# No pedals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pedals/312235 "2005-07-12T20:43:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pedals/312235/1 "2005-07-12T20:43:43Z")
I’m sure it’s just a gaffe but [here](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5388274/) MSNBC details the parts of racing bikes but pedals are conspicuously absent. I’m familiar with clipless pedals from Look, Campy and Shimano but is there a new innovation I haven’t seen or did they just photograph an incomplete bike. Odd that both the road and time trial bike would be missing pedals. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pedals/312235/2 "2005-07-12T21:18:39Z")
Pedal choice is very personal, so high-end bikes are sold without pedals. Everyone installs their preferred clipless pedals. If you get stock (catalog) photos from Trek, as MSNBC probably did, they will show bikes without pedals. See for yourself on the [Trek web site](http://www.trekbikes.com/). ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pedals/312235/3 "2005-07-13T17:46:12Z")
And here I was thinking that Mr. Armstrong went off and had bolts put into his ankles to connect himself to the bike with that much less weight. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pedals/312235/4 "2005-07-13T18:48:17Z")
I was figuring that cyclist’s shoes had a little notch for the pedal bar. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pedals/312235/5 "2005-07-13T20:40:20Z")
> [@awldune](#): > > I was figuring that cyclist’s shoes had a little notch for the pedal bar. 🙂 It’s not that far from the truth. Cycling shoes have very stiff soles with metal cleats that lock onto clipless pedals. The pedals themselves can be quite small, like [this](http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=18412&subcategory_ID=5240). (“Clipless” means your shoe locks onto the pedal without having to use [toe clips](http://www.tutorials.com/04/0429/04292.asp). Clipless pedals work just like ski bindings.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pedals/312235/6 "2005-07-13T20:46:19Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > The pedals themselves can be quite small… [These](http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.x) are the ones I use, which are very small and extremely light. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pedals/312235/7 "2005-07-14T00:23:45Z")
Once again, we have “learned” something from TV. Maybe racing bikes have no pedals in order to keep the weight to less than one horseshoe. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-pedals/312235/8 "2005-07-14T01:08:17Z")
> [@awldune](#): > > I was figuring that cyclist’s shoes had a little notch for the pedal bar. 🙂 Pretty close, the bottom of the cycling shoe has a [cleat](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.rakuten.co.jp/atomic-cycle/img1052864617.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.rakuten.co.jp/atomic-cycle/476802/476804/&h=287&w=300&sz=23&tbnid=sgQmLvvPLwIJ:&tbnh=106&tbnw=111&hl=en&start=2&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dshimano%2B%252Bspd%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26hs%3DgyB%26lr%3D%26c2coff%3D1%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official_s%26sa%3DN) that engages the pedal as **scr4** said, like ski bindings. Unlike ski binding, the clipless pedal allows for a small amount of side to side float, so you don’t rack up your knees. Look at the link and you will see how a rider clicks in. Road bike shoes have smooth bottoms, and as has been said the soles are very stiff. Mine are carbon fiber. There is no flex what so ever. So every watt of energy I put out goes straight to the pedal, none is wasted in flexing the shoe. for this reason cycling shoes are a bitch to walk in.