For the past few months, I have been thinking about clipless pedals.
I am mostly a long distance rider. I go for the randonneuring and long distance triathlons.
From various sources, I am informed that I can increase speed wearing clipless pedals but not ride long distances like 600 km or 1000 km. These are not expert sources. I want to hear from experts.
Can you please tell me if I can go for clipless shoes and pedals for long distances?
Clipless pedals let you pull up a bit and road shoes are rigid-ish, so you can get some more power from each turn (of course, you're using your muscles in a bit of a different way). This also gives a bit of a different pressure distribution than platform pedals (look at the layout of say, a Look pedal versus a platform pedal). In an off road situation, they prevent you from bouncing off the pedals as well. You can use them for going for long distances just fine -- in fact, thats where they're primarily advantageous (note that for riding long distances, you need to be sufficiently physically fit and have a sufficiently well suited bike, such as a well bike fitted touring bike -- if you don't, no shoe can help/hurt you). However, walking around in them can be annoying (there are cleat covers and other things for dealing with this) due to the cleat and the type of sole in most cycling shoes. Note that just because something is labeled mountain doesn't mean it won't work with road (you just need the same type of cleat and pedal). They do make one side platform one side SPD (a type of clipless) pedals for people who ride with regular shoes sometimes and SPD shoes at other times / are transitioning.
http://sheldonbrown.com/shoe-pedal.html is good reading. http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/bike-pedals.html is as well, though note that SPD is also available for road use.
The most important thing is fit and knowledge of how to use them - you don't want to fall down while stopping or have uncomfortable shoes for long distances, so you may want to invest in shoe fitting when giving them a shot. Much like buying boots, you may not use the same size cycling shoe as you do sneakers (especially if you wear US 13 sneakers like me...).
To answer your question directly, you certainly can use clipless over long distances.
However, scientific studies have actually shown that clipless pedals offer no discernible performance advantages over long distances. They have shown that a small advantage can be gained on sprints, but that's about it.
That said, many cyclists do report increased comfort and/or reduction in pain when switching to clipless pedals. Some (yours truly) have the opposite experience. It simply depends on your anatomy.
In the end, there are a lot of arguments for clipless and some against them, but not enough evidence to be compelling one way or the other. I'd say go ahead and give 'em a shot. The worst case scenario is that you put the shoes and pedals on ebay.
Aside from what the others have said here (with details on how to use clipless pedals), your original question was can you ride long distances in them.
That is one of the things they are designed for. By keeping your foot exactly placed on the pedal, they maximize your pedaling efficiency. You foot never falls off the pedal. I rode over 3,000 miles last year using my SPD shoes and pedals. My friend rode over 5,000 miles last year in his Look shoes & pedals. We both rode Ragbrai, an annual 450 - 500 mile ride across Iowa. This ride has well over 10,000 riders and at least 90% of them use clipless pedals. Most of the remaining 10% use toe clips. It is unusual to see someone without these types of pedals on this ride.
As others have stated here, log distance riding often requires some walking. I use SPD shoes and pedals because you can walk in them. Both my shoes and pedals are designed for long distance riding- and while you can walk, the sole does not flex very much. You can't run in them and need to be careful when walking. The other major style shoe/pedal system is called Look and you have a much harder time walking in those shoes. It is possible to purchase snap on covers for Look shoes that make it easier to walk in them. However, you see a lot of these covers lying on the ground during Ragbrai- they fall off Look shoes.
One final note on walking- don't assume a long ride is going to be done entirely on your bike. Forget about bike failures and walking your bike- what about bathroom stops? What about food stops? What about water? Unless you have some giant support team you are going to do a fair amount of walking.
You can absolutely ride long distances in clipless pedals.
There are countless examples of this - at the extreme, look at any picture of a Race Across America participant, there is a very strong chance are they will be using clipless pedals of some kind (RAAM being a 4800km race, completed solo in less than 8 days by the winners..)
Clipless pedals are essentially ubiquitous in modern cycling, from "recreational" level up to madness like the aforementioned Race Across America.
However, it is vitally important to have the bike properly setup for you ("bike fit"), a major part of this being the pedals+cleats. Like all adjustments, you should be careful to slowly adapt to the new setup (i.e don't attaching the pedals and going straight out on a 1000km ride!)
I am informed that I can increase speed wearing clipless pedals
This part is more debatable - clipless pedals don't necessarily make you faster, but they do have other benefits - e.g keeping the feet in the ideal position (potentially avoiding knee injuries etc), preventing your feet from slipping off the pedals (e.g in the rain, going over a pothole)
The advice previously given is very good and I won't repeat that. When buying shoes, go for a comfy fit, and not a tight squeeze, and they must not flex. Make sure your cleats are aligned so that your legs will spin comfortably. To get the most, your bike and riding position also needs to be optimised.
Once you get used to cycling cleats on your shoes/'clipless' pedals without toestraps, you'll look back and wonder how you ever lived without them! Yes, they will allow you to significantly increase your power, speed, distance, comfort, and energy output (especially on hills and accelerating), and overall increase your enjoyment of cycling. Ive used them for over 20 years.
Safe and happy cycling, all the best for 2014.
Like some of the other answerers, I have used clipless pedals over long distances.
I have both Look pedals and SPD pedals, with the Look pedals, I have taken part in Audax UK events with distances of up to 400km in a 24 hour session, some of the rides being longer than this, but spread over several days.
One I remember well was a 300km ride (187.5 miles) completed in around 20 hours using Look pedals. I was comfortable, more so than trying to ride a similar distance with toe clips and straps, although walking was a little difficult (and slightly comical) at the Café stops.
I now tend to use my SPD pedals a lot more, as the shoes are a lot easier to walk in, having an inset cleat and a "proper" sole. I use these in combination with SPD pedals with a proper cage around them for more support, similar to the Shimano M424 Clipless SPD Pedals but a lot older, and find these are more than adequate for rides of up to 200km. Anything longer and I will swap back to using Look pedals, as the shoe sole is a lot stiffer.
I went from flats to half-toe clips, which had no noticeable impact. I changed back to flats after an accident where the toe clip was upside down and snagged on something. Plus I found it fiddly to clip-in/hook-on at the lights.
So back to flats... and the differences became clear. You stay on the pedal a lot better - I noticed that a bad gear change or a bump in the path was much more likely to throw the foot off the pedal.
Later, I scored a free used pair of 3-hole road shoes, and bought the cheapest Look pedals on special. These pedals have no tension adjust, they're hard-set at a minimum tension. As such its really easy to get out of them. I've never got "stuck" in pedals while stopped, and the one crash on my MTB with these pedals, the foot just popped right out without damage.
For convenience my MTB (wet weather bike) is back on flat pedals, and its really noticeable how easy the foot slips off flats.
I have never had SPD or MTB cleats, but I have been stranded a couple times mostly to flats. You simply cannot walk in three-hole cleats, and walking along the road in your socks is particularly unpleasant. There are cleat covers but they're protection for the cleats, still not particularly walkable. I've either made sure there are shoes at the other end for me, or taken some light shoes in my pockets.
Back to your question - the shoe has to fit comfortably for all-day comfort. I'd certainly explore the MTB style pedals for convenience, if I was buying new. Ones with elastic will self adjust to swelling feet, and velcro can be adjusted on the bike. Laces mean you have to stop to adjust.
Can you please tell me if I can go for clipless shoes and pedals for long distances?
Answer to this question — yes.
Pros
Power Utilization is good as compared to flat pedals. 15% more power is used efficiently when compared to flat pedals and that is huge when you will be riding 1000km.
Knees remain injury-free as compared to flat pedals for long distances.
Cons
I have used and tried both types for long distance riding. Clipless is anytime good and will save your energy as compared to flat pedals. Go for flat pedals for short distances.
