Should I have SPD's on my bike ????

Dickeniffer

I have recently purchased a specialized epic carbon comp, and I feel I'm doing it no justice by using flat pedals. I've never tried SPD's before and years of trials riding have got me set in my ways. Any help would be appriciated!!

Andy B

All personal preference really for the flatties vs SPD decision

I prefer SPD's

Tolk

Ride what you feel comfortable using. You do realise you've just opened a tin of worms though, right?

Mynameisdann

*awaits yeeha*

surreyxc

the epic is cross country, so spd's should help give a little more power. I have just gone back to flats, I like the way they devleop skills, bunny hops etc, great for recovery .

sparrowlegs78

I've just ordered myself a new set of multi release cleats....been on flatties for over a year after scaring myself with single relase cleats by getting stuck in them coz I'm thick....I just fancy trying them again as climbing rocky stuff like Mastiles lane isn't easy on flatties, I get bounced off the pedals
Caz xx

hoochylala

I have recently swapped from flats to SPDs can have really noticed an improvement in my riding - not entirely sure why, but I think its down to not really having to worry about my feet slipping off on rocky descents (I know people will say certain flats will stop this but I have never used any that really have).

Maybe do as I did - pick up a pair of cheap shoes and pedals from the classifides/eBay and give em a go - you never know, you might like it too!

butcher of bakersfield

Some food for thought here: http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12717352

15 pages of worms.

Anonymous

Mynameisdann wrote:

*awaits yeeha*

All I ever say in these situations, is stick with what you prefer. Try both, decide which one you like most, and go with that.
Don't let fashion/trends/others dictate what you use.

chedabob

Do you like falling into hedges and bailing for no apparent reason? Then yes, put SPDs on your bike :P

sandy hill

It horses for courses and other often repeated phrases. The main thing to remember is to find some that suits your riding style. Oh, and real men ride egg beaters. 8)

Dickeniffer

I'm trying my flats out tomorrow on a proper ride to see how I get on, I think ill get some cheap spd and give them a try but I just have visions of me clipped into my bike crying with bits of twig in my helmet.

Love the bike though "epic by name, epic by nature"

Anonymous

I just realised, I actually already have some SPDs that came with the new bike somewhere. DOH!

bails87

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Mynameisdann wrote:

*awaits yeeha*

All I ever say in these situations, is stick with what you prefer. Try both, decide which one you like most, and go with that.
Don't let fashion/trends/others dictate what you use.

Yep!

If you're happy with flats then why change?

Admittedly I did, and I like SPDs, but tried to ride on flats the other week and almost fell off.
Flats work, SPDs work, it's personal choice. I'd save the cash for tyres/new saddle/brake pads/all those little things that need buying with a new bike.

Team515

I got cheap spd,s and shoes to give it go. was ok on the flat and uphill, but had no confidence on the downhills, kept thinking about falling off, and being attached to the bike.
Flats for me again

projectsome

Team515 wrote:

I got cheap spd,s and shoes to give it go. was ok on the flat and uphill, but had no confidence on the downhills, kept thinking about falling off, and being attached to the bike.
Flats for me again

become one with nature, learn to hug trees

Dickeniffer

Rode 20 miles at thetford today on my flats. Must admit I'm not going to be comfortable with spd's , I'll prob change my mind tomorrow,

NatoED

give SPD's a few rides to get used to them . don't go head long into your normal downhill rides.

Atz

Yes. No. Yes. No. Repeat.

Then use what feels right for you and ignore all the people who say they have the ultimate answer.

mea00csf

It's handy to ride road in spds for a while before using them on the trails. I used mine for commuting for about a month before i used them on my mtb so i was completely happy clipping in and out before going on the trail.
But, use what you feel comfortable with.
Having said that, i do think flats would look a teensy bit peculiar on that carbon racer

Jon8a

you should try both for long enough to get a feel for which you prefer. It takes a while to get the full benefit of either. I started off on spds and then went to flats as an experiment and never went back.

Plenty of light flats out there if you want to keep the weight down. Planetx/on one have cheap time shoes and crc has a sale on with some cheap spds.

Skonk

butcher of bakersfield wrote:

Some food for thought here: http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12717352

15 pages of worms.

Dr Auriel Forrester of Scientific Coaching: “Pulling up on the pedals decreases power output as it interferes with the all-important downstroke on the other side – specifically, you can’t pull up against gravity at the same rate or same force as you can push down with gravity!”

From the first post.

Sounds like a load of bollox to be in all honesty.

Pushing down relies on your own body weight and you will always slightly un-weight yourself if you really hammer down on the pedals (wasting energy); and you can, at best, push down with a force equal to your body weight before you lift yourself up completely which will happen before you use the full potential of your muscles.

Pulling up on the pedal on the other hand, you are restained by the bike its self (in that you cant pull your arse down though the seat) so you can apply power with the only limit being the strength of your muscles AND the push/pull will mean you dont waste energy lifting your self up as you push down because its being counteracted by the pull on the other leg.

It also doesn't take into account the combined effect using the muscles of both legs at the same time to increase the power.

SPD's can give a huge increase in power if used right and in some situations can offer safety improvements by reducing the risk of slipping off the pedals (over bumpy terrain for example).

Anonymous

Oh no!, retarded troll is retarded :shock:

Oldskool_Paul

Just try them!

Simplezzzz

cee

I started that thread after reading Dr Forresters comments in the article....

I reckon she knows what she is talking about (and is backed up by Lance Armstrongs coach so I am certainly not going to argue with what is said....)...however...not sure if it relates as well to mountain biking as it does road riding...

the benefits of spd's that I in my world have declared as valid (you might have others) i have heard so far are....

helps you forget about your feet, so encourages better pedalling technique. Still entirely possible on flats, but you need to think about it more.

Gives a feeling of connectedness to the bike - some people will like this, others will worry about not unclipping in a fall.

Makes lifting the back wheel easy. If you can't bunnyhop, this might help clear trail obstacles.

Removes foot slips (although modern flat pedals and shoes have decreased the gap somewhat....)

Races with gated starts.

Huge choice of shoes.

Bad things about them are..

Commonly cause (or contribute to) over-use knee injury.

Feeling of connectedness to the bike (just to be fair...as said above..some people like this, others don't)

Unplanned clipouts may make you poo a little as you dab frantically trying to stay on the bike.

I reckon thats about as honest an appraisal I can give, without really having a flat or spd agenda...

Try them out....give them a few weeks...then try flats again for a weekend...if the flats feel right afer that, then stick with the flats...If the flats feel weird after that, then stick with the spd's.

Do not be sucked in by the pro spd brigade, or the pro flat brigade. Make your own mind up.

Skonk

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Oh no!, retarded troll is retarded :shock:

Was that aimed at me?

Anonymous

yes.

Skonk

Sorry but what did I do to deserve that?

I don't agree with the quote that was in the first post of the thread that was linked and i wrote my reasons for it; I don't understand how that can be seen as an attempt at trolling?

Anonymous

Go and read/join the epic thread on SPD bollorks, this is not the place.

Skonk

Just to clarify, I certainly wasn't trying to say SPD's are the best and Flats are useless or anything like that.

I own 2 bikes and run flats on one and SPD's on the other. Because I feel that for XC the SPD's have a lot to offer in terms of additional power when it's needed (for things like short technical climbs where you need a burst of power to get up over lose rocks and such) and safety when riding quickly over terrain with lots of small bumps or lose stones; while on my freeride/dh bike I use flats mainly because I feel safer on them for that type of riding.

There are clearly both good and bad points to either choice of pedal.

I just didn't agree that SPD's would actually cause you to lose power (admittedly I'm only talking about mountain biking here because I don't ride road bikes) and that was the point of my earlier post.

I'm just struggling to understand why what I said in my earlier post warranted calling me a retard.

If it was simply down to my choice of word to express my disagreement (i.e that I used the B word rather than saying I thought it was tosh or flim flam) then I'm sorry if I caused offense because that certainly wasn't my intention.

Anonymous

There's another thread. Go to it. And read it thoroughly. :roll: