Coming from a BMX background I have been damn reluctant to embrace clip ins when riding the trails near my house. The other day I was riding green and blue difficulty level trails with a friend. My friend always rides with clip ins and he is damn fast. We are both riding hard trails with front suspensions. During our ride while we were taking a break another rider passed us. He was also riding with clip ins and for someone riding a hard tail Trek that guy was fast as hell on that trail.

Both my friend and I tried to keep up with the rider. My friend faired better than I did but still couldn’t keep up.

Do clip ins help make you a faster trail rider? I can see how it gives you much more control and power when pedaling. On the bouncy and root filled sections I noticed a few times I struggled to keep my feet on my platform pedals.

Should I consider clip ins?

Yes!

Yes.

As a former XC racer, you would never see a single rider use flat pedals or toe clips. Nowadays, with the dirt jumpers, downhillers and some others, they will use flats. But if your object is to ride long miles for fitness, maintaining a brisk pace, then clipless is the way to go.

Flat pedals will never be as efficient, period.

Huuuge difference in power transmitted to the pedals with clips. And better bike control in terms of ability to hop and move the rear end around when clipped in

If you're not using clipless pedals, you're doing it all wrong. Seriously.

Yep, they are all correct. When you lock in you are much more efficient as long as you focus on not only pushing down, but pulling up. Also I try to anticipate where I will hit a technical spot above my abilities and release my cleat before I get there. Nothing worse than trying to get out of your pedals when you're already on the way down.

If you aren't riding clipped in, you aren't able to maximize your power.

I have a set of wider, knobby tires I use for trail riding and a set of thinner, smoother tires for road riding. Each set of tires is installed on their own set of tubeless rims. I swap them out depending on where I'm riding. I ride clipped in even on the trails and I have fallen a few times on inclines I didn't get enough speed on.

Last 5 posts sum it up nicely. edited for while I was typing

Look pedals have subtle advantages on road and SPD pattern is better for off road shoes and cleats. You can learn to transmit power thru much more of the 360 rotation, and do not have to coast to adjust foot placement. You WILL need to learn to substitute twisting out, rather than simply stepping off whenever you dismount. Easy but different. Some have said "everyone falls at least once". Just my experience.

Clipless is the way to go.... much more efficent in the transfer of power to the power stroke because the trailing (upstroke) pedal can add pulling up power as the other provides power on the downstroke ... also less tiring when "hammering" on the pedals.... Also if one one foot/or / pedal becomes incapacitated then you could possible continue the ride because the other foot is LOCKED on the pedal and continue the power to the pedal ...... personal knowledge from riding mountain bikes on the street/road and road bikes with a local bike club for several years. My pedals/shoes only required a outward flick of the heel to release from the pedal. ................. drill sgt.

Definitely get fitted. Getting fitted and clipping in will make a huge difference in your riding.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
If you're not using clipless pedals, you're doing it all wrong. Seriously.

It's true.

Get with the program, buddy.

100%. I have ridden clipless pedals exclusively for decades. When I test ride a bike without them, I feel like I'm on a child's toy and not a part of the bicycle.

I've ridden every variety they make at this point. Honestly, they're all pretty good now compared to the best there was a few decades ago. That said, my preference are Cook Bros Egg Beaters. Quad-sided entry, easy exit, never a problem with clogging. Durable enough and cheap enough. I use them for mountain and cyclocross (kind of like a gravel bike).

For road, I used Speedplay, but I am 100% done with road cycling now. I'm allergic to multi-ton SUVs piloted by cell phone enthusiasts.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Should I consider clip ins?

If you're already a somewhat experienced and confident mountain biker, yes, you should *try* clipless to see what you prefer. Yes, they are more efficient and you will likely increase your net speed if that's what you're after. If you're new to MTB, you should stick with flats for a bit to hone your technique before you make the switch. Personally, I prefer flats, primarily because I like to be able to adjust my foot position on the pedals. And I'm not concerned with increasing my speed.

You can also get hybrid pedals now that allow you to have both options. No experience with those.

Power on the upstroke, control over jumps, feet don't end up in the wrong spot at the wrong time, etc. All reasons I've run clipless since the first SPD came out way back in the early 90's.

I do run dual-sided platforms these days...SPD on one side and platform on the other. Why? So I can rock flip-flops for tooling around the neighborhood.

I was a big-fan of four-sided Egg Beaters...always in the right position (no need to kick the pedals over to seat) and most importantly, LOTS of float for those with bad knees where the cleat angle being off by a tiny amount can matter a lot.

For my road bike and my mountain bike, I'm using old pairs of Speedplay Frogs. Speedplay is now owned by Wahoo, and they have upgraded them and they are called Zeros. They have different models with different materials now.

I went this route originally since they were/are easier to get in and out of. I probably miss out a little in the power transfer since they are a bit loose. But again, easy to get in and out of.

Plus, I'm currently running mountain bike shoes with the Speedplays instead of road shoes. The mountain bike shoes are much easier to walk in as compared to road shoes.

Recently, I've been thinking about getting road shoes and new pedals, but I would probably stick with the Zeros. (I'm mostly on a road bike now.) They allow my ankles and knees to "float" around a bit more. Again, this probably results in reduced power to the cranks, but I'm OK with that.

It's been over a decade since I last rode my mt bike, but I have been a user of SPD pedals since Shimano came out with them. I even have the old Shimano combo pedals (half SPD, half flat) on my folding Bike Friday. The learning curve for clipless varies with riders; it took me perhaps a couple of hours, along with a number of falls, to get the hang of them and clip in & out effortlessly.

To me, riding with clipless pedals is like driving with a really good racing seat- you feel one with the machine. Climbing, downhill, technical terrain, it makes a huge difference. It is important to adjust the cleat positioning and adjustment, this was the most difficult part, finding that sweet spot.

I rode "clips" with leather straps in the 80s on my road bike.

"Clipless" pedals came out in the 90s and the name was to designate that the leather straps were gone. The name is sorta dumb now as no one remembers the straps and we ought to just call them clips, and if you say clips everyone understands what you mean. Yes, if you want to race they are faster. Shimano XT SPD pedals are pretty bullet proof and can easily last a decade. I went with Time ATAC pedals 25 years ago as they had more float in the cleats to prevent knee pain.

I ride flats on mountain bikes. The important part on flats is to get pedals with pins. Race Face Chesters would be a good entry level pedal, or you can get aluminum. I am using OneUp Components. There is a part 2 of riding flats on aggressive terrain and that is to have good sticky rubber shoes that the pins penetrate so your feet stay on the pedals. Five Ten are the specialists for mountain biking shoes whether you go clipless or flats

And yes everyone falls their first time riding clips. Practice stopping and starting on a grass field, but still you will hit the ground once still clipped in.

I found that with an injured knee, lots of float was a big disadvantage. On my Mt. bike I am now using Shimano SPD, and I like them.

It is critical that the cleats be installed at the right angle. Your shoes when clipped in should have zero external rotation, but some internal rotation appears to be satisfactory.
With external rotation, eventually the ligaments in your knee will be injured. This can lead to long term issues if not quickly realized and corrected.

For my road bike I use Campy cleats, they work well esp. if you have wide feet.

My only clip-in experience is road bikes & the Peloton but vastly prefer it to flat pedals.

Really miss my old Speedplay Zero pedals. Tons of adjustable float & very low profile on the bottom side.

Right now, I have Look Keo Classic on the bike & similar (Keo compatible) on the Peloton.

I did fall off the road bike twice, forgetting to unclip as I stopped. But it becomes natural with practice.

My uncle had a 29er that I got some seat time on in CA (Roseville), and it had what looked like pegs on the pedal, that somehow interface with shoes/cleats. Looks like it would only facilitate your feet not sliding around on the pedal, but not being able to pull/push like full clip-ins would.

Yea, I'm going to be that guy. If speed and performance are paramount then yes you absolutely need clipless.

On my road bike I use clipless. On my mountain bike I don't put a premium on speed and performance. I use my mountain bike for everything. Its a fairly high end Specialized Carbon Camber. Only thing I would do differently is get one without the "brain". Too much expensive maintenance.

As for riding I do it all at a very middle of the road skills wise. I used to have egg beaters on it and I hated two things. Riding around the neighborhood just isn't fun. Maybe the answer is a different bike but my wife already balks at the 4 I have.lol The other thing is that while the performance is better there are absolutely times where I bail out or slow down and clipless has been hard to deal with. Yes, its all training, but much like the eye doctor telling me that I would eventually get used to progressive lenses, no amount of time seemed to allow me to feel as comfortable as flats with good studs.

All that being said, there is zero chance I could keep up with you guys on a trail. It all comes down to your priorities. I've hit roots, landed with the bike on top of me, general fallen-ery, etc. Bottom line, I have to go to work on Monday and speed and top end performance are way down my priority list. So at the end of the day you have to ask yourself what makes your ride enjoyable to you?

If you race or put a premium on racing and getting the most air and and and, then you should learn to ride clipless. If you enjoy riding and like to feel more comfortable getting in and out of tight spots knowing you are sacrificing speed and control in jumps and are ok with that, then flats aren't bad. At all. I like to ride in my tennis shoes and Keens too much to ride on egg beaters. Life is a compromise.