Pedals – clipless vs flats
Oki doki.

I started riding bmx on flats in the early eighties as a young teen, you learned bunny hopes and all that shizzle. Following that I got into Road racing with clips and straps on a cleeted shoe and it felt great the tighter the strap was the better it felt especially for really really steep climbs where you would be pulling up on the back stroke as much as you would be pushing down on the down stroke.
Then there was the dawn of mountain biking from which I have basically progressed with the development of the mountain bike.
The first decent mountain bike came with clips and straps and then spd’s were developed, I wanted them bad. Got the spds and went to a field of soft grass as instructed by a copy of Mountain bike International and practiced un clipping and stuff, I then went on to ride clipped in for about 10 years but and I mean but, I always owned a pair of flats. If I ever wanted to put my trainers on and go for a razz round town or practice wheelies and various other techniques I’d be on flats.
We were doing All mountain when it was just called mountain biking i.e. riding up hill to get to ride hell for leather down the other side, this was all clipped into spds, we were fast n’all.
Progression continued and we are at about 1995 and we’ve been going down the bmx track on our MTB’s wearing spds, no problems.
I’d by this time raced a few xc races and found on any of the downhill’s I’d start gaining places and whipping most of the field. Downhill was growing within me and within the u.k.
1996 my first downhill event “Quad descender” rivington pike Lancashire, snow on the top, four at a time bar banging race to the bottom (coincidentally it was the first ever outing of an orange full sus bike ever! looked more like a schwin home grown than the oranges we know today) I used spd’s, everyone was at that race and guess who won…. Steve Peat.
During this year on a detour off-road on may ride back from work I thought I’d wheelie down the bank I’d usually jump off, as I did it I looped out one foot released the other didn’t. Result torn Knee ligaments, very very painful, the pedals were Onza titanium elastomer spd’s. I healed and carried on regardless
I then moved to California taking my bike with me at the time I was riding a Kona Kula with a pair of Azonic riser bars which at the time was a big nod to my aggressive tendencies on a bike, the yanks had not really seen mtb’s set up like this but this was the way of the Brits, the world soon followed suit.
While in the states for 2 years I switched between flats and spds and upgraded my spds to the new Red shimano DX spds (the first spds with a support cage). During my time in the states I seemed to be progressing more and more towards Dirt Jumping but in spd’s until the day I over shot a landing and snapped my collar bone clean in 2. From that day I have worn flats. Reason being I believe not coming away from the bike on landing caused me to break myself.
Fast forward the next ten years on flats with not a sniff of spds I have gone from dirt jumper to freerider to downhill racers my main ride is an Orange 224 blinged with saint and hope and superstar flats. My Shins are scared to oblivion (to answer the question about calves, yes you get caught on your calf and you hardly ever notice until you get home but if your pushing it you will whack your shin, if you have never whacked your shin your not trying hard enough, 5:10’s are awesome I have 3 pairs, but you will still whack your shin if your pushing it)
Changes are a foot (excuse the pun),
I have just built an “all mountain Bike” I have retired my Orange Msile and bought a Kona Dawg frame set put on some pikes and a pair of SHIMANO DX SPD’S.
Now don’t get me wrong I have nothing against spd’s I realise Peaty, Minnar, Gee have always used them and that the likes of Miami Bryce and Stevie Smith have started dabbling with them this season and even the most sketch and most watchable Danny Hart wears them and for pete’s sake I used them for 10 years but I feel like a freakin beginner.
When on flats I would boost of massive drops and and hit rocky sections flat out and everything really but in the SPD’s my confidence in my normal riding ability my normal riding exuberance seems to have retracted. Don’t get me wrong I’d probably still kick your ass downhill on my new all mountain build, but some thing has change in my head when I put the spd’s on.
So 20 years has passed 10 on SPD’s and 10 on Flats and this dude on this forum wants to know which way to go.
My advice is It don’t matter at your level it really does not matter, if your pure XC/XC racer and u know you don’t really do Downhill with any sort of ability/gusto I’d go with spd’s.
If you enjoy your downhill as much as your uphill, whatever your feel comfortable in, spds or flats it don’t matter
if you want to get in to Downhill start on flats.
The main thing with flats is you get to learn the bike, to bunny hope high with flats is skill to bunny hope high in clips is fake (but useful).
The main thing with SPD’s is power, when you need that extra you can really wind your cranks with the up stroke but this has to be practiced to be efficient and only really needed on really steep grippy climbs or of the start line.
Conclusion
Either will do unless you are a serious XC racer then spd’s are what you need.
Peace