|   TO CLIP IN OR NOT TO | NEWBIE
Aug 7, 2002 1:10 PM | | i need to know wether i should go clipless or just cleat, im doing OBV mountinbiking like trials w/ good ups and downs, easy at some parts and lil more aggresive at other part but for no means street riding or downhill, so for full suspenshion intermedit trail riding, shoudl i go clipless or cleat.... TY for ur responses |
| The sooner the better....... | FreeRangeChicken
Aug 7, 2002 1:40 PM | | In general, the sooner you make the switch to clipless pedals the better. Clipless pedals are cleat pedals. They use cleats that screw to the bottom of cycling shoes.
The other pedals are called toe clips. They are usually a flat pedal with a cage or a basket and straps that can be used with regular running shoes. Toe clips are usually more cumbersome because they're harder to get into. Also, if you're not in the clips (using the back side of the pedal), the cips can drag and snag on rocks and such.
In the long run clipless is the way to go. There is usually a bit of a learning curve though. There's usually a few falls attributed to not being able to unclip when you want in the beginning. Don't get discouraged, you'll learn eventually. It is well worth the trouble to learn. Clipless pedals give you better pedalling efficiency and better control over your bike. |
| Terminology | Ripzalot
Aug 8, 2002 12:05 AM | | I was always corn-fused by the term clipless....
A clipless pedal is a cleated pedal (or a clipless shoe is a cleated shoe). So is a toe cage pedal is a 'clipped' pedal? And riding unlocked in a clipless pedal is riding 'unclipped' (as you say)? Shouldn't that be 'uncleated'?
I think I just corn-fused myself all over again! |
| Simple Sir Ripzalot | meloh1
Aug 8, 2002 8:16 AM | | Toe clips (invented by a Frenchman named Christophe) are the correct term for the cages used to hold your feet on the pedals. Clipless pedals are pedals that don't have toe clips. Simple, huh? |
| yeah yeah... | Ripzalot
Aug 9, 2002 1:18 AM | | ...but it doesn't make sense to say "riding unclipped" in a clipless pedal. That was the point I was trying to make in my usual scatterbrained way. |
| No harm in waiting | czardonic
Aug 7, 2002 1:50 PM | | Clipless pedals allow you to pedal with more efficiency. If you are racing, or riding non-technical terrain for long periods of time, then they will help you out, especially on climbs. They are great for squeezing out that extra bit of speed and endurance on trails you already have down and are completely comfortable on.
If you are learning, developing your handling skills, or just starting to push your limits on techinical trails, I think they are a liability, if not a hazard.
If nothing else, make sure you have your low-speed handling skills dialed before you go near clipless. |
| No harm in waiting | Yeti_Rider
Aug 7, 2002 2:40 PM | | If you have to learn, you might as well learn on clipless. The transition from toe straps to clipless is just as hard because the motion to remove your foot is so different between the two systems. If you have to learn how to get your foot out of a pedal, why not just do it once? It's also eaiser to clip in than to get your foot situated into the toe strap adn clip.
I understand your point, but it really only makes sense to learn once.
Michael |
| Too much, too soon | czardonic
Aug 7, 2002 2:59 PM | | Clipless riders of every experience level will fall sooner of later in situations where they would have easily dabbed (or not lost it at all) with platforms. Even if you have the motions down and completely instictualized (word?), pedal malfunction is always a possibility. For a beginner, these falls may discourage them from trying sections that they could easily clear with practice and dabs where necessary.
By itself, clipping in and out is easy. But on the trail it is one more thing to think about (and one more place for a technical glitch to occur) in already skethy situations.
BTW, I am not advocating straps as a middle step. |
| clipless pedals caused me a severe injury | third day
Aug 8, 2002 9:47 AM | | One of my worst crashes came from not being able to get out of my pedals. I hit a tree and separated my shoulder and couldn't ride for 3-4 months. I finally got used to clipless and even started to like them, but then I switched back to platform pedals. It suits me better. For my style of riding, I don't see much advantage. I don't race, or ride extremely far. My typical ride is about 10 to 15 miles on fairly rough singletrack. I grew up riding BMX and freestyle bikes, so I enjoy jumping and technical stuff. I like to be able to get off the bike quickly or throw it away when I crash. Basically, for the type of riding I do, I think there isn't a huge advantage to having clipless, but it's all personal preference.
I agree that it will be a waste of time and counter-productive to try to learn to use toe clips. Just get an inexpensive pair of SPD-type pedals and see if you like them.
Has anyone else used clipless and then went back to platforms or am I just weird? |
| go clipless now | wulf
Aug 7, 2002 2:28 PM | | I mt biked for several years when I was in middle/high school, all with toe clips (baskets). Thought they were where it was at. Picked up road riding about a year ago, where clip-in pedals are unquestionably the way to go, and decided to pick up mt. biking again. Bought a new bike, and immediately decided it was a good time to make the switch from baskets to clip-ins. Best thing I've done yet on that bike - efficient like on the road bike, inherently enforces a smoother pedal stroke, and lots of power - especially when you get caught on a rock shelf, and REALLY need a big upstroke pull to clean it.
Do it now.
- wulf |
| My Clipin Story | Husar
Aug 7, 2002 3:45 PM | | After about 10 years off a bike I got back into it about a month ago. I had never used clipins before ever. My bike came with Shimano 959s. Nice peds! So after a week of use my old peds I put the Shimanos on and got some new shoes. Like a normal guy I did not read the instructions at all. Just looked that the peds and loosened them as much as they would go. Or so I thought. I went out on my first ride with them. I must of fell 25 times. Beat myself to hell but did not give up. When I got home I decided to put my old nonclip pedals back on. When I examined the Shimanos I realized I have them as tight as they would go. Next time out I loosend them the right way and have never looked back . It is all Shimano 959s now and I love them. I rarly fall now with only about 5 rides under my belt with them.
I guess I learned the hard way. |
| Clip in... | msylvan
Aug 8, 2002 9:15 AM | | They keep your feet on the pedals when pedaling over bumps, going down stutters, etc.
Being "stuck" in them is really only an issue at very, very slow speeds. The rest of the time your feet will naturally release (given properly adjusted and lubed pedals, and cleats properly installed on your shoes). You will get used to them pretty quickly even at slow speeds, and will soon wonder why you didn't go clipless sooner.
It is one of those, "I can't believe I didn't do this sooner" things, like suspension forks and disk brakes. |
| re: TO CLIP IN OR NOT TO | MntnMan
Aug 8, 2002 10:24 AM | | The best upgrade to my bike after a new fork was clipless pedals. I rode for about 2 years with toe cages and was always cursing them because I had trouble getting my feet into them. I always heard that clipless would make me a better rider but I procrastinated because I was afraid of the learning curve and getting beat up. Then I found a pair of Time ATAC Aliums on ebay and after some quick practicing in the basement while leaning against the door and 3 trail rides I am asking myself why I didn't make the move sooner. They definitely improve pedaling efficiency, and I can fly the downhill sections much faster and fly over the small jumps without worrying my feet will come out of the toe cages.
Bottom line.......get the clipless pedals. |
| Another point of view | scott.com
Aug 8, 2002 11:52 AM | | If your doing technical stuff then flats and sticky shoes are the way to go. Being a long time clipless pedal fan I recently switched to flats. I love it. Climbing technic changes but I don't seem to get up the hills any slower. The plus is it's great for bailing out or dabing on that technical stuff. |
| Another flats fan... | mark_a
Aug 8, 2002 11:28 PM | | Count me as another former clipless fan that switched to flats. But it is also worth mentioning that I switched from the UK to Vancouver too. Once I started riding the trails here, I noticed that most of the locals were using flats, but stubbornly stuck with SPDs, even forking out for some 646s. But in the end I had to conclude that they were a total liability for the kind of riding there is here. So I gave in and switched to flats and my life on the technical stuff has become a lot easier. To be honest I haven't found it significantly harder to get up the hills either. Can't see me going back, unless I move somewhere flatter :) |
| I am a toe clip believer.... | andym
Aug 8, 2002 3:23 PM | | I know this is not the conventional MTB wisdom, but I really like the toe clip system the best. To me it combines the efficient XC pedal stroke aspens of clip-in with the DH bail-out aspects of platforms. I actually wish someone make a platform pedal which can have a toe strap attached. That would be sweet. You will get some strange looks with the toe clips.
The thing I don't like about clip-in is that they don't act like a ski binding and auto-release when the load is too great. You get locked in you can't just bail out. Bad system. It will be replaced in time for this very reason.
But once you go through the learning period you will be fine with clip-ins and probably love them like everyone else. I will stick with my toe-baskets. It is nice to pick your shoes based on the hike a bike requirements rather than some skinny roadie shoe. |
| I have both and.. | Philo Beddoe
Aug 8, 2002 7:17 PM | | I just don't get riding clipless on hairy single track. It is a disaster waiting to happen. I don't care what level you are. I have a platform with thin nylon straps that form the toe cage. These give me all the efficiency I need, without having to be tentative on tough downhills. It just doesn't make sense to me to be fastened to your bike going down a rock garden.
I think there are merits to both, but too many MTB'rs seek to max out technology at the expense of common sense. Clipless caught on back in the day and became "what to have" so now toe clips seem amatuerish when in the lot before a ride. I don't give a crap about the parking lot, I blow by these guys on downhills all day. |
| Just switched to Platforms | JTK
Aug 11, 2002 5:52 PM | | I said "Screw it!" I was spending too much time worrying about falling then enjoying the ride. After having my MTB for less than a week, I had two hard falls in the same day on the same knee. I've been a friggin wimp ever since and was riding with a look of fear all the time. I bought a $40 pair of Wellgos yesterday and had the most enjoyable day of riding today (even though it was just a couple of miles to buy a newspaper. The next purchase will be a flashy pair of Vans so my feet will really stick into the platforms! |
| Platforms, more "whats now" | Philo
Aug 11, 2002 8:21 PM | | in mountain biking, like my previous point, you don't see anyone with toe clips anymore because "they are not cool". Even though they work just fine and most important keep your foot on the pedal in rock gardens yet you are not attaced to the bike.
Platforms? With special sticky shoes? Prove to me they are more effective than toe clips. More nonsense driven by Marketing execs and X gamers. |
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