Effect of SPDs / Barends on Uphill Speed

mudslinger

I've recently changed my bike & found my speeds have dropped. My old bike was fully rigid & lighter & had barends which I like for climbs. The person who I go mtbing with has SPDs & always leaves me trailing on uphill climbs. I admit he is lighter & fitter than me but how much a positive effect do SPDs & barends have?

dave_s

Barends give you different options for hand positions obviously and when I ran flat bars I used to find they gave me a bit of extra leverage on climbs.
As far as SPDs go, generally they are more efficient than flats because if you're clipped in you're pulling up on the pedals aswell as pushing down if you see what I mean.
I find it a bit scary being clipped in on both sides on rocky terrain so normally just clip in on the drive side pedal.

Most XC racers use SPDs so I'd say there must be something in it and a hell of alot still run flat bars and bar ends or stubbies, so you decide

impished

Yeah, spds's give you loads more power in all circumstances, once u get used to 360 degree pushing/pulling through the whole pedal revolution.
Agreed, used to scare the $hit outta me being clipped in on the narly stuff, but it does stop those scary foot-bouncing-off-the-pedal moments :shock:

In fact, I think I'm gonna go dust down my old spd's and stick'em on my new HT :P

MattBlackBigBoysBMX

SPD shoes are a large part of the equation. They generally have much stiffer soles than the sort of trainers most people wear with flatties, and absorb less energy.

alfablue

Agree SPD's vastly improve hill climbing, and bar ends are especially good when climbing out of the seat as your body moves forward and the bar ends make for a more natural position for this.

x-isle

Defo SPD's increase performance uphill, as been already said, the pulling up effect has a big impact on performance.

Flat bars, I'm not so sure about. They are great on the flat, but not too sure about uphill. I recently changed my flat bars for risers because I was finding myself crouched over too much, however, bar ends can help with this.

mudslinger

Thanks for the advice. Looks like I'm going to take the plunge into the scary world of SPDs. My mate has had an incident the last 2 times we've been out - last time fell off into a ditch full of nettles & was stung all over. Made me chuckle

impished

There you go then... not only can you increase your peddling efficiancy...
But you can also make you mates LOL Surely that's all part of this fun sport we call Mountain Biking :P