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It’s easy to welcome couch potato lifestyle nowadays when you can basically do pretty much everything from your home, from shopping for groceries online, to shopping for ready-made nutritious meals, clothing, furniture and even medication.
Sure there are perks to this, like not having to waste much time when taking care of your shopping list, however that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with disadvantages of its own, the primary being negatively impacting your health and well-being.
Don’t worry, you can easily make the most of the outdoors while still enjoying carrying on with your online shopping habits – as long as you make cycling part of your lifestyle. This is an age-old activity that’s known to positively affect your health and you’d reach your goals of ideal fitness and weight without even having to go to a gym.
You’d also count on increased strength, muscle toning, more energy, better mood, as well as improved cardiovascular health, but other than this there’s more to cycling than meets the eye: it helps a household save monthly; All reasons to take this activity seriously and make it part of your life!
Pedals Can Improve Your Cycling Experience
Now, when it comes to taking to cycling, if you aren’t a pro and you haven’t delved much into it, you probably don’t think much about the pedals than you do about the model of a bike when going shopping though if you want to improve your rides, you should.
The reason for this has to do with the fact cycling pedals are versatile, found in the different models of the two types, clipless (also called clip-on) named as such to distinguish them from toe clips, and flat, suitable for the different bikes, the cycling styles as well as what you use the bike for, for instance, recreation, tricks, commute. All of these aspects are important when it comes to choosing the adequate pedals.
Looking closely into the two types, the clipless is typically used with jumping, log-hops and even mountain biking, the flat are used with commuting, road cycling, are ideal for beginners and can also be found on BMX bikes.
How Do I Choose Bike Pedals?
Knowing how important they are for your bike performance, the next time you decide to purchase a bike or upgrade yours, it’s nice to think about the cycling pedals too, same way you’d think of a number of accessories.
Other than choosing based on the cycling style and your activities, it’s advisable to also consider the style of the specific pedals too, like whether or not you want pedals with straps (i.e. toe clips), looking into the brands, their own clip-in pedal systems (e.g. Shimano SPD, Speedway) prices and not forgetting to consider your own taste as well.
As for the straps, though they aren’t that popular among pros mainly because of how it takes a little time to take your feet out of them, they’re helpful with beginners who find it difficult to keep your feet to the pedals when wanting to increase the efficiency, particularly in the rough mountain terrains. Likewise, it’s good to know what the pros and cons are of the clipless and the flat, as this would help you make a decision.
Clipless Pedals
There’s no better way to start with the pros of this type of cycling pedals than by acknowledging the comfort they provide due to the lesser foot flexing as well as the stiffer design which allows for improved power transfer. Moreover, your feet stay put even when the terrain gets really rough, exactly what’s needed for mountain adventures, including some small jumps.
Now, looking into the cons, it’s much more difficult to get back on track with these pedals when you’ve stopped mid-way through a climb, you need to practice to get used to pedaling with them, and in harsh conditions of snow they can clog up.
Flat Pedals
If you want to ride a bike without having to change the shoes after the ride to walk through the city, for example, these are the pedals to go for. Also, unlike the clipless, you’d be able to effortlessly get going again even after you’ve stopped during a steep climb. Besides, they’re great for learning how to do some tricks and getting the best out of certain techniques like front wheel lifts.
Not less important, these pedals make it much easier to learn about the mechanics and skills, how to balance and keep up the coordination, so they’re better to start with as they make your feet feel natural on them, but they aren’t that stable when it comes to mountain rides.
Well, now that you know how to set on the quest for the ideal pedals, which ones are you going to pick?
