Pedals: Flats or Clip In

I switched to flats on the Sutra. For about a week. My shins will never be the same.

@DangerDirtyD got them, he thinks they're tzatziki on a gyro.

I went back to clipless.

 

Thank you @Geetarguy for saying Clip In and not Clipless.

The grossly inaccurate term "clipless" - applied in 1989 - needs to die.

 

Truth!

 

FTR advice given freely to me which in retro was very good advice

if you are a .... "Clipped In" .....rider and you want to try flats ... Minimum 10 real rides before you can really assess...

1 or 2 rides is the worst way to assess.

Pre- flats... Clipped in from 1993 to 2017

Both have their pros / cons...

I do think it's is worth learning to ride both... For me Riding flats helped me become a better rider as I learned that I was relying on the clips to keep me and the bike together in the chunk.. in the air

Now I am one with the bike.

Funny before I rode flats... Subconsciously I looked at flats as for people that didn't want to commit etc... Now I see that differently

Just a perspective

 

Well stated.

 

Ahhhhh, so being clipped in is for losers and hacks who don't want to be "one" with their bike! Got it.

OK, just poking the bear.

Flats are a certain kind of commitment. Clips are a certain kind of commitment. Neither makes you or prevents you from being one with your bike. Don't believe me? Watch some Remy Metallier videos. Oh and some DH races. Then report back on how those riders are not at one with their bikes.

But I agree that if you are used to being clipped in, you would need to do at least a dozen rides on flats before you could assess the real differences. And those rides need to include both climbing and descending in chunk. And maybe some jumps or drops....

After doing that recently, I decided I am a loser hack who prefers clips for all-around riding.

 

Ok I'll poke back

I learned many years ago to not compare anything I do from a sports perspective to elite / pros in the sport... they operate on a completely different plane.
Remy (huge fan) could probably ride in flip flops and a bare spindle and out ride every rider on this forum.

Me personally I did not ride BMX etc when I was a kid I was a stick and ball guy so I never learned any of those skills and started on bikes clipped.

And yup I was a loser for 24 years ..... of course my previous self would think I am a loser now... I am sooooo confused.

 

The answer to the question is YES

 

Damn kids.....get off my lawn.

 

After my first ride on flats in probably 20 years yesterday I'm glad to see this. By the end of the ride I was starting to feel a bit more comfortable but to start with I was nearly ready to throw them in the bin. Climbing felt ordinary - I have a tendency to pull up on the backstroke and that of course can't happen with flats. I was getting pedal strikes everywhere because they are so much wider. Also had a moment when I tried to flick the back wheel and my foot just came clean off, realised I relied on being clipped in to make that happen.
I actually found getting air on the flats I felt a lot more in control which is odd because I thought it would have been the exact opposite. I'm going to persevere with them for now, I can already see how they are helping me identify areas where I need to improve my (lack of) skills which being clipped in had masked.

There will be an epic dummy spit rage quit moment coming the first time I take a hit from these things to my shins though

 

Flats when I am getting sendy. Clip in when I am racing.

 

First ride on new bike the other day...and first time on flats since BMX days....I'm liking the flats so far

 

https://bikerumor.com/a-flat-pedal-...-offers-8o-of-actual-float-with-normal-shoes/

 

If it works, that's a monumental breakthrough. I've always maintained that being clipped in is easier on your joints because the foot can pivot laterally a little while your leg makes the circle of the pedal stroke. I'm not sure about the durability of the joint that pivots on this pedal. I hope it's great and starts a "revolution" in pedal design.

 

I miss the days when everyone who rode flats was considered a newb or a wiener.

 

That was never the case. Some of the very best riders were/are on flats (Sam Hill, Chris Kovarik, Brendan Fairclough and many others). And of course, you can't ride clipped in for slopestyle or Rampage. Most racers ride clipped in however, for obvious reasons.

 

That was always my read in the Y2K years. I couldn’t tell you who rides clipped or flat professionally. I don’t pay attention to pro sports of any kind.
I’ll bet you if they were offered enough money any pro in any discipline of cycling would switch pedal types and start singing that style’s praises.

Granted, everyone has their price. We had a Psych. teacher in HS who would always say, " You can buy an A from me anytime, but, I guarantee you it's going to be incredibly expensive."

 

I disagree. There were only certain riders who would ride flats. It had nothing to do with what they were paid and everything to do with what worked for them. You couldn't pay Greg Minnaar enough to ride flats, and you couldn't pay Sam Hill enough to ride clipped in. Neither would perform well, rendering them irrelevant.

 

Still the case at the local, casual rider level. I still get comments from randoms on the trails who are seemingly bewildered that I am on flats.

 

I may remove my toe straps and give flats a try....lol

 

I was forced to ride flats on the bike I rented in Christchurch NZ -no bueno! Felt like all parts of me were being jostled on the chunky trail sections. Clipped in is my security blanket.

 

Flats for life here

 

Clip-ins? Never tried them. I can think of numerous instances where I would've fallen over with clip-ins. Flats for me. I'm clumsy at best.

 

My research over 35 years of riding, 29 of them on Shimano SPD's, is that 98% of those clipped in will admit they have fallen over at some point or another when they were unable to get their foot out. The other 2% are liars. The key is not falling over or not being able to get unclipped when it might be incredibly dangerous to do so. Fortunately, that's usually the case.

 

Flats-4-ever-more here (was once a clipless rider)

 

Totally agree with you, Mike. And yet, I feel so much more stable while being 'glued' to the bike. 'Was a beartrap guy for decades, so the SPD's seem much less dangerous! On the NZ ride ( a Specialized Rockhopper, so the change from full sus was another variable in the equation), I found myself dabbing WAY more than usual, a) because I could, and b) because my lower half was being bounced around so much. Maybe I'm conflating things?

 

Nahhhh....most people feel better clipped in. The first time I rode "not clipped in" was when I forgot my SPD shoes and had to ride on my SPD pedals with tennis shoes; quite the experience. When I finally tried flats in 2017, it took a solid 6 months to adapt and 6 years later, I still occasionally lift my foot because my brain was so adapted to "pulling up" on the SPD pedals at times. I've had a couple long time SPD folks here in Prescott try flats. One lasted one day and the other about 3 weeks before giving up.

 

I believe he term clippless is referring to the old over the shoe pedal clips that were used eons ago.