Do you ride clipped in pedals on your Emtb?

[Doomanic]

My post was in reply to Slowroller, not you. You posted while I was typing mine and I got no message indication from Tapatalk that anyone else had posted.

 

[Gary]

Ok, thanks for explaining.
I still don't see what you disagree with about Slowriders post though.
He's actually encouraging you to come out of your comfort zone and try something new/different. Albeit with stabilizers (sticky soles)

 

[Doomanic]

He maintains that flats are all you need. I disagree. Therefore, we should agree to disagree. I’m fine with whatever people use, just as I’m fine with what I use.
It’s possible that learning to ride would benefit me but it’s not going to happen. My riding time is severely limited, especially in comparison to yours (I live 45 miles from any riding I want to do), and I want to spend it enjoying myself not worrying that I’m about to damage myself. SPDs give me the confidence to enjoy the riding I want to do and I have no interest in changing that.

 

[Gary]

I live 45 miles from any riding I want to do

Wow! how is this even possible?

May I be so bold as to recommend your next Emtb upgrade?

 

[Doomanic]

Yeah,that would be great if I lived near any hills decent public access.
I’ve been pouring over OS maps trying to find any decent routes near me but the vast majority of bridleways are blind or turn into footpaths or permissive rights of way for horses.

 

[Doomanic]

Oh yeah, it’s mostly flat as a witches tit round here too.
The Malvern are the closest hills but the conservation society doesn’t like MTBs.
FoD is my closest decent riding and after a day at work I don’t really fancy the drive for an evening ride.

 

[Gary]

I'm 40 minutes from the tweed Valley which you'll probably realise is pretty much world class for any types of mtb. I'm not far from the coast and locally it's actually very flat but I still have 40 miles of nice quiet singletrack to ride from the door. (some of the more fun bits I cut myself). My nearest proper hill range is 12 miles South but it's rolling baron gorse filled hills with fireroad access to windfarms and mainly non technical boulder field descents. Getting an Ebike has made a lot of my local riding more fun. but some of the flatter smoother trails I'm actually still faster riding a normal bike.
Never really understood the english mtb obsession with pouring over bridleways. The best natural trails and best areas to create your own trails are seldom accessible by bridleways. One great thing about the Emtb is how easy it will be to explore further than you may currently. (something I've jus always done everywhere I've lived). There are bound to be hidden gems waiting for you nearby no matter what part of the UK you live in.

 

[Doomanic]

We don’t enjoy the same access rights as you do in Scotland. If it’s not a bridle way, RUPP or BOAT it’s out of bounds unless it’s permissive tracks like the FoD. Consequently, all the vehicular access tends to get destroyed by the One Life crowd in their shonky Discos.
Round here you’re likely to be shot at by a carrot crunching inbred if you dared set wheel on their land.

 

[Gary]

Somerset was similar. While living there I just ignored your rights and followed my own, found loads of local and not quite so local riding straight from the door. The Scottish rights of access are actually based entirely on common sense and goodwill and always have been. Recent legislation is actually nothing new. A smile and a chat with locals/land owners and not being a dick worked wonders for me even down there. and zummerzet is officially the inbred capital of the UK.
There are bound to be cheeky trails/jumps etc. somewhere local to you. What's your Scottish accent like?

 

[ccrdave]

We don’t enjoy the same access rights as you do in Scotland. If it’s not a bridle way, RUPP or BOAT it’s out of bounds unless it’s permissive tracks like the FoD. Consequently, all the vehicular access tends to get destroyed by the One Life crowd in their shonky Discos.
Round here you’re likely to be shot at by a carrot crunching inbred if you dared set wheel on their land.

Oi whats wrong with discos i can get three ebikes in the back of mine lol

 

[Doomanic]

I don’t know what yours is like but the ones round here are all balloon tyres, lift kits, checkerplate and tin worm...

 

[ccrdave]

I don’t know what yours is like but the ones round here are all balloon tyres, lift kits, checkerplate and tin worm...

Nah mines strictly road I use it to carry all my diving gear around and when I am not working it gets full of bikes, and I am a big landover fan (old ones)

 

[Mabman]

Flats cause you don't have to change your shoes/boots

 

[Cyclejunkie]

I`ve just gone from SPD`S to flats on my levo and enjoying it... no shin scraps yet, brought a pair of O`Neal Pinned Pedal Shoe`s from Tredz... I like the `instant foot down` when I mess up which you don't get with SPD`S.....time will tell

 

[Gary]

Burp

 

[dfkenevo]

I ride with SPD’s on my non e bike SC Hightower and I go back and forth with my Kenevo. If had to choose one I will stick with the SPD’s, I just ride flats to keep the skills and fun.

 

[Cisco]

I ride clipped in and have done so for a couple of years.. it took me a couple of months to commit properly to them.
Most of my pals also ride spd's now but some of them, when the going gets tough, I see them start to un-clip.
I don't do that, by the time I decide it's time to un-clip the accident has already happened.
Recently Iv'e put flats on my Capra to practice hops/manuals/endos cos I know it's kind of cheating clipped in but it's a pain cos I keep trying to twist my foot to un-clip.

 

[ULEWZ]

This poll is skewed towards clipless, with most of the answers leaning that direction. I hate polls, so my answer had to be other.

 

[HikerDave]

This isn't meant to be a flats vs clips discussion (they're both absolutely fine) I'm just Interested to know who rides which pedals and why.
Me. I can ride SPDs fine (always do on my roadbike and occasionally on a winter hardtail) but prefer not to unless I'm on a fixed (for pedalling) height seatpost. I've just always found flat pedals to be more fun and they allow me to ride looser more stylishly and get away with being sketchier on them.
Just wondering other riders thoughts as E-bikes are a bit different.

Leave a comment if you chose "other"

I commute on my eMtb so flats are way more convenient. Otherwise I would ride clipped in because that’s what I’m used to; a couple of years ago I went three feet to flat when I forgot that I was riding on flats; my landing was a special kind of pain.

 

[Dax]

Been riding clipped in for years, no complaints. There's been a couple of situations when I've wanted flats, riding a very exposed trail and riding some particularly sketchy shore. Otherwise I far prefer clipless .

 

[ggx]

It's just what I'm used to riding but I´m considering to try flat pedals

 

[steve_sordy]

I started off on nylon pedals, yep! the cheap ones that come with a bike. My trainers were sliding all over the place when the trail got muddy. The bike shop sold me some £5 metal skeleton pedals that looked like they belonged in a bear trap. I had them for several years and was quite happy with them. Then I bought an mtb and started reading the mtb magazines. The LBS had some fearsome looking pedals covered in spikes for amazingly high prices (£40!!!) - no way Hose! Through the MBR magazine I discovered SPDs, so I bought a pair of Shimano's cheapest SPDs (M520 I think, still got them, and the shoes). I promised myself a minimum 3 months before giving up on them. After the usual comedy falls, I went on to use them for 18 months all over the place. Then I went on a guided ride in the Yorkshire Dales. Let's draw a veil over that, suffice it to say that afterwards I went out and bought some flat pedals (Kona WahWah) and some Shimano 510s. Apart from a few comedy falls where I tried to eject by twisting, I have used flats ever since. My pedal of choice now is the DMR Vault. I still use the SPDs now and again when I'm just tootling about, but very much prefer the ability to bail out when required provided by the flats. Even more so now that my knee joints are failing. When my knee is high, I can't twist to eject!

 

[Vilt]

Absolutely flats. Technical stuff just gets too hairy when clipped in. Also when I drive it into a canal I dont want to sink to the bottom with the bike attached to my feet. (I'm from Holland.)

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

Hells no. Never have and never seen the point. When things get rowdy the thought of not being able to do that quick dab instinctively makes me nervous. Isn't clips redundant on an ebike anyway because the main advantage is pedalling efficiency?!

 

[Dax]

You can get a quick dab with clipless. I have never had any issue getting my feet out, the biggest downside is when dropping into a section you need a bit of a run to make sure you're clipped in.

Biggest advantage for me is the control over the bike on slippy surfaces, having my foot always in the correct position on the pedal and not having any risk of losing a pedal in the air. Pedalling efficiency isn't on my list at all.

 

[outerlimits]

Flats, as I can dislocate my knee on hard landings, so being clipped to the bike if I crash can mean much badness. And knee dislocation.

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

always clipped in - too many experiences of foot leaving pedal whilst air born to risk flats these days, and I gave up on SPD in the 90's have been on Time Atac ever since

 

[Doomanic]

Aw crap! If WW says clipless is right it must be time to switch to flats...

 

[R120]

To be fair to WW if using clips Time Atacs are my go to pedal- much overlooked but great pedal

 

[Janluke]

Clipped in as my prosthetic leg needs to be attached to the pedal. I sometimes ride with a flat on my analogue leg side. I tried magnetic pedals from Maglock but the pros still moved about when pedalling hard