Nulens…

Not unless he bleached his hair for the ’87 race…….

Sun bleached?

Hmmm, could be Nulens…

Not unless he bleached his hair for the ’87 race…….

Some more for ‘Show and Tell’, or more like ‘Show Your Age’ to get back on topic, my collection of clips-n-straps dug up from the depths of my ‘Man Cave’;

 

 

 

 

6 / 7

 

 

 

 

 

Slideshow:

 

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Download:

 

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I had a pair of those Axo shoes – cost me nearly $200 (in 1989 dollars too) but were the most comfortable cycling shoes I had ever worn. I still own them but they no longer fit, my foot bones seem to have spread to accomodate my 15-years-from-peaking physique.
More memories: when I started racing track I used double straps because thaat’s what everyone did, eventually I started using them on the road too just for the intimidation factor (at a racing weight of 58kg that was about all I could do!).

@Marcus

I always think that I “click in” to my pedal.  I also liked Alex the Seal.

The saddest (if you are from here) clip/click out – with toe straps – was Shane Kelly at the Atlanta Olympics… Couldn’t find a clip of it (see what i did thtere?) on the net…

That may have been the saddest, but surely the happiest (from a down under perspective) was when the American (Dave Grylls?) pulled his foot at the start of the Team Pursuit final at the LA games, leading to an Aussie gold. I found it ironic that the USA had spent so much on their wonderbikes and were still using the old-tech approach to foot retention – which is what let them down.

@jimmy Kudos! Eric Vanderaerden crawls back (solo) 1min 30sec in 1987 Paris Roubaix to take the sprint (no pedaling last few meters)

Vanderaerden was a great rider and that Roubaix one of my favorites, but a climber he was not.

@unversio VanVleit woulquail lift into Franks “short” category. Can’t be him.

Qualify.

@frank

@Nate

Bugger! Cross posted! You beat me on the line, you filthy bugger.

I am a complete sucker for these photo detective mysteries, although let’s not get too excited.  @Oli has yet to endorse van Vliet.

Its as good as solved. Even down to the choice of black cables versus the more traditional white ones.

I should have just changed the time stamps on the posts so mine came up above yours. Damnit! I thought of it too late.

(And no, I wouldn’t actually do that.)

@Oli

@frank When I see that picture I think it may actually be Rooks after all! Definitely not a Planckaert at any rate…

Nah, I really don’t think its Rooks. Rooks had a much thinner set of sticks and the hair just looks way off. But mostly I don’t think it was him because he rode for PDM in 1987. I’m putting my money on Teun van Vliet.

This Panasonic rider really does look like a Frank with straw hair.

And he’s the closest match that I have seen all day — out of 9 Panasonic profiles looked up today.

@Nate

Bugger! Cross posted! You beat me on the line, you filthy bugger.

I am a complete sucker for these photo detective mysteries, although let’s not get too excited.  @Oli has yet to endorse van Vliet.

@frank That’s a younger Hero card picture of Rooks. Skinny he was, but “Little”? Maybe to you, but he’s 20cm taller than me! I’ll retract my assesment of the lead photo being Rooks as I failed to recall that in 87 he went to PDM. It may be De Rooij after all. However, we can be certain it is not Lucho Herrera. I can’t believe Oli hasn’t sorted this yet!

I’ve got to start hitting “post” sooner. He was always skinny, and when I say “little” I don’t mean short, as you apparently are, but I just mean little as in that he’s not a big guy.

[dmalbum: path=”/velominati.com/wp-content/uploads/readers/frank/2012.08.21.23.19.42/”/]

Bugger! Cross posted! You beat me on the line, you filthy bugger.

@frank When I see that picture I think it may actually be Rooks after all! Definitely not a Planckaert at any rate…

Nah, I really don’t think its Rooks. Rooks had a much thinner set of sticks and the hair just looks way off. But mostly I don’t think it was him because he rode for PDM in 1987. I’m putting my money on Teun van Vliet.

@frank When I see that picture I think it may actually be Rooks after all! Definitely not a Planckaert at any rate…

Rooks wasn’t with Panasonic in ’87.  Teun van Vliet?

@sthilzy No, it was comfortable (as comfortable as toe straps ever could be, anyway) as the straps wrapped around your foot so well they didn’t need cranking up until you got near the sprint – I always found running them outside meant you had to tighten them down so much you’d get pressure points. I do have narrow feet though, so perhaps that has a bearing on it.

I wish I’d thought of running the strap inside as I too have very narrow feet. Everyone in the club was running outside, so I had too. Always found I’d be adjusting the straps during the race/ride. Yep, always strangle the feet before the sprint.

If I could only turn back time to try the inside……….

Eddy Planckaert?

@frank

@ten B

@unversio

Phil Anderson “” Panasonic

I cannot begin to imagine how effing hot and uncomfortable those goggles would have been. I even switch from goggles to sunnies on the slopes when it gets above freezing. He looks none too pleased.

And the sweat sponge at the top really soaked up the sweat to the point where it went over capacity and just douched you in a torrent of salty goo. Felt great on the eyes.

My helmet does that right now; the front pads fill up and then if I look up with my eyes, the change in my forehead squeezes the pads and sends their payload down my face. Loverly.

Yup – I have now taken to actually wearing my helmet it the shower to get the sweat properly wrung out – if I don’t my scalp breaks out – mmmm.

If I recall the foam strip in the Pilots was a thing you put in after you’d bought them – I had better results without the foam pad.

In fact wasn’t there a version with holes punched out along the top of the lens?

@ten B

@unversio

Phil Anderson “” Panasonic

I cannot begin to imagine how effing hot and uncomfortable those goggles would have been. I even switch from goggles to sunnies on the slopes when it gets above freezing. He looks none too pleased.

And the sweat sponge at the top really soaked up the sweat to the point where it went over capacity and just douched you in a torrent of salty goo. Felt great on the eyes.

My helmet does that right now; the front pads fill up and then if I look up with my eyes, the change in my forehead squeezes the pads and sends their payload down my face. Loverly.

Yup – I have now taken to actually wearing my helmet it the shower to get the sweat properly wrung out – if I don’t my scalp breaks out – mmmm.

If I recall the foam strip in the Pilots was a thing you put in after you’d bought them – I had better results without the foam pad.

@jimmy

@unversio

It’s Steven Rooks from Panasonic on Roche’s left. Anderson had a bad Tour that year and was sacked by Panasonic at the end of the year. Vanderarden as BADASS as he was would not have made it far enough in the mountains for the likes of Roche et al to be making twisted faces of pain. De Rooij was a career domestique best documented in the below  video link starting about 4:30. Anyone who doesn’t remember toeclips and straps will surely appreciate the mellow-drama style of John Tesh. Man how I lament losing my Winning Mag collection. Having to wait till September to see those pictures made starting back to school not so bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlYuwXDbTys

@jimmy

I don’t think its Rooks either…the hair is much too light and his upper body too burly…He was a skinny little fucker. But I agree its also not Vanderarden as he would have been ditched long ago with the climbs…

Eddy Planckaert?

@unversio

It’s Steven Rooks from Panasonic on Roche’s left. Anderson had a bad Tour that year and was sacked by Panasonic at the end of the year. Vanderarden as BADASS as he was would not have made it far enough in the mountains for the likes of Roche et al to be making twisted faces of pain. De Rooij was a career domestique best documented in the below  video link starting about 4:30. Anyone who doesn’t remember toeclips and straps will surely appreciate the mellow-drama style of John Tesh. Man how I lament losing my Winning Mag collection. Having to wait till September to see those pictures made starting back to school not so bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlYuwXDbTys

@jimmy

I don’t think its Rooks either…the hair is much too light and his upper body too burly…He was a skinny little fucker. But I agree its also not Vanderarden as he would have been ditched long ago with the climbs…

@unversio

Panasonic rider (far right) could be Allan Peiper

My thought too. Looks tall for him but he must have ridden with the hard Belgian men of Panasonic.

Not allan pieper…not Uncle Phil. Also not Breukink – he wore blue Sidi’s in ’87. It must be some domestique of no fame whatsoever if none of us have divined the name by now.

Wanna get over a bad breakup? Buy yourself something nice. And thus I went clipless the summer of 1996 – albeit on my MTB. The guys at the shop said to screw the cleat in lightly, ride around until you got the thing where you wanted, and then tighten up.  Tooled around my neighborhood until I thought I got it right, wheeled into my garage, twisted my foot out and…nothing happened. With my speed approaching zero and any balance fading, I realized the awful truth – with the cleat barely screwed in, there was no torque being applied to clip out. And then I crashed directly onto my hip. Even had the fun of untying my shoes from my feet (whilst still attached to the pedals) to extricate myself. Learned the feel of unclipping and made the mistakes while on the MTB – thus never having to learn those same lessons on my road bike – say in front of a car full of people at a stoplight. My wife on the other hand…

But the therapy did its trick, right? After laying in the oil puddle in the garage (oh, wait, what? You don’t own a land rover? Oh, no oil puddle then…) untying your shoes, your breakup was a ways off in your consciousness, n’est pas?

@Oli

@DavidI

I’m missing a few Winning mags do you have the ones in between these?

Oh, man! You guys are KILLING me! You KEPT YOURS???? I wish I’d have done the same…

That Classics Special with Van Hooydonck on the cover was my favorite edition ever. All the pages were sticky by the time I was done with it…In his Flandrian Best, no less.

@frank

@TBONE

‘Look was divining the name’

Shouldn’t that read ‘defining’?

No, divining.

To know by inspiration, intuition, or reflection.

Me fail English? That’s unpossible.

I used to race XC on the North Shore on rigid bikes with toe straps. Because nothing beats being pubescent and riding a trail called Severed Dick with 2.3″³ wide tires and hiking boots.

Yeah, basically, I use it mean, “make it up”.

That, right there, is what Mountain Biking was always supposed to be about. I loved the big, plastic doube toe straps that came on my first mountain bike. Man, those things were tits.

@unversio

Phil Anderson “” Panasonic

I cannot begin to imagine how effing hot and uncomfortable those goggles would have been. I even switch from goggles to sunnies on the slopes when it gets above freezing. He looks none too pleased.

And the sweat sponge at the top really soaked up the sweat to the point where it went over capacity and just douched you in a torrent of salty goo. Felt great on the eyes.

My helmet does that right now; the front pads fill up and then if I look up with my eyes, the change in my forehead squeezes the pads and sends their payload down my face. Loverly.

It’s Steven Rooks from Panasonic on Roche’s left. Anderson had a bad Tour that year and was sacked by Panasonic at the end of the year. Vanderarden as BADASS as he was would not have made it far enough in the mountains for the likes of Roche et al to be making twisted faces of pain. De Rooij was a career domestique best documented in the below  video link starting about 4:30. Anyone who doesn’t remember toeclips and straps will surely appreciate the mellow-drama style of John Tesh. Man how I lament losing my Winning Mag collection. Having to wait till September to see those pictures made starting back to school not so bad. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlYuwXDbTys

@unversio

@wiscot

@unversio

The rider (far right) resembles Andy Hampsten. What happens on the Gavia stays on the Gavia. The Day Strong Men Cried.

Will find out tomorrow. The other identifiable rider besides Roche and Mottet is Eddy Schepers – Roche’s super-loyal domestique.

It’s a Panasonic kit though. Hampsten would be firing on Panasonic “” namely Dutchman Erik Breukink.

Not sure it’s Breukink. I think it’s Theo de Rooy. Looks too tall to be Breukink.

I think you are right — here’s Theo De Rooy (Team Leader) 1987 Paris Roubaix

Did you thread the strap straight through the sides or (if possible) through the back plate, thus providing a tighter hold on your foot?  I never saw the back plate trick, we were simple folk. Straight through was good enough for us. But we were happy. Lucky to even have straps. My Da would lash his feet to the pedals with wire fencing…

Did you twist the strap as it went through the pedal? Love the twist

Did you leave the strap “bare” or attach a wee plastic button so you had something to grab a hold of to tighten up? Love the buttons too.

Did you trim the straps or leave them as bought? No trim

Did you color coordinate the straps to the bike frame color? Oh hell yes, red Bindas. And I did like the woven nylon ones too, you could get those super snug because they were more flexible and they didn’t wear. Feet went numb faster.

Did you use an old strap to hold your spare tubular or spare inner tube under the saddle? but of course

Panasonic rider (far right) could be Allan Peiper

My thought too. Looks tall for him but he must have ridden with the hard Belgian men of Panasonic.

@mouse

@sthilzy

That Light!!!

I had one of those!!

Likewise – except in the UK they were white and branded “Ever Ready”. There may be some in my late father’s Man Cave but I’m scared to go in it without a flaming torch and a priest.

First laugh of the day, grazie mille.

@wiscot

@unversio

@wiscot

@unversio

The rider (far right) resembles Andy Hampsten. What happens on the Gavia stays on the Gavia. The Day Strong Men Cried.

Will find out tomorrow. The other identifiable rider besides Roche and Mottet is Eddy Schepers – Roche’s super-loyal domestique.

It’s a Panasonic kit though. Hampsten would be firing on Panasonic “” namely Dutchman Erik Breukink.

Not sure it’s Breukink. I think it’s Theo de Rooy. Looks too tall to be Breukink.

Post was saying that Hampsten would be riding against Panasonic. Namely Erik on the Gavia where he froze his fingers. The rider in the image is neither Hampsten or Breukink. But he is Panasonic!

For sure it’s Panasonic. The Post comment may address the Giro of 88 when Hampsten effectively won the Giro with his heroic ride over the Gavia on a stage won by Breukink. See this for details: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnJvU0ofskc

@unversio I don’t know who it is but I know it’s not Breukink.

@sthilzy No, it was comfortable (as comfortable as toe straps ever could be, anyway) as the straps wrapped around your foot so well they didn’t need cranking up until you got near the sprint – I always found running them outside meant you had to tighten them down so much you’d get pressure points. I do have narrow feet though, so perhaps that has a bearing on it.

@mouse Wonder Lights! They were crap but at least they were better than the Berec lights…

@sthilzy No, I don’t have as many as you – that’s a great selection. I think I’ve got three or four random issues that survived. I’ll take a pic tomorrow.

Wonder Lights – yes that’s what they were called.

LED they may not have been but they were a lot better that those Pifco monstrosities that looked like an old acetylene lamp had donated its casing for some electrical bits that gave off too little light to worry an Air Raid Warden.

Here is the video of which you speak…pedal incident occurs at 7:36.

@the Engine

@wiscot

@the Engine

@wiscot

Furthermore, if you’re an oldie, you’ll remember how cool it was when they finally made alloy toe clips. WAY lighter than steel and didn’t rust. Also back in the day shoes didn’t have pre-drilled holes either: you rode a few miles without a cleat, let the pedal mark the leather sole of your shoe, then you used that as a guide to NAIL your cleat in place.

One of the best quality straps where those named after Alfredo Binda. Here’s a classic set-up in every way: Binda straps, Campagnolo clips and pedal, strap threaded through the back plate. Leather straps were the dog’s bollocks; the webbed nylon ones were crap. http://www.flickr.com/photos/john_n_lee/5912929103/

In the wilds of Montrose back in the ’80″²s an acquaintance of mine used to race with stiff soled black dress brogues and a cleat nailed in to them. He reckoned that they were as light and stiff as real road shoes and (vitally for someone from Montrose) were around 20% of the price. Actually seeing as no one within 50kms sold cycling shoes the actual price for your black Diadora’s (my first cycling shoes) was astronomic once you’d factored in the train or bus fare to go to the shop to try them on.

Always knew Fife was home to strange folks. The frugality makes sense given the proximity to Aberdeen.

Montrose as any ful kno is in Angus. People from Montrose used to go on holiday to Fife as it was seen as exotic and distant.

Ah what do I know about the Far East, I’m from Bishopton in the fine county of Renfrewshire! Apologies to all Fifers for giving them Montrose. I do hope Rangers enjoy their visits to Angus this season!

Aye – Montrose, Brechin, Forfar and Arbroath may be able to afford new boots after the end of the season. All in all the perfect result.

@unversio I don’t know who it is but I know it’s not Breukink.

@sthilzy No, it was comfortable (as comfortable as toe straps ever could be, anyway) as the straps wrapped around your foot so well they didn’t need cranking up until you got near the sprint – I always found running them outside meant you had to tighten them down so much you’d get pressure points. I do have narrow feet though, so perhaps that has a bearing on it.

@mouse Wonder Lights! They were crap but at least they were better than the Berec lights…

@sthilzy No, I don’t have as many as you – that’s a great selection. I think I’ve got three or four random issues that survived. I’ll take a pic tomorrow.

Breukink was Hampsten’s rival on the Gavia. The pictured rider is not Breukink. Just a misunderstanding.

@unversio

@wiscot

@unversio

The rider (far right) resembles Andy Hampsten. What happens on the Gavia stays on the Gavia. The Day Strong Men Cried.

Will find out tomorrow. The other identifiable rider besides Roche and Mottet is Eddy Schepers – Roche’s super-loyal domestique.

It’s a Panasonic kit though. Hampsten would be firing on Panasonic “” namely Dutchman Erik Breukink.

Not sure it’s Breukink. I think it’s Theo de Rooy. Looks too tall to be Breukink.

Post was saying that Hampsten would be riding against Panasonic. Namely Erik on the Gavia where he froze his fingers. The rider in the image is neither Hampsten or Breukink. But he is Panasonic!

@sthilzy No, it was comfortable (as comfortable as toe straps ever could be, anyway) as the straps wrapped around your foot so well they didn’t need cranking up until you got near the sprint – I always found running them outside meant you had to tighten them down so much you’d get pressure points. I do have narrow feet though, so perhaps that has a bearing on it.

@mouse Wonder Lights! They were crap but at least they were better than the Berec lights…

@sthilzy No, I don’t have as many as you – that’s a great selection. I think I’ve got three or four random issues that survived. I’ll take a pic tomorrow.

Some more for ‘Show and Tell’, or more like ‘Show Your Age’ to get back on topic, my collection of clips-n-straps dug up from the depths of my ‘Man Cave’;

 

 

 

 

7 / 7

 

 

 

 

 

Slideshow:

Fullscreen:

Download:

Powered by DM Albumsâ„¢

 

I had started on straight out steel clips, but I had bad toes for riding. Curved, thin and brittle and always ingrown with granulation tissue. So I tried the leather wrapped clips, no difference, then Nylon clips. I had so much cotton wool packed between the toes. BTW both friggin big toes had the same problems!

Along came LOOK pedals but I couldn’t see how they were any better. Lots of guys tried to ride them on the track and kept clipping out when starting handicapped races or IP’s. Then Keywins landed at my LBS was given to me to try and have never set foot in a toe clip since. That was ~1986/87. More in #173 of Reverence Speedplay Pedals.

The good thing about clipless, that is with out toeCLIP, the front of the shoes wern’t damaged by the clips, but the bugger with the Keywins, you had to drill holes in the soles of your shoes, and you only got one shot at getting that right! I have a pair of Lakes with screws going into the inside sole of the shoes!

Earlier in this post, there was a Q & A, and @DavidI pretty much answered as I would have in #35. Most straps I had lying around ended up tying up branches in the garden or holding something back onto a wall.

@Oli
Through the sides, but inside of the outer quill. – Ouch!

Those clips with leather pads are awesome. THAT’S old school right there. As for the Wonder Lights? Pish. One wee friggin bulb and a bad tendency to go very dim at the most inopportune moment. Kids today with their LED lights, they just don’t know about generator lights run off the tire or lights that took two D batteries. Where’s that list from Beloit College when you need it?

@wiscot

@the Engine

@wiscot

Furthermore, if you’re an oldie, you’ll remember how cool it was when they finally made alloy toe clips. WAY lighter than steel and didn’t rust. Also back in the day shoes didn’t have pre-drilled holes either: you rode a few miles without a cleat, let the pedal mark the leather sole of your shoe, then you used that as a guide to NAIL your cleat in place.

One of the best quality straps where those named after Alfredo Binda. Here’s a classic set-up in every way: Binda straps, Campagnolo clips and pedal, strap threaded through the back plate. Leather straps were the dog’s bollocks; the webbed nylon ones were crap. http://www.flickr.com/photos/john_n_lee/5912929103/

In the wilds of Montrose back in the ’80″²s an acquaintance of mine used to race with stiff soled black dress brogues and a cleat nailed in to them. He reckoned that they were as light and stiff as real road shoes and (vitally for someone from Montrose) were around 20% of the price. Actually seeing as no one within 50kms sold cycling shoes the actual price for your black Diadora’s (my first cycling shoes) was astronomic once you’d factored in the train or bus fare to go to the shop to try them on.

Always knew Fife was home to strange folks. The frugality makes sense given the proximity to Aberdeen.

Montrose as any ful kno is in Angus. People from Montrose used to go on holiday to Fife as it was seen as exotic and distant.

Ah what do I know about the Far East, I’m from Bishopton in the fine county of Renfrewshire! Apologies to all Fifers for giving them Montrose. I do hope Rangers enjoy their visits to Angus this season!

@wiscot

@unversio

The rider (far right) resembles Andy Hampsten. What happens on the Gavia stays on the Gavia. The Day Strong Men Cried.

Will find out tomorrow. The other identifiable rider besides Roche and Mottet is Eddy Schepers – Roche’s super-loyal domestique.

It’s a Panasonic kit though. Hampsten would be firing on Panasonic “” namely Dutchman Erik Breukink.

Not sure it’s Breukink. I think it’s Theo de Rooy. Looks too tall to be Breukink.

I had a pair of those P.O.S. look carbon pedals as well. Rode them 4 or 5 times and took them back the bike shop for a refund. They were too slick and I had a hell of a time getting clipped in. damn near crashed twice from my foot slipping off the pedal.

@sthilzy

That Light!!!

I had one of those!!

Likewise – except in the UK they were white and branded “Ever Ready”. There may be some in my late father’s Man Cave but I’m scared to go in it without a flaming torch and a priest.

@DavidI

I’m missing a few Winning mags do you have the ones in between these?

That Light!!!

I had one of those!!

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I had started on straight out steel clips, but I had bad toes for riding. Curved, thin and brittle and always ingrown with granulation tissue. So I tried the leather wrapped clips, no difference, then Nylon clips. I had so much cotton wool packed between the toes. BTW both friggin big toes had the same problems!

Along came LOOK pedals but I couldn’t see how they were any better. Lots of guys tried to ride them on the track and kept clipping out when starting handicapped races or IP’s. Then Keywins landed at my LBS was given to me to try and have never set foot in a toe clip since. That was ~1986/87. More in #173 of Reverence Speedplay Pedals.

The good thing about clipless, that is with out toeCLIP, the front of the shoes wern’t damaged by the clips, but the bugger with the Keywins, you had to drill holes in the soles of your shoes, and you only got one shot at getting that right! I have a pair of Lakes with screws going into the inside sole of the shoes!

Earlier in this post, there was a Q & A, and @DavidI pretty much answered as I would have in #35. Most straps I had lying around ended up tying up branches in the garden or holding something back onto a wall.

@Oli
Through the sides, but inside of the outer quill. – Ouch!

I had the the blue Factory pilots and my brother had the black ones – last worn in 1995 when they were looking retro in a bad way. Searching the Man Cave for them tonight after riding.

Went down into my Man Cave and dug these glares out for show and tell;

Pilots were red originally, and I had a red steel frame – too much red overkill, so a painted them white.

Razor Blades – if I had a dollar for every arm I had to replace on those things, I’d have $5!

Frogskins – I might keep wearing them, just give them a clean.

I always think that I “click in” to my pedal.  I also liked Alex the Seal.

The saddest (if you are from here) clip/click out – with toe straps – was Shane Kelly at the Atlanta Olympics… Couldn’t find a clip of it (see what i did thtere?) on the net…

I too wondered why there was a song about a seal, named Alex. FML