Only been biking a few months, and mates trying to get me to buy some clip in pedals and shoes.I'm a little concerned about my feet sticking to the pedalss if things go 'Pete Tong' on a descent or something.

I thing the benefits are obvious going up hill, but i'm not to sure about downhill?

any advice greatly appreciated

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I had the same concerns initially but have found that on fast, bumpy downhills my feet don't bounce off the pedals like they used to do with flats.

I'd recommend starting off with the spring tension set very loosely and spend a bit of time in your local park practicing getting in and out of them where you won't come to much harm if it goes a bit pear shaped. I've been riding clip in for about a year now and think they're ace.

Well, if a downhill section is testing enough to cause you concern the last thing you want to do is put your foot down! Abandon now and for ever any idea that bailing out in the middle of a tricky bit is a good idea – always ride through the lively bit until you get to a good place to stop.

SPDs are great, imo. Only drawback is inevitable keeling over sideways when you forget to unclip. Small price to pay.

Use them and you'll soon realize it's more scary without.

You will forget and fall off, but practice somewhere soft and you'll be fine. Go for it.

Thanks For the advice all.

Digging people up for bad spelling on forums seems like a full time job tbh. 🙄

In a similar situation to yourself in that I've not been at this too long. I had this debate with myself and even bought a set of clips I spotted on sale. I then decided it would be a good idea to become a bit surer footed before I went down that road and invested in a decent set of platforms instead. Granted I was upgrading from my Hardrock's original cage pedals which were absolute bobbins but after a month with my new pedals I have absolutely no need or desire to clip myself in. Seems I'm in the minority though.

If you decide to go the other route I've got a brand new pair of Shimano PD-M505s I could do you a deal on 😉