Are there any scientific studies proving the benefits of clipless pedal systems? Have there been done any scientific studies that proves that clipless pedals actually improve pedaling efficiency etc. over flat pedals? Clipless pedal enthusiasts are quick to say that you must use clipless pedals to improve efficiency when cycling, but I have never seen this being backed up by any scientific sources actually proving this claimed efficiency boost.
The Pedaling Technique of Elite Endurance Cyclists: Changes With Increasing Workload at Constant Cadence was published in the International Journal of Sport Biometrics 7:29-53, 1991. However, it seems to come to the conclusion that they don't really make any difference as far as pedaling efficiency goes.
&quot;...while torque during the upstroke did reduce the total positive work required during the downstroke, it did not contribute significantly to the external work done because 98.6% and 96.3% of the total work done at the low and high workloads, respectively, was done during the downstroke.&quot;
This is echoed in Physiological and biochemical determinants of elite
endurance cycling performance published in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 23:93-107, 1991. There are numerous graphs showing that pedal force is only exerted between the top and bottom of the downstroke, represented by a very sharp parabola spiking at 90 degrees from vertical.
That said, I think it's obvious to anyone who has ever done any particularly technical riding with and without clipless pedals that clipless pedals significantly improve the handling of a bicycle. A fact which is probably more difficult to verify through scientific studies.