[Closed] Does anyone ride a road bike, with flats?

Of Course they do!

What do you mean by pull hurting your knees?

Yep but not for more than 15-20 miles
And don't have an issue and can't see why I should

I've had a pair of nukeproofs on my last two road bikes, got some funny looks but I much preferred them over spds

Of Course they do!

Well I don't know do I? It's a new world to me!

What do you mean by pull hurting your knees?

Basically, when I started riding again at age 30, anything more than 30 miles gave me knee pain so bad, it felt like my leg was going to snap.

I adjusted float, paid for a couple of 'pro' setups, sports physio etc and nothing worked.

I therefore deduced it must be the 'pull' action.

By all means PLEASE tell me that there's a way to fix it, because riding just isn't the same for me on flats 🙁

Shouldn't be a problem, only caveat might be using 'normal' shoes - flexy soles can cause foot problems in some cases (though if you're using flats already on MTB you'd probably already know).

Might be worth persevering with clipless. You shouldn't be 'pulling' as such anyway. Knee issues are often counter-intuitive - my knees prefer zero float so I run Speedplays which allow you to dial all the float out if you want.

Track pedals with straps?

Fwiw I use nukeproof electron on my kaffenback, it's fun to ride plus I don't need carry "normal" shoes for when I get to work.

I use flats on mine- it's not a proper road bike, but then a proper road bike with flats on would no longer be a proper road bike. I just absolutely hate faff, I want to jump on my bikes and go with zero thought, whether it's to pop to the shops or testride a fix or knock out a couple of hours halfassed training or whatever.

I want to jump on my bikes and go with zero thought

I hear you!

However, I do miss that 'connection' that SPDs gave me back in the day. (1990s)

Ok, so basically, if I went to go 'road' for my main pedal power of choice, would it be stupid to spend x amount on a road bike with flat pedals?

Or, will I just not get the enjoyment by not being clipped in?

If that make sense?

I use flats on my road bike for the same reason - I don't want to carry work shoes.
I problem I've found is I have a lot of pedal strikes partly cos of the low bottom bracket on my road bike.
dunno if there's a decent cheap it thinnish set of flats out there?

What road pedals ? I have dodgy knees and have found on MTB setup that Time are best. I have had various knee ops and podiatry help and wear spesh shoes and inserts. On road I am comfy in Spesh shoes and Time xpresso pedals for even 100 mile sessions. On the track I have low float Leo's which are tight but an hr is my Max..

I prefer a kitten heel, possibly a wedge.

I do but purely because my ankle is knackered so I can't unclip. It is fine for 20miles which is the furthest I have gone so far.

I wear my 5:10s along with baggy shorts and my MTB helmet.

Millions of people ride road bikes with flats! [img] [/img]

I use dmr v8 on my road bike as spds kill my knees i also wear a mtb helmet and baggy mtb short's don't look the part but who cares.

As someone said above, you shouldn't be pulling up with SPDs, at least only for suddenly starting sprints or big moves when you are in too high a gear. But you shouldn't be spinning along pulling up, nobody does, even the pros are just turning circles and pushing on the downstroke. The muscles in your legs aren't built to pull, I can easily believe it is killing your knees. So if you actually are pulling up on your SPDs all the time, stop, just push down and accept that the benefit is better security, stiffer shoes and the fact that your feet stay in the same place on the pedals.
If you aren't pulling up, then regardless of having had pro setups done, they aren't quite right if they hurt your knees.

In answer to your question though, no reason why you can't run any pedals you want.

on my commuter, yes.

on my 'sunday best' - no, i simply wouldn't be able to get up some of the hills if i wasn't able to pull up.

I've done centuries on V8 copies and Shimano A530 pedals. MTB flats with pins are definitely better than pinless touring pedals and plastic or rubber pedals. You lose grip badly on those in the wet, and you can ride in whatever shoes suit the weather.

I've got a full carbon race thing, I ride it in baggies with cheap old rubber block pedals, nothing like winding roadies up, they are not all there anyway, ghastly thing riding bikes on the road, all that traffic and carbon monoxide fumes, only use it when off road is a no no for whatever reason..

Two things:
Hell yeah, maybe lightweight ones, but yeah.
And
Try to work more on the 'over the top' and 'round the back' part of the stroke with spuds too...

Carbon road bike with plastic pedals. You're a perverted guy, is all I can say, Derek.

How do you 'pull up'? Am I missing some hill climbing benefit by not doing it?

I have them on the commuter, there better in traffic and less shoe faff. Aged 30 btw your knees are barely worn in, do a bit of strength building they'll be fine.

on my 'sunday best' - no, i simply wouldn't be able to get up some of the hills if i wasn't able to pull up.

I suspect you're over estimating the benefits of 'pulling up'.

I suspect you're correct.

Some useful stuff, cheers all.

All carbon race with cheap plastic block pedals? Nasty.