pedals

karl1081

i need help deciding on which pedals to put on my new orange five , i currently use shimano spd,s on my spacialized rockhopper pro, and was going to purchase a set of xt spd,s for the five , but here is my dilema. i do almost all of my riding in the peak district and so do lots of big climbs as well as some great downhill sections. and am hoping to do some trail centres soon.
i like the feeling and pedalling effiiciency of spd,s but now am thinking that spds are going to hold me back on the decents on my new orange 5
have looked at the platform /spd all in one pedals but not sure how good these are ?
which way should i go ?
thanks for any constructive advice

supersonic

Get some cheap flats and have a ride on them. Wellgo pedals can be had from 10 quid.

RealMan

Don't bother with the two in one pedal designs. Make up your mind, and go for proper SPDs, or proper flats.

SPDs wont hold you back if they haven't before. In fact, if SPDs are what you're used to, it might be flats that will hold you back.

grumsta

I used to ride SPDs and while they are def better for climbing I found I learned bad habits on jumps and drops, and was less keen on leaning right in to corners etc when clipped in. I'm pretty sure I'm faster now downhill than I was on SPDs.

bomberesque

I use Times most of the (erm) time and flatties when DH'ing or hanging with the cool kids at the jump park (which is not very often as I'm 40 and they're mean to me :P )

as SS says, it's cheap enough to try flatties out. Just make sure you have a decent grippy pair of shoes to go with them otherwise one slipped foot and bruised shin you may be put off them for life!

many swear by "waffle soled" shoes like vans if you have a pair and don't want to invest in a pair of made for purpose flattie shoes. Once you are convinced of flatties then a pair of 5-10s or similar will be worth it.

meanwhile though, try them out ... and +1 for leaving the platform/clip combi-pedals alone, I've tried a couple and they've been worst of both worlds IME

rhyko7

im sure most pedals are manufactured by Wellgo or made in the same factory.
ive tried a few different pedals, DMR, sunline, couple different wellgo models.
anything that looks like or including a DMR V12 or 8 is censored
IMo these are the best pedals out there
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=5199
i have MG1's on my BMX and they are a bit smaller but not quite as grippy, but still better than the standard V8
shoe choice is important too mind.

flats are a million times better for descending than spds. i have been riding spd's on my last few rides cos i broke the axle in my flats and i f*cking hate them descending, there is no feel to what the back of the bike is doing at all with the clip ins. although i do go up hills twice as quick with half the effort.
i realised i dont ride to be fast uphill, i ride to have fun. personally spd's spoil a lot of my fun, i can push harder and in more control downhill with my flats and thats why i ride.

harveyg77

As a SPD user since approx. 1993 I have always considered flats to be inferior. But my Five came with flats and I switched to Egg-beaters, but have since gone back to SPDs.

For a non-flat user, can someone please provide me with a sensible reason as to the benefits of flats over SPDs? Not trying to stir up a whole mine are better than yours debate, just understand the reasoning so I may make a better informed judgement as to what I should use myself.

Thanks Harvey

RealMan

People who fall off a lot feel safer on flats.


I'll get me coat.

harveyg77

RealMan wrote:

People who fall off a lot feel safer on flats.

Its that simple? I thought there was something like moving your foot into different positions for balance, or some scientific garble!

What are flats like for climbing? i.e. I don't consciously pull on SPDs, would I miss the extra climbing ability of SPDs with flats or is it a bit of a misleading bonus of SPDs?

I've found the opposite with SPDs they encourage me to keep going and not dabbing unnecessarily ;-)

The half-dozen times I have crashed and gone over the bars I've normally found that in the impact I 'rip' free of the pedals anyway. Except for the time I fell got stuck in a tractor rut, dug my pedal in and fell sideways into a bush, unfortunately I fell through this and down a small embankment into a drainage ditch with a Five coming down on top still attached to my foot! A mate had to twist my foot out of the Egg-Beater so I could get off my back and out of 3" of water, mud and general crud! I guess in this instance I would have been better on flats!

supersonic

harveyg77 wrote:

As a SPD user since approx. 1993 I have always considered flats to be inferior. But my Five came with flats and I switched to Egg-beaters, but have since gone back to SPDs.

For a non-flat user, can someone please provide me with a sensible reason as to the benefits of flats over SPDs? Not trying to stir up a whole mine are better than yours debate, just understand the reasoning so I may make a better informed judgement as to what I should use myself.

Thanks Harvey

It is personal preference.

Hercule Q

i prefer flats cos i find it easyer to throw the bike around

Sir HC

harveyg77 wrote:

As a SPD user since approx. 1993 I have always considered flats to be inferior. But my Five came with flats and I switched to Egg-beaters, but have since gone back to SPDs.

For a non-flat user, can someone please provide me with a sensible reason as to the benefits of flats over SPDs? Not trying to stir up a whole mine are better than yours debate, just understand the reasoning so I may make a better informed judgement as to what I should use myself.

Thanks Harvey

I use both on a regular basis, the xc bike having clips and the reign having flats (although I have a spare set of clips for it).

I find the flats to have a more secure feeling (Kona Wah Wah's and Five Tens), you can feel what the bike is doing underneath you, when the bike is breaking away.
With the clips, whilst your foot is locked in, it still slides about on the pedal so doesn't feel like your connected to the bike propely. I'll use them on the xc bike over flats as they are far more efficient.

rhyko7

RealMan wrote:

People who fall off a lot feel safer on flats.


I'll get me coat.

lol

careful i almost bit haha

i fall off with spd's if i try and ride as hard DH as i do with flats, i just find i get more feedback and therefor control with flats, with spd's it just doesnt feel right, well there is no feel.
although spd's make climbng and fire roads one hell of a lot quicker and easier.

HandjobDan

Flats are good for when you are pushing yourself a bit more than usual, as you have confidence that if it all goes down the pan you'll be safely out of harms way.

SPD's I find are good for dialling in pedalling technique, smooth circles and making full advantage of the full pedal stroke.

I ride with both and it just depends on what I'm riding and where.

swelsbyuk

I collect my new Rockrider 8.2 this weekend and this has clipless pedals. I have never used anything other than flats and was just going to buy some MG1's and use those.

However, I am intrigued my remarks made about spd pedals making climbing easier - is this true? I am concerned about falling off and my feet staying on the pedals (I'm a clumsy fecker!).

Is it worth buying some spd shoes (at a cost of £40 or £50) only to find I'm censored with them, or should I stay with the tried and trusted flats?

ride_whenever

I do technical climbs better on flats and long slow grinds better on spds (well CB ones but the effect is similar) I find that sections that i'm unlikely to clear i'll get further up with flats as i can keep pushing, although the inability to lift the up-stroke probably does cost me a bit of ooomph.

Generally i prefer flats though because i like messing about and i fall off a lot!

karl1081

thanks for all your opinions guys, i think when all said and done , it seems that with flats you can go uphill granted not quite as efficiently as spd.s but you still get to the top . and secondly from the general feel of the coments here , you most definetly go better in all other circumstances ie on the flat and downhill . i dont want to take a 3k orange five ,and be holding back in my riding , as one post said ,its not really about how fast you are but more how much fun can be had .and i definetly feel tense whilst hammering down knarly downhill sections with my spd,s and so going with straightline pedals and five ten sam hill shoes ,hope these are a good combo
cheers guys

gonga

Does anybody use spd's and clip out for certain bits of riding?

rhyko7

gonga wrote:

Does anybody use spd's and clip out for certain bits of riding?

i have a mate who does that
he has the platform type spd's and the 661 shoes tho, he reckons it aint as grippy as being in flats cos the middle part of the spd pedal still protrudes too high, but he is a really good rider so it wouldnt slow him anyway

gonga

rhyko7 wrote:

gonga wrote:

Does anybody use spd's and clip out for certain bits of riding?

i have a mate who does that
he has the platform type spd's and the 661 shoes tho, he reckons it aint as grippy as being in flats cos the middle part of the spd pedal still protrudes too high, but he is a really good rider so it wouldnt slow him anyway

thanks.

I got some shimano m520's and they feel very similar to the candy c's.
im still having dodgy moments on technical climbs so some cheap flats might be ordered to try.
to add to the last question;
does anybody swap there pedals for different routes/trails etc?
just thought that it would be easy to swap the spd's for flats if im riding somewhere techy or new.

shieldsy94

i personally like dmr v8 pedals, grippyer than more higher price pedals and cheaper at £20.