Question:

The theory being that standing with flats is better than sitting with clips.

What percent of the time is spent standing, as compared to sitting, when riding the following terrain with flat pedals: flat, rolling, DH, and up hill? Is sitting just for rest and hammer the remainder of the time standing up?

I vote for flats also. Mine was a gradual progression over the last several years. Getting into DJ was the best thing to progress my riding skills. I do not miss the clips when trail riding or up hill at all. The flats sometimes bang into rocks in tight situations a little more often, but I can deal with that. Pedaling backwards through tricky sections to clear pedal obstacles works when I am on my game.

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bikejames Reply:
August 18th, 2010 at 7:49 am

I stand as much as possible, especially when pedaling hard. Once I have a good cadence going on a long XC stretch I’ll sit and keep the pedals turning but anytime I have to lay down power – like climbing or getting up to speed after upshifting – I’m up and out of the saddle. I have a lot of trails around here that I ride with my seat down, even though it is not all downhill; I just stand 90% of the time and deal with the shorter seatpost when I do sit for a rest.

You can train yourself to be more comfortable standing than sitting, it just takes some time and commitment to it.

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I have been following this blog for a few weeks. I switched to clipless for cages in the spring and have not enjoyed clipless at all, so have been very intrigued by going with flats. I did reasonably well in my first race in July, but lost some time and ranking because a guy in front of me abruptly stopped cresting a single track hill. I had no where to go and didn’t get clipped out. Over the side I went – no injuries, but had to scramble out of my clips and back up an embankment.

Anyway, today was my first day out on my new 50/50s 5/10s. All I can say is riding is fun again!! I can stand and power up and down, have more mobility, and don’t have to worry about clipping in or out. This last point is important because technical stuff that made me nervous before with clipless was not issue today. I just went for it.

Funny thing is that for the first time ever I forgot my mini-pump and flatted out after almost two hours of riding. It was a 25 minute walk back to the car. Glad I made that walk in my 5/10s and not in those stupid Bontragers with miserable soles.

Cheers.

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I started MTBing long before clipless were the norm. It was either flats or cages when i first hit the trails. I have been using clipless pedals for years and like them. To be fair, I ride for enjoyment and enter races with no expectation (although I still don’t like to be passed on the trail) so I have never really concerned myself with the science of riding. That being said, my body has had a rough life and with knees, ankles and back begging me to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle, I take great interest in anything that may keep me riding longer. My questions are simple ones: what type of shoe would you recommend with Flats and what is the effect of not being secured to your bike as losing your footing at speed on a rough trail never has a happy ending.

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bikejames Reply:
August 31st, 2010 at 6:03 am

5-10 sticky rubber shoes are the best. You can find them at http://www.zappos.com and they’ll even let you return them if you try them for a few weeks and don’t like them. get the Impact 2 model.

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Here’s a new riders take on flats vs clipless. I’ve been riding for about 4 months and pretty much everyone I talked to told me I had to go clipless if I was serious about MTBing. I tried them and absolutely hated the feeling of being clipped to the bike and did not really enjoy riding with them. Switched back to flats and my riding improved greatly. I had so much more confidence riding on flats that I started hitting obstacles that I had never even attempted before and was ripping up the trail like a banshee. Thanks James for giving me “permission” to ride flats.

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I agree with you James about the beginners. I started with bad flats on a hardtail and that taught me a couple of things, especially jumping. Though I must say that ever since I started riding clip-ins, they took my riding to another level, maybe I was doing something totaly wrong while one flats, but still, the first word I thought of when riding SPDs: CONFIDENCE. No more caring what happens between my feet and my bike, It helped my mind to go through many DH jumps and rockgardens. I just dared to do more. Never crashed because I couldn’t unclip, never had a crash that would have lesser consequences if on flats. Though I crashed few times because my shoe unclipped.

In time I started to notice that SPDs hold me back, as I started noticing that I have problem with finding balance in steep rockgardens, so it was the bike and momentum starting to take over where we go, instead of myself. So… I got back to flats, good pedals with whatever shoes and I immediately noticed how faster can i be in corners just because of freedom of feet movement. After half a year i noticed what was the problem: I wasn’t letting the front wheel do its job, I wanted too much control over it. As soon as I learned myself to lean into the turns more by allowing the front wheel to go a bit further ahead after I start leaning I got back to SPDs and here I am again. I cannot imagine flats in a super tech XC that I am doing for most of my rides.

Nevertheless the moral is: switching between SPD and flats from time to time is absolutely necessary and vital for riding technique: but ride what you prefer most

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bikejames Reply:
October 11th, 2010 at 12:05 pm

Thanks for the feedback, however I have to go back to my standard advice – Try some 5:10′s and you’re feet won’t slip at all. However, it sounds like you are using SPDs to enhance your technique, not mask bad habits which is totally different than what happens with most riders. The fact that you can switch and don’t feel a massive drop off in performance tells me you are on the right track, although if you used some better shoes you’d probably ditch the clipless altogether.

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James,

I’m curious if you or anyone you know of has produced a “12 step” program for moving away from clipless. I have to say your advice is spot on in so many regards (I just smile when people, including my LBS coworkers, give me grief for running 785mm bars on a 50mm stem with a height adjust seat post on my xc bike because I know how much it improves the ride) that I am curious how flats can improve my riding.

When I started working in shops over a decade ago, clipless was what you graduated to. It was the pinnacle of bike gear because everyone believed it made you and the bike a single unit. Everyone at one point also believed the world was flat. Since I started reading you site and betterride.net I’ve reexamined aspects of my riding and it has helped me improve. Switching to platforms has been the first piece of advice that didn’t give me an immediate “A-ha!” moment and I’m curious what advice you can give in letting go of clipless.

After my first day on flats, I noticed a few point with which I personally had issues. On short steep out-of-the-saddle grunt-up-the-wall climbs between 10 and 30 feet long my trailing foot would frequently lift off the pedal and slip forward rotating the pedal underneath so that when I went to push down I was standing on my heel. I’ve never been an advocate for the “pull up on your pedals” argument of clipless, and have argued on many occasions that it’s the wrong reason to adopt a clipless system. However, there are two times I do pull: multiple mile road climbs, just to mix it up, although never for more than 10-15 seconds, and when riding technical climbs I push and pull to power over certain technical features that I wasn’t able to carry momentum into. Obviously the road aspect doesn’t apply here, but for that one or two pedal strokes when I do pull, I floundered almost every feature I normally clear.

Also, any word on getting permission to republish, or post a link to the slides from the “Korff et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007” study from your “The science behind Barefoot Pedaling.” post?

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bikejames Reply:
November 5th, 2010 at 1:10 pm

Someone just posted this link:

http://www.serottacyclinginstitute.com/documents/korffpedaltechniqueefficiency2007.pdf

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James the link to the research is broken. I am also interested in this.

By the way started on Flats 4 years ago beginner MTB
Went to clipless after 2 years
Returned to flats over last 6 months after reading your site (doing mtb combo drills). I purchased good quality flats and a pair of 510s. I am loving it.

Some of the riders I ride with will argue either way. I think my technique is improving riding flats in combination with the exercise drills I am doing.

I will probably alternate at some stage between clipless and flats to see if can notice any subtle differences.

James thank you for your insight and this site it is great for MTBers
Ken

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I first started off wearing flats, but then switched to clipless. This improved my riding hugely as being attached to the bike gave me a lot more confidence and the ability to learn jumps without any fear of my feet separating from the pedals. Pulling up on the pedals also really helped on technical climbs where sometimes you need all the power you can get.

Being able to unclip was never an issue for me; once un-clipped in mid-air to jab the bankside with a foot and put me back level again; still managed to get my foot back on the pedal in time for landing. Only thing I couldn’t do was take both feet off at the same time and jump off the back of the bike as you might do with flats.

Then as my cornering technique got better and I started getting my whole body (including my feet) facing round the corner in the direction I wanted the bike to go, I started to get problems with un-clipping accidently. Given the extra speed (and fun!) you can get around corners by having your body facing the right way, I’m now back to riding flats. The skills I learned when riding clipless mean that I can now ride flats much better than I ever could before.

Having clipless pedals so you can pull up to improve power is only really usefull if you’ve got so much power that you can’t apply it all by pushing down alone. I think its rare to need that much power (maybe now and again on technical climbs) and even rarer to be able to sustain that level of power for any meaningful length of time. Riding flats you can always back-pedal 1/4 turn if needed to help get you up the rough stuff.

So for me at this point in time clipless pedals are a bit like stabilisers, great for helping to learn bike skills but not needed anymore once you have.

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Thanks for the website! I am doing the 15 minute trail tune-up.

The flats vs. clipless has been intriguing. I primarily ride clips. I only use flats on a BMX at the skatepark. My biggest complaint about flats is that once I put my foot down it stays in the same spot, which isn’t always optimal, where as clips always put my foot in the same spot.

Check this out for a quasi scientific approach to which is faster when standing. http://www.leelikesbikes.com/flat-pedals-vs-clips-looking-for-data.html I know it isn’t a scientific study, but is the most objective thing I have seen. The conclusion is that clips while focusing on downstroke is fastest (ie. not focusing on pedaling circles).

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James

I am attaching an interesting article from Joe Friel regarding cleat position. I am not challenging your assumptioms merely asking where your foot is located when in a cleatless postion? Is it similar to the that suggested by Joe Friel or do you think it is more a matter of choice.

I remember back when I was a kid an my foot seemed to find its way similar to where Mr. Friel suggests. It was not until the old rat trap pedals forced me to be on my toes. Sort of makes sense.

Jim

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bikejames Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 7:14 pm

The new trend is to place the cleat at that mid-foot position, however it is still not taking the dynamic action that takes place with the foot to arrive and pushing down into the pedal. Changing cleat position is just a band-aid solution to the fact that trapping you foot and restricting its movement is not natural and causes problems, no matter wher the cleat is. At least, that’s my opinion on it.

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Just gave in after more than a year of your preaching and bought some 5.10′s and platforms.
Wow!! With platforms, I had no issues with my techincal climbs, made them just the same, aslo, did not feel much power loss, but they did expose the fact I was not getting my hips back in the attach position. Clipless pedals can certain mask some issues that flats won’t hide.
I like my clipless and will mix the two ups some, but hate it took me so long to try them.

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bikejames Reply:
February 19th, 2011 at 10:51 am

Welcome to the cult…er, I mean club!

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I have been riding for about 12 yrs and have never had a prob with clipless. I have really played with mine by practicing some basic trials skills, and I think that helps me. Not to mention I have my spd set loose. I definitely agree flats on downhill. You also have to be ready for clipless, its not something you jump in to as a beginner rider. What I love about clipless is that I can really feel what the bike is doing through my feet. I think when considering which pedal to use, you have to consider the type of riding you are doing. Make sure you get very comfortable on the bike before ever consider using clipless.

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Lets look at a little scenario that I have personally lived several times:
Steep technical DH.Front wheel gets stuck in a root, rock or whatever.

With Flats: Rear wheel starts lifting, I open my legs and push myself off the bike like when you hop over someone’s shoulders. Land on my feet take a few steps and maybe land on my knee pads. Stand up, dust myself off, untangle my bike off bushes, hope on and keep riding.

With clipless: Rear wheel starts lifting. I realize my feet cant go anywhere. My ass is higher than my head. I try to use me hands to soften the inevitable. I break a wrist or two. I land on my face knocking a few teeth off and fracture my jaw. My buddies call 911, I get air lifted to the hospital where I spend the next few weeks eating out of a straw. Go back home and receive a bill from the hospital for a similar amount that would pay for the most expensive mountain bike you can buy. Take my bike to Goodwill, never hop on anything with two wheels ever again in my life and learn to to play poker on line.

Luckily, the scenario that I experienced quite a few times is the first one thanks to riding flats.
I know that the second scenario might be a bit far fetched…Ok, so maybe I wouldn’t start playing poker on line…

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bikejames Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 9:07 am

Not so far fetched, I got dragged into this whole debate when Aaron Gwin knocked his font teeth out with that exact scenario and he blamed it 100% on the clipless pedals, mentioned how flats make you a better rider and then all hell broke loose with this debate. When one of the best riders in the world can knock his teeth out because of clipless pedals then anyone can.

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I still like the 5.10 freeriders with platforms, but am having numbness or tingling in the bottom of my feet on long rides. Any suggestions on insoles?

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bikejames Reply:
March 15th, 2011 at 5:00 am

No, but if you get some just watch out for excessive arch support. If you find something that you like let me know.

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I started biking back in the early ’90s, when the pinnacle of cool was clipless pedals. After a few years off riding, I started back up, but this time on flats. And it stayed that way for almost 10 years. Recently, myself and a few buddies have been heading back to the clipless pedals and I think they are great fun. I would recommend every new rider to stay away from them as the learning curve isn’t worth the benefit, but if you already know how to use them, it’s nice to mix it up once in a while. I end up switching back and forth between flats and clipless for AM riding and mild DH and I think it keeps things fresh. I think I like that each of the pedals offers different advantages and makes different lines more accessible.

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complete reverse for me, when i started out 7 years ago i was flats only and really enjoyed the thrill of going downhill as fast as i could but after several major off’s i wondered if mountain biking was for me, i tried clip in’s and found my convidence on the rocky fast sections went through the roof, i now ride downhill using time control’s and 661 filters on my v10, some of the courses i race on are super steep and if you get it wrong super dangerous, i’m not the quickest or the slowest and when i crash it is generally due to pilot error not weather or not i can unclip, i agree that newbee’s should learn the basic core skill’s on flats and if they take to the sport they should decide which area of mountain biking fire’s their rockets, at this point buying the correct bike, bike kit & pedals is the way forward.

for me crashing at high speed due to losing my footing is far more dangerous than falling over at a stop sign because i forgot to unclip, each to their own and if riding flats makes your riding more enjoyable then go for it but this can also be said for clip in’s, they are not the devils work they are just another option just like a seat dropper, which just happens to be the second best biking kit i’ve ever bought

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bikejames Reply:
April 1st, 2011 at 10:32 am

Got to try 5:10′s, your feet won’t bounce off with them. Clipless pedals aren’t the devil, however the blanket pressure put on mountain bikers by the mountain bike industry to use clipless pedals ASAP is wrong and unnecessary.

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I ride both type of pedals. But I will tell you I never stay clipped into my pedals riding down hill or even on the techno trails. Also I worked my way up to using clipless. As far as which one I like best… Well it’s both. I never bunny hop clipped in and only certain parts on the trail I remain clipped. You are right about those that are trying mountain biking for the first time…. The bike dealers shouldn’t recommend clipless pedals to the inexperienced rider. Also my first mountain bike was a hard tail with flat pedals. Later I upgraded to a full suspension beast. And even then I had the bike shop put sunringle flat pedals on my new bike. I didn’t start using the clipless pedals until three years later after I purchased my bike. My friend recommended clipless because of the increase of pedaling power. It’s a matter of choice. I like both.

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I started on Flats then moved onto clipless SPD’s. I loved the clipless for “power” and being attached to the bike… but found the way my feet are shaped to unclip I needed to rotate my body to unclip and in an emergency situation it was an impossible feat meaning I ended busting my kneecap. I threw the SPD’s in the bin and pick up some TIME clipless units, 100% better smoother and easier to unclip I felt much more stable and safer.

Then I purchased a road bike for fitness riding and put the TIME’s on the roadie and put my flats back on the MTB….WOW how much fun have I had since going back to flats?????? Too much to quantify!
I now hit the rock gardens harder faster hitting the kickers faster and railing berms, I still love the TIME clipless BUT I feel for my MTB riding I now love my flatties I feel the flats have made me work harder on the bike, but in all honestly I ride for the challenge and if I lose some of that perceived power then its a challenge to make up for it by working harder.

Waiting on my Sam Hill 5.10′s

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I’ve been riding for over 30 years, started with toe-straps, got the cage pedals on the first Stumpjumer in the ’80s, then went to clipless for about 10 years, then back to platforms. I can say that I’ve never felt more committed than riding with clipless, and never had as many falls, stupid falls, as with clipless.

I started riding platforms for the simple reason that my sons and their friends can do some much more radical stuff with platforms than I could ever do. I realized that I was missing an important bike skill by not even being able to bunny hop with platforms and learned to cheat a bunny hop with clipless. I focused on throwing the bike around like a BMXer and it has really opened up my skills.

I have a LOT more confidence in the trails, I can really work it hard knowing that a simple spill won’t turn into a stupid clipped-in pretzel tumble.

And something that a lot of people don’t realize is that you need to move your foot around depending on what you’re doing on the bike, sometimes moving a little here and there in corning really helps get your weight in the right place. And I find myself riding more in the middle of my feet that the balls, which helps keep the seat and stance a little lower.

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I have mixed emotions when it comes to clippless vs platforms. Having had the opprotunity to ride with James “Thor as we like to call him” has made me reconsider flats for trail riding. I really think that it comes down to application and or personal pref. Meaning the types of trails you are riding based on geographic location specifically. I will definitely say that being clipped in has its advantages when climbing simply becasue it allows you to stay in the saddle even on techical climbs allowing you to conserve energy vs standing. If this werent the case I would have to think that the top XC racers in the world would all be riding flats. I do however feel that being clipped in does have a negative impact on movement in regards to body geometry (knees, ankles, feet esp). I will also say that clip ins and DH dont mix and never will simply for the bailouts and foot repositioning needed for the style of riding encounterd with DH. The main differences I notice is with clips you have more control with the bike from your feet. With flats you have to learn how to control the bike more so with your hadlebars and weight dist. rather than your feet and in gravity situations learn to let the bike fall rather than jump when on flats. This plays out both in riding techy terrain as well as corners and esp jumping. All this being said, I have been riding cross country for about 12 years and big mountan riding for about 5 or so. To me, bottom line is they both have their stregths and weaknesses, ride what you feel most comfortable with.

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Hi James,

I just wanted to thank you for getting this information out there. I have been riding on flats for years and almost made the switch to clipless recently – why? The push that is out there that tells you “You’re just not serious unless you are on clipless pedals, besides, don’t you know that you should be pulling up on the pedals also?!” This misinformation has been debunked for me – thanks to your articles. As an amateur XC rider I’m going to stay on flats – thanks for giving me evidence and permission to do so! Another clipless pedal rider that I shared this info with then admitted that they were pushed into them and have never really felt comfortable with them.

Thank you also for your pedal/shoe recommendations. I was almost a bit dubious that 5-10′s could be THAT much better. I went to CRC online and splashed out on some new Azonic 420 pedals (lower stack height than my current ones), and also a pair of the 5-10 Impact2 shoes – absolutely BRILLIANT! I shaved a couple of minutes off one of my local tracks this morning after taking them out for the first time. The shoe really does allow you to stick to the pedal and put power down through sections where you would struggle with grip in anything else. For anyone thinking about it – they are well worth the money. Quality products at very reasonable prices!

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bikejames Reply:
August 25th, 2011 at 5:01 am

Really glad you found the info helpful, thanks for the feedback.

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I originally started riding in ’89…before clipless hit MTB. When Shimano made that first MTB-specific clipless shoe/pedal combo I was first in line. Rode clipless for years after that and loved it at the time. Then, slowly life took over and MTB took a backseat to where I actually took about a 9-year hiatus from riding. Fast forward to 2 years ago when I started riding again. I wanted to give flats a try because I just felt like I had developed a LOT of bad habits from riding clipless (pulling up on pedals when jumping and bunnyhopping, etc.). So, I purchased a set of 5.10′s and some Wellgo MG-1 pedals and gave it a try.

For me, the transition from clipless to flats was a pretty easy one. After I got used to the fact that I couldn’t pull up on my pedals anymore, it was all downhill from there. For me, there is just a much better “feel” to riding flats. You lose a little bit of pedaling efficiency, but for me the benefits far outweigh that loss of efficiency. For example, one of my favorite things about riding flats is my ability to adjust my foot placement over the pedal depending on the terrain. If i’m hammering, i’ll be more on the balls of my feet. If i’m descending or hitting rough terrain i’ll center my feet over the pedals. You’re not just stuck riding on the balls of your feet like with clipless and those differing foot positions help inspire more confidence. Not to mention that it’s helped me to break that bad habit of pulling up on the pedals for jumps and bunnyhops, etc.

Now, i’m riding a set of Straitline Pedals and the same 5.10 Impacts and couldn’t be happier with my shoe/pedal combo. The stick of the Stealth rubber soles and the Straitline pedals is “almost” like being clipped in. I honestly can say that I don’t think I would EVER ride clipless again. I juts see no need and have no interest in it whatsoever…ironic since I was such a proponent of it back in the day…

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I started MTB with clipless, but now I wan to try platform. I installed xpedo pedals and have a pair of five-ten. Yesterday I did a spin at my local trail, short but fairly technical wit logs, rock gardens, steep climbs and sharp switchbacks. I found I didn’t have big problem with climbs or switchbacks, but when I tried to ride over log pile or rock gardens, my feet were bounced off pedals. How do you keep your feet on the pedals while riding over log piles or rock gardens?

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bikejames Reply:
September 30th, 2011 at 9:42 am

You’ll learn how to get heavy on the pedals while staying light on the bike, it just takes some time. Try dropping your heels and “grounding” your feet into the pedals.

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Hi james,

You mention what shoes to use. What pedals do you recommend, there are so many to choose from.

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bikejames Reply:
October 27th, 2011 at 11:19 am

I like the Deity Pedals, but really any decent flat pedal will do. Spend $75-$100 and you’ll get a good pair.

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Flats all the way, especially coming from a bmx background, also meaning i’m used to standing on the bike, i’m sure clipless have thier use for road and xc and cyclocross, but with my style of riding theres too much room for erroe with clipless, i also find that standing for most of the time whilst riding helps strengthen my lower back as opposed to sitting for long stretches of time. I suppose its up to the individual and their own style and body type

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I just wanted to post an update on my own flat pedal experiment. I raced semi pro DH from 2001 to 2007 and now race primarily Super D and Enduro DH. Through my whole racing career I have been on clips 95% of the time. After reading some blog posts on this site it opened up my mind and made me want to do some real world experimenting for myself.

I switched to flats around this time last year and used them primarily through this season for everything. Road riding, XC riding, and DH riding. At first it is hard to get comfortable on the trail, mostly due to the fact that if you are used to clips you probably will have a hard time keeping your feet on the pedals due to a poor riding technique (which I had developed). I would say it takes around 12 to 15 good rides to really adapt to a flat pedal riding style. After that point a lot of things just seemed to click and I didn’t really have to think about it anymore.

Long story short, I have found a lot of information on this site to be very accurate. There is not much of a difference in terms of efficiency once you get used to flat pedals, even while climbing. I have found my riding style has changed a bit in a good way since the switch. My legs also feel stronger and more powerful than they ever have. In racing situations I would say that clips could still be an advantage because they allow you to be sloppy when you are over exerted, but I have had a hard time putting them back on my bike for any reason due to the more fun, natural style of flat pedals. Clipless pedals will feel very unnatural once you ride with flat pedals for a while. While flats may not be for everyone I would recommend everyone to try them, especially for training.

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bikejames Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 2:15 pm

Thanks for sharing and keeping an open mind. All I want is to make riders think and it sounds like that is what you did and benefitted as a result.

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I just made the switch from clipless to platforms for a test. I found with regualr metal pedals I would bounce or slip off the pedal, when shifting to clipless this stopped happening of course. Then I was reading the bikejames article and thought hmm it kind of makes sense. I started doing 5 minute sessions standing on the exercise bike at the gym to get used to the standing pedalling motion. Then I switched to platforms and wow, I don’t slip off, when using the spinning, wiping the pedal motion my foot stays planted. Once you have the strength and stamina to stay standing for greater periods you will be a better rider for sure, I used to suffer in sand with stock pedals and make it with the clipless, now with a good set of platforms I can use street shoes or trail shoes, I can make the sand, the mud and if I need to pick up the bike and run too, I can
Great suggestion and so far it’s doing me good.

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How well do 5:10′s w/platforms work in muddy/wet conditions?

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bikejames Reply:
December 23rd, 2011 at 6:00 am

They stick just as well as when they are dry. Obviously if the mud gets thick and you don’t have “rubber on pin” contact they won’t stick but one of the things that really stood out to me on my first ride with 5:10s was how they stuck like glue after they got wet, unlike the skate shoes I was wearing.

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Hi James,

I couldn’t agree more! I tried clipless a few years ago (after chewing up my shins on the stock rockhopper pedals) and after nearly breaking my knee I switched to a pair of bmx flats and sticky shoes. I never looked back! I think my riding is better, stronger, and safer because of it.

My switch was, in a large part, a decision made after listening to your podcast.

All the best,
Steve.

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bikejames Reply:
January 10th, 2012 at 10:30 am

Glad to hear it, having fun is what it is all about and nothing sucks the fun out faster than getting hurt because you can’t get out of your pedals…

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I have been riding for over half of my life now, and having multiple bikes for DH, XC, 4X/BMX tracks and all mountain i have different pedals on each bike. When doing DH I swap between clipless and flats depending on how rough the course is etc. If you can ride both when it suits you then why not?

Everyone is different at the end of the day so what ever suits them is cool.

Cheers
Dan

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bikejames Reply:
January 15th, 2012 at 10:25 am

I don’t disagree but that is not what the bike industry tells new riders. As long as clipless pedals are pushed as being “better” and not “different” then I we need to help new riders know that it is not only ok but necessary to learn on flats before switching to clipless pedals. Thanks for sharing your thoughts…

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Iam 52 and back riding a giant xtc, grew up on flats, switch to clips like both, but on my full suspention bike will be flats or untill I change my mind!

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Is there any info online about damage that clipless pedals cause over extended periods of time? I read somewhere, can’t remember where, that someone’s doctor recommended they use flat pedals to maintain brain / foot coordination, since you can’t just forget about what your feet are doing when on flats. This seems like an interesting perspective that should be researched further. Also, how much more work, in your opinion, would it take to be as fast on flats as on clips for super d / enduro racing? What kind of specific exercises help become a powerful flat pedal rider?

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bikejames Reply:
January 28th, 2012 at 8:50 am

Unfortunately the quality of movement and the impact of restricting natural foot movement is not something the vast majority of the scientific community is aware of, much less researching. However, when you looks at the astronomical overuse injury rates among cyclists it is apparent that something is not right and logic would tell us that if restricting foot movement for runners caused problems then the same thing is happening to cyclists. For some reason we have been completely forgotten in the whole Barefoot Running/ Training movement. However, I am not going to wait for someone to publish a study confirming what we instinctively and logically know to be true before I advocate the switch.

Check out this blog post to see how I feel about using clipless pedals for competitions vs. training and everyday use:

http://www.bikejames.com/barefoot-pedaling-flat-pedals/clipless-pedals-enhancing-performance-or-covering-up-dysfunction/

As far as exercises to improve your pedaling power with flats or clipless pedals you can’t beat deadlifts, single leg deadlifts and kettlebell swings.

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Thoughs and Questions after my first Flat Pedal ride…

About me, I’m not a racer, more of a weekend warrior who likes to ride 3-4 times per week. I ride in the CA Bay Area, mainly on fireroads with lots of climbing, and some single track whenever I get the chance. I’m more “all mountain” than “xc”, but more “xc” than “freeride”.

I’ve been reading SO many blog posts etc about flats vs. clips that I decided to give flats a try. I have been riding on Speedplay Frog pedals for about 8-10 years or something. I got some HT pedals from eBay and Teva shoes from Amazon. Today was my first ride.

Okay onto my thoughts about my first Flat Pedal ride:

1) I ride a rigid bike, and I can see how it would be much easier to ride flats with suspension. The rigid makes me realize my legs are too stiff, and I have been relying on my clips to keep me connected to the bike. If I had suspension it would be easier, but it might also mask learning the skills I’m looking to acquire.

2) Now I also wish I had a dropper seatpost. Relying on the clips to keep me connected, I didn’t have to be as low. That is to say I’m always just above my seat in my attack position, but with the flats I feel like I need to be lower to root myself to the flat pedals better and use more legs to absorb bumps.

3) I slipped of going uphill while standing once at the first hard climb, but not after that. I partially slipped on the pedals twice while going downhill, and I didn’t like that.

Questions (for anyone who’s read this far…):

1) Am I crazy to NOT wear shin guards?

2) Are there other people who ride aggressively with flats and rigid bikes (or Hardtail)? If so, do you have any tips?

3) Any other general comments that might help or encourage?

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bikejames Reply:
January 30th, 2012 at 6:42 am

Glad to hear you finally took the plunge and decided to try flats. The first thing to keep in mind is that it will take a few rides to get the hang of it so you can not base too much on your first ride. There was a learning curve for clipless pedals for you as well and I’m sure it took a few rides until you started to feel comfortable on them.

I’ll give you my input on your questions…

1) Yes, you should wear some light shin guards while learning to ride flats. I called mine my XC shin pads and they were light shin pads that would stop my shins from getting tore up if I slipped a pedal. Once you get the hang of it you won’t need them as there is an art to getting your leg out of the way when you slip a pedal, plus you’ll find you simply don’t slip pedals very much as well.

2) I learned to ride a bike on a hardtail so I don’t think that has anything to do with it. You’d have the same issue on full suspension – your legs are too stiff and you were relying on the clipless pedals to hold you on. If anything you’ll find that you will ride smoother since you’ll start to use your legs more to absorb trail impacts. Suspension is not there to take impacts anyways, it is there to pick up the slack and improve your margin for error. You should ride like you have a hardtail even if you have 6+ inches of suspension and use your body to absorb impacts, not the suspension. Of course, most riders don’t get that point and instead bash into everything in sight, relying on their suspension and big wheels instead of their body, but that is somewhat besides the point.

3) Don’t let your ego get in the way and stick with flats for at least 6 rides. If you switch back and forth then you’ll never really get how to use flats – you have to force your body to figure it out and adapt. Also, get a dropper post or at least get into the habit of lowering your seat for sections of trail that you don’t need to sit down much for. Sitting down to pedal with your seat down is not the knee killing position it is made out to be.

Hope this helps…

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