Ups = SPDs
Downs = Flats

I find I have a significant advantage when climbing rocky terrain (on a hardtail) using SPDs as my feet dont come off the pedals and I often utilise the ability to pull up on them in order to get over a tricky obstacle.

On the downs I have more confidence on tight fast turns knowing I can dab, particularly where things get wet & rooty.
Even on a hardtail I have noticed my feet coming off the pedals when I correctly weight them. Moving to a full-sus then I expect them to stay exactly where they are at all times. I am using good pedals & good shoes though so YMMV on less specialist kit.

I find I have a significant advantage when climbing rocky terrain (on a hardtail) using SPDs as my feet dont come off the pedals and I often utilise the ability to pull up on them in order to get over a tricky obstacle.

I hate the fact that this is going to sound patronising however I word it so please accept an apology in advance…

That’s down to your technique, not the pedals. If you ever have any doubt about whether or not you need to be able to pull up on SPDs to clear anything technical (up down or along), just ask a friendly local trials rider to ride the section and see what happens.

I’d argue that with proper technique you have just as much if not more control on technical climbs with flats than with SPDs.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that the helpfulness of SPDs is not real, or that it’s bad to use it, just that it is more about technique than the pedals, and not just footwork, general body and manoeuvrability wise, if you can do it properly you can do it properly on either pedal type.

I still use SPD’s when I race XC though, not because the above is wrong, but because I appreciate the flattering nature of them when I’m racing as that’s when I am at the ragged edge, technique will start to slip and need all the help I can get.

I’ve spent pretty much all of my MTBing time on SPDs. Since the start of the year I’ve been riding flats, partly inspired by a ride in early February where the mud reached the perfect state to make clipping in consistently impossible.

Technical climb with flats are the thing that I’m having the most trouble adapting to. Long pedally climbs are fine but as others have said if I need to quickly increase power to get over a rock or similar then I often find one foot flailing around in the air instead of lifting its pedal upwards. Technical climbing is also where I notice the larger size of flat pedals the most, as they are more inclined to hit stones and have me coming to a dead stop than are SPDs.

I do also miss that once I’m clipped in I know my feet will be where I want them to be and will stay there unless I unclip. Getting used to accepting that I don’t need my feet to be in exactly the same place every time I put them on my pedals it taking a little time.

That said these are fairly minor things. Riding flats on technical descents is probably helping with some of my confidence issues there and otherwise the changes are largely neutral.

My current shot on flats is with a full sus bike. I have made other attempts to use them in the past but they were with a hardtail and didn’t last as long. I felt I was getting bounced off the pedals far more on a hardtail. Flats on a hardtail probably punish poor technique more than they do on a full sus.

Of course, this is all my own experience!

Used SPDs for years, tried flats this year on MTB daily commute for about three months. I got used to them on the whole, but recently changed back to SPD becuase:
* No proper riding shoes for flats, and feet ached on longer rides.
* Unnerved by feet leaving pedals from time to time on very bumpy
* I Bought new SPD shoes & didn’t buy flat shoes.
* Didn’t figure out how to not ride steps heavily with flats
* Far too easy to hit things with flats.

Was an interesting experiment, and will give them another go at some point.

Far too easy to hit things with flats

My current flats are nearly half the depth of my Time SPD’s, so hit less.

Put some flat pedals on my soul about 4 months ago, and feel slightly robbed that I haven’t faced a 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. I flit between spd’s on the bikes, but haven’t really stopped to think I should put spd’s back on my mtb for a particular ride. But they may change in winter boots season, but that’s more about the weather. It’s all personal preference as said, I just don’t see it as a huge deal. I have a lot of shoe’s though!!

Far too easy to hit things with flats

My current flats are nearly half the depth of my Time SPD’s, so hit less.

My current flats are nearly twice as wide as the width of my Shimano SPD’s so hit more.
But I guess it depends on what and where you ride. Snaking thru rocks in my case.

Oh and the other thing I forgot to mention before… yes I do still twist my foot off the flat pedals, being so used to doing the SPD release flick.

I’ve tried spd’s on a mountain bike once. It was the worst ride ever.
I’ve rode flats on bikes since I learned to ride, spent my childhood on a bmx and was at a pretty good level (freestyle)
It just felt unnatural to be clipped in.
I do have them on my road/cx bike but I still don’t like them on that.

I started with toe-clips – yes, proper toe-clips and soon ditched these in favour of Power Grips – anyone remember them?

Then I went to flats for a few years

Then I tried CB Mallets and have stuck with them ever since – there’s that much float and they are so easy to get out of, very rarely have any clipped in accidents.

Thought about trying flats again when I got the Capra, but stuck with Mallets

spent 15 years on SPDs, having bought them pretty much straight away with my first MTB. After my second injury in 3 years due to not unclipping (torn ankle ligaments and then a snapped tibial plateau, both in the Alps) I decided not to risk a third and moved to flats. Took a long time to bond with ’em, now I wouldn’t go back. I perversely I feel more secure on flats as when my feet are weighted they are planted on the pedal and going nowhere – I have spds on my CX bike and the rotational float is really unnerving now!

Munqe Chick seems to get on with both equally and currently has flats on the FS and SPDs on the HT.