Power Grips (Bleeker Street Girl?)

I have been given an old bike. It needs a few things before it will be rideable, and t's not pretty, but it was free and it fits the bill as far as not being bike thief bait. I plan to use it for riding into town at a leisurely pace dressed in street clothes/shoes. It currently has platform pedals but I would like to add some kind of "foot-retention device." I am considering old fashioned toe clips of course, but I'm sort of leaning towards Power Grips because they look as though they would be compatible with many different shoe types, from running shoes to hiking boots to flip flops (am I wrong about that?).

I read a thread at Bikeforums in which someone who had just gotten Power Grips was falling a lot with them and having trouble getting out. It was suggested also that having an imperfectly placed strap could make this worse.

So I was hoping some you here who use Power Grips could give me the lowdown. Is it at all difficult to learn the getting out motion? Have you had moments when you've forgotten about it, and fallen as a consequence? Are you really in as tightly as with clipless pedals? Is it difficult to adjust the straps correctly? Did you buy one of the "pedal kits" or did you attach the straps to your existing pedals?

I have been riding with clipless pedals for a few years and I'm totally comfortable with them, but I was pretty clutzy when I first got them. I have ridden with traditional clips & straps before and from the beginning I didn't have any problems with that.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks!!!

I used PowerGrips as a transition between toe cages and clipless pedals. As for effect and ease/difficulty of use, they fell exactly in between those other two. I found them very easy to get in and out of (except for the issue I had below). The twisting motion is actually very similar to a clipless pedal. And I found that they definitely held my foot in place better than toe cages.

I also like that they don't scrape the ground if you decide to flip the pedal and ride un-hooked. I've actually recommended PowerGrips to some of the DC bike cops I've seen with toe cages on their bikes.

I attached them to regular platform pedals, and the only problem I had was getting them adjusted to the right tension to begin with. I fiddled about with it so much that I actually broke one of the screws :rolleyes: The folks at PowerGrips were great, though, and sent a another screw right away. Then one of the straps lost its stiffness and began being difficult to "catch" with my toes when I would try to slip into it. It was about that time that I decided to go clipless, but I bet they would have sent me a replacement strap if I'd called and asked for one.

i liked mine a lot except i cut them a bit too short (don't cut them at first!)
so i could never get my one foot in right so i toed in and freaked everyone out.
They are harder to get in than toeclips so i found myself looking at my feet as i started through intersections !!

but t hey were comfy and i never had trouble getting out of them.

the trouble is, you can get the tightness adjusted for one shoe, but it will be different for another.

I used them for about 10 months, but decided I liked them so much that I wanted to try the next step-up, clip-less. They are more accepting of heavier boots than toe clips. I never had a problem with them.

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Originally Posted by liza

I am considering old fashioned toe clips of course, but I'm sort of leaning towards Power Grips because they look as though they would be compatible with many different shoe types, from running shoes to hiking boots to flip flops (am I wrong about that?).

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I wear all kinds of shoes with my PowerGrips. Typically I adjust the straps a bit larger in the autumn to accomodate my large insulated hiking boots for winter riding. You want to leave them the length they come because you'll be adjusting them seasonally.

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I read a thread at Bikeforums in which someone who had just gotten Power Grips was falling a lot with them and having trouble getting out. It was suggested also that having an imperfectly placed strap could make this worse.

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You either install the strap correctly or incorrectly. You just have to have pedals with the available (common) holes and you have to look carefully at the diagram to get it right. Once you do it once, it makes more sense and future installations are easy.

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So I was hoping some you here who use Power Grips could give me the lowdown. Is it at all difficult to learn the getting out motion? Have you had moments when you've forgotten about it, and fallen as a consequence?

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I have ridden about 6,000 miles in the past 2 1/2 years, and I have fallen ONCE. That fall was when I first put on my PowerGrip straps and went to test them in a vacant parking lot. I did the classic 'clipless' turtle-type fallover at a standstill because I was dopey and trying to get both my feet out of the straps at once and came to a stop before getting either foot out. Boom. I was over-thinking it. Too embarrassing, but no one saw me. :cool: Seems I learned from that moment on to get my landing foot out ahead of stopping. Also learned that moment to angle my heel out first when removing my foot. Duh. I learned quickly. :D

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Are you really in as tightly as with clipless pedals?

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I doubt it. But you can make them fairly snug. If you make them too snug, your can get numb toes, just like if your shoes are too tight.

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Is it difficult to adjust the straps correctly? Did you buy one of the "pedal kits" or did you attach the straps to your existing pedals?

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The straps are very easy to adjust with a little hex/allen wrench. As with many things on a bike, tiny adjustments make a big difference.
If your pedals have these four holes you see here, then you don't need the whole pedal kit:

MKS Touring pedals
Those are the pedals I have and I like them because they are extra wide and that gives you more leeway with the straps.
Many pedals have these holes. If you don't, then you need pedals that have such holes.

I dislike brand logos everywhere, so I always first black out the PG silver logo with magic marker, and then I install the straps inside out so the logo is on the inside next to the shoe. Hah, adios logo. :p

My first pair of PG straps have over 5,000 miles on them and they are nowhere near worn out yet.

they are not for everyone, but I just love mine. :)

Had them for a while on my dual-sided spd pedals because I don't really like wearing my cleats around - they are still noisy although recessed. Also, mine drug on the ground when I rode with my cleated shoes. I did like them. Just not enough to really want to keep them.

I've got a duathlon (run/bike/run) coming up. I thought that maybe I'd use my toe clips on the bike so that I could wear my running shoes for the whole thing and not have to change footwear at all. I tried this out on Sunday and wasn't too happy with it: I didn't feel well connected to the pedals and kept playing with the straps trying to get them better. From what I've read, the PowerGrips might improve on this. However, I was also having an issue with pressure points/hot spots. Could the PowerGrips help on this, too? Anyone got some they are no longer using and would like to sell?

Hillslug,
If you do decide to try the PG straps for your race, be sure to get them broken in well beforehand. The straps will 'sort of' form fit to your shoes, and if you get straps that have been flattened in shipping or are new, then it may take a week or two for them to mold nicely to your shoes. This makes them way quicker and easier to slide your foot in and out of them. Brand new ones or squashed/flattened ones might require more 'teasing' with your toe to get your foot in, and you wouldn't want that during a race.

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Originally Posted by MDHillSlug

Anyone got some they are no longer using and would like to sell?

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As a matter of fact, I do! I got them to put on my resurrected mixte project, but decided not to put them on after all. I opened the package, but didn't attempt to install them. I'll post a picture here in a little bit. :)

ETA: I have a few other things I'd like to sell, also. I'm going to start another thread and reserve the Power Grips for you if you want them.

I hadn't heard of these before, but I'm doing a charity ride in the spring and was definitely planning on doing something besides my plain old pedals before then. I just ride a hybrid and I'm a broke-ish grad student so clipless is certainly beyond my means at this point... this seems like a really nice compromise, and I'm definitely planning on looking into them. I probably wouldn't have known about them if you hadn't brought them up, so... thanks! :D

I would totally go BSG's route and install them inside-out to hide that logo, though. Wow. That's really too bad it's that huge... if it was more subdued, I would totally leave them visible so that people could be like "cool straps! I wonder who makes them! oh look, they're called 'power grips!'" But I really just can't envision myself riding down the street with my feet going POWER GRIPS all the time. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by badgercat

I would totally go BSG's route and install them inside-out to hide that logo, though. Wow. That's really too bad it's that huge... if it was more subdued, I would totally leave them visible so that people could be like "cool straps! I wonder who makes them! oh look, they're called 'power grips!'" But I really just can't envision myself riding down the street with my feet going POWER GRIPS all the time. :rolleyes:

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Here's the link for PowerGrips:
http://powergrips.mrpbike.com/

I suspect a *lot* of people install them inside out to hide the logo. Since both sides are exactly the same except for having the logo on one side, it's easy. ;)

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Originally Posted by oxysback

As a matter of fact, I do! I got them to put on my resurrected mixte project, but decided not to put them on after all. I opened the package, but didn't attempt to install them. I'll post a picture here in a little bit. :)

ETA: I have a few other things I'd like to sell, also. I'm going to start another thread and reserve the Power Grips for you if you want them.

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Oxy, I'm interested. Please send me a PM or an email to nicole.thomas14 at comcast.net