Coping Without Being Clipped In!

Yesterday I forgot my cycling shows like a first class t!t, luckily a mate had some spare flat pedals in his car.

Did the route but after riding for 6+ years in SPD’s I found it very strange and I must difficult in places esepcially climbind and techical descending, how the hell do people cope without being clipped in?

skill?

Some of us can’t imagine being attatched to the bike!

Generally with flats that have huge pins and special super sticky shoes … so almost like being clipped …

*runs away*

Put the seat down for coming downhill.
Press on the pedals to go uphill.

True jack, I suppose its what youre comfortable with isnt it?

Tom what happens if its not that technical?

Point your toes slightly down and push on the bars while stood up, that’ll grip your pedals a little more in such semi-technical situations.

Never find I fall off flats, despite being a mainly spd rider, unless I do man-made jumps, but I cant do those at all anyway 😀

I changed over from using SPDs to flat about a year ago. For me the main difference is that with SPDs I moved the bike around by jumping upwards and bringing it with me, whereas with flats you’ve got to push down and forward a lot more, to bunnyhop properly, to get traction on the pedals (climbing or descending). If you try jumping upwards with flats on I find that you just jump off the bike, which is bad when going fast downhill or over a drop.

With flats you cant pull the bike by your feet, you have to do it with your hands – your feet have almost no involvement with the exercise,other than a slight tilting and backward push to maintain contact. With spuds I bunnyhop with little more than a bounce on the calves and then using the shins to stop the body motion, the momentum carries the bike upward. Its a whole lot more involved with the flats.

With flats you cant pull the bike by your feet

You can! Very easily
(matt – spd user for 12 years….)

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jackthedog – Member

Some of us can’t imagine being attatched to the bike!
Posted 20 minutes ago # Report-Post

Amen.

I did Stainburn red route for the first time yesterday with flat pedals for the first time in ages. No way would I have even attempted it clipped in.

You can! Very easily

Very little, it’s not used to contribute to the height of the rear wheel to any real extent. What I mean is you cant ride along with your pedals flat and jump upward dragging the bike with you. If you tilt your pedals a bit and do the same, while pushing back slightly (all happens subconciously) you can get a little air but significant height is not possible without using the pull up on the bars and push forward (which helps pin the pedals to the feet) technique, IMO. I’m no expert but thats how I learned to do trials and how I’ve taught a few people for fun – tell people they can pull up on the pedals and they’ll go home with sliced shins dissappointed.

Did the route but after riding for 6+ years in SPD’s I found it very strange and I must difficult in places esepcially climbind and techical descending, how the hell do people cope without being clipped in?

Try proof reading your posts before you send them

I think your post just proves that SPDs make you lazy; many people rely on them too much. Like a few have already said, I have always found it strange being attached to a mountain bike (I use spds on my roadie) and never got use to it and went back to flats, since then I have found my riding, as well as my confidence, has improved.

Staying attached to flat pedals on technical descents is easy, you drop your heals. You have to think about it tho, dropping your heals doesn’t come naturally. This is correct technique anyway for control of the bike, but SPD users tend not to bother, which causes bad technique/body position.

After using SPD’s (well they are actually Time pedals) for years I thought I would give flats a go. I bought some Gusset Slim Jims and a pair of 5/10 shoes and off I went. 1st ride I finished with aching knees which became agonizing the next day. Same with the 2nd ride and the 3rd and 4th. After a week I could barely walk without painkillers put the bike away and had a week off riding.

When I got back on bike after the week off I used the Time pedals and there was no knee pain turns out that I waggle my heels when I pedal heel in at the bottom of the stroke heel out at top. The Time pedals have lots of float but the Gusset 5/10 combination locked my foot in one position all the way round the stroke. Absoluteley killing my poor battered knees.

Ok does this mean that I am the only person left in the UK still using toe clips?
Love feeling strapped in, kinky I know, but it helps.

Riding flats gives you the skills riding SPD made you think you had.

roger – you are but rejoice in it, I used to love my clips apart from when my feet grew so much that normal clips left me with numb toes (squished the sides of my feet in with the strap).

“I did Stainburn red route for the first time yesterday with flat pedals for the first time in ages. No way would I have even attempted it clipped in.”

Why? Its not like its hard (As in what is there that you should feel uncomfortable clipped in, IF you’ve given them the chance to get used to them (properly) as with most riding?)

Have you never used SPDs or just not properly used to them
As I haven’t used flats in a good while I wouldn’t consider anything but SPDs for the double black warren boulder trail. I want to think about riding instead whether my feet are going to fall off. I as good as always manage to unclip in time if things get nasty, if they do its often better to try to ride it out anyway

“SPDs make you lazy; many people rely on them too much.”
Yes they make you lazy
But
Why does that matter? They keep you feet on(/in) your pedals and if you’ve gotten used to them enough that you are comfortable enough to use them anywhere (and trying to push things a bit) and unclip as you please, whats the problem?

“Riding flats gives you the skills riding SPD made you think you had.”
I’d just rather ride my bike. I know I’m never going to be a pro, so why not just take one less thing out of the equation and help me along. Its not like its taking that much away from riding? (when I rode flats I was used to them and didn’t have to think about dropping heels etc.. just as I don’t have to think about unclipping now with SPDs)

I have been riding flats and never tried SPS’s, but some friends say it helps for XC, so I might give them a go! Haven’t decided to go with Time[?] or shimano SPD’s yet though… which is better?

I want to think about riding instead whether my feet are going to fall off.

IME this almost never happens. I fall off my bike way more often than my feet come adrift.

Once you are used to them, no. heel dropping and other maintaining pedal grip means you don’t. But once used to being clipped in, its easier to stay that way? (and vice versa)

Ok does this mean that I am the only person left in the UK still using toe clips?

Nope – bought some SPDs but can’t get the old pedals off so still got the old toeclips. Removed the cage though, just use the front bit to help pull up on the pedals climbing, and I can flip the pedal over for full flat behaviour when I feel like it (e.g., descents where I suspect I may need to part company with the bike at some point!). Learnt to keep feet level when descending a long time ago after a couple of slippages…

Just find I can dab more easily with flats on really technical sections (far faster than you can clip out but more importantly clip back in) and on really fast DH/alpine stuff I get masses more confidence feeling my foot on a proper platform. Its sort of irrational, but thats why arguments spring up on here abuot this all the time.

porterclough – dont you find you catch teh cages on the floor loads? I had several cases of the straps wearing through while out on rides and found that every time I tried to ride with the flat side up the cage hooked rocks and logs 🙂

Shimano = bulletproof, engage with a nice click, not good with dodgy knees, can be a bit clog prone in mud

Time = bulletproof, engage with a lound clunk, VERY GOOD for dodgy knees, better than Shimano in mud

Crank Bros = need a lot of TLC, very quiet soft engagement (hard to tell if your in sometimes) Fantastic mud clearance

My reccomendation Time Aliums you can get them for about 28 to 30 quid and mine have lasted 4 years and they are still spinning sweet

ck – yeah, but I try and flip them over so I’m ‘in’. Got sufficiently good at it it’s not a problem. One day though, I really must try the spds out 😉 (I just know I will fall off sideways in slow motion though)

If i’m going to be drifting corners then it’s flatties, if not then its Spd’s.

Tom what happens if its not that technical?

Drop your seat less ;0)

i wish i had flats yesterday could of proberly jumped over the bars insted or crippling myself

another flats rider here. Never tried spds.

I don’t know how folk find it so hard to get out of spds – you soon learn – I can get my foot out of the spds to take a dab without any problems. Multirelease cleats help but I never crash ‘cos I couldn’t take a dab when I needed to

i use both. flats for Dh when its not pedaly courses other wise i use cleats.

everything else I’m clipped in for. use egg beaters now not SPD’s

Just started using Crank Bros Mallets after always riding flats.

Need to get some confidence though as I’m a few yards slower on technical descents

i have always been put off by clips,just how quickly can you get out of them.i know in my case it would have to be about 5 microseconds for me to even consider them.

Once again the myth that SPDs promote poor technique is perpetuated. They don’t, poor riders do. In exactly the same way that poor riders have their foot out at every opportunity when riding flats, relying on that rather than correct body and bike position (downhiller s buzz phrase/excuse is “foot out flat out”). Just because you ride SPDs it does not mean that you do not think about your feet or have good technique. Fair play if you can ride flats fast but with modern 5:10s and good pedals it really isn’t difficult. Personally I am SPD institutionalised and whilst I can ride flats I find that the faster/more technical/steeper the terrain, the more I want to be clipped.

Flats or SPDs or toe clips who cares? Do whatever you are happiest with not what is trendy.

Well said Duir – I love the way on this thread one person said point the toes down another said heels down

Rob – being on spds does not slow me down at all in getting my feet out – but you have to learn the movement and get it to be instinctive – you will fall a few times until you learn this

I dislike not being able to click in on techy terrain and prefer flats. But SPDs on XC all the way