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I used spd's for years, and I could unclip with ease UNTIL they filled with mud. Then I found the only real time I was crashing on my bike was from when I couldn't get my foot out in time.
Since tried Time ATAC's after reading the hype, and I find these worse in mud as they aren't adjustable.
When I first went onto flats my feet would bounce around on descents and jumps, but after a few rides I didn't even give my feet another thought.
Now every time I have a slip and dab my foot down, I smile knowing that it would have likely been a slam on the floor in SPD's!
And I agree with all the people saying that there's no issue getting out of SPDs but getting back in in a timely manner can be tricky.
I'm so SPD-conditioned I twist out of flats 😉
I use both and change them about between my stumpjumper and enduro.
Start of the year I usually run flats to get my technique neutral on the bike. Bunnyhop properly and get into good habits of loosening up my riding to stay on the bike on rough stuff.
As the weather gets better and I ride for longer in the day and dabble in the odd enduro race I go back to the SPDs. I feel they add a lot more for efficiency and traction for climbing and coupling for fast rough chattery descents. Sometime I use more body language than I should with the SPDs (may be taken as bad technique) so freshen up on the flats.
I enjoy riding both.
Flats (track pedals) on everything including fixie offroad.
If your feet are coming off the pedals with flat pedals it's because your riding with your weight on your arse. Or to rephrase that, if you're riding with your weight on the saddle then spds make sense.
I also believe that spds guarantee you a head first landing in an otb crash.
Flats for me off road, SPD's on road.
I also believe that spds guarantee you a head first landing in an otb crash.
This i have witnessed first hand, it wasn't pretty.
I wish I could find some shoes to fit me UK 14.5. If I could I might try some SPDs. As it is I use my flat pedals since about 1991 on my MTBs. For road biking is there any other option but being clipped in though? I have used toe clips and straps before on a few road bikes I have had. But that was not serious racing or training. More summer road rides at a leisurely pace.
I also believe that spds guarantee you a head first landing in an otb crash.
Not for me. I have never had an incident since I got used to riding them where I have not got my feet out when wanted or when crashing.
its just instinctive to do so
I've managed otb to my head on flats as well. 🙂
I also believe that spds guarantee you a head first landing in an otb crash.
I've been OTB many, many times in the last 20 years of SPD use and have mostly landed on my feet 🙂
I have also seen a reverse OTB by someone who was clipped in. Now that was funny
You can get your feet off spds quickly, back on, not so.
You can get your feet off flats more quickly...and on.
Do people wear flats because they are worried about being able to clip out?
No
YES!
crashes clipped in definately hurt more.
sketchy lines are also often avoided when i use my clips.
its odd - sometimes i dont mind being clipped in. other times i ride like a complete novice.
also clipping back in is a lottery in technical terrain when the bike is bouncing about. and riding clips out of the clips is sketchy!
I'm not going to get another ban explaining why people ride flats, or what they think about other people who ride SPD's, just accept SPD's are wrong and be done with it.
its just instinctive to do so
Yes, if there's time, say I slipped on a corner, and was prepared to put my inside foot down, that would be quick and insticntive, even in SPD's, if there was enough time to get my foot down for flats thered be enough from SPD's.
But, what happens if whilst your instincitvely putting your inside foot down the tyre finds grip and high-sides you the other way? Unclipping while stood on one leg at 6 o'clock is nigh on imposible, and you wont have prepared for it, so you end up going over.
Whether it's instinctive or not it's not quite as quick as simply putting a foot down off a flat pedal.
Line up sets of various pedals i.e. a set of flats and a few different sets of spd's and ask the average non 'cyclist' in the street which are pedals and they will pick out the flats.
Flats are normal pedals that kids/people have on their bikes when they start riding one.
Therefore shouldn't the question be "why are spd's so popular".
SPDS are completely alien to me, When I started to ride a bike aged 5 back in 1978, there was no such thing as a spd.
When I got into mountain biking in 1996 ish, the whole concept of spds just felt wrong to me.
Then in 2008'ish after reading many many articles in magazines and online about how you were missing out in mountain biking if you didnt use spds, I gave in to the hype and bought a set. I perservered with them for 6 months, but eventually just binned them, they felt more efficient climbing (but that could just be placebo), but on anything technical they were a nightmare, I had more crashes in that 6 months than the whole of my previous mountain biking years. I bought a set of shin/knee pads because of the spds (never felt the need for armour before or since the spds). I became lazy and lost the ability to lift the bike with my feet.
So after 6 months I went back to flats, the first couple of rides my feet kept bouncing off the pedals and I couldnt lift the bike, but within a couple of rides I'd regained the proper technique, I binned the shin/knee pads had far less crashes and all was right with the world once more.
spds on a mountain bike are just wrong.
I use spd pedals with flat shoes, I like a challenge....
Nah, I use flats with 5.10s as ive always used flats, but im not averse to trying spds it's just cost that puts me off a bit, incase I hate them. That and the last time I tried, I stopped and keeled over into nettles...
I really enjoy the art of the SPD dismount, especially when we rode the Mabie darkside with XC seatposts (couldn't lower mine because it was bent...). As soon as you knew you were going off it was a synchronised two foot twist out and vault over the side of the bike.
There was another corner I got wrong in the Pentlands a few times, but the inevitable crash took so long you could unclip your outside foot, swing it over the bike and then just hop off the side of the bike before you hit the deck, leaving the bike to cartwheel down the hill 😀
being a novice offroader it hasn't crossed my mind to consider clipless pedals. I tried them on my road bike and my commuter bike and hated them, so went back to 5/10 shoes and pinned pedals. At the level I ride it's never been an issue, I can keep up fine because I ride socially. I can also get up any hills I've come across just fine as well. Faster than some and slower than others I've ridden with.
My biggest headache for road use is trying to decide on a new pair of 5/10s that are lighter, faster drying, cooler and less water absorbant than my Impact Lows. As they are so expensive I want to try and get it right, the Warhawk is my current potential choice.
I'm also not sure where the idea comes from that flats give sore feet on longer distances. I may not be ultra but I've done up to 170 miles in a day without any issues at all. I like the ability to be able to move my foot position for a change or for the terrain.
I'm sure I'm doing it all wrong and I'm wasting all that immense 'power'. But I can also hop on any of my bikes in pretty much any footwear. Though I won't be repeating my flip-flop experience from last Summer...Crocs are ok though.
So probably for most people (except those pushing their cornering/jumping to the limit) they don't use spds because they haven't got to the point where they are comfortable with clipping out of them.
One day I'll have to try flats on my mtb...
Way more fun. But thats cos I ride dirt jumps and bmx tracks a lot and just mucking about doing manuals in the street, and it would be silly on SPDs. Then when i ride XC (on the same bike) the performance advantage isn't enough to justify having a separate set of pedals and shoes. i like finding something fun on the trail, drops or jumps etc, dropping the saddle for a bit then continuing the ride. If i was racing XC it'd be a different story.
People who permanently use SPDs think it is massive difference because when they try flats they're not used to the technique. The pro downhillers generally train on flats and use SPDs as a performance enhancer come race day
13thfloormonk - Member
I really enjoy the art of the SPD dismount, especially when we rode the Mabie darkside with XC seatposts (couldn't lower mine because it was bent...)
That takes me back - Mabie was my first biking trip away, and my first trail centre. I had been on SPDs for a couple of weeks, and an MTB not much longer. Suffice to say I was a bit uneasy on the dark side.
So probably for most people (except those pushing their cornering/jumping to the limit) they don't use spds because they haven't got to the point where they are comfortable with clipping out of them.One day I'll have to try flats on my mtb...
Or they're just having so much fun they haven't stopped to think about others or judge what others are doing......
Do people wear flats because they are worried about being able to clip out?
Yes.
I accept some people are able to unclip as quickly as they do with flats but I'm not one of them, despite doing all my on road riding with clipless pedals. At moments of crisis I still have problems in getting out quickly enough. (see my username)
I changed to V8's on the full suss at the weekend for the first time (3hour XC ride). I've been riding clipped in for 3 years. I used a pair of skateboard style nike trainers and found it a nice change. However, I couldn't ride with my saddle at the same height and had to drop it by almost an inch to find a comfortable position. I found climbing in them okay, but the saddle was lower thus less stretch in the leg, so felt it in the quads more. Then yesterday, my knees were a tad sore at the front, although today fine.
I now have a dilemma, I want a good shoe and I'm looking at two kinds - Shimano AM45 SPD & AM41 - same shoe but flat version. The AM45 is stiffer & will allow me to put cleats on any time I want to ride SPD, but they have a large section missing from where the cleat goes & that might cause grip issues. So should I bite the bullet & have a more flexible flat specific shoe like the AM41?
I guess it takes a while to get used to either type, for me I've used SPDs for so long they feel completely natural and it's rare I struggle to clip in. Flats feel totally alien and therefore unsafe but seems a lot of flatties feel the opposite. I do kinda want to get used to flats but 2 or 3 rides with feet slipping off (or mincing jumps to avoid the slippage) and I revert to SPDs.
I use flats for anything other than local xc rides as I know there is zero technical stuff and commuting. I'm scared that I wouldn't unclip quick enough if I lost it on a corner or crash. I do find spd's help when pedalling doing xc or road riding though.
As I said before each to their own I used to use flats but have been on SPD's for 15 years at least and I simply can't be arsed to try flats again. I also reckon that alot of clipping in and out issues arise from having the SPD's not set up right which takes a little time and effort. If I feel the front going I can get my foot down quick enough so they work for me. If you're having issues clipping out I'd suggest making sure that your natural foot position is reflected in the way your cleats are set up.
people who ride for fun use flats.
boring people/roadies use spds.
^^^^^ cobblers ^^^^
TandemJeremy - Member
I also believe that spds guarantee you a head first landing in an otb crash.
Not for me. I have never had an incident since I got used to riding them where I have not got my feet out when wanted or when crashing.its just instinctive to do so
I'm with TJ
Been riding with SPD's since 94, never had a fall that my feet didn't automatically 'pop out' of the pedals but agree with the slipping issues with cleats on rock. But being able to 'pull through' on climbs is good.
I can use either happily, am I boring or fun?
Or they're just having so much fun they haven't stopped to think about others or judge what others are doing......
people who ride for fun use flats.boring people/roadies use spds.
haha!!!
So much sensitivity about what type of pedals
To answer the question "Am I scared I won't unclip in time?" Yes.
From years of riding BMX, trials, dirt, DH, AM, XC, whatever.... my brain has been wired to be able to disconnect from the bike instantly.
I'm fine with SPD's, don't get me wrong. I can clip out fine when I know I need to. It's when you lose the front end on a tree root going round a corner - with a flat it would be a dab, with SPD it's a crash. It's all personal though innit.
I can use either happily, am I boring or fun?
How happily? When you're using flats it's probably a fun kind of happy, whereas when you're riding spds, you're positively gay!
if a crash is big enough to do an injusry it probably hapens fast enough that you don't get time to bail out. Dabs from SPD yes (if marginaly slower or more planning required), but uncliping in a crash is down to luck.
Maybe I (and all the other thousands of SPD users) are lucky then. I've never had a crash in which my feet haven't somehow disconnected from the pedals without me even being aware of it.
Then again, for all those saying there's no disadvantage to SPDs - would you ride a unicycle with them (I believe you own one, TJ)? There are a few who do, but I don't think I ever will.
Having to put on special shoes to ride my bike seems unnecessary faff to me.
Yesterday on a route I took around a mountain, there was 4 hours and 6 miles* of hike a bike and 570m of climb over first a peat bog moor, and then a steep hillside with thick heather and large rocks. I can't imagine trying this with spds. Heck, I had to rummage down one bog hole to retrieve one of my sandals.
I had no idea I would be doing this when I left my house on the bike - I was intending to do a mainly road and forestry track ride, but then got diverted by the old "I wonder if...".
Spds would be much too limiting for me in ride choices unless the sole point of being on the bike is to be fast and sticking to tracks, and where's the fun in that?
* Don't believe everything you see on an OS map. There was supposed to be a path 🙁
I'm confident in my abilitys on either. From your comment your not confident about lots of things.
I'm faster with spds for all types of riding including 'light' DH. I do think flats are more fun for shorter rides though.
Flats on the roadie is just wrong.
I've gone Flats, SPDS, Flats, SPD and back to Flats again.
Flats to SPDs, because thats what proper mountain bikers used, going by the photos in all the magazines.
Back to flats cos thats what all the ultra gnar guys in the magazines seemed to be on at that particular time.
Back to SPDs very briefly cos I had a rose tinted view of how good I found them.
Finally back to flats after OTBing right onto the top of my head, nearly breaking my arm in an "ohsh**Icantunclip!" moment and finally wrecking a new X9 rear mech in another slow speed, comedy topple over. These 3 all happened in a single ride, by the way...
So, for me, flats. Simple. No special shoes to buy, no cleats to set up and replace and no sudden panics when you realise you can't get your feet off the bloody things when you need to.
each to their own, I tried them for a month, hated them, went back to flats. it's a confidence thing I'm sure but I just feel better on flats
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[url= http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=spd+flats+site%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fsingletrackworld.com%2Fforum&hl=sv&num=10&lr=&ft=i&cr=&safe=images ]I am sure each time somebody starts this topic it is an evil conspiracy to drive me mad.[/url]
Aren't spd's inherited from road riding, much like triple rings?
Clipping yourself into your bike AND loosing the ability to vary where your foot sits is really alien to me, can't see the attraction at all.
Clipping yourself into your bike AND loosing the ability to vary where your foot sits is really alien to me, can't see the attraction at all.
Me either. My feet don't skip off the pedals (which seems a fairly common theme) and i'm not bothered about being as efficient as possible so I really can't see any reason to try spds.
In 37 years of riding (mostly BMX) the closest I came to having my feet attached to a bike was when I bought my first mtb - it had those silly toe strap things on (I think they lasted for almost a whole day).