Pedal Advice

Welsh_Wizard

Hi

Very new to Mountain biking but been road cycling for ages. One of the things i am really struggling with is that my feet aren't stuck to my pedals anymore on my MTB whereas I had SPD's on my roadie.

Can anyone give advice on what sort of pedals and shoes I should be looking at to purchase. Mainly I'll be doing flat commuting to work and on occasions, trail riding/DH etc. I have a GT Zaskar Comp 2012 with GT slim line flat pedals.

I recently did Cwmcarn and one of my main fears was how 'exposed' I felt going quickly downhill and my feet coming off the pedals on every bump. So much so I was literally clenching my a$$ cheeks on the seat nose to compensate and hold myself to the bike. Need to lose that feeling sharp ish!!

monkey_man_1

hiya, i have wellgo mg1 pedals which are magnesium and pretty light considering the £30 price, come in a few colours aswell however the paint/annodising is coming off a bit from wear but cant complain really. i also have a pair of 5.10's and the combo work very well together, almost too good at times as i find it a bit tricky making small feet movements while rolling they grip so much but do give confidence down the runs

Welsh_Wizard

Just checked both the pedals & shoes - no SPD's ??? Why's that?? Personal preference??

omegas

you need to work on technique and practice more if your feet are bouncing off the pedals.

cooldad

If you are bouncing that much you should probably be standing at that point, not sitting. AS Omegas said - technique and practice.
Or get SPD's.

leaflite

Basically, you have a choice of making flats work(will probably involve some grippier pedals and shoes and learning riding technique so your feet dont bounce off on rough sections) or switching to spds and losing the "bail out" ability.
Both options will work and both will probably cause you injuries (destroyed shins vs falling in a trailside hedge when you try to stop.)

I was watching the downhill world cup last night and several riders managed the incredibly bumpy and technical track on flats.

monkey_man_1

Welsh_Wizard wrote:

Just checked both the pedals & shoes - no SPD's ??? Why's that?? Personal preference??

yeh personal preference. i think i would hate being attached to the bike, i wanna be able to bail easy if i need to. one of the people i go riding with has fallen off quite a few times because he cant disconnect quick enough lol. ive always been used to flats and i find that with those pedals and shoes i have more then enough grip really. i see spd's for more road work which i dont really do. all personal preferance tho!

portland_bill

^^^^^^ What he said!

I do road cycling and off-road cycling and although I wouldn't have anything other than my clipless pedals on my road bike where my feet never need to be off the pedals, I'm on and off my pedals all the time when I'm on my MTB so I run flats and I'm looking at getting a pair of 5.10s to stick me to them at the weekend.

All it takes is a tricky steep bit with a big root or log to pull a little wheelie up or over and your back tyre hits another root and you spin out. You need to dab with your foot or I do it a lot and I just don't see the sense in having your feet clipped in to a bike that it's generally accepted you're potentially going to come off now and again depending on the terrain you're riding it on.

All it took for me was watching a mate catch a rut with his front wheel and go over the handlebars and he couldn't get his feet out and took the whole impact on his face and neck. Could have been a lot worse, but I was considering changing to SPDs at the time and those in the group who've raced DH and CX for years used that as a perfect example of why you should never be clipped into a mountain bike. Makes sense to me.

I appreciate each to their own, but unless you're 98% certain that you're not going to fall off your bike, I can't see why you would want to be locked onto it for the sake of a little less effort with climbing and not having to use your legs as dampers between you and the bike.

SPD for Roadie, Flats for MTB.

passout

I don't like flats either. I use shimano SPDs for all my off roading - never had a problem. All the models will be fine (as long as MTB specific & double sided).

I liked these:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... edal-14726
but now run XT ones which are very nice. The DX clipless pedals are good all rounders IMO.

Try chain reaction cycles & merlin cycles.

Greer_

IMO I found that spd's actually gave me more confidence when out riding. It stops you from thinking about putting your foot down as you don't have the choice and gets you to just keep pedalling through the dodgy sections. As I got more and more used to spd's, I clip in and out without thinking and can easily dab my foot if needs be. They help a lot in more technical sections with getting extra power from the pedals to get your wheels up and over things.

stickybub

I use DMR v8 pedals they are very good for the money the shoes i was useing where BMX shoes very good just got some 5 10s (Danny macaskills) unbelievable amount of grip on flats i didnt think you could get this much grip on flats worth every penny

rapid_donkey

I use carbon cycles exotic flat pedals. They are great. They are exactly the same as superstar nanos but 10 quid cheaper.

YeehaaMcgee

stickybub wrote:

I use DMR v8 pedals they are very good for the money

You're got to be joking - one of the most berated flat pedals because of their small size, and high weight, and that you can buy exactly the same pedal by Wellgo for far less if you'd want.

stickybub

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

stickybub wrote:

I use DMR v8 pedals they are very good for the money

You're got to be joking - one of the most berated flat pedals because of their small size, and high weight, and that you can buy exactly the same pedal by Wellgo for far less if you'd want.

what would you recommend for that money

YeehaaMcgee

Well for starters, if you want that pedal shape, buy them from Wellgo, and save a ton of cash.
If you really want to spend that much, then there's a whole world of pedals available.