Oh! These pedals...

Wayupnorth

Hi all,

Another newbie here,

Had a nice but heavy Dawes Kickback comp for 13 years, used daily in summer, but never in anger.

I recently bought a cottage in the Northern Scottish highlands and needed something a bit lighter, so along came the Kona Caldera 2009, which I have had for 4 weeks or so. Apart from gear change headaches, so far an impressive bike.

BUT, the clipless pedals STILL keep me awake at night!!

Having overcome the urban cycling problems of traffic lights, dogs etc.. I now need to overcome the steep hills of the highlands.

I'm no youngster, so can't climb hils like a mountain goat any more - need a rest now & then!

Anyone got any tips on using SPDs on steep climbs??

And.... anyone here north of Inverness?

Ta!

nicklouse

find a wall. and sit on the bike.

Now just lean againt the wall amd clip in / clip out\/ clip in / clip out.

having reduced the spring tension to minimum.

it will come to you.

naefearjustbeer

I put my clipless pedals in my garage and put flats on! I live in Caithness so possibly even further north than you!

cgarossi

Make sure you losen the tension off to the point where you are confident you can kick out and not lose any of the tension so much that your feet come free without warning.

Practice getting the feel of removing your feet from the pedals.

The good thing about SPDs is they can aid you're climbing in two ways

1. Keeping your feet in the optimum position to apply power (as long as your seat is adjusted properly too)
2. You can pull the pedal up as well as down to get more power (builds thigh muscles too!)

Also you don't slip off the pedals in wet conditions and if you are climbing over bumpy terrain your feet won't move, keeping your position.

Personally I use crank brothers which is a much simpler system than shimano SPDs. There is no need for adjustment and you can move your feet out more easily.

Stick with them.

Wayupnorth

Thanks for the replies.

I'm not one to give up - so will continue! I enjoy using SPDs a lot on the flat - the power from the upstrokes is great.

But the steep hills will take practice, I guess I just need to adjust them properly to unclip rapidly when I run out of steam!!

I wonder what % of people give up on clipless pedals??!

Well naefearjustbeer, I guess you are further north. Having spent 15 years to-ing and fro-ing between Lancashire and Orkney, Lairg feels 'South' now, but it's a convenient location! Can you recommend any good routes in the area?

Shelduck

I have clipless pedals and Specialized shoes. Love them on the flat, but struggle with confidence on trails. I've slackened them off and am persisting.

Recent example, coming upto a very muddy part, I unclipped ready just in case I had to put a foot down. Got stuck, foot down no bother. Foot back on pedal to push off, and unknowingly I clipped in. Comedy fall into mud bath followed. I even brought a set of Shimano platforms to clip into one side, I now use these before a technical bit, but struggle with grip using my spd shoes (plus a foot off the pedal means the patform rotates to the bottom).

Toying with getting some flats and using my Vans. But I just love the power I can get with the SPD's. For now I'm going to keep with the SPD's. I think if I went to a trail centre though, I'd change to flats. Just a confidence thing right now. We'll see how it goes.

p.s Had the SPD's a total of 2 months, so still learning, hence me trying to persist.

philsimm

Way,

I tried with SPD's for a while but recently went back to flats as i just couldn't get used to them. If you are thinking of going back to flats I can heartily recommend 5 Ten shoes as they have a special rubber sole that seems to mould around the pedal pins and keep you "locked in" even over bumps.

I'm failrly new to mtb ing and every crash i had with SPD's knocked my confidence, i kinda thought it was best for me to learn the basics at the trail centre (like going around berms, small jumps etc) without having to worry about clipping in/out for now.

Will probabaly end up giving them another go in a few months with more experience tho.

Phil

Anonymous

naefearjustbeer wrote:

I put my clipless pedals in my garage and put flats on! I live in Caithness so possibly even further north than you!

I put them in my garbage

Seriously. Didn't "get" the advantage, and it annoyed me, having to have special purpose shoes. Made me feel like one of the "special" children at school

cgarossi

I've not used flats in 10 years. However last time I was out on a short ride with a friend who used flats I had a go on his bike. I felt unsecure and vulnrable on a bike with out clipless pedals .I dont know why.

Each to their own though.

naefearjustbeer

yeehaamcgee wrote:

naefearjustbeer wrote:

I put my clipless pedals in my garage and put flats on! I live in Caithness so possibly even further north than you!

I put them in my garbage

Seriously. Didn't "get" the advantage, and it annoyed me, having to have special purpose shoes. Made me feel like one of the "special" children at school

I didnt want to dump mine. I might try them in the future when I feel happier about the idea. At the moment I dab my feet down quite often and think that I would take a tumble or two still attached to my bike which I think will hurt! I can understand the advantages I just dont like the idea of falling down the side of a hill attached to my bike.

naefearjustbeer

Wayupnorth wrote:

Well naefearjustbeer, I guess you are further north. Having spent 15 years to-ing and fro-ing between Lancashire and Orkney, Lairg feels 'South' now, but it's a convenient location! Can you recommend any good routes in the area?

Yup I am almost on the north coast. So it would be difficult to be much further North than me. There are a few coastal paths that I have done in Caithness and they have been excellent/scary. I have not been at the mountain biking for long but can recommend the Golspie trails. I am very lucky that I have a network of old abandoned quarries near my house so can head out most days for a 5-10 mile blast with hardly any road cycling right from my front door!. There are also lots of forestry roads to explore for a more mellow off road experience. I havent tried them but have heard good things about Carbisdale and Balblair trails. Check out the forestry commision website for info. Learnie Red rocks in the Black isle are meant to be OK, but not as good as Golspie though from people I have spoken too.

Anonymous

Meh. I'd been riding for years and years without SPDs, then I bought a set of DX ones, lived with them for about a year, then ditched them again.
Stupid things. It's not even that I didn't get the hang of them, I could clip in and out easily, but it was just a ffaff I could do without.

Wayupnorth

Well I've got the Kona with SPDs and the Dawes with flats. Must admit it feels quite insecure on the flats now, despite the scary times with the SPDs! I'll persevere for now, and hope that I gain confidence quickly.

Thanks naefearjustbeer. Ridden Balblair blue - it's very short, so necessary to do it a few times. Also, Carbisdale red which is better.

I prefer more natural routes, so I tried the Sika trail at Rosehall. Got quite lost, climbed uphill on a mega-muddy deer stalker's track for 3 or 4 miles, but was rewarded with a close encounter with a young sika deer.

Went to try Golspie last week but the rain was pretty bad. Abandoned!

I'll let you know if I fid anywhere good!

fuelex

I use spd's but used to change back to flats for trail centres or technical stuff.
Did a loop around he Peak District a few weeks back and stuck with the spd's and it was great. After about 4 years clipped in it's become the norm and even rocky technical stuff like Jacob's ladder seemed completely natural clipped in.

miss notax

Stick with them

I use mine all the time (technical stuff, the lot) and they really are worth it! Unclipping becomes second nature so now if i take a tumble or have to put a foot down I automatically unclip without even thinking about it. But....

It does take a good few months or looking stupid and falling off as your cruise to a stop etc (we've all done it ) to reach that point! In my opinion they are SO worth it though, so worth persevering with. I wouldn't consider riding without them now.

Anonymous

what about them makes it "worth it" in your opinion?
I didn't notice any real benefits.

miss notax

Because you can pull up as well I find it gives me more ooomph. I also feel more secure on technical stuff and there's no risk of my feet slipping off pedals.

I know they're not everyone's thing, but I think they're worth giving a go

Soul Boy

I get the feeling that many think you can't be a competent MTBer without using SPD's or equivalent.

I used them for years and got on fine with them and appreciate the case for increased pedalling efficiency and feet staying put. I rode my hardtail at trail centres, local trails and the Alps with my SPD's.

But the thing is, I don't race, I'm just out there for fun, so does it really matter whether I'm getting the maximum power from every pedal stroke? I'm doing more drop off's, taking a few more jumps and generally being a bit of a holigan (within reason) on the trails.

So, I bought a pair of 5-10's (the Mazzochi ones - slightly cheaper) and Wellgo MG-1s. Believe me, your feet don't move with 5-10's on, the hype is true. I don't really notice much difference and I enjoy the freedom of my flats (but do team them up with 5-10's, they're that good).

Each to their own, or both.

Monkeypump

yeehaamcgee wrote:

what about them makes it "worth it" in your opinion?
I didn't notice any real benefits.

For me, the advantage of cliples on my road bike is massive on climbs and when I want to get the power down. I don't think I've got a particularly efficient pedalling style, but being able to pull on the 'up stroke' makes a huge difference.

However, I haven't changed from flats on the mtb as I'm too nervous on any technical sections (need to dab down etc.). I'd love 'em for the climbs though...

Anonymous

^^ I can imagine that on a road bike it would be really noticeable, but on a mountain bike, I've never found myself lacking in power or control.
I often find that I'm at the limit of breaking traction on climbs, to be honest. I don't feel the need to be able to pull up as well, and when I did try it on SPDs, I found that it was not an advantage in any way, apart from making me buhhyhop more lazily.

janwal

http://powergrips.mrpbike.com/
I tried clips but hated them.Bought these from Edinburgh cycles for £20 and they have been brilliant.Give you power on the up stroke aswell just like clips but are so much easier to get out of without having to think about it.And you don't need special shoes,can adjust them to any with quick turn of an alan key.Two more friends now use them and wouldn't go back tp clips.

Druid \'64

I been using these clips since i started and find it strange without them. My feet are in the right place and i can dab if i need to

Might try them powergrips, but not spds as my knee can't take any rotation after my accident 10 years ago.

luckie8

I'm one of those that couldn't get use to the clipless pedals.. I took em off, put on a set of Easton flats and never looked back

gaz047

it will come to you mate, it just takes time to build up confidence and the technique. its worth it for the extra efficiency, especially if you do long distances.

KonaKurt

The eternal debate!! Which is 'better', SPD's or quality 'flat' platform pedals..? I say this because I know many riders out there will disagree with me here, but I think too much emphasis is put on the benefits of using SPD's (or spuds as I call them). To me, a SPD is something that you serve hot with a nice knob of butter and grated cheese.

Everyone is different, and you must use whatever is overall better for YOU, in terms of both performence and also (not forgetting ) safety.

Using a nice set of platform pedals is much simpler and quicker than having to click into SPDs each time.

KK.

RichMTB

For the majority of my riding I prefer SPDs, they just make pedalling easier.

But for technical stuff I'll stick on a pair of flats, when I did the Fort William Red DH I didn't think twice about using flats the main differences are that I can definitely feel my feet flexing round the flat pedals (might need stiffer soles) and I'm not as confident getting airborne as I'm no longer stuck to the bike (more down to poor technique though)

Agree with Yeehaamagee though most SPD's shoes do look a bit "special school"

Ocrider

Agree with Yeehaamagee though most SPD's shoes do look a bit "special school"

And 5-10's dont? :roll:

Its not about looking cool (in the middle of nowhere, with nobody to see you) its about having the best tools for the job. Some people prefer (and can afford) Sidi dragons, some prefer jazz Vans.

It all depends on the ride for me. If I am out for an epic day in the saddle with serious vertical meterage, the spuds are on. If its a hack in the local woods messing on bumps, its the flats.

One thing I would highly recommend is that you get the multi release cleats for SPD and youre sorted.
For the steep climbs, get used to pedalling with a higher cadence than usual. Just got to keep moving to avoid putting your feet down!