Spds or Flats

ewok

I know this quesion gets asked alot but im 50/50 of what to do.
I bought spd pedals and shoes 2 years ago and kept falling off as everyone does.
Went back to flats but I everywhere i go people are telling me to go back to sds is there a good training pedal so i dont break anymore bones or is it a case of ride it out and i will get there eventually?

toasty

Use them where you feel comfy, if that is just down the road and gentle greens then so be it. If you push yourself into tricky situations you'll go slower, panic and spend half the ride not clipped in or on your face.

Each to their own really, some people get along perfectly fine without. I personally love them and feel really hindered/slow without, I do plan to have a month or so with flats though to get my confidence up on a few bits

Surf-Matt

flats. Wellgo MG1s.

ewok

Thanks for the advice im going to give them a go again because i love the spped and planted feel they give you and hope i dont faceplant to often

allthegearnoidea

i really like the spd feeling on the bike now, (been riding in spd's around 5 months) feels so much more planted and at one with the bike as such, also helps a lot witht he hills as i am not so good going up!! down yes up no! Also now its so easy too unclip when having 'a moment' haha! first coupl eof rides made interesting watching though! and i do still get the odd Unclip left foot, Fall to the right moments!! the last happened to be on a Very muddy boggy lane!! typically! haha!

Yeti575

It's a confidence thing I suppose. I bought some, fell off and got rid so keep to the flats. Am tempted to try again as I use SPD-SL's on road bike and am fine - in fact, I suppose I could try them on the MTB if I can get a decent enough shoe/boot.

Surf-Matt

My last spd crash was the final straw after two years of perserverance.

Had flats for about 5 years now. DMR V8s on three bikes, Wellgo MG1s on the newer Stumpy - very light, sealed bearing and the paint stays on!

miss notax

Definitely spd's

I have some which are like normal pedals with the cleat in the middle, so if you're bombing downhill and can't clip in, then at least your foot is resting on something substantial (as opposed to *just* the tiny cleat). I think they're designed for beginners, but they've saved me a few times and I have no intention of changing them!!

strodey

bought spd pedals and shoes 2 years ago and kept falling off as everyone does.

After reading this forum i was worried about going over to SPD's must say i've not had a single problem since getting them, how hard can it be to unclip?
I started off with SPD's really loose and gradually tightened but taht only took me a few rides!

toasty

I wear them every time I go out, both bikes have clipless pedals now.

I think in the last 2 years I've fallen off once using them, hitting a wet root at a dodgy angle, while going very slowly.

More recently I've been around Dalby red (full loop), Glentress red + blues + some freeride a few times. No falling off over any of this, I do hesitate occasionally, step ups are the big thing for me, if you mess up you drop off the side. I'll get my confidence a bit up with flats soon though as I say, then revert back.

I bought my first pair a good 10 years ago on a Raleigh Max, I fell off a couple of times (slowly), they didn't take at all and I stuck them in a cupboard where they stayed, more or less, for about 10 years.

A couple of years ago I moved onto using them on the road and flats off road, this worked out OK. I was already past the 'roll to a halt and fall off' stage so I was safe enough on the road. This gradually moved to the trails, one weekend the missus was busy and I got dropped off in Cannock Chase for about 5 hours with my SPDs on. It started off shaky and gradually built up, by the end of that 5 hours I was lapping the same as I used to with flats. Since that day I've stuck with SPDs when ever possible.

schmako

Why not both? Thats what I do. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Personal choice in the end though.

JumperSimon14

I prefer SPD's now as I have just switched from when I got my new bike. I have the tension set loose so its easier to get you foot out of the pedal and quicker. I think you would like the Shimano Dual Sided pedals with are half flat and half SPD.

ewok

Just come back from a ride and no BIG moments the only time i did come off nobody saw so i will try for the next few rides to see if i will be confident enough to use them at the cheddar bike fest when all spills will be seen haha.
Thanks for the advice.
Another quicky im using shimano m520s are there any better "learner" pedals?

JumperSimon14

I use m540's and am still learning. They just have a better crank with sealed bearings or something like that so they last a little longer but you will be fine with them.

toasty

ewok wrote:

Another quicky im using shimano m520s are there any better "learner" pedals?

Nah, fantastic pedals. I'm using 2 sets at the mo. Absolutely dirt cheap as well.

apoc_reg

I love my SPDs, running SM-SH61 clips and set the resistance in the pedal to the lowest amount. Foot comes out easily (even when not planned.. ie crashing!) but gives you that power and stability when either climbing of downhill.

ride_whenever

I run candy's on my pomp, but flats are much more fun for messing about on.

Steve_b77

I've tried with SPD's and never liked them consequently now ride with 5050X's and FiveTens.

Do keep thinking about SPD's for when i'm not planning on doing anything daft that could resort in me hitting the ground brofre my bike, but can't really me arsed changing pedals.

SPD's on my road bike though as it's dead easy to judge when you're going to stop

dave_hill

People give up too easily on clipless pedals because they either don't read the instructions or have a pre-conceived idea that they won't work before they try.

The trick (at least with Shimano SPDs) is to have the spring tension wound right off to start with and to use multi-release cleats. As you get used to them, increase the spring tension in the pedals then swap to single-release cleats.

As someone else has already said, how hard can it be? It's just lack of application, you don't get owt for nowt!

Ironically though out of a group of eight of us at Kirroughtree this weekend, I was the only one using flats...!

Kyrotek

I just fitted and had my first ride on some M647's, based on DH or BMX style. Basically a resin cage around a 540 clip to give me confidence and also let me ride with a foot unclipped on the platform. Very good pedal feel when in motion with an 'easy' click/un-click action when wound right out.

Expensive but lovely feel to them, £39.95 ebay.

ratty2k

dave_hill wrote:

People give up too easily on clipless pedals because they either don't read the instructions or have a pre-conceived idea that they won't work before they try.

The trick (at least with Shimano SPDs) is to have the spring tension wound right off to start with and to use multi-release cleats. As you get used to them, increase the spring tension in the pedals then swap to single-release cleats.

As someone else has already said, how hard can it be? It's just lack of application, you don't get owt for nowt!

Ironically though out of a group of eight of us at Kirroughtree this weekend, I was the only one using flats...!

Disagree slightly.... I rode on SPD's for ov er 18 months, but found myself unclipping for techy bits. Bot the main reason I didn't get on with them is lack of feel....

Because of the inbuilt float to protect your knees I did not loike the feeling of my feet moving around on the pedals.
That started to knock my confidence somewhat, after moving to flats with 5:10's and feeling a much larger platform under my foot without the 'slippy' feel I'm much much happier. So my suggestion would be: By all means try SPD's, but you do not HAVE to ride with them.... Ride with what you prefer- for me flatties....

Surf-Matt

Dave - I stuck doggedly to SPDs for over two years and reckon my enjoyment of MTBing gradually ebbed away.

Went back to flats and it was all fun again!

dave_hill

ratty2k wrote:

Because of the inbuilt float to protect your knees I did not loike the feeling of my feet moving around on the pedals. That started to knock my confidence somewhat, after moving to flats with 5:10's and feeling a much larger platform under my foot without the 'slippy' feel I'm much much happier. So my suggestion would be: By all means try SPD's, but you do not HAVE to ride with them.... Ride with what you prefer- for me flatties....

Now that I don't understand. With SPDs you can't actually "feel" the float unless you make the effort. I've heard that some Crank Bros and Time pedals have a lot more float than SPDs which can make them feel sloppy, but this is something that I have never experienced in 20-odd years of using clipless pedals both on- and off-road.

You are quite right though that you don't HAVE to ride with clipless pedals, there's no forced work here. Everyone has their own preferences. But I do still maintain that a lot of opinions expressed about SPDs or clipless is hearsay or rumour and like any other situation it's usually the ones with most to say who have least experience.

I find being clipped in a big help. I'm not the world's greatest climber by any stretch of the imagination and having my feet physically attached to the pedals is a great help - I can make maximum use of my leg-stroke and energy. With flats I can't - as soon as I try to pull up/back on the pedal (even with sticky shoes) my foot's off the pedal.

Where flats do come in to their own is fast, rocky, technical downhill sections - if you DO need to take your foot off to dab, you don't have to think too hard about getting back on.

But even then I find that I can never get back on in a comfortable position immediately. With SPDs I can. And I can honestly say that I have NEVER had an off which I can directly attribute to the fact that I couldn't get unclipped.

Again, it's horse for courses. That's why I have SPDs on the Giant and flats on the Orange.

dave_hill

Surf-Matt wrote:

Dave - I stuck doggedly to SPDs for over two years and reckon my enjoyment of MTBing gradually ebbed away.

Went back to flats and it was all fun again!

Well that speaks for itself then - they aren't for everyone!

They do take practice to get used to - I guess I just got used to them early on and I've never looked back since. You clearly never have and you prefer your flatties.

I think though that a lot of the "anti" is psychological - if you approach them with the attitude that they will make you fall off and that the cons outweigh the pros then you're never going to be able to use them and do them justice.

I guess the point I'm making is that a lot of "opinion" regarding clipless pedals is just that. No one can give a straight, definitive answer about whether to use them or not.

The only answer is to try them, but try them with an open-minded approach.

Surf-Matt

Dave - when the bike (Stumpy) came with them I was pretty excited about using them and got on okay - but as I pushed it more, things started to go wrong.

So yes, just like full suss vs HT or tubeless vs tubed tyres a lot is down to personal preference - there is no right or wrong.

ride_whenever

I use both because I need a zen-like balance to my life, I should convert one bike to tubeless, possibly my road bike just to buck the trend...

ewok

Going back to flats had to huge crashes on saturday nearly broke my wrist so spds are going in the bin

ratty2k

I know one of my mates rides in SPD's and his biggest issue is: if you stop on technical terrain its sometimes hard to get going while you are trying to clip in at the same time. Me on my flats however...

Dave, maybe I dont have the pedals tight enough (still ride SPD on the roady) but I can definately feel the float in the pedal, and a mate of mine who tried to go the SPD route also had the same slippy/ floaty feeling and went back to flats.
I do get the impression that some people on the forum feel they 'must' ride in SPDs as then they are a 'proper' rider, and that blatantly isn't the case.
As you've said ride whatever you feel best with.