Clips or flats?

⚡ EMTB Pro Go Pro — exclusive discounts & ad-free Peaty's 25% off & more · Ad-free browsing · Pro badge See the deals →
Flats, but I'm happy to ride clips too.
 
I wish I would have learned to ride on flats. I spent many years clipped in and formed very bad habits (pulling feet up to clear a jump). I switched to flats 2 years ago and my riding has improved a lot. Also more fun. Racing I would prefer to be clipped in. Just riding my local trails I prefer flats.
 
Clips here. I recently tried flats again, hated every minute, wondered how I ever used to ride them haha.
I am really grateful I learned core skills on flats though, I reckon that's pretty important!
 
I started my riding journey off-road with BMX and flat pedals.
Moved to SPD's in the 90's/00's and then went back to flats about 10 years ago.
I do miss my SPD's (used to run the Shimano M424 composite platform SPDs).
1744673602537.png


I think the new OneUp clipless (clip-in) pedals would be a good shout, but I wonder if I have the actual ability to unclip in time these days - I am not getting any younger or more dextrous.

1744673702957.png
 
I rode clips for the first ~20 years that I mountain biked, mostly Crank Bros. I switched to flats on a whim on my main bike and discovered how bad a lot of my technique was. After about a month I was comfy on them, and I started to switch all my bikes to flats. My DH bike was the last bike that I switched over because it took me a long time to feel confident that I wouldn't lose the bike on a big jump.

I now ride flats exclusively and it's tough to imagine going back. For the kind of riding I do (mostly very tech-y tech) it's just a PITA to get clipped in (or clipped back in) quickly enough, even with 20 years of practice. It also feels pretty risky in the event of a crash -- being able to instantly throw the bike away from myself has saved me from serious injury more than once.

The biggest downside of flats, IMO, is getting stabbed in the shin if you slip a pedal. I haven't found shinguards that are comfy for pedaling (I've tried a few) and so, in the immortal words of IFHT, there are more scars on my shins than stars in the sky.
 
HandsomeDanNZ said:
I started my riding journey off-road with BMX and flat pedals.
Moved to SPD's in the 90's/00's and then went back to flats about 10 years ago.
I do miss my SPD's (used to run the Shimano M424 composite platform SPDs).
View attachment 158534

I think the new OneUp clipless (clip-in) pedals would be a good shout, but I wonder if I have the actual ability to unclip in time these days - I am not getting any younger or more dextrous.

View attachment 158535
Click to expand...
They have a recall underway for the petals because people cannot get unclipped.
 
Haha, I tried the oneup pedals. They were good to clip in, but not the feel I was after for clipping out. Oneup have been very good to deal with recall issue.
I've since sold them anyway and moved to time pedals amongst others I've tried (crankbrothers and hope)
 
Flats. Mainly for comfort as clipless shoes tend to be too narrow and pointy. But I did switch to clips several years ago for a whole year to try them out. After a lot of testing, back to back I switched back to flats as wasn’t really any quicker (or slower) on the clips. I was riding 3-4 days a week then as was child free and lived near FOD

On the flip side my wife switched to clips to stop her feet bouncing off in really rough stuff and has never looked back, just got faster and more confident at speed, jumps, drops, etc. the only time she rides flats now is when the Shotgun seat is on the bike.

Now I can ride either without any problems.
 
charleyc said:
The biggest downside of flats, IMO, is getting stabbed in the shin if you slip a pedal. I haven't found shinguards that are comfy for pedaling (I've tried a few) and so, in the immortal words of IFHT, there are more scars on my shins than stars in the sky.
Click to expand...
I wore football (soccer) shin pads for my first few rides on flats and never needed them. The first ride after I stopped wearing them, on the other hand... :eek:

charleyc said:
For the kind of riding I do (mostly very tech-y tech) it's just a PITA to get clipped in (or clipped back in) quickly enough, even with 20 years of practice.
Click to expand...
Same. It's ok on Flow trails but on the steep tech I like to ride it can be an embuggerance, even using Nukeproof Horizon SPD pedals.
 
Clips are great if you are doing racing and wants the millisecond but this is also not entirely true at the same time, great rider can match the same level on flat.

The real drawback of clips is that you are locked, sometimes you just do not have the time to remove your foot, and you cannot escape in air, period. But you can move the bike with way less effort or technic.

The real drawbacks of flat are tiredness by having ankle down on some terrain for too long, it can be exhausting, obviously you need shinguard but this is not an issue...

I have enough grip on my flat, you just need to work on technic and find the right shoes/pedal for you (concave are the best!). On steep and loose terrain it would be crazy for me to look for something else, same for jumping.

That said clips are really cool if you ride really within your riding skill by a lot so there would be no tricky situation. If you ride at your limit, whatever it is, and push yourself, clips can lead to crash, at least for me it is.
 
Flat pedals win medals. Never been a fan of clips on MTB, even less so on electric bikes. Keeping feet on a bike is a technique thing, not a mechanical helper & if you ever need to bail sharpish, well.
 
Wolf Tooth Waveform flat pedals (Large) with customised pin lengths (didn't like what came with the pedals) to give required grip with my Specialized 2FO Roost flat 'leather' shoes.
 
Although I concede pin shin is an ongoing scandal. There should be questions in the house.
 
The main advantage of clips is your feet don't get bucked off in rough stuff as much
 
Rode flats for a lot of years. Tried clipped and quite liked them about 10 years ago... but had a few 'couldn't unclip quick enough' accidents1!
I then spent a couple of years on FUNN Mamba pedals - which have 1 side clip, and the other a decent platformed grippy flat. Best of both worlds - can go unclipped down new trails where you might want to put your foot down quickly... but can ride known trails or fire roads etc clipped in.

Went back to flats when I got my first emtb... and have been running them for over 5 years now. Don't really miss the clips, as the flats have definitely helped my more aggressive riding.
 
JP-NZ said:
Haha. I can obviously ride both, no hate though. Plenty of people are not confident in clips so that’s ok.
Click to expand...
Including these boys (y)

Flat pedals are commonly used by riders in the Red Bull Rampage competition.
Many riders, including multiple-time winner Brett Rheeder, exclusively use flat pedals. This choice is often influenced by the nature of the sport, which focuses on big tricks, freestyle riding, and controlling the bike on challenging terrain.

Seriously thou as you say its a very personal preference but im obviously flats all the way not to say i haven't tried clips there just not for me (y)
 
Wow, thanks for all the replies and opinions. From my perspective, I've always ridden clipped as I said and as I don't really do any overtly technical stuff, I've never really had a serious "oh fuck" moment where I needed to unclip in extremis. I think the last unclipping mishap was when trying to retrieve a dropped water bottle on a perfectly flat fire-trail right in front of a group of joggers. Such is my luck.
Bearing that in mind, the type of terrain I ride would probably suit flats more than clips, but it would feel odd for me not to be clipped in. Someone mentioned magpeds above, do they come supplied with a metal plate for your shoes to put in place of the SPD cleat?
 
Last edited:
Time Atac ( clips) ..for at least the last 20 years ..the platform is quite wide ..and unclipping very quick once you get used to them ..
Tried flats a couple of times on bikes that I've tried & tested ..not for me thanks 😊
 
JCU Delt Ox said:
Magpeds, best of both worlds.
Click to expand...
I have to agree. If I didn’t need magnetic peddles I would definitely use magnetic peddles for mtb’ing.

I started with toe-clips then moved to clip less when those became available. I liked them for road biking and wouldn’t use anything else. But mountain biking is/was a different matter. Clipping in was not an option for me (medical reasons) and flats were a joke on any trail that can shake things up.

I have Magpeds but eventually installed Avery Hustle magnetic peddles on both bikes. Magnetic peddles can feel exactly like flat peddles when regular shoes are used. ( no spd metal plate). They are the best of both worlds imo.
 
Personally I tried a pair of the mag pedals and thought they were terrible. You’re not secure like clips nor are you free like flats. And if you’ve ridden clips before the instinct to twist out doesn’t work. They also felt like too much of a compromise to be worth it.
 
Started out on Onza Ho TI's ( yep that old ) gave up on clipless with the buying of the first ebike about 4 years ago after crashing into a ditch and not being able to get off the bike . Pinned down by myself and not able to release my foot .😂
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Keep reading
    Browse all

    Similar Threads

    Community Stats

    Since 2018
    669K
    Messages
    40,842
    Members
    Join 30,000+ Riders, it's free!
    Back
    Top