Bicycle Clips for Dummies

Bicycle clips for pants

There's something inherently irritating about freelance writers who think they're authorities on a topic just because they know a little about it or occasionally participate. Right now, we're thinking of a WiseGEEK.com contributor by the name of Dan Cavallari. Because he was "fixing bicycles for at-risk youth," Dan considered himself a bicycle mechanic. He thus "shared" much of his bike knowledge with all. Some was good, but then he blew it with "What Is a Bicycle Clip?" (now at "Sports N' Hobbies")

Cavallari launched into his subject with a bold statement:

"A bicycle clip, better known as a toe clip, is a small cage that attaches to the pedals of a bicycle. "

Dan's only problem? He was wrong: a toe clip is a toe clip, not a bicycle clip. A bicycle clip is something entirely different. We'll get to that in a few minutes, but first let's mock Cavallari for what he did say. Dan tried to tell his readers that,

"Unlike the bicycle clip, clipless pedals do not use a cage that cinches over the toe, but rather a cleat affixed to the bottom of the cycling shoe to attach to a specially designed pedal."

We think it might have been better to say a matching pedal instead of a "specially designed" pedal. But what do we know? We don't have English degrees... Another amusing point about Dan's post is that he included a photograph of a studly dude on a mountain bike that he captioned with that first line of his introduction (the one about "better known as a toe clip")... except that the guy's bike has clipless pedals. Duh.

Cavallari also wanted to let us know that,

"Clipless pedals are much smaller and unobtrusive, but they are more difficult to ride without cycling shoes that have the proper cleats mounted to them."

We have no idea why being unobtrusive is important to Dan, but we think he should have pointed out that most clipless pedals are almost impossible to ride without the cleats.
Cavallari's biggest problem, however, is that bicycle clips aren't the same thing as toe clips. Bicycle clips are straps or springy metal devices that riders place on their pants cuffs to keep from getting them tangled in or soiled by the chain. They're very... European?

Our Dumbass of the Day was apparently limited by having only lived in a world of Lycra®...

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