So, avid flat pedal user, but got a couple of “issues” I think clipless will fix.

Main problem I have with flats is striking balance between having enough grip that I don’t think about foot position when mucking about or riding rough stuff and having enough “freedom in movement”. What I mean by freedom in movement is float for pedalling, and pivoting about the balls of my feet to play with weight distribution. I have knee/hip alignment/injury problems which are definitely eaxxagerated when my foot isn’t free to move around a bit like on really grippy shoes and pedals.

Just can’t get rid of the paranoia of being stuck in when I would normally dab and save it or when I go over the bars, you do generally always make it out from the pedals when it matters, right?

Ps plan on using tome pedals for float.

Use Mallet DH here, easy in, easy out when you want to and good enough to stamp on when you need to.
Practice makes unclipping second nature, occasionally I’ve ended a big crash still clipped, similar ones have seen mates tangled up when wearing flats.
As for dabbing again you can but being clipped really means you make more of an effort to save it without waving your feet around.

you do generally always make it out from the pedals when it matters, right?

Yep, I can honestly say I could count just one or two crashes that were because of being clipped in, twisting you foot out becomes such second nature it’s not really much slower than flats when it goes wrong

If really grippy shoes and pedals cause you problems then clipless is likely to be a whole lot worse.

Getting clipped back in on a hard section is more of an issue than ever clipping out.

Getting clipped back in on a hard section is more of an issue than ever clipping out.

This is why I gave up with them. Clipping in was always the issue for me, clipping out always just happened.

Clipping in was again much easier when I went to CB, clip on the roll forward/backward or straight down, or on the mallet just stand on it

That’s interesting, keeping my feet on the pedals can be a challenge sometimes due to issues with my legs (which also makes clipping both in and out more difficult when they get tired). Do the CB pedals hold up well enough to be worth getting second hand? CB don’t exactly have the best of reputations there…

Top level ones DH and the 3’s have easy to replace bearings etc. I do mine about once every 18 months, takes 30 mins

I tried a few years ago with some XTs but couldnt get on with them so went back to my trusty flats and Fivetens. Im four rides into trying again using DMRs after my daughter raved about them. So far its been good. We are in Finale for a week so I should know better after tomorrows ride.
Flats are in the back of the camper just in case.

TooTall – Member
If really grippy shoes and pedals cause you problems then clipless is likely to be a whole lot worse.

POSTED 1 HOUR AGO #. That may not really be the case here because with grippy flats and shoes you have no float but you do have some with clip less .

^same as I was going to say, especially since I’ve decided on time pedals

Just can’t get rid of the paranoia of being stuck in when I would normally dab and save it or when I go over the bars, you do generally always make it out from the pedals when it matters, right?

I chop and change, and have done for years, but ultimately i’m more comfortable overall on flats. I accept there are benefits to both & pick what suits. I raced a very flat enduro clipped in last weekend, and was back on flats for another race today.

I tried & failed to race some DH clipped in, but I can’t do it. On fun stuff, that’s steep & tech, I just ride tight, always. Every time, even after months of trying.

So, in my case, no, it never goes. So I ride both. Tame stuff I ride clipped in, riding and racing fun stuff – always flats.

just go back to flats! enjoy your riding, clips are great for the road or if your a racer? flats are for Fun Fun Fun, and Sam hill dunt do too bad on flats 😉

I can’t get round the mental side of clipless pedals, I keep trying them but even though I ride in traffic 5 days a week in look Keos I can’t relax on my MTB clipped in. I took them to Afan in August and had to walk a rocky uphill section on Penhydd, I’d have had a crack at it on flats.

I’ll try again in the spring though, as a HT rider there are definite benefits to being clipped in.

Buy a set of clipless shimano spd’s and back off tension fully. Then buy a set if “multi-release” cleats, which allow your foot to come off the pedal in a variety of directions (some dont like as foot can unclip a little too easy, but I XC race, trail and road ride with these without issue).
Bad thing about good flats and grippy shoes is if your foot isn’t in the right position it’s not very easy to move it around (you may not even know it’s not well aligned) – so can aggrevate joint issues. A correctly set spd will put your alignment right every time.

you do generally always make it out from the pedals when it matters, right?

Had an OTB about 12 years ago when I managed to smack myself in the back of the head with my own bike.
My Mrs still reckons it’s the funniest thing she’s seen.
🙂

Also had a few too many slow speed tumbles when knackered at the end of a ride, I switched to flats after that.

I find being able to shift around slightly helps my dodgy knee and back too.

I went clipless from April this year, at first I was concerned about unclipping in time but as said above it becomes second nature.

I actually tried flats again at black mountain cycle centre on Saturday, I felt totally unsecure on the bike, feet were lifting slightly on the rough stuff and I felt as if I was going to lose the pedal. I could still ride at my normal pace but bolted the clips back on for the next run down.

deanfbm – Member
^same as I was going to say, especially since I’ve decided on time pedals

Time MX2 or MX4 are really hard to beat indeed – they would be my recommendation for someone hesitant like the OP rather than a conventional SPD type pedal. And at less than £30, what’s the worse that can happen ?

Also had a few too many slow speed tumbles when knackered at the end of a ride, I switched to flats after that.

I find being able to shift around slightly helps my dodgy knee and back too.

Same reason I mainly ride flats. I’m back on spd at the moment as they are the only pedals I have. Really miss being able to shift my feet around. Other than that they seem okay and mean you can perform cheat bunny hops.

As has been mentioned, multi release cleats and wind the tension off the pedals.

I started this way and never fell off. Still use the multi release cleats but now have the tension wound up and will swap to normal cleats when they need replacing.

One thing I did find however is when I went back to flats for a ride I really struggled.

I have flats on the FS for more tech stuff and clips on the HT for longer distance big day out rides. Very occasionally I swop pedals for a particular ride but generally this works fine

I’ve recently just started with Time MX4 pedals and I love them. I still use flats every so often (jump bike and borrowing others).

Take about 10-15 mins to adjust back to using flats. When I go back to the Time pedals though, it just feels more relaxing. They unclip very easily and get back in without hassle too.

For those having a terrible time with clipless, there may be an age and programming thing going on here. If you’ve ridden flats for 20+ years, you need to be realistic about how long your body will take to reprogram to a new style of pedals.

My wife never managed to get on with them, despite years of trying and has now returned to flats (and is much happier for it too!) and yet my 8yo son was confident in riding on them within 10 mins and now rides nothing else for both road and MTB. In the other direction, after 25 years of SPDs, I can’t ride flats to save myself and find the whole experience unnerving and unpleasant :-/

One small piece of advice to add to that given above is that I’ve found that high-end Shimano pedals seem to have higher release tensions. For example, my son can’t clip into my old XT SPDs even with the tension wound right back as he simply isn’t heavy enough to overcome the spring tension unless he literally bounces the bike up and down! I swapped him to the entry-level M520 and they have a much lighter action and he’s much happier on them. I’m not a fan of multi-release cleats, but my son is running them and he doesn’t seem to come accidentally unclipped too often.

Regarding clipping back in, this is just practice – a competent rider on SPDs will have no more problem getting back on his bike on difficult terrain than someone riding flats. Check the guys riding (and running!) the three peaks CX this weekend for some good examples…

I find being able to shift around slightly helps my dodgy knee and back too.

This. I just wasn’t previously aware of the different positions my feet took for ups, downs, etc. And didn’t have the patience it would obviously take to get used to it – I could see it would take months of failing on climbs and feeling sore on everything else.

Plus I fell over sideways into a stream. 🙂

Why are they called clipLESS? shouldn’t it be clips or clipped or something?

Because people used to use toe clips, then they invented pedals that didn’t need toe clips, hence clipless.

Yep, this is a “clip”…

Just can’t get rid of the paranoia of being stuck in when I would normally dab and save it or when I go over the bars, you do generally always make it out from the pedals when it matters, right?

In my case I never really got the hang of the emergency dab with Time pedals.

Only use SPDs for road and XC races now. Though maybe some of my Strava times would improve if I had another go with them.

I just made the jump from flat pedals to clipless pedals, the push for me was losing my pedals from underneath me when trying to charge rough stuff.

I picked up some AM5 Shoes, DX pedals and single release cleats which I have been riding for about two weeks now and I love it. I wound the spring tension all the way off and have had no issues with unclipping, I have had several crashes not related to the clips (rider error)and come out fine, no crashes relating to the clips. I got advised against multi release clips by friends who have had more experience then me.

The only sketchy moments I have had are as mentioned above, where I’ve stopped mid line then have to clip in and go on something techy, after doing it a few times, its now not an issue. I also was surprised at when pedaling up a rooty uphill when the back wheel spun and then slipped sideways I got my foot down like it was second nature, I was sure when that occurred I would hit the deck!

If you’re looking for Time pedals, I have a few diff models at home which I was going to chuck on eBay when I could be bothered. Drop me a PM if interested.

Any recommendations for cheap pedals & shoes for a first time clipless rider? M520s for the pedals I suppose but no idea what shoes are good.

Depends what you want. For a cageless pedal something stiff and plastic soled as you are putting all your weight through one spot.
Again personally I find CB much easier in and out and very predictable over Shimano.

M520 pedals, absolutely. I wouldn’t bother with big cage pedals as, frankly, when you’re clipped in them, they make bugger all difference anyway. I quite like the Shimano trail pedals which strike a middle ground, so have a slightly bigger target to aim at, but I think it’s mostly a placebo anyway 🙂

Shoes are far more personal, but I’ve always liked Shimano’s shoes. Don’t worry about needing to go to a shop to check fit – just buy a pile of different sizes from a return-friendly online store and send back the ones that don’t fit. You can spend a weekend stomping around the house in them to get the fit 100% right 🙂

FWIW, I have Shimano M200 for the summer and Northwave Celsius 2 for the winter / UK summer 😉

M520 pedals, absolutely. Don’t bother with big cage pedals as, frankly, when you’re clipped in them make bugger all difference anyway.

Shimano ones don’t… others do

Shimano ones don’t… others do

Probably fair. The point I was (poorly) making was that many people starting out with SPDs sometimes feel that they need to buy big platform pedals with clips in so they have a traditional pedal under their foot “just in case”. This is the part that isn’t necessary and it doesn’t really help you either get clipped in, nor make the pedal any more stable once you are clipped in.

I prefer the M530s over the 520s, the little cage justs stops you from rolling the pedal when you stamp on them.

I think daern has it pretty spot on. I tried flats a bit ago just to see, and lasted a bit of the way down my first descent before I binned it and went back home to change back to my SPD’s ’cause it just didn’t feel safe and “right”. I can clip in and out at will, I just put it the right place and in it goes.

@Kelron, I got the AM5 shoes and DX pedals from eBay and Facebook cycling groups but picked the cleats up from my local shop, cost me around £50 total.

After todays effort I think I need more practice on less technical stuff so for the rest of the trip I will be back on flats and Fivetens. More pracice over the winter months in the UK ready for next year

Quick go on the time pedals (mx2) feeling good