[Closed] Riding my bike tomorrow and am actually quite nervous...

Five tens and some nukeproof electrons... you'll be fine lad.

I would've thought the chances of death were increased by riding clipped in, that scares me.

Drop your saddle an inch or so. Put your feet a bit further forward on the pedals. Don't give up after one ride, it takes a while to get the hang of it but you'll be a better rider once you do.

Why changing ?

Heels down, don't try to lift the rear pedal up...stand up a bit more and keep your weight on the pedals.

You'll be absolutely fine...it is far easier than learning to ride a bike.

shinpads for the inevitable pedal eats shin moment

I've bought some Atac MX4 and Shimano AM5 shoes to try going the other way 🙂

Was thinking about shin pads!

Changing as have never given it a chance and welcome change. Plus would really like to learn to manual... Obviously clips don't actually stop this but one less thing to tell my brain to be quiet about.

Tie your laces properly

White pedals are slippy.

Your foot is definitely in the wrong position.

As above really, foot further forward than you would clipped in. Heels down, but unless you're extremely supple you won't get your back foot heel down whilst riding stood up and in the centre of your bike.
I switched around a year ago and it's been great for me.

What Steve says.

Am I alone? I keep seeing the "heels down" advice and it's something I've never done and which always seems weird.

My front foot is heel-down, but my back foot is toes-down, pushing backwards for grip. This gives control over the rear of the bike that I can't see how to get with both feet heels-down. The rear foot does all the work. For me, anyway. YMMV (and it would seem lots of people's does).

Also, I don't think I've ever once scraped my shins while riding (only while pushing) as many people seem to have done, and I think these things are related.

¯\_(?)_/¯

Shin pads for sure.

You won't die, but I reckon you'll get annoyed by them several times. I find that on flats my feet slide off forwards when I'm going uphill which is just irritating - you lose momentum. There are obviously pros, and also cons. Go into it with an open mind and expect to do more than a couple of rides before you see any benefit overall.

I say this as someone who still prefers SPDs.

.....but you'll be a better rider once you do.

How so?

Try the Ryan Leech flat ride challenge. 12 rides in under 6 weeks and he has a bunch of drills for you so you're not just aimlessly riding around!

I am way happier on flats. I have even thought about putting them on the Gnarmac bike.

When the topic inevitably comes up on group rides the final dogma in the argument for is always "all the cool kids wear flats" and that Sir is why.

So rode to work today on them ready for the first proper ride tonight, noticed my feet just don't move about... that's going to be interesting.

That 12 ride challenge sounds good.

Am I alone? I keep seeing the "heels down" advice and it's something I've never done and which always seems weird.

Nope, same here. I asked Jedi about this once and I seem to recall that he didn't to think it was particularly useful advice either, you just need to make sure your weight is central over the bike.

.....but you'll be a better rider once you do.

How so?

It's my considered opinion, based on personal experience and observing other riders. Most people who started out MTBing clipped in like the OP stand to gain a lot from learning to ride flats.

I also rode SPDs for nearly two decades before I gave flats a go. Switching to flats helped me learn how to move with the bike rather than forcing it to do stuff by moving it around under me. When you're clipped in it's very easy to get lazy and just pull the bike up with your feet rather than making the full body movements you need to weight and unweight the bike properly. My riding came on in leaps and bounds once I'd got the hang of controlling it on flats, because I move with the bike much more than I used to.

I'm sure you're a much better rider than I am, and you're doing everything perfectly whilst being clipped in, but for many people riding flats teaches you some very useful things about how to control a bike that are much harder to learn when you're clipped in. I do still use SPDs from time to time by the way, and once you start going really fast SPDs are usually better (which I expect is why most DH WC riders use them now), but for learning to control a bike properly, flats are a really good learning tool.

That 12 ride challenge sounds good.

Sounds like a good target to me. Good luck! 🙂

Keep heels down, weight on the feet. Don't dpeend on lifting the back of the bike with your feet - at least not until you can do it comfortably with the flats

Maybe I'll try flats this winter...

I tried for one ride and it was a bit horrendous tbh (hardtail, just kept getting bounced off - I'm fine bunny hopping etc., just preferred the spds over roots and rocks - I'm sure that could change with the right shoes and a few rides).

I think the real factor for me is that I have the SPD shoes (and will continue to have them for commute/road riding) and M520s are so cheap and so reliable.

Good luck by the way! I can see the advantages on some stuff.

Heels down, but unless you're extremely supple you won't get your back foot heel down whilst riding stood up and in the centre of your bike.

I asked Jedi about this once and I seem to recall that he didn't to think it was particularly useful advice either

EDIT: In fact with a very quick search I've found two threads on here where he says heels down, so unless he's changed his mind recently, you might be due a refresher course! 🙂

Am I alone? I keep seeing the "heels down" advice and it's something I've never done and which always seems weird.

My front foot is heel-down, but my back foot is toes-down, pushing backwards for grip. This gives control over the rear of the bike that I can't see how to get with both feet heels-down.

FWIW I went from many years of clipless to flats about 18 months ago, much prefer it more (loads more confidence). Never had any problems staying on the pedals, and I don't really feel it's any less efficient really, possibly loads of road cycling has given be a decent pedalling style!

I tried for one ride and it was a bit horrendous tbh

Yeah, my first ride was interesting too! You have to stick with it, trust me. It's not really got anything to do with shoes (assuming you're not riding in your work brogues or something), it's all down to technique and practise.

Also, I'll say this again: SADDLE DOWN! Right down if you've not got a dropper, but even if you do, knock its base position down an inch or so to start with. You can put it up again once you're more confident, but you really don't want the bike kicking you up the arse while you're trying to get used to not being bolted onto the pedals.

I'm pretty sure he told me to ride heels down...

Sorry, not trying to put words in Jedi's mouth. Maybe he just meant it wasn't a useful way to think about it for me specifically - it was a couple of years ago so I could well have misremembered. I do know 'heels down' never helped me out much anyway, but it seems to work for lots of other people so I'll shut up about it now. 😉

the main reason i can see for the 'Heels Down' mantra is that the bike hitting an obstacle will generally slow it down but the rider's momentum will carry them forward. If you have your heels down then it will push your feet onto the pedals rather than lift them off forward

If you want to lift the back wheel though then you need to push your toes down so you can 'hook' them round and scoop up the back wheel.

the main reason i can see for the 'Heels Down' mantra is that the bike hitting an obstacle will generally slow it down but the rider's momentum will carry them forward. If you have your heels down then it will push your feet onto the pedals rather than lift them off forward

This, and it gives a feeling of driving the bike through rough ground rather than hanging onto it like a passenger. Mainly useful for descents IME.

Jedi says (IIRC) that your front foot should be heel down, but if you're stood in that central position on the bike then unless you're extremely flexible it'll be almost impossible to get that rear foot "heel down". I was pleased to hear that as I could never get my rear foot heel down without it feeling very uncomfortable.

I'm sure you're a much better rider than I am, and you're doing everything perfectly whilst being clipped in

I'm sure I'm not, as I've been riding SPD for many years now and have probably got into bad habits. I started off on flats many years ago, and have contemplated going back (I have some V12s somewhere)but I don't have any decent shoes to use. I haven't really found SPDs a hindrance to moving around on the bike, tbh, but I do keep them fairly loose.

Light hands, Heavy feet.

I haven't really found SPDs a hindrance to moving around on the bike, tbh, but I do keep them fairly loose.

What happens when you land after jumping?

I land? Dunno really (to be fair it's been a while, and I've never been big on air anyway; 3ft drops at my peak) but it's all fine.

I mean, I'm not knocking what works for others. I just can't get my head around it for me: if I weren't toes-down on my trailing foot I'd be all over the shop.

Also, I'll say this again: SADDLE DOWN! Right down if you've not got a dropper, but even if you do, knock its base position down an inch or so to start with.

Yeah, even when you're used to it, the natural bend in your foot will put you at least half an inch lower, so an inch is a good starting point. Wouldn't necessarily slam it at first though if you're used to steadying the bike with your thigh against the saddle.

the main reason i can see for the 'Heels Down' mantra is that the bike hitting an obstacle will generally slow it down but the rider's momentum will carry them forward. If you have your heels down then it will push your feet onto the pedals rather than lift them off forward

Yeah. Certainly if your *front* foot isn't heel-down then you're screwed.

If you want to lift the back wheel though then you need to push your toes down so you can 'hook' them round and scoop up the back wheel.

Yeah, this, it lets you control the back end of the bike with your trailing leg.

I suspect this may be the crux of the difference, actually: I've never really ridden full sus bikes, so I've always been used to working the back end over anything rough. Physically grabbing it and lofting it with the trailing foot is a decent way of doing that when you can't just push the back end into the ground and make the suspension do the work: if you're heel-down at the back on a rigid bike I suspect you run more risk of losing contact with the pedal on certain stuff. YMMV, works for me, etc etc

relax at the ankles heels down but not forced. focus on the rear foot being flat as too. the back foot pointing down is just no weight on the rear foot and its in plantar flexion. focus on the rear foot and your weight will be better distributed. 🙂 position the foot more with pedal axle behind the ball of big toe so it can revolve easy around the axel.

I'm the other way around, after about 12 years on flats, I'm now on a Pair of DH mallets and really like them. It took about 2 months to get use to them and forget I'm clipped in. And if pushed I can unclip and the platform is wide enough to be ok which does not happen that often.