Maintain Your Grip on Power
The ancient oppression of foot binding has mercifully been abandoned - except by some cyclists. The claim is that attaching your feet to bike pedals with cleats, clips, or straps is much more efficient because it lets you to pull up as well as push down as you pedal. But if you ride with feet unbound, worry not! The real trick is to pull back slightly at the bottom of the pedal stroke, as if you are scraping your feet on a doormat. This works on any pedal if your shoes have good grip.
However, having your feet fly off the pedals can also be dangerous, especially on a fixed gear or recumbent bike. Having your feet attached prevents this and encourages rapid pedaling, which is easier on one's knees. Connection to the pedals also facilitates lofting the wheels of your bike to show off or avoid obstacles. So if that's enough to convince you to strap your feet to your pedals, you might as well do it right.
Powergrips are durable, cheap, and effective. The inch-wide webbing straps won't scratch up your Manolo Blahniks' the way regular toeclips will; they let you move your foot around on the pedal as comfort demands, and a twist of the foot instantly binds or releases them. They have all the advantages of both toe clips and clipless pedals with none of the downsides. Really - that good! Powergrips come in two lengths: regular for up to size 11 feet; and extra-long. They fit any pedal that would use standard toe clips. You can buy them complete with pedals, but the straps by themselves are a better value. Powergrips are made in Colorado and sell for the unoppressive price of around $35 at finer bike shops.
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