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Right, after many many years (30?) I've finally got rid of the toe clips and bought myself some flat pedals. They've got some wicked 5mm pins in them (Shimano XT from Evans £46).
They're great for riding, really good. But whenever I push the bike or bang into it when opening a gate or whatever I catch my bare calves on the pins and give myself a decent scratch. By the end of the day I was a mess.
Off to Finale next month and don't want ride around in long trousers (or indeed long socks)
WDSTWD to prevent lacerations?
Go back to the clips, they are great and perfect for riding 😉
https://www.sportsdirect.com/football/football-equipment/shin-pads worn the other way around?
Toughen up, princess.
You just learn, subconsciously, to keep away from them when walking/pushing/handling the bike, eventually.
I wear knee pads and sealskinz that meet them on pretty much every ride, keeps the legs sweet too.
Welcome to flats!!
The key is ignoring the lacerations until you have a shower, at which point you can swear as much as you want. 🙂
Have to say it's part of the "pleasure" of flats.lol
You do get used to them and avoid the pins a bit better as time goes on.... But pushing the bike up a hill etc I still catch my legs on them sometimes and curse rather loudly.
I STILL have some marks on my legs from the Spring! Lol
That said.... It I were riding SPD's my whole body would be covered in bruises and scars....
Flats all the way for me now.👍
Welcome to the club. You are now taking part in my game of Spot the mountain biker. A great game to play in the summer.
Barking your shins is the clip less equivalent of couping coz you can’t twist out soon enough.
in time you work it out. Unless your stupid...
ironically the worst shin barking I had was from spds whilst trying ride down the Anoch Mor downhill course before they finished it on a ****ing proflex... I had lumps on the bone for years... gave up any attempt at being a doonhaller pretty sharp after that. 🤣
i honestly can’t remember the last time I did a bad shin job, or maybe I’m just innured to it (where there’s no sense there’s no feeling as my old mum used to say).
my shins are battered but that’s due to Trail debris and undergrowth (what happens when you ride ‘natural’ in the Scottish highlands)
My wife always says that my legs look like a toddler's covered in scratches and scabs
should have went clipless
Those have only got 10 pins per side. Try the 14 pins that mine have for proper scarring 😉
Ride more, push less? 😉
Ride more, push less?
Hmph. Gates dammit. I can't ride gates. 😉
Some good advice there people, thanks.
Eventually it's just like a nettle sting. Honest!
More often I either lift the bike over the gate or wheel the bike through after opening, but that might be because a lot of the gates near me on my typical weekend ride are poorly maintained or not functional. Otherwise, as others have said, you get used to it… the best is a scratch on top of a dry patch of skin (if you have psoriasis), followed up with a dessert of raw nettles for good measure 🙂