From what I hear people are split 50/50 on whether to ride flat or clipless for mountain biking.

Wonder if CB Mallet platform clipless pedals combined with Five Ten SPD compatible shoes (eg Hellcat) are a good combination for versatility? Am getting into MTB for fun on weekends and not thinking about racing or anything too serious. Plan is to do tours in the Alps so would benefit from the power / efficiency from clipless when climbing or going down less technical downhill but because I am a beginner do not have the confidence to have fun down steep technical descents if I am worried about being tied to the bike!

I’ve read, although not as sticky as the free rider shoes, the Hellcat shoes have stealth rubber soles for grip and the CB Mallet pedals have adjustable pins for grip. Anyone have experience riding the CB Mallets as flats with Five Ten Hellcat / Minaar / Falcon Maltese SPD compatible shoes? Thanks!

I run Hellcats with the new XTR Trail pedals.
The Hellcats don’t have the stiffest of soles but should be spot on with any spd with a bit of a platform/cage.
There’s a bit of rub with the sole as you twist to disengage from the recessed cleat. Really comfy shoes.

run minars with Mallets and they are great (note for me!! as the pins stick well so unclipping is a little more of an effort)

well the hellcats were designed by minaar and he runs mallets
they work for him

Trying to ride something like a mallet as a flat (say on descents) never works particularly well in my experience, even less so if you’re wearing a relatively stiff SPD shoe with a whacking great slippery metal cleat right where you don’t want it. You just slip around on the pedal and can’t get any decent control. Mallets are particularly bad for this as the cleat tends to roll over and spit your foot off the pedal (they are great pedals though!).

Either commit to flats or or cleats, if there was a middle ground that worked everyone would be using it.

EDIT: I like mallets a lot – they’re very easy to get out of (and more importantly, to clip back in to) and, having loads of float in the cleat means you can move your foot around on the pedal a fair bit before settling, when the pins hold it in solidly in place (a bit like a flat).

Hoped the mallet + hellcat combo would be the best option for me by being able to use them as flats to start off with and as I gain more confidence use them as clipless. Not good news hearing your foot slips around on the pedal if used as flats and when clipped in its hard to clip out of… sounds like the worst of both worlds!

Maybe I’ll get the hellcat shoes with a pair of good flats then get mallets later if I feel more confident so won’t have to get 2 pairs of shoes. Uphills and XC on a 3 day tour is going to be harder work without clipless!!

Trying to ride something like a mallet as a flat (say on descents) never works particularly well in my experience, even less so if you’re wearing a relatively stiff SPD shoe with a whacking great slippery metal cleat right where you don’t want it. You just slip around on the pedal and can’t get any decent control. Mallets are particularly bad for this as the cleat tends to roll over and spit your foot off the pedal (they are great pedals though!).

Either commit to flats or or cleats, if there was a middle ground that worked everyone would be using it.

EDIT: I like mallets a lot – they’re very easy to get out of (and more importantly, to clip back in to) and, having loads of float in the cleat means you can move your foot around on the pedal a fair bit before settling, when the pins hold it in solidly in place (a bit like a flat).

+1

It is daunting but if you want to go clipless then just do it. It is really not as scary as it sounds being attached to the bike and in time unclipping becomes second nature.

I would also suggest that the Hellcat/Mallet combo may not be the best to learn on as the soft sole will grip onto the body of the mallet which will make clipping out a little harder.

It is was me learning I would buy a cheap, grippy pair of flat pedals, something from Wellgo on the CRC website would fit the bill and ride them with a pair of Vans or skate shoes. I would also by a pair of Shimano 520 pedals and some cheap SPD shoes and learn to ride clips as well.