Powergrips toe straps are another option for more grip and no SPDs...
Hi Jawine!
I decided to spec PowerGrips on the Folder I'm building. I wanted something that gave toe clip-like levels of grip, but would still conceivably work with street shoes. I've yet to try them, but they look promising in trials. Given I
haven't tried them and only played, the one concern I have relates to getting the um, stirrup? adjusted ideally so the foot is fully captured, but not uncomfortably so.
A lot depends on using shoes with soles of nearly the same thickness. I set the PGs for a Merrell trail-running shoe...then found the stirrup too loose for a leather-soled dress shoe and too tight for a trainer. I think if you go this route, you'll have the greatest success if you use the same shoes each time. Or keep a screwdriver handy. The PowerGrips don't adjust instantly like a toe strap. You have to undo the stirrup clamp and fiddle, then do it up again.
If position is really important to you (Danneaux's hand is raised on this one, then foot position on the pedal won't stay the same unless you always use the same shoes.
The fabric used to form the stirrup is surprisingly stiff and harsh, which was a surprise to me. I can see it eventually leaving some rub marks on nice shoes. I slid my foot into a loose PowerGrip-equipped pedal as I worked at the computer the other evening, to see how they felt longer-term (remember, this wasn't attached to a bicycle, so the whole pedal could still "float") and after a half-hour or so, found my foot burning at the outer metatarsal head (outside ball-of-foot). Took off my shoe, and a toe was pretty red, kind of like when the strap on a Keen or Teva hiking sandal comes in the wrong spot. Again, I think it is down to adjustment but I am beginning to think it would be a Really Good Idea to leave these things sorta loose. Looser than I usually run my toe straps.
Sorry I can't offer a more real-world review of the things, but the bike they're intended for isn't finished! Time to put on the brazing goggles, rev up the ol' oxy-acetylene torch, and lay some more fillets.
Oh! One last thing...in the past, I've approximated the Ergons by sticking pieces of non-skid deck tape (sold for use on boats and on concrete house steps) to flat-topped touring pedals. The people who used them, liked them (I'm a clips-and-straps person). Roger Durham (late of Bullseye sealed-bearing hub fame, popular during the 1970s-1980s) did me one better -- he fastened wooden platforms on pedals and then put deck tape on those. Roger had some really great ideas, and he was absolutely convinced the Woody pedal (named after the wooden boards he used) was The Future for many cyclists. Unlimited float, no limitations on shoes, grab-and-go. The beauty is, anyone can make up a set and try. I've attached a photo I found online. Roger was a real innovator (sealed-bearing der pulleys, pre-HollowTech crank with steel-tubing arms, roller-bearing BB, modular hubs, platform pedals, etc)...and so was Pino Morroni, who did lots of innovative things with titanium in the early days and had a left-drive track bike that made all the sense in the world, but that's a story for another time. If you're interested, some links on him here:
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/USA/Pino_Moroni_main.htmhttp://www.classicrendezvous.com/USA/pino/Pino%20recollection.htmhttp://www.cyclingutah.com/april/april99/classic.htmlBest,
Dan.