@stilltortoise

I learnt long before the days of strapping my feet to pedals, although I’d struggle to explain the technique to anyone

With feet flat on pedals, try and ‘flick’ your feet backwards and up towards your bum. Maybe point your toes towards the ground a little if you fnd you’re slipping off. Concentrate on getting rear wheel off the ground first, then start practising hoisting the front wheel as well.

As learned back in 1981 on my Raleigh Jeep (with *very* curvy forks after multiple bunny hopping sessions…)

Have you ever ridden flats with 5.10s or always in skate shoes? I think there’s a big difference!

yes chief! 1yr ish on shimanos (till they crumbled) and a couple of days on borrowed 510’s cos i forgot to pack my biking shoes. not a big difference really. maybe for longer days as the stiffer soles are less tiring but even then i’ve done hols in teh lakes and the alps on regular skate shoes. As long as they are not teh cheapest nastiest flat shoes you can find you should be reet.

with flats people (including me!) get bogged down by the mechanical grip when its largely technique.

Must admit I’m surprised with the amount of replies..

I used to ride flats all the time, then I switched to time atacs after riding with a work mate.
Switching back to flats just feels weird now..guess it makes me feel I’m in less control of the bike over bumpy tech sections..