Any technique tips/ things to know about switching to flat pedals?

[Moonrocket]

Totally not biking shoes, but I got a pair of teva Fuse ion water shoes that have their sticky rubber on clearance and I love them. They are super ventilated and they fit well and I wear a narrow shoe usually. I did a bike camp and got demo shoes which I could see being good for downhill but they were so heavy and hot I gave them back at lunch and was happy for my mesh like water shoes.

I only got them because they were $20 on a clearance sale and I wasn't sure I would stick with flats. Now I'm very happy with both ( and contemplating if I really need to switch back to clipless for Xterras.)

 

[NZfarmgirl]

Anything else you can tell me about flat shoes and pedals would be appreciated. My shop guy is trying to get me clipped in but now that I've smashed up my face I'm even more likely to get flats for my MTB. Pics and brands of pedals, pics of stuff you guys use would be helpful too thanks. I've been biking in my running shoes and stupid old pedals- really need to sort something out.

 

[geargrrl]

Hopefully he is not being a dick about it.

There are lots of great pedals out there. For a newbie look for one that is. It too wide, and where the pins aren't too aggressive. Regular bear traps that some low end bikes come with are not acceptable and neither are hybrid clip/flats. If you are picky, you ca thinks about color and weight. Its always fun to get pedals in a pretty color.

Shoe I think there has been lots of discussion of. There are just a few brands of flat pedal shoes out there. Skate or approach shoes will work in a pinch. You want a FLAT tread that the pins will sink into. Shin guards are useful when starting out.

Switching to or starting with flats is the #1 thing you can do to improve confidence. Go back to clips later if and only if you want to.

If you getting a lot of grief about "loss of efficiency" google The Flat Pedal Manifesto. It's a detailed article with links to the science that has disproven the pulling up is more efficient claim.

 

[geargrrl]

I used a Diety pedal that matches my bike, and 5-10 Freeriders. I have both men's and women's. I aisle to wear the five ten Guide Tennie which has the same sticky sole but is an approach shoe.

 

[abc]

If you getting a lot of grief about "loss of efficiency" google The Flat Pedal Manifesto. It's a detailed article with links to the science that has disproven the pulling up is more efficient claim.

There's a great deal of pseudo-science in that article. I wonder when we'll see racers riding flat pedals en mass?!

I now ride flats off-road, and clipless on the road. Efficiency definitely suffers with flats. But the trade-off is worth it on technical trails. So it's a compromise I'm happy to accept. (actually I think it isn't so much of "efficiency" of the pedaling stroke itself, clipless pedal allows one to recruit more different muscles so one is less tired and can ride longer strongly. Some would still call that "efficiency" for sure)

 

[contesstant]

I tend to agree abc that it's a trade-off, but one that's worth it!

And I also have Deity pedals--purple to match my handle bars They are extremely light weight and were quite inexpensive.

 

[NZfarmgirl]

These are the choices I have at the shop I have a loyalty membership with and am buying a new helmet from.(since mine is wrecked from my fall)
https://www.torpedo7.co.nz/torpedo7...ickListName=&productGroup=bike&searchKeyword=

What do you think of those?

And here are some Deity ones that I would have to get sent from overseas.
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nz/en/deity-components-compound-flat-pedals-2015/rp-prod94876
Are those the ones you mean?

 

[contesstant]

Those are the Deity's I have. I can't make any comments about how they function or how durable they are since I just got them and haven't ridden them on dirt, but they had a lot of good reviews on different MTB forums so I bought them based on that.

 

[geargrrl]

They all look fine. I've lots a few pins out of my pedals, but I seem to smack a lot of rocks. Pins are fully replaceable.

 

[altagirl]

https://canfieldbrothers.com/store/index.php/pedals/crampon-ultimate-pedals.html
These are my go to pedals. Between my husband and I, we own the full rainbow of colors.

 

[altagirl]

I can only say that my experience, after years of clipless riding, followed by years of flat pedal riding, is that at first, flats felt less efficient pedaling. But by the second year, I notice no difference. I do still have clips on my road bike, mainly because of the aerodynamic and better vented shoes... well and just habit, I guess. And that road biking feels as similar to mountain biking to me as xc and dh skiing.

It takes quite a while to train your body to have an efficient flat pedal stoke, but I find that once you do, it feels just as efficient as being clipped in.

Now, my husband disagrees, but he's never committed to flats for more than a couple consecutive rides. I think if you want to really perfect flat pedal technique, you have to really commit to it, at least for a while.

 

[geargrrl]

Everyone is different. I got it right away. My confidence level went up immediately, and a few other things went along with it. I even got DH to commit to the switch. Altagirl, what finally got to him was I was giving him crap about cornering like a roadie (on the saddle, one dimensional) and with flats we got him cornering "betterride/agressive" right away.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I started out clipless; did flats for a while; went back to clipless for the efficiency; stayed like that for years. When I bought a downhill bike from altagirl, it had flats already. After riding that a few times, I really liked it, so I decided to switch to flats on my bike - and haven't looked back. I don't really see my pedaling being inefficient compared to clipless, because my pedal stroke is good. Also, I prefer technical riding to long buff uphills, so I think that tips toward flats.

After seeing how much I enjoyed them, DH decided to try flats. He's been a devoted clipless rider for much more than a decade. His very first ride with flats, he loved it and is a complete convert. And he *is* someone who loves long buff climbs.

 

[contesstant]

I really appreciate all the feedback here. I am committed to staying with the flats and am getting more used to them every time I ride--but haven't ridden the dirt yet! There is a pretty steep climb on one of the paved bike trails I've been riding, steep that rivals anything I climb on the dirt, and I am feeling NO difference in power (other than what comes from a healing fracture and meniscus and the muscle atrophy that goes with it.)

My neighbor, who has never mountain biked and doesn't cycle at all, is about to drop some serious coin on a pretty sweet either Giant or Trek ladies bike and told her husband she's going to go clipless right from the get-go I am going to try to talk her out of it.

I'm going to look at getting some shin guards tomorrow

 

[altagirl]

Everyone is different. I got it right away. My confidence level went up immediately, and a few other things went along with it. I even got DH to commit to the switch. Altagirl, what finally got to him was I was giving him crap about cornering like a roadie (on the saddle, one dimensional) and with flats we got him cornering "betterride/agressive" right away.

Yeah, I definitely felt like I had to take a little step backwards for a little while switching to flats, but it resulted in a big improvement in the long run.

DH has taken numerous clinics with Gene (Betterride). And he corners better than I do, so while there is always room to improve, he's at a pretty darned high level either way. And most of the pro DH racers ARE clipped in, which is probably part of why he doesn't want to change. He uses flats when he feels like he needs them - on rougher DH race courses where there's a good chance of needing to unclip and where he knows it would be tough to get clipped back in. But otherwise he still feels better in clipless for basically everything. Though, like I said, he's never fully committed to flats for any significant amount of time either, and I didn't find myself fully comfortable on flats until I had been doing nothing else for months. My recommendation is that if he's going to use them in some races, he should practice on them enough that it's truly second nature. But I think he looks at it as that he just wants to get good enough at racing clipped in that he never needs the flats.

Anyway - race gear selection is kind of a different topic. He does unhesitatingly prefer and recommend flats for terrain where he's pushing his limits, learning new challenging terrain, etc. And personally, I climb anything with even moderately technical terrain much better on flats - I've been stuck in a clipless pedals falling at a standstill trying to get through an uphill obstacle enough that the confidence of flats makes a huge improvement for me.

I DO think that transition time is largely dependent on how deeply engrained your clipless pedal habits are, and how many bad habits you developed using them, you know? For me it was the years spent riding clipless before I took any lessons... When I was coaching I saw plenty of women jump on flats and feel instantly comfortable. If you're used to pulling up on a clipped in pedal stroke, or spent years bunny hopping by pulling up, or things like that, there's some adaptation time to really get that flat pedal stroke to become second nature at full efficiency, etc.

 

[NZfarmgirl]

I think I'll be fine as I haven't used clipless pedals at all. I've only been on cheap nasty stock pedals and running shoes, that I can tell are letting down, and have been having some good results ,- some first and second placings in some small, intermediate cross country races in my area. I can climb some pretty decent hills with those pedals (my strategy is to try and stick with some guys on the hills and pick off the women one by one) and my new bike is good on the down sections, so I'm expecting an improvement with the pins as I do slip off my old ones quite a bit - always at the wrong time. I just need to find some good shoes -which will likely be very difficult where I live. And I'm going to take it really easy in single track until I get my confidence back after my crash.

 

[abc]

He uses flats when he feels like he needs them - on rougher DH race courses where there's a good chance of needing to unclip and where he knows it would be tough to get clipped back in. But otherwise he still feels better in clipless for basically everything.

I've been stuck in a clipless pedals falling at a standstill trying to get through an uphill obstacle enough that the confidence of flats makes a huge improvement for me.

I think a lot of it is how comfortable one is with clipless in the first place.

I've had my share of falling sideways from standing still, but it's relatively rare. Beside, it doesn't really hurt falling at that speed. (ok, bruises but I don't consider that "hurt")

For the most part, I just don't feel like I need to unclip in much of what I ride. I just ride... or crash! Needing to put a foot down is a relatively rare situation. So the ease of flat pedal really isn't that strong.

That all changed after I stopped riding off-road for several years (got too busy riding on road). When I came back to riding technical trail, I wasn't nearly as confident nor as proficient in "cleaning" them. So I would hesitate a lot, attempt stuff I used to be able to clean but with the wrong technique or wrong timing... etc. A lot of falls later, I decided I would switch to flats so I could put my foot down when attempting stuff I knew I could but lost the timing/technique.

Basically, "practice" sessions on tougher obstacles are better done on flats.

So far, I'm still riding 90% road and only 10% off-road. So I never got back to as proficient as I used to. Hence just about all my off-road rides are "practice" sessions when it comes to obstacles these days! The flat pedals stays on. And I think most likely permanently, because I just don't see I have the time to go back to a huge amount of technical off-roads again.

 

[contesstant]

I crashed by just "falling over" in a flat section that is good mile of softball to basketball sized rocks. I hit one of the rocks wrong and couldn't get unclipped in time. I nailed my left knee on a rock and am certain I bruised the bone (the left tibial plateau area!) It brought tears to my eyes and hurt for months. Since I fractured my right tibial plateau this winter, I've decided no more messing around with my knees.

What's ironic is that Snowbasin labels that trail as "beginner" or green. I disagree ;)

 

[bounceswoosh]

I fell over on March 16, 2014, dithering between going for a technical uphill, or stopping and walking. I bumped the obstacle and tipped. That's how I got a level 2 ankle sprain in two directions and couldn't do anything active all spring and most of the summer.

I was on flats. Sometimes sh*t happens.

 

[geargrrl]

Indeed.