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That is, ignoring the extremes, i.e., very wet rooty riding (when flats clearly trounce) or very dry flat riding (when SPDs have it).
I think SPDs, having also ridden flats. You're feet don't come off and are always in exactly the same place so you can just concentrate on the riding. You have more of a connection to the bike, so a better sense of drift, and you can unweight easier. And hey if it gets out of hand you can just unclip.
But sometimes I find myself cursing them so I wonder if there's a consensus out there.
i laid one of each down at the top of a hill and they didn't even move!
Whichever one the rider is most comfortable on. Other than that I don't think there is a definitive answer at all
clipless if you can ride em properly
Spds - do or die!
Get a mate to push you backwards. The leg you steady yourself is your strong leg. Run that clipless, run the other flat. This is fastest.
if you got good flats and good freeride trainers your feet dont slip.
i rode in the shittest conditions other day wet, muddy dh track and my feet were planted even when i had to bail at one point, its the idea that i can kick my bike away mid jump if all is looking bad lol
Jedi put that one nicely.
I'd ride either, on a good day I'm as quick on either, the difference is that SPD's allow quicker acceleration and probably a bit more speed on a hardtail* whereas flats let you f*** up and get on with it, mess up on SPD's and you'll probably still be paying for it 3 corners down the track.
* dunno why, just felt faster over roots this weekend on SPD's than I do on flats, maybe its because I've been riding the same tracks on flats for ages so don't have that will I/won't I moment in my head.
Ive just moved on to flats after years with spd's and feel more confident due to being able to bail when required, and fivetens stick like the preverbial to a blanket.
i laid one of each down at the top of a hill and they didn't even move!
boom-tish!
depends on the rider you are i think and how you like to ride. I more or less started on Spd's so all my riding experiance was gained using them and it hasn't been that much of a big deal, but I've seen a few people who've persisted with spd's when actually i think they should have given flats a go so that they could master some of the more basic skills such as braking and balance before worrying about being clipped.
For me personally i wouldn't and don't ride with anything else, they solve more problems than cause!
I would say its all down to the track your riding and the conditions look at Gee Atherton he rides both and he isnt doing too bad 😛
Don't some pro's ride clipless and some use flats? I think that's your answer...
Yeah keeping both in your armoury has it. The annoying thing about flats though is gotta wear shin pads always, too.
I rode clipped in everywhere.. until i went to the alps last year. 2nd day i was using my new flat pedals and 5 10's. The difference was amazing.
I kept coming unclipped in spds - not sure if this because i was moving the bike a lot more and being more aggressive.
Flats. Thread closed.
jhw - Member
i laid one of each down at the top of a hill and they didn't even move!
boom-tish!
🙂 🙂 couldn't help myself
Flats. Thread closed.
Greg Minnaar disagrees.
Haven't most of the really big winning margins at world cups been by riders on flats.
In real life, not much odds. Flats work best most of the time for me and I can't be bothered to chop and change all the time.
Sawyer, I'll forum fight him to the death then!
"I kept coming unclipped in spds"
Sounds like the cleat and/or pedal is worn. Winding up the tension (if your pedal has the option) will help a bit
As mentioned above it depends what you are used to
If you haven't got used to SPDs properly where unclipping doesn't worry you, then you'll probably be more comfortable and ride faster/harder stuff on flats
If you've learnt all/most of your offroading on SPDs then keeping your feet on flats won't be as easy, especially if you SPD-bunny-hop (okay so thats technically terrible technique)
I quite like my shins personally, and I can only just ride comfortably with lycra leg warmers if its really cold or rainy. I just wouldn't get on with leg armour (I don't with knee)
The annoying thing about flats though is gotta wear shin pads always, too.
Do I?
if you got good flats and good freeride trainers your feet dont slip.
until you ride clips for a while you'll never really understand about feet not slipping. I used to ride SPDs all the time, but switched to flats as they're more fun. However, riding somewhere like Ft.Bill SPDs are in a different league, you can concentrate 100% on pinning it without any doubts that getting tired could see a foot getting bounced (and a potential big stack)
Haven't most of the really big winning margins at world cups been by riders on flats.
No, they were by Nico 😉
I've just switched to eggbeaters but i'm not really sure if i'm any faster, partly because they can be really difficult to find.
spds all the ways
Successful troll.
I think the biggest winning margins in WC races are mostly held by flat-pedal riders. Kovarik & Hill spring to mind... both flat pedal riders.
I find SPDS give me an additional control surface I don't get with flats
It's at time like this I like to ask myself, what would Jesus do?
foot position is critical on flats. the reason lots of riders cant stay connected to flats
true, it's also the one thing that I find makes it very difficult to switch between the two setups - I always seem to try to grip the SPD with my foot..... this gets very painful after a while!
Tried flats at the weekend, clipless are gettin fixed.
Didn't really bother me on the ups, but going over anything that drops the back end scared me senseless. Loosing foot position and finding foot on outside edge of the pedal sucked as well.
I guess with practice, flats would be fine. Other people do very well on them.
For me, I quite like being connected to the bike.
Having always used clipless, I switched to flats in the Autumn. It's taken some adapting but I'm now 95% as efficient on flats but have more confidence when it gets rocky/rooty/etc.
It's probably psychological but knowing you can shove a leg out, dab a foot down or simply bail makes me attack stuff with more purpose than I did riding clipless (I'd had a few spills made worse by clipless in the past).
I do still sometimes put the clipless pedals back on if I'm going for a long xc bridleway ride.
The annoying thing about flats though is gotta wear shin pads always, too.
No you don't! If I'm going to practise some technical stuff I might wear some but not normally.
I can't remember my feet ever bouncing off my flat pedals, seems like you are doing it very wrong to make that happen. I do remember riding clipless in the Peaks and several times wanting to throw my bike off the nearest cliff at every flat rocky section - you can't just do a quick dab to keep you moving, nightmare starting off and fiddling with clipping in as there's never any time etc.
Love clipless for road bike and used to use them but after 5 years on BMX I think I'll never touch clipless again for offroad.
Anyway, bunnyhops look lame with SPD's!!
foot position is critical on flats. the reason lots of riders cant stay connected to flats
you say that, but its less critical than clips.
I've stayed on through hellish sections with half a heel hanging onto the pedal. can't do that with clips....
toe clips, definately toe clips
Love clipless for road bike and [s]used to use them but after 5 years on BMX [/s]I think I'll never touch clipless again for offroad.
+1
jambo, how did you heal stay on the pedal?
dunno, but its never pretty but its better than crashing.
I know you don't like five-tens but when then find a bit of pedal, they stick to it....
lol 🙂
Guys guys you're missing the point...... to be super fast down hill you must wear some type of daft hat at all times except when wearing your lid..... TJ please just keep your knotted hanky on for safety. All Dh'ers wear some type of cap with a) laser straight brim, or B) a bobble hat with no bobble, or c) a bobble hat with no bobble but ear flaps with knotted dangley bits from the ear flaps. The whole pedal thing is a marketing con........ So in summary to be very fast down hill get a flat brimmed bobble-less ear flapped dangley knotted hat......in red bull colours.....
It's probably psychological but knowing you can shove a leg out, dab a foot down or simply bail makes me attack stuff with more purpose than I did riding clipless (I'd had a few spills made worse by clipless in the past).
But it's not like you can't do that with SPDs - just unclip!
A year ago I'd have said "I've never, ever had a crash and experienced the horror of staying clipped in all the way down". Now I have, a couple of times, including one episode where my foot came out my shoe, which stayed clipped in! But it's still sufficiently rare that I don't really worry about it.
I find not wearing leg armour with flats is a guaranteed way of making my leg come into contact with them!
Uncoupling is never the problem. It's getting clipped back in at speed over rough ground....
jam bo - Member
Uncoupling is never the problem. It's getting clipped back in at speed over rough ground....
I'm with you on that one. I've ridden flats for years on end. I've tried SPD's a few times and go through periods where I will use them on my more XC orientated bike. I even took them to the Alps to try them and did a couple of days riding with them. I'm fine with them, like the connection to the bike but as soon as I unclip, I find it a nightmare to clip in again on rough ground and that unnerves me.
I should probably just use them more often and get used to them but my opinion as far as this thread goes is that whatever you are used to will work best for you. Really helpful, eh?
i ride flats 50% of the time, spds 50% of the time. if i'm heading out for a ride i just choose what pedals i want for that ride and stick them on my bike ie: flats for DH days, hike a bike, pub rides and spds for xc and cross etc
really worthwhile getting used to riding both imo - that way you can get the benefits from both types