Quote Originally Posted by SheFly View Post
I agree with Pinkbike - don't do both at once. Cyclocross requires getting unclipped in a hurry, and is a whole technique in and of itself. Not being comfortable with clipless would make this much more difficult, and imagine not being able to uclip approaching a barrier...

That said, I haven't seen anyone race cross with platforms or toe clips, although I'm sure it could be done. Make sure she is comfortable with one or the other first, but introducing her to both at once is, in my opinion, too much.

SheFly
I don't race anymore but when I did, I rode with clipless, but I had been riding with clipless for years, both mountain bike racing and road racing. I think it would be easier to do cyclocross for a while without having to deal with clipping in and out.

There was that one time when I rode on a platform pedal and that was the state finals when the snow was about 2-3 feet deep. You were lucky you could keep the bike rolling. So, I rode platforms pedals and wore my nice warm hiking boots for the runs (and the walks when I veered all over in the snow and ended up just stopped!) That was some race! It was just a race of survival, but it was FUN!

My husband also rode once at the Nationals with platforms and soccer shoes. The mud was really, really nasty and it was raining sideways all morning and through the race and then it started snowing right at the end of the race. Nasty, nasty conditions in the California foothills.