Grippy Pedals

Gibbo3771

I am not sure I want to venture into SPD's so was going to invest some money in some grippy ass pedals.

I currently wear a pair of Solomon Walking shoes, fairly comfortable with plenty of padding and ankle support. Good grip on them, problem is as soon as my pedals get wet, feet come flying off unless I am dropping my heal massively.

Any suggestions? Or is my technique just terrible?

This slipping tends to happen when going down fast, bumpy roads with dips that slightly lift the bike.

The Rookie

What pedals now?

Plastic, ratrap, alloy with cast pins or alloy with screw in pins?

Alloy with screw in steel pins give best grip (and holes in the shins), Wellgo MG1's or Superstar Nano's.

chrisw333

Walking shoes with very hard soles are not always great for grip.

If you can get some stiff soled skater type shoes, those work well.

(one you've got pedals with pins as per above that is)

CitizenLee

I have a set of Merrell walking shoes/trainers and despite having a super grippy sole, they're terrible on the bike. Far too stiff and hard to position my feet comfortably.

As Chris says above, skate shoes tend to work much better with flat pedals. I use a set of DCs with SuperStar Nano's and if anything I sometimes have too much grip.

TK MAxx are good for cheap skate shoes too

felix.london

CitizenLee wrote:

I use a set of DCs with SuperStar Nano's and if anything I sometimes have too much grip.

+1 - my DC's (with Superstar Ultra Mags) are far grippier than my five tens!...only problem is they're white with textile uppers so they would be destroyed very soon on the trails...great for popping into town on the bike though

grenw

When I got back into mountain biking I started off with my Salomon walking shoes. I didn't want to spend much cash until I was sure I was in it for the duration.

I moved on to Vans gravels after a few months. Huge difference and my shins/calves thanked me on every ride.

There's a huge difference between a rugged tread pattern that grips as you walk and one that just sticks to the pins in a pedal. Get some decent skate/mtb shoes and and decent flat pedal will be good.

warpcow

First things first, get some different shoes. It does sound like the technique is slightly lacking from this bit though:

Gibbo3771 wrote:

...dropping my heal massively... This slipping tends to happen when going down fast, bumpy roads with dips that slightly lift the bike.

You are the one who has ultimate control of whether the bike lifts or not, letting the terrain dictate that probably means you're not conciously prepared or doing much about what happens when the bike does get airborne. Hence you just end up slipping. Dropping your heels alone won't give you control in this situation. Your back foot should actually be angled upwards slightly so you can push and pull into the pedals, controlling the bike with your legs. Could be reading too much into it though.

Gibbo3771

warpcow wrote:

First things first, get some different shoes. It does sound like the technique is slightly lacking from this bit though:

Gibbo3771 wrote:

...dropping my heal massively... This slipping tends to happen when going down fast, bumpy roads with dips that slightly lift the bike.

You are the one who has ultimate control of whether the bike lifts or not, letting the terrain dictate that probably means you're not conciously prepared or doing much about what happens when the bike does get airborne. Hence you just end up slipping. Dropping your heels alone won't give you control in this situation. Your back foot should actually be angled upwards slightly so you can push and pull into the pedals, controlling the bike with your legs. Could be reading too much into it though.

I tend to "work" the terrian as much as possible, however at some parts of the track it ridicuoulsy loose and bumpy that it simply works best to pick and line and run it fast and relaxed, letting the bike move under me while maintaining my line. However I still experience slips.

The ground is extremely bumpy, I am not quite sure how to explain it being honest.

I will decide with the recommendations people wrote here, will have to get new shoes as well I guess.

I was thinking of going with theseas someone said, they will go with my bike as well since it is a mix of white, black, grey and some red.

CitizenLee

Nowt wrong with those Wellgos but you'd be better off with S* Nanos to be honest as they have a bigger flatform. Cheaper too, so more cash to spend in TK Maxx on shoes

cooldad

Except you can get MG1s under £30
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wellgo-MG1-MG ... 4178b5d292

Lewis A

Shimano Saint. Grippy and bombproof.

CitizenLee

cooldad wrote:

Except you can get MG1s under £30
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wellgo-MG1-MG ... 4178b5d292

Still rather have Nanos personally, as I said... bigger platform.

roger_merriman

V8's with terror pins work well, I have MTB/commute tye cycling shoes which hook up well.

Present MTB is a trance which I knocked some of the original pins out of the V8's on some of the rocky inclines in the Brecon Beacons.

The old terrago has some azonic which still work well though they are fairly battered.

rockmonkeysc

Superstar pedals are very good. Skate shoes are ok but not good in British weather. A pair of Shimano AM41's are much better.
It sounds like you have some technique issues as well. The bike should never leave the ground if you don't want it to (look up scrubbing & pumping technique) and both heels should always be dropped when out of the saddle though this happens naturally with a good riding position.

Gibbo3771

I am going to buy these 3:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/well ... -prod44059
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... -prod82557
Those nano's people keep mentioning, I can't seem to find them. What brand are they?

Plan is to take them shoe shopping, see which grips best. Send back what I don't want lol.

EDIT: Don't know why but those saints look really nice.

chrisw333

Gibbo3771 wrote:

I am going to buy these 3:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/well ... -prod44059
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... -prod82557
Those nano's people keep mentioning, I can't seem to find them. What brand are they?

Plan is to take them shoe shopping, see which grips best. Send back what I don't want lol.

EDIT: Don't know why but those saints look really nice.

You really don't need to buy all three - all will work very well with proper shoes. Just pick one and go with them - they are all good pedals.

felix.london

Gibbo3771 wrote:

Those nano's people keep mentioning, I can't seem to find them. What brand are they?

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/shop/mountain/mountain-drivetrain/mountain-pedals/

supersonic

Nanos dont have a bigger platform than MG1 really, about the same.

cooldad

supersonic wrote:

Nanos dont have a bigger platform than MG1 really, about the same.

The MG1s are just not blingy enough for the children.