Me thinks your next thread will be about arm wrestling or religion.

LEAF BLOWING IS WRONG

If you ride epic routes or you lap times make a financial difference in your life, go clipless, otherwise stay on Flats.

Flats make you ride cleaner.

I used to be clipped in on all my bikes, including my DH bike.  Now I am only clipped in on my SS. 

renoirbud wrote on 10/25/17 at 12:34am:



How so?  I've been thinking about trying to get used to flats this winter.  Nice seeing you at Cyclofest!

catsruletn wrote on 10/25/17 at 12:47pm:

Excellent point! I will follow your suggestion and test what I like the most.

The only time I wish I had flats is when I'm riding something I'm rather intimidated by or I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna make it... lol  Honestly ride w/e makes you feel comfortable.  You are not going to ruin your riding experience by choosing to ride flats.  In fact if they make you feel more confident you will have a better ride and that is why we all do this right?  To have fun....?

I started on flats.....went clipless and now back to flats.  It's all personal preference as mentioned but I found a good pair of flats and a set of Five Ten shoes or similar shoe as the perfect setup IMHO.

btalley wrote on 10/26/17 at 2:09pm:


You just have to ride facing backward. Who cannot do that?

This is my point of view from a shameless newb with some decent riding skill.

I got back into biking this year after likeeeee a 14 year hiatus from my BMX champ glory days. I never, ever had a mountain bike, and I used to ride trails a lot as a kid....one a 20 inch bmx bike.

So I got my bike a couple months ago, and obviously started with flats. My endurance is not the best, so I was struggling to ride up climbs, and it was discouraging. I put &^&^ty flat pedals on my over $2k bike, and didnt really have good riding shoes.

After some thought, I decided to give clipless a try. It was kind of scary lol and like the idiot that I am sometimes, my first day riding clipless just happened to fall on a day when I took my first road trip to Dupont with some pretty experienced riders. I actually did pretty decent that day, but I did fall probably 2-3 times pretty hard going up climbs when I lost traction going over a log or something. 

The worst fall I had that day was actually in a parking lot, in front of everyone, and it hurt lol.  Dont forget to unclip!

Fast forward a couple months, I am becoming a better ride, and the clips definitely help me a lot with climbs and even confidence going down hill. However, when I ride trails that are unknown to me, and am riding with someone that is a very good rider, I still have troubles through some technical parts while trying to keep up. Last time I rode clipless at WWC, I fell going up the carpet climb because my tire slipped, lost traction, and I went down. No biggie. Next trail we were riding pretty hard, and was going up a short steep climb with a log, and almost got over it, but I lost momentum again, and fell to the side, and slammed my ribs into a small tree.

.....2.5 weeks later, I can finally kind of go to sleep laying on that side of my body and the bruising is almost gone!


After that day, I ordered some good flats and some better riding shoes for flats. I tested those out the other day, and wow! I always thought a flat pedal was a flat pedal was a flat pedal, but good pedals and shoes do make a difference.

My plan now is to develop some better technical skills utilizing the flats. When I go to ride trails I know very well, I will put the clips back on and once I get more confident in my skill, I will probably put the clips back on 100%.

If you are afraid of falling, dont go clipless. It'll happen and itll hurt, unless you are a natural born freak of nature rider. However, dont let it get you down, it is all part of progression, and you will notice that you can ride a bit more with clips because you truly get so much more energy every cycle of the cranks. 

Good luck!

I use XTR Trail and like them, I can feel the extra pedal to shoe surface and feel a small amount of extra stability going to the pedal vs the shimano pedals without the platform.  I rode the non-trail pedals for years though and had no issue with them.

I agree with everyone who says it's all personal preference and it will take some experimenting to figure out what you like best.  I started with flats, went to a pair of Shimano M530 SPD which were pretty good but ultimately settled on Eggbeaters.  I prefer my feet staying settled and the eggbeaters tend to have more float which are easier on my surgically repaired foot.  I've never had an issue coming out of them.  I've actually considered trying flats again but the cheapo in me doesn't want to spend the money on shoes to use with them.

Saying somebody rides fast because their pedals, is sort of like saying somebody drives fast on I-77 because of their car..

Maybe they're drunk, got a death wish or something..

I've ridden all three extensively (clips, flat, and clipless). 
They all do the job. One maybe better than the other depending upon your bike, riding style and where you ride.
Flats are generally the least expensive option. But if you ride spikes, be prepared to tear your shin up occasionally.

I would buy a cheaper pair of shoes over an expensive shoe. I have a pair of Sidi clip in shoes I ride XC with and a cheap pair of Lake shoes I ride DH with and I like each one equally. Just a thought.

NC Kingsting wrote on 10/27/17 at 10:25pm:



I have been riding flats for more years than I can count... I have NEVER smacked my shins once... not once.  I HAVE NO SHIN SCARS.  Now.. the back of my lower leg... mid-calf down to my ankle... is scared all to hell. I feel like that could be prevented w/ higher socks.   
Ride WTF ever feels comfortable... I have done both clipless an flats...  seriously the only reason I switched was because I HATED the clipless shoes.

Pros and Cons for each.  I ride clip less but I only ride one MTB.  The other bike is a road/CX bike with the same pedals.  We sell both at the shop.

Now on to more important topics like E-bikes and leaf blowing which will both be happening at Fisher this weekend.

The Cycle Path wrote on 10/30/17 at 9:14pm:

JUST LEAF IT BEE

Dirkdee wrote on 10/31/17 at 2:22pm:


CLT WDZ XC ONLY

Maybe I missed it, but for me, it's all about the cleat, not the pedal.   Shimano makes the best multi-release cleat. See link (The SPD SH56 I think? ) (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)


Ultimately, I prefer to ride clipped in.  Its a no brainer when riding at all our local tracks where you know where everything is.  I know when to get on the gas in advance of the obstacle so i don't lose momentum.   That's when most newb clipped crashes happen.  You lose all momentum and even though you try, you can't unclip and over/down you go. 

But with the easy out cleats, and my pedal spring tension set on easy, I am relatively comfortable riding  anywhere clipped in because I know i can jerk my foot up at anytime and the shoe will release from the pedal. Some people would hate that, but i love it.  I still feel connected to the bike and i can crank/pull up with my foot when I need extra power and it stays clipped in. 

I believe that when riding clipped, when you approach a difficult area, or tough climb, or similar you have to either decide to hit and go all in for it and keep the rpm's up and don't stall, or unclip/prep to unclip and hike around the obstacle.   

BTW, if you are just riding mostly flat stuff, then going clipless is a no brianer.....do it. 

A few tips for beginning clipee's, wear a combination knee and shin guard. Find some bike shorts with hip pads.  Add in some slim elbow pads and/or arm sleeve if you can.   

My newb falling over clipped story.  I was flying downhill towards the creek where the steep ramoed bridge is at Ann Springs Greenway. This was like 8 years ago.  The bridge has a short but steep, like 4 feet ramp to get up on it.  I hit that ramp, however I was in a TALL gear and I lost all momentum.  I went down left.  Hard.  My head hit the rail, as me and my body went through/under it. my hip hit the edge of the ramp, i flipped upside down, and my bike got stuck on the rail and I was dangling under it.  All in all it wasn't that bad, but everytime i see that bridge (which now has a different railing system) i can assure you i am in the right gear and I have plenty of momentum....you live, you learn.   I also fell due to being clipped in the rock garden not far from said Bridge....  All of this happened using the standard cleats, not the multi-release clips.

So I say get the clipless pedals.  Something cool.  Also, the clilp-less shoes are way better than flats.  They look the part as well.   

Thank you all for the feedback. I will certainly try the Shimano SPD and see if I will love them as much as many of you do!