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I fancy going back to flat pedals after years of riding clipped in. I will probably switch pedals depending on whether I'm riding long XC or steeper/trail centre stuff.
I don't do much jumping as I'm generally a complete wuss. But when leaving the ground, how do you keep the bike under you and your shoes on the pedals?! I'm used to being stuck to my pedals so never gave it a second thought. Went over something small the other day and very nearly did myself some harm 🙁
Also, the pins on these v8copies are about 5mm long, and will make a horrible mess if they meet my shin. Will an angle grinder be ok to shorten them? I'll take the sharp edges off with a file afterwards.
Cheers
Gareth
Also, the pins on these v8copies are about 5mm long, and will make a horrible mess if they meet my shin.
MTFU. Longer pins give better grip usually. Make them shorter and you might be slipping all over the place.
And keeping your feet on the pedals is just a matter of pointing your heels downwards.
Shorter pins will still mess up your shins, but you'll slip more easily and often and end up doing more damage!
As far as keeping your feet on the pedals, it's all technique, but I can't think of a good way to explain it.
Couple of tips - 5.10s make a huge difference, particularly if it's damp. Riding slightly more flat footed (less on the ball) reduces the chance of slipping a pedal, particularly over rought stuff.
When you jump, you and the bike should be on the same trajectory. It shouldn't want to leave you!
Cool, kind of what I expected - just get used to it. I'll take a pic of the pins, I'm sure they're longer than they need to be! I have some 5.10 shoes which do seem to stick to them pretty well.
I think my jumping skills leave a lot to be desired.
You may have the same problem that I did when I started jumping - feet in the wrong place on the pedals. If you're riding flats with the pedal under the ball of your foot, try shifting your foot further forward so the pedal sits under the arch - works for me. (NB - this tip is brought to you courtesy of the eagle eye of Mr Jedi who spotted it when I spent a day with him).
Flat pedal grip has more to do with the number and position of the pins than their length really, that and what sort of shoe sole they have to bite into, grinding them down won’t really tackle the root cause of your problem; if the pedal is doing it’s job and you’re getting some grip/traction then your feet won’t slip and you shouldn’t have to worry about your shins, that’s the theory at least…
Rather than grind them back maybe remove a couple of the pins, and perhaps think about your technique a bit, are you riding “heels down”?
To be honest there no reason you can’t do scary jumpy stuff on SPDs if that’s what your used to/comfortable with, maybe just a matter of building on the bike skill/confidence than new pedals, perhaps time for a days tuition?
Yeah I was thinking a day of skills would be good, will have to save up for it a bit though. I've never been shown how to do anything. Heels down you say? Righto 🙂
SPDs are fine for most things, but I just fancied a change to see the difference.
get some 661 shin guards - worth the price to stop the inevitable cheese grater... 😯
Heels down, pedal in centre of foot not over the ball like an spd.
get some 661 shin guards - worth the price to stop the inevitable cheese grater...
Absolutely; it does not take long to get used to riding flats, but in the transition you will hit your shins repeatedly, and for some weird reason the grazes are never superficial, even if the contact is light. (Though you might not want to spent too much money on the guards, as once you get the hang of it you will probably not use them that much.)
Shin guards = defo a good plan...
I've only been riding properly for 18 months or so but I've found that for me, staying on the pedals is all to do with pumping properly...if you pump the back end of ur bike well into a jump (by crouching on the bike and then explosively pushing down on the pedals as u hit the jump) then the bike wants to climb into your body and therefore the pedals stay with ur shoes as u bring the bike up into ur body...if you don't pump well then u risk seperating from ur bike in mid air which is when ur feet float around and u hope u land on the pedals! U may well know all that but if not I'd suggest reading up on technique...I found 'Mastering Mountain Bike Skills' by Brian Lopes gave a really gd explanation of good jumping technique.
Hope that helps 🙂
I went back to flats after about 4 years with SPD's and don't regret a thing. I did it properly with a pair of 5-10's and Wellgo mag 1's and haven't (yet) ripped my legs to bits whilst cycling / slipping off the pedal. I have given myself a bit of a cut when walking the bike along though.
get some Hutch beartraps and MTFU
