Clipless or flat pedals?

gtvlusso

Hi all,

I am new'ish to mountain biking - I am looking at using SPD clipless pedals and shoes! I already road ride with SPD SL and have been for quite a few years.

I am generally going to Cwm Carn and Leigh Woods (Bristol). mainly muddy cross country and forested trails. I am riding in trainers with bear trap pedals at the moment, but kinda fancy being clipped in - I am sure that I will bin it a few times!

Any thoughts on this? Is this the right kinda environment to be clipped in?

Cheers fellas.

G

Thewaylander

Its personal choice,

Lots prefer one way or the other, im a flatties kinda guy but with a good street ticks back ground so i feel i can make the best with flatties but people see it all differently, so try it with clips and if it hurts to much change back

schmako

Everyone seems to view being clipped in as if you are never going to be able to clip out again. I find spd's perfect for xc and commuting, never had a proper crash due to them on or off road.

Platti

Which ones do you use Schmako ?

schmako

Both. SPD's on my xc and road bike, flats (V12's) on the Patriot. Both have their advantages and dis-advantages.

Platti

I just got a bike for Road/Trail I'm guessing I need SPD's. Whats SPD stand for ?

schmako

Shimano Pedaling Dynamics. SPD's aren't a must, but they do make like easier as long as you get used to clipping in and out!

Platti

I've seen the pedals & shoes for sale online what are the cleats for ? Thought about possible these for a cheap starter :-

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... M1%20Shoes

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... 0%20Pedals

any good or do I need to spend more ?

Felix-da-house-mouse

The cleats are the bit that clunk in and the pedal grips onto it, released by twisting your foot. i use look keo pedals and cleats on the road and they're grand and crank bros on my ht both for off road and ht,

Thewaylander

Mat sugested a very sensable outlook on another thread,

Its good to learn to ride on flats, basics skills like bunny hoppign and so on so you have the technique,

then after you can swap to spd's for there pedalling effiecncy

gtvlusso

Thanks for the replies.

I can bunny hop okay, not massive height, but I come from a BMX background (when I was a kid!).

I do put my foot down a bit and take it easy on the muddy stuff, I guess chucking it in the scenery is part of the fun and I am sure that this will be fairly often.

Will do flats for a bit then SPD's. Any thoughts on pedal and shoe combos?

Cheers

G

robmanic1

Once you go SPD you never go back. Or you could get the half SPD half flatty versions.

rob cole

I do all my off-road riding (MTB and Cyclocross) on flat pedals with 5-10 shoes (sticky rubber soles) and have never felt the need to go back to using SPDs (which i used for over 10 years as a XC and DH racer)

I totally prefer the extra amount of "body english" you can put into the bike and "feel" you get from using a flat pedal, rather than the one-dimensional aspect of being locked into a SPD or similar clipless pedal

gtvlusso

I will give it more of a shot in trainers - after all, I am not that good on an mtb. may even swicth over my spd-sl's and wear my sidi road shoews with shoe covers! See how often I fall off!!!

JamesDaniels

gtvlusso wrote:

Hi all,

I am new'ish to mountain biking - I am looking at using SPD clipless pedals and shoes! I already road ride with SPD SL and have been for quite a few years.

I am generally going to Cwm Carn and Leigh Woods (Bristol). mainly muddy cross country and forested trails. I am riding in trainers with bear trap pedals at the moment, but kinda fancy being clipped in - I am sure that I will bin it a few times!

Any thoughts on this? Is this the right kinda environment to be clipped in?

Cheers fellas.

G

I go for flat pedals as I find them more comfortable.

gtvlusso

HI All,

I have finally gone SPD and am loving it! Fell over a few times, but it is so much faster and easier to control the bike. Also don't fear whacking my knee on the handle bar (unless I bin it!). Had a great outing last night in Ashton Court and Leigh Woods in Brizzle.

So, the method was - trainers and flats for a month, then SPD's! They are much less stable than my road SPD-SL's, but quicker to exit from.

Cheers all

G