Recently put some flat pedals on my hardtail – I usually ride with spds – but I’m not really feeling it and have swapped back to spds. Am I missing something?

Decent shoes?

yeah maybe. Decent shoes cost decent money unfortunately

Different technique to what you are used to. Worth persevering with if you want to get the measure of it and it should be better long term. That said if you are happy on SPDs there is no need to change

There’s been a few articles in mags and postings on forums about moving from SPDs to flat pedals recently. I even got tempted to shell out for some for some DMRs and Five Tens… But I stopped and thought about it. I’m in my 40s, and I’m lucky if I get out to ride once a week. I love it. OK, I’d like to improve my technique, go a bit faster… But really, life’s too short to have to re-learn how I ride. So I bought a nice pair of Giro Terraduro shoes that will work nicely with my Time ATAC pedals. And I’m going to go out and enjoy my ride.

I bought some superstar pedals and cheap 5:10s (hideous colour on clearance) before an uplift day, it was a revelation, flats are my go to choice now and only put the SPDs back on if I’m cranking out the miles.

But really, life’s too short to have to re-learn how I ride. So I bought a nice pair of Giro Terraduro shoes that will work nicely with my Time ATAC pedals. And I’m going to go out and enjoy my ride.

I’ve had this view for years, but unfortunately an injury to my foot means that unclipping from SPDs is really painful now so I’ve stuck flats on. If I didn’t have to I probably wouldn’t have, but slowly getting better on them and in some ways it is good to have to re-think how to ride. Ride what you like – pros and cons to everything.

Relearning how to ride is part of the fun, surely?

Can’t recommend a skills course highly enough for fixing years of ingrained poor technique, really helped with flats, never had a moment since.

Loads of advice on here is accurate and helpful, but you can’t beat watching and learning from someone who knows what they’re doing, be it a sympathetic mate or an instructor.

I couldn’t go back to SPD’s, flats are no barrier to fun and can make you more confident and aware.

Why do you want to ride on flats? I know plenty of people who can ride just as well on technical terrain clipped in.

Recently put some flat pedals on my hardtail – I usually ride with spds – but I’m not really feeling it and have swapped back to spds. Am I missing something?

Maybe, maybe not. But unless your pedal technique was excellent before and you’re a quick learner then you probably didn’t give yourself enough time to learn out to ride flats – depends on how recently you put them on!

I’ve been learning to ride flats as well and it’s a love/hate thing currently. I put them on to try and get me out of bad habits and teach me some new skills (manualling, jumping etc). I do enjoy the bigger platform, which I find great for weighting the bike when cornering. I don’t like my feet getting kicked around a lot, especially while pedaling so if anyone can suggest how to remedy that I’d appreciate it. Five Ten Freerider shoes and Nukeproof pedals.

OP what were you looking for with flats?

Why do you want to ride on flats? I know plenty of people who can ride just as well on technical terrain clipped in.

I’ve no particular problem with riding technical stuff, if you count the trickier bits of the peak district as technical, but I get the impression that for the more trail centre/skills/jumps style then flats are the way to go. I guess there’s a trade-off to be had between the security of being clipped in vs the security of being able to put a foot down/separate yourself from the bike quickly.

Two things, yes decent shoes a must if you are going to get a good feeling with flat pedals. Then its just a matter of what you are used to. I recently went the other way, put SPD’s back on my hardtail. I ride clipped in on the road all the time but just hated the sensation off-road, going back to flats toute suite…

Decent shoes + decent pedals.

Anything less feels like riding my commuter, wearing leather soled shoes on plastic pedals, in the wet.

life’s too short to have to re-learn how I ride

Total shit. OP just stick with it for a while. I used to be clipped in for everything, now just for SS XC

Skills

Skills

With burns like that, you should be prime minister.

I tried switching a while back and didn’t get on with flats at all. All my fault with poor technique but i really didn’t like them at all. So switched back to SPD and was a happy bunny. Fast forward and i was having some issues with my left knee so i bought a pair of five ten shoes with saint pedals and bosh…. a whole world of difference. They stick together so well. I will defo switch back again to SPD for summer and racing but the difference a good set of shoes and pedals make can not be overemphasised.

Oh and the physio appointment i should have booked first would have saved me a whole load of cash, my knee issues were absolutely nothing to do with shoes or SPD’s 😯

Total shit.

Skills

Classic STW.. 😆

Erm.. ride what you like, how you like.

Personally, I think my riding time is actually too precious to feel I have re-learn anything. Unless I really enjoy having to re-learn stuff (which I don’t).

If I was already enjoying riding in clippy jobbies, then I might want to carry on enjoying riding in clippy jobbies.

Unless they made my feet fall off (which they don’t).

Why do you want to ride on flats? I know plenty of people who can ride just as well on technical terrain clipped in.

For me its psychological…i’m simply not prepared to hit tech stuff flat out if i’m clipped in, had a few minor falls from road bikes over the years when i’ve been clipped in and its a horrible feeling….makes me shudder thinking about doing it on sharp pointy rocks from a MTB, i like to be able to dab quickly if needed and i’m not averse to the odd bit of Moto-x style ‘foot out flat out’ technique through corners…all perfectly doable with SPDs i’m sure but i’m simply not as quick to get the foot free when required.

ride what you like, how you like

Completely agree – do that, just don’t talk shit 😀

I’ve got a friend who tells me “clips wouldn’t suit the way I ride a bike”. FWIW he rides badly. Learning how to corner would improve his ride-life and enjoyment immensely, but he’s not open to change, loves to talk shit and aspires to mediocrity.

Change, adapt, learn, advance – have MOAR fun!!

I’m considering going the other way. Always had flats, now I want to try clipped. I used SPDs on my commuter with road shoes though 🙂

Am I missing something?

I am not a massively skilled rider. (Just ask anyone who has ridden with me!) But I obviously ride clipless on road, and rode clipless on the mountain bike for many years.

Then, in 2010, I switched the mtb over to flats, and noticed no particular difficulties, or need to ‘re-learn’ anything. I don’t dip any more than any other rider (afaik), and I don’t have any difficulty staying on the pedals. In fact, I find the grip of the pedals keeps my cheap Karrimor-clad feet stuck pretty firmly in place.

I know everyone will have different experiences, but mine leads me to think that we can sometimes place too much emphasis on problems that may not actually be as big as they seem.

What are you trying to achieve by switching? If it’s to brush up on your technique you can learn the technique in SPD’s, no need to go to flats just to learn the technique. When you get it right you can feel it whether in flats or SPD’s.

I just buy last years VANS in the sales. They are excellent and cheap enough to have 2 or 3 pairs on the go.

Put some flat pedals on my soul about 2 months ago, and feel slightly robbed that I haven’t faced this huge transition or opportunity to relearn how to ride. Got some superstar nano’s cheap and some bargain Sombrio’s shoes off CRC, and within a couple of rides didn’t really think about it? I only did it because I was putting my spd’s on my grrrrrrrravel bike, so thought I would give flats a go. Shin’s intact, and I can’t say I now even think about it.

The Sombrio’s, probably are no match for 5\10’s, but I’m very happy with them. Like a true skinflint I now have two pairs to future proof myself 😳

I also bought two pairs of sombrio mid tops, absolutely love them for that money.

Am I missing something?

Not much, I went the other way, after years of being a staunch flat pedals only type rider, I tried spds, now I only clip in…

I wasn’t unhappy with flats, I could ride just as well (or badly) with them as spds, I just get on a little better with spds so that’s what I ride with now…

Just use which ever you get on with better…

Ignore all the hype though, it’s just a pair of pedals, riding flats won’t suddenly make you Rad^gnarr.

I don’t see the advantage unless you are jumping. It’s just a confidence thing, isn’t it?

In fact, I find the grip of the pedals keeps my cheap Karrimor-clad feet stuck pretty firmly in place.

Yeah, but in your case your saddle’s too low and you’re pedalling with your instep 🙂

I definitely go round corners better on flats. I have absolutely no idea why. All in all I like them, but I stick SPD’s back on from time to time if I’m racing.

Got a multi-day bike packing trip on an old rail track planned for the summer and I can’t decide which to use now.

I have said this before and got flamed but I didn’t care then and don’t care now. It’s my experience and nothing else.
The people I ride with who have been riding since they could walk and are generally the better riders who don’t take riding seriously all ride flats most of the time. They only ride for fun so overall speed doesn’t matter. The riders who need to be clipped in have come into mtb later and don’t understand how we manage to stay on the pedals without being mechanically attached. They use being clipped in as a convenient excuse to not ride steep stuff and won’t do jumps, gaps and drops. I have met loads of people who are exceptions to my theory though and many good riders ride clipped in and many bad riders use flats.
In essence just do whatever you feel comfortable with. You don’t need to justify it to anyone other than yourself.
In my experience there is a place for both. I wouldn’t fancy doing some of the bigger drops and gaps I do clipped in and if I raced xc I would probably ride clipped in.

I’ve tried clipping in but it made me feel like some kind of ‘cyclist’.

Much prefer dangling a leg off and making engine noises.

That’s exactly what biking should be. Just enjoying it for what it is. Far too many people take it and themselves far too seriously.
I quite often wake up thinking I’m a motorbike and ride to work making engine noises. Passes the time.

I like riding on flats (although I’m spd’d up at the minute as I want the warmth of overshoes for my mostly night riding).

That said I really am still a bit pants on the flats still and I used them on and off most of 2015. I’m getting better but it really is perseverance.

I don’t ride enough really to get quick progress but once the coldest/rubbishest weather is turning I’ll be sticking flats back on for most of my riding and keeping with it. I’ve got some V12’s and use cosmetic 2nd skate shoes at about £20 a pair. I’ll get some 5-10s or similar in the spring I expect.

Why is my preference for not wanting to change to flat pedals “total shit”?

And how can that preference be extrapolated into an aspiration to mediocrity?

Bit of a leap, that.

For me, the big advantage of flats is being able to re-start on steep stuff when I’m not making a very good job of it. It also makes long hike-a-bikes more comfortable.

I aspire to mediocrity though, so I’m not sure it’s the determining factor.

🙂

I’m very one sided on this mainly because i’ve never rode with my feet attached to a bike (and i never want to if i’m honest). I’ve read many of these types of threads over the years and the only thing i’m missing is a tiny bit of pedaling efficiency by not clipping in. I’m happy with that.

What you may be missing OP (again from reading these threads and not actual real world experience) is riding technique. But that’s only if you are using your special shoes to hold your feet onto the bike. If you are riding properly you wont be missing anything.

If you are happy with you currently use, then carry on. If you feel like you aren’t doing it right (most know deep down) then try flats.

The fastest riders in the world ride clipped in. The best riders in the world ride flats. Who do you want to pretend to be???

@rhyater It’s not; obv. your choice is your choice.

You don’t have to re-learn how you ride when you change pedal types – you really don’t. Unless of course you’re doing it worng now… Would you like to continue doing it worng, or would you prefer to find out, adjust, ride better, be happy you found & fixed a fault, increase the fun??

There’s some adjustment, sure, but there is with, say, a new car. How about a frame-swap? Bit of a different feel, but you don’t go back to the beginning. Same but different.

Why does everyone seem to gravitate towards five ten shoes when using flats? Is it because the sole rubber is good, as with their climbing shoes?