Pedals SPD or Flats

smep

Hello,
Thanks for all the good advice with regards to a choice of bike.
I have now bought a Santa Cruz Tallboy and am looking at which pedal is the best choice. (probably an age old Q!!)
Any advice would again be appreciated re between flats or spds.
Thank you,
Steve

swod1

personal preference, some like flats, some prefer spds.

where you ride also can help with the choice if its dry most of the year round you could just use a good pair of flat pedals with some 5 tens or skate type shoes.

flats are fine its all down to shoe choice with these so you have enough grip to not slip off the pedals but you can alter the pin height with a lot of flat pedals quite easily.

Spds these take some getting used to and I found I preferred flats as my bike I pretty much use it all the time rides to work, off road and around to a mates house etc so I couldn't be bothered with spd shoes and pedals.

Spd pedals you can get for about 15 quid, I only bought some m520 shimano ones to try out, I will at some point give them another go and see how I get on.

milemuncher1

I'd say start off with single side SPD, pedals like this.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobi ... lsrc=aw.ds

It means you can get away from stops, and not have to worry about being able to engage / clip in, immediately. If you leave one foot clipped in, and only release one foot, at the stops, you can get some momentum up, before flipping the Un clipped pedal over
And clipping in when your more comfortable.
I'd also start with these 'multi release' cleats. Look for the little letter M, stamped on the hooks. It means you can release by pulling upwards, as well as twisting out.
http://m.evanscycles.com/products/shima ... --ec061667

Once your used to clipping in and out, then move to the SPD-SL system ( or one of the Miriad of non- Shimano road pedal / cleat systems).

Chunkers1980

I'd do none of that ^^^

Buy cheap SPDs and shoes and see how you go.

cooldad

I agree with this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

And would do none of the one above.

And why would anyone in their right mind want to wear road shoes on an MTB? You can't even walk in them.

lostboysaint

oxoman wrote:

Smep depending on your skill level at riding you need to consider how you ride. If you ride by the seat of your pants on really gnarly stuff you might want to stick to decent flats with pins ............

like most of the pro downhillers........

Dear OP, Try both, see how you get on, go with whichever you prefer.

smep

Thanks for the replies.
I'm fairly new to off road riding other than railway trails etc.
I want to try some of the North York Moorland rides or the Dales.
Nothing too technical and no jumps...I'm retiring soon and want to enjoy while I can some of the fun of decent mountain biking.
Again Thank you,
Steve

trek_dan

Stick to flats until you get your handling skills and confidence up. Others will disagree but until your really confident on clipless pedals and getting your foot out becomes second nature it can turn a minor off into a pretty nasty one.

step83

I can ride with both, what I would say is itll depend on your choice of footwear. If you can afford to you can get a cheap pair of SPD shoes and a set of Shimano M520 pedals. If you do id recommend getting the multi release cleats to start with and keeping the tension quite low going somewhere if you fall off will be a softish landing.

Try both for a couple of weeks an find which suits you better.

rockmonkeysc

oxoman wrote:

Smep depending on your skill level at riding you need to consider how you ride. If you ride by the seat of your pants on really gnarly stuff you might want to stick to decent flats with pins and five ten or similar shoes

SPD's are loads better than flats for fast and gnarly. No risk of getting your feet bounced out of position on the pedals plus you can pedal over rougher ground. The majority of downhill and enduro racers ride clipped in.

ArnieB

Hi Smep

I moved over to SPDs about 2 years and I wouldn't go back. They are pretty easy to get used and after a couple of rides unclipping is dead easy. The thing I like about them is that your feet don't bounce off the pedal or slip off when you are riding. On gnarly uphills the loss of pedalling power caused by a slip off is a right pain, whilst on descents bouncing off is a bit unsettling, as it can throw your balance off.

As you'll see from the replies there are different opinions on this!! for my last two bikes I've bought a pair of Shimano XT pedals from Chain Reaction. My only other advice would be to get a good quality gore tex pair of shoes if you intend to ride in the mud or slop (which in Yorkshire in winter is a given!).

kickaxe

RockmonkeySC wrote:

SPD's are loads better than flats for fast and gnarly. No risk of getting your feet bounced out of position on the pedals plus you can pedal over rougher ground. The majority of downhill and enduro racers ride clipped in.

While this is true (exept for the being bounced off part, basically never happens to me tbh), it isn't always applicable to beginners, as it might be more important to be able to get you foot off whenever you want, quickly. For professionals there are many benifits though.

smep

Thanks for your comments and advice.
I'll give the spd's a go.
Regards,
Steve

milemuncher1

Chunkers1980 wrote:

I'd do none of that ^^^

Buy cheap SPDs and shoes and see how you go.

Care to explain why you'd "do none of that"? Aww go On I'd simply love to hear why, I really would. :roll: actually I wouldn't I was being sarcastic.

milemuncher1

cooldad wrote:

I agree with this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

And would do none of the one above.

And why would anyone in their right mind want to wear road shoes on an MTB? You can't even walk in them.

I changed to SL-s on my mud plugger, and I got some covers for the cleats for about a tenner, it means I can actually walk on them just fine. But you're obviously the world authority on such things ( or not ) :roll:

cooldad

Milemuncher1 wrote:

cooldad wrote:

I agree with this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

And would do none of the one above.

And why would anyone in their right mind want to wear road shoes on an MTB? You can't even walk in them.

I changed to SL-s on my mud plugger, and I got some covers for the cleats for about a tenner, it means I can actually walk on them just fine. But you're obviously the world authority on such things ( or not ) :roll:

Seems about as sensible as fitting drops and tubs.

JodyP

Milemuncher1 wrote:

I changed to SL-s on my mud plugger, and I got some covers for the cleats for about a tenner, it means I can actually walk on them just fine. But you're obviously the world authority on such things ( or not ) :roll:

Out of interest, what benefit do you see of putting one sided road SPD SL's on a MTB? Seems crazy to me but would love to be enlightened. I couldn't list any pros but plenty of cons.

FishFish

I've seen the arguments a few times on the forum and agree that people moving to spd prefer them. Me - I'm stuck in the mud (both in attitude and in the trails) and stick with flats and trainers. But I'm not saying they are better.

rockmonkeysc

Kickaxe wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

SPD's are loads better than flats for fast and gnarly. No risk of getting your feet bounced out of position on the pedals plus you can pedal over rougher ground. The majority of downhill and enduro racers ride clipped in.

While this is true (exept for the being bounced off part, basically never happens to me tbh), it isn't always applicable to beginners, as it might be more important to be able to get you foot off whenever you want, quickly. For professionals there are many benifits though.

Getting a foot off is no more difficult when clipped.
Also beginners tend to be a lot slower so have more time to react. When you're riding quickly you have to be able to react much faster.
Putting a foot down is rarely the best way to regain control, as soon as you take a foot off the pedal you have less control of the bike.
Getting feet bounced off pedals usually happens when trying to pedal in to rock gardens fast or landing a jump badly or on rough ground.

batmo

I've used both SPDs and flats, moving between the two when I fancy a change. I happen to be in a flat period at present!
It's a little quicker to take my foot off a flat pedal than to un-clip, but I do find that the extra size of the flats leads to more pedal strikes with the low BB on my Camber.
The only times I've had release problems with SPDs have been down to maintenance issues; the pedals do need a little more TLC than flats and in time the cleats do get mashed enough to need replacing.
I've even used the dreaded spawn-of-satan half and half combo pedals with no real issues, but only on ride to the shops/commuting duty road machines.

Angus Young

smep said:

smep wrote:

I'm fairly new to off road riding other than railway trails etc.

RockmonkeySC said:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

SPD's are loads better than flats for fast and gnarly. No risk of getting your feet bounced out of position on the pedals plus you can pedal over rougher ground. The majority of downhill and enduro racers ride clipped in.

Then went on to say:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Getting feet bounced off pedals usually happens when trying to pedal in to rock gardens fast or landing a jump badly or on rough ground.

FishFish

....and so what did you omit to say?

milemuncher1

JodyP wrote:

Milemuncher1 wrote:

I changed to SL-s on my mud plugger, and I got some covers for the cleats for about a tenner, it means I can actually walk on them just fine. But you're obviously the world authority on such things ( or not ) :roll:

Out of interest, what benefit do you see of putting one sided road SPD SL's on a MTB? Seems crazy to me but would love to be enlightened. I couldn't list any pros but plenty of cons.

You stick to the pedals like Shit to a blanket. It takes a lot of getting used to, but you can turn on a 5 pence piece, and never suffer a bounce out.

cooldad

The entire rest of the known world would appear to disagree with you.

Which may or may not tell you something.

rockmonkeysc

I will only use SPD'S for mountain biking but I would hate to use road SPD's. Everything about them is wrong for mountain biking.

smep

Hi, Thanks for the kind advice. I found some xtr spd's in my old bike box so will give them a go.
Can't even remember when I got them ..they look almost unused.
Any views on the Santa Cruz Tallboy c 29er.
I have the medium size which according to their site is correct for me at 5' 7.5 ".
Still seems a bit big.
Took an ebay risk without trying but generally all is very good.
Steve.