What are you riding with - Flats vs Clips?

[outerlimits]

I only had coal for toys mate. Stop whining

I don’t know why we can’t use multiple emojis to how we feel about a post. Your posts Gary tend to stir up a variety of emotions and I just don’t know how to react ?‍

 

[HORSPWR]

I only had coal for toys mate. Stop whining

I'd send you a lump of coal for xmas but you probably don't celebrate it!

 

[Chubba]

I'm not.
Your percieved view of my mood is incorrect.

There have been tons of clips vs flats threads on here... Despite me not actually caring what others choose to ride I do care why you might make that choice. (hence opening your thread)
Do you ride clipped in pedals on your Emtb? - EMTB Forums
might be of interest. dunno
*shrug*

Yup there sure are and I read your post, but I wanted a simple poll and results. Thanks for your feedback anywho.
TBH - i don't think anyone cares what anyone does, but helping others by providing personal insight from experience just makes us feel warm and fuzzy.

 

[Chubba]

Riding MTBs for 35 yrs, use both flats and clips....( should have went with flats on the pic below.... looped it whilst being clipped.. Doh!)

F$%^3 that looks painful!

 

[Gary]

I'd send you a lump of coal for xmas but you probably don't celebrate it!

We actually celebrate New Year here by taking coal and whisky to random strangers houses. Look it up... it's a pretty big party.
Try it this year. You might make some new friends and possibly lighten up for a few hours.

 

[Northumbrian]

F$%^3 that looks painful!

Broke both Tibia and Fibula and dislocated the ankle. A plate and some screws and all is well.

 

[118]

Broke both Tibia and Fibula and dislocated the ankle. A plate and some screws and all is well.

Are they still in? I did the very same a few years back. Best thing I ever did was, getting the majority of the metalwork out..!

 

[Rich-EMTB-UK]

Clips in the winter for the Diablo winter boots. Flats in the summer for the 5-10s.

 

[olde-mtber]

Flats all the way but back in my teenage years I built a road racing bike for every day use and used toe clips so was strapped in. Worked well way back then never think of using them these days though like my flats to much and I ride in a pair of Vans which stick really well to the Shimano flats.

 

[Bomble]

Flats here, would scare me to death riding with clips?

 

[Paul Mac]

I only had coal for toys mate. Stop whining

Coal!, that's luxury your parents obviously spoilt you ?
We had to play with salt and broken glass!

 

[squeegee]

Running clipless myself since I started riding mtb. I've gone through times of riding flats but always come back to clips because I get better pedaling efficiency/power and can pull up or maneuver the rear a lot more easily. Getting in and out is automatic really for me since I've been at it so long, that's the thing most people can't get over but you have to do your time just like anything else to learn it.

 

[Swan]

I ride both at the same time. left foot is clipped in, right is on flat pedal. ?

Just jokes ?

Seriously tho, I just ride flats on the trails because I am very prone to dislocating my right knee. I think flats have benefits for road bikes and XC. But for the average Joe trail riding ect then flats can be safer. Can get the required grip on flats by dropping your heals and weighting the legs, driving through the bottom bracket.
I find it amusing watching videos of clipped in riders crashing, as the bike stays with them as they flip and tumble along the ground ?

I will agree that the new flat shoes and pedal interfaces give so much better ride than old school setups. And that proper form will keep the feet on the pedals. There is nothing like clipless setups for keeping your foot in the "proper" position.. I can ride clips well and make a point every year to toss them on for a few rides to make sure I am keeping myself honest and not learning bad form..



But the thing that always draws me back to my clipless setups is that there is only 1 possible position for my feet on the pedals. Even with the best form and pedals and grippiest shoe, at some point your foot will be bounced out of place and you will end up riding through a rock garden with the ball of your foot over the spindle of the pedal. And with how grippy the setups are now, there is no readjusting until you are able to completely unweight the foot and reposition it on the pedal.. My clipless setup is either clipped in, or clipped out to dab if needed.


Plus the ability to truly unweight the bike in and tech section and let the bike dance under you is way easier on clipless..


And suicide no handers.. Those are way easier on clipless s too..

 

[routrax]

Flats on the ebike and hardtail, clipless on the road/commuter
Probably because my clipless shoes are road ones and I wouldn't want to be doing hike-a-bike in shoes that I can barely walk in.

 

[Simoto123]

Shimano saint flats. Long pins. Very grippy and supportive set up with 510s. Bit bleedy sometimes. Never dared to try clips.

 

[Haedesz]

Has anyone seen or tried Magped's?
(pedals with strong magnets and a steel plate on the cleat)
I'd like to know if they're either the best or the worst of both worlds.

Probably too niche

 

[Ozzie]

I have been riding with flats for a couple of months on my emtb after about 20 years or more with clips on my mtb, which I still ride once a week with a mate who is new to mtb.
I had found that because I was taking on more rugged and challenging trails on the emtb I wasn't getting my foot out quick enough when the bike came to a sudden stop and crashing at slow speed (it still hurts)!
The trouble I find with the flats is if my foot slips off the peddle during a sudden impact/stop I end up with spike gouges in my shin or the back of my legs. Which is still better than a broken arm or wrist.
So at this moment I'm marginally FOR flats. Oz

 

[Doomanic]

Has anyone seen or tried Magped's?
(pedals with strong magnets and a steel plate on the cleat)
I'd like to know if they're either the best or the worst of both worlds.

View attachment 21644

Probably too niche

@Stumpy

 

[R120]

Has anyone seen or tried Magped's?
(pedals with strong magnets and a steel plate on the cleat)
I'd like to know if they're either the best or the worst of both worlds.

View attachment 21644

Probably too niche

I would like to try these - I prefer flats for MTB, nothing against clips and I use them on the road, but just not for me off road. The only thing that appeals to me about clips is consistent foot placement, its not something I have an issue with on flats, but I would be intrigued to see how or if it affects my riding with having the foot in the same position each time.

They would be an expensive experiment though as I would need to invest in some shoes too

 

[steve_sordy]

Coal!, that's luxury your parents obviously spoilt you ?
We had to play with salt and broken glass!

You know nothing!

 

[Paul Mac]

You know nothing!

Got to admit I was plagiarising that exact skit.
I used to live in a rolled up newspaper floating on the river ??

 

[Northumbrian]

Prefer to be clipped in whilst airborne, you have a better level of bike control being connected and the main reason you know your foot is in exactly the right position when landing. ( had a situation a few weeks ago on flats when landing with my foot a bit further back than it should be, if you’ve done it, you will understand the possible outcomes....

 

[Chubba]

Interesting to see how many people ride flats, wasn’t expecting that.

 

[gaba]

Rode clipped in for a decade, went back to flats for the last decade. One Up composites are great and under 40$ with Jenson 20% off coupon. Add FiveTen Freerider Pros for my favorite combo???. Canfield Crampons are great too, but more expensive.

I like my foot position/body position better with flats when I’m descending. I never felt like the cleat on clips could be set back far enough. I felt more on my toes which put my COG more over my bars. Flats puts me over my bottom bracket more. Also I think if you learn hops/jumps etc on flats first your technique will ultimately be better. Just an opinion.

 

[Legendary-dave]

I’m riding flats with 5 / 10 tens but I’ve never tried clips to compare ?

 

[Eddy Current]

Anyone has tried clips with plataform/cage? Does the foot really made solid contact with the plataform?

My idea is to wear some softer shoes and set the spring softer as possible, relying the grip 50 to the clip 50 to the plataform

Thanks

 

[Gary]

That's really quite a stupid idea

pick one or the other. Loose cleat bindings are awful and pretty much negate the reasons for using clips in the first place.

 

[Doomanic]

Anyone has tried clips with plataform/cage? Does the foot really made solid contact with the plataform?

My idea is to wear some softer shoes and set the spring softer as possible, relying the grip 50 to the clip 50 to the plataform

Thanks

I've been using the Nukeproof Horizon CL pedals for a couple of years. They don't really work how you're thinking; you're either clipped in and relying on the cleat or not clipped in and relying on the platform. I ran my cleats loose and didn't have any issues, even after the sole of one of my shoes broke and allowed the cleat to float around. I used 5-10 spd shoes.
I actually switched to flats today and the pedal feel is very different and is going to take a while to get used to.

 

[lcarron]

Clipless on road bike for sure. On emtb not so much. In emergency situation I do not want to deal with it. None sense for me.

 

[Ron]

Before I got my Turbo Levo I rode clips on my Santa Cruz so I assumed clips on the EMTB too and started out that way but had some awkward tip over falls at low speeds and eventually decided to switch to flats because I can come off the pedals quicker and don’t need the extra climbing power with clips on my Levo like I did on my Santa Cruz. Happy so far with the decision but I do need to protect my shins and calfs from small cuts that the pins make when off the pedals.