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Riding short distances in reasonable traffic does not make me feel bad-ass.
Doing moderate bike mechanic stuff DOES make me feel incredibly bad-ass. Especially when I have to spend twenty minutes yanking on the wrench to get it to turn!
OH YEAH.
(I may possibly be the only cyclist in history to upgrade from toe-clip pedals to platform pedals -- when I got Nice Bike I fell down because I couldn't get the hang of getting my toes in the clips, and I'm sure I would've gotten the hang of it eventually, but in Brooklyn where you run into ten traffic lights every mile, what's the point? I do not plan on riding Nice Bike frequently -- I bought it something like four months before I moved to New York, and it's much better suited to the suburbs -- but it's useful if I want to lend my sister a bike so we can ride together.)
Also I adjusted my basket so hopefully I will no longer have a problem with heel strike. And tied the loose bit down with kitchen twine and a knot I learned on YouTube.
Doing moderate bike mechanic stuff DOES make me feel incredibly bad-ass. Especially when I have to spend twenty minutes yanking on the wrench to get it to turn!
OH YEAH.
(I may possibly be the only cyclist in history to upgrade from toe-clip pedals to platform pedals -- when I got Nice Bike I fell down because I couldn't get the hang of getting my toes in the clips, and I'm sure I would've gotten the hang of it eventually, but in Brooklyn where you run into ten traffic lights every mile, what's the point? I do not plan on riding Nice Bike frequently -- I bought it something like four months before I moved to New York, and it's much better suited to the suburbs -- but it's useful if I want to lend my sister a bike so we can ride together.)
Also I adjusted my basket so hopefully I will no longer have a problem with heel strike. And tied the loose bit down with kitchen twine and a knot I learned on YouTube.
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Don't feel bad about toe clips! They...don't really do what a lot of the bike nuts say they do. Per Grant Petersen, who oughta know.
I have three bikes I ride regularly. One has platform pedals, one has toe clips, and one has dual platform/clipless pedals. I like them all. The toe clip bike is the one I ride most, but that's because I ride in all weathers (and I do mean all weathers, including winter) and I don't want my feet to slip off the pedal. This can happen in rain and snow and bouncing over the ice at intersections. This may not be an issue for you...
I do kind of like the clipless pedals for really long rides, but I think it's partly psychological. They make me feel like a Real Cyclist or something. Hey, if my brain is that easy to make happy, I'm good with it, and I can still wear whatever shoes I want on that bike. I don't think I'd ever go full clipless.
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Right now I'm intending to bike commute only in moderately good weather (we don't often get snow that sticks, and the authorities are good at plowing and salting, so I think I may even be okay for most of winter), and I'm more afraid of getting my foot stuck and falling into traffic than having a foot slip off a pedal. (I haven't had a problem with that, maybe because I wear very grippy shoes.) Especially when traffic is so stop-and-go here. But I am hella impressed with people who can ride with clipless pedals!