Pedal Retention. Love It or Hate It, You Must Have It

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by Greg Bowen, PCI #1227T/EMSCI #526T
Tarrant County College (TX) Police Department
IPMBA Board Member (Industry)

IPMBA requires four pieces of safety equipment: a high-quality public safety bicycle, in good mechanical condition, that fits the rider properly; a properly fitted and approved bicycle helmet; shatter-resistant protective eyewear for day and night; and pedal retention. Think back to when you attended your IPMBA Public Safety Cyclist (Police, EMS, or Security) course. How did you feel about your pedal retention? Some of you, although your instructor sent out pre-course information listing the specific items to bring to the course, may have shown up without any pedal retention. If so, your IPMBA instructor probably sent you to the local bike shop to buy a set of toe clips or they installed a set of toe clips on your pedals. As the class continued, you may have removed the nylon strap, hoping your instructor would not notice. Well, they noticed, and the next thing you know, the clips magically appeared back on your pedals, and your instructor was telling you that you would appreciate them by the end of the week. Guess what? They were right. Now that you are a more experienced rider, you likely will not ride without some type of pedal retention.

From your past IPMBA training, you now know that pedal retention helps in many ways. It helps keep your feet on the pedals while negotiating rough sections of the riding surface. It aids in ratcheting your pedal back to the 2:00 position when performing an angled curb assent. When you are performing more technical maneuvers, you feel more attached to your bike. Pedal retention also helps you achieve that desired, “good spin” of 75-100 rpms, for pedaling efficiency.

Past IPMBA President Kirby Beck wrote an article called Pedal Retention Primer back in the fall of 2010 (https://ipmba.org/blog/comments/pedal-retention-primer). He does an excellent job explaining pedal retention and the details of each type. Since 2010, new pedal retention concepts have hit the market. In this article, I will revisit the long-standing types and discuss the new ones.

Toe Clips

Toe clips (a.k.a. “cages”) were the only form of pedal retention until the early to mid-1980s. They accomplished the same goal then as they do today and have much the same design. Toe clips consist of a cage that attaches to the pedals through which is laced a nylon strap used to tighten the cage down on your foot. They were the only available and acceptable type of pedal retention. IPMBA recognized the benefits and made toe clips a required piece of equipment.

Today there are two designs of toe clips: the one with the nylon strap, and one without it. The ones designed to be used without the straps (sometimes called “mini-clips”) are made of a more rigid plastic that helps keep the feet on the pedals while allowing the rider to escape the retention out the side.

Clipless Pedals

The name of these pedals is a bit of a misnomer. I will try to explain this as simply as I can. Unlike the original toe clips, the clipless pedals do not have a toe clip (cage). You attach your foot to the pedal with a cleat that is attached to the bottom of a specialized shoe that clips onto the pedal.

Although you clip in (similar to snow skis), they are called clipless. Are you confused yet?

Among the types of clipless pedals, there are many styles for different riding conditions.

Mountain Bike

SPD (Shimano Pedaling Dynamics) usually have attachments on both sides of the pedal where the cleat attaches. They also come in the style of the SPD pedal with a platform similar to a traditional pedal that either has the SPD retention on one or both sides of the platform. SPD-compatible shoes with recessed cleats are available, which makes them an acceptable choice for public safety use.

Crankbrothers, referred to as “egg beaters” because they resemble the beaters on a mixer, function similarly to the SPD pedals. You simply press the area of your shoe that has the cleat down on the pedal and click it onto the pedal. They are good for mountain biking in muddy conditions because the open design of the pedal allows it to shed the mud.

Road Bike

There are several different type of road bike pedals. For the sake of keeping it simple, and because public safety cyclists do not use road bikes, I will not get into a detailed description of each type of road bike pedal. However, road bike pedals are similar to other types of clipless pedals. They are made of an alloy, composite, or carbon fiber material, making them more lightweight. For those willing to spend extra money for the ultimate in lightweight, shoes with carbon fiber soles are available. Since the cleats on these shoes are not recessed like the SPD cleats, they are not practical for public safety cycling.

Platform (Flat) Pedals

In 2016, IPMBA agreed to acknowledge platform pedals as an acceptable form of pedal retention, but only if they are used in conjunction with compatible shoes. Despite what the name may suggest, flat pedals are not what comes stock on most bikes. Platform pedals have a larger base or contact point on the shoe. For a platform pedal to perform correctly, the rider must wear a shoe designed to be used with the pedal. Otherwise, this is not considered pedal retention by IPMBA standards. You should not wear a pair of running or tennis shoes or lugged boots when using these pedals.

A platform pedal has a larger contact base and pins on the pedal that grip the sole of the shoe. A proper platform pedal shoe has a smoother, softer rubber sole that grips the pins on the pedal. Some riders feel they can disengage the retention system and “bail out” more quickly while still having pedal retention when needed.

To make platform pedals perform the best, the rider must learn to somewhat “scoop” their foot on the pedal during different pedal positions to maintain the desired retention. Check out Pedaling Innovations, a Product Purchase Program participant offering a 30% discount on their Catalyst 1 model. A review by Scott Bixby, PCI #1684, can be found at https://ipmba.org/blog/comments/pedaling-innovations-catalyst-an-agent-for-change. ;

Magnetic Pedals

A new concept of pedal retention has recently emerged: magnetic pedals. These pedals look similar to platform pedals but have a very strong magnet mounted on the pedal. The compatible shoe has a metal plate mounted where the cleat would be mounted on a clipless pedal shoe. The attraction of the metal plate and the magnet creates another form of pedal retention. To disengage, the rider twists or rocks their foot to disengage from the retention.

Cameron Newton, PCI #1994-B, performed a field test on the Hustle Bike Labs Avery REM Tech MTB Pedal, one of the new magnet platform pedals. He wrote an outstanding article for the IPMBA News, 2023 Product Guide, Vol. 32, No. 1.

I recommend that you refer back to his article (https://ipmba.org/blog/comments/do-the-hustle-avery-remtech-mtb-pedal-system). He gives his perspective with an overall satisfactory rating. Look for Hustle Bike Labs to join the IPMBA Product Purchase Program in the near future. Their high-quality product demands a higher price, but as an IPMBA member, your access to the Product Purchase Program will make them more affordable. Remember, the savings from using the IPMBA PPP can more than pay for your IPMBA membership dues.

Be Consistent

As a professionally trained IPMBA Public Safety Cyclist, you already know that pedal retention not only mandatory, but also incredibly helpful. Pick the type that works best for you and your riding style. Personally, I like to stay consistent in my choice of pedal retention. My road bike friends poke fun at me because I run SPD mountain bike pedals and mountain bike shoes on my carbon fiber road bike. I have SPD pedals on my patrol bike, road bike, gravel bike, and mountain bikes. The reason is because of the motor memory that you develop over time. I don’t want to have to stop and think about how to disengage on whatever type of retention I am using a that moment. This holds me to the rule of “train like you fight so when you have to fight, you will fight like you have trained”.

As public safety cyclists, we must be proficient with our equipment so we can better serve the public that we are sworn to protect and in order to protect ourselves.

Greg is a police captain for the Tarrant County College Police Department in Central Texas. He attended the IPMBA Police Cyclist Course in 2001 and started the bike unit for his department. In 2011, he attended the IPMBA Instructor Course in Richmond, Virginia. Over the years he was fortunate to attend several IPMBA Conferences. His department and Fort Worth Police Department co-hosted the 2019 IPMBA Conference in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. In 2020, he was elected to the IPMBA Board of Directors and appointed to the position of Industry Liaison. In 2021, he earned the rank of IPMBA Instructor Trainer (IT). He can be reached at industry@ipmba.org.

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