I run clips for singletrack and 4x... anyone who says clips aren't any good.. doesn't understand the point of them. And I run flats for DJ and Slope... for obvious reasons.
It's all preference.. however i will say, if you're running flats + 5 10s and you land a double wonky footed.. you will definitely be going up the next one the exact same way! those soles are made out of glue and bits of spiderman
I'm a roadie/xc/am rider who loves clip-ins. The first time I rode Northstar I thought I would die being clipped in going down Karpiel so the flats were put on and I loved it. It's all situational and personal, plus you'll never know until you try; I didn't.
I think that flats can have too much traction. If i go down a start ramp from a standstill, I'll obviously be putting my foot on the pedal while I'm moving. If my foot doesn't go on the pedal in a position that feels comfortable, I want to be able to move it around a bit.
its stupid to ask about "too much grip" pedals are like bar widths, there is too much personal preference, but i guess thats why there are more than one option. there should be a "depending on what kind of riding though" dh riding lots of grip = best. dirt jumping = good luck with a tailwhip when you cant get your foot off the pedal
Run clips for everything except dj,I actually feel safer and more in control clipped than not. I have removed all but 4 of the pins in the ns pedals on my dj and filled those down,purely because with them all in if I don't hit the pedal perfect first time I'm stuck with bad footing and therefore generally set up wrong for the next hit. I guess you need all the grip you can get if your running them dh but for dj better with less I feel.
It depends, if you are riding DH and jumps you can never have enough! But when I'm on my trials bike wearing 5.10s I sometimes have to re adjust my feet by taking them off and on to make sure I can get my balance. But when this does happen I'm often on top of a big pointy rock or something awkward, so I end up dabbing.
I run clipless on every bike I own except my DJ.. With a good pair of flat pedals and a new pair of 510s, I slipped a pedal at Mt Hood and gored my shin and next run I put my XC shoes and Pedals on and I have never looked back.
The best Pedal/ Shoe combo will still never have as much bike control as a clipless setup. On the Dj bike, the 510's and flats work as good as they need to. But if you want the ultimate in bike control and knowing that you will never slip a pedal, there is no other choice then Clipless..
The whole thing surely comes down to personal preference and/or some sort of trade off. 5.10's and big pins have saved me from some horrible crashes but they've probably contributed to a few too. The same can be said for being clipped in. I think to answer to the question about what is best you have to look at the best riders in the world, and they're pretty well split on their opinion too. Bottom line, ride what you like, enjoy the benefits and curse the negatives while you tend to your injuries. And as long as the solution isn't obvious or perfect you have a good reason to try alternatives which means boxes full of bike bits keep arriving in the post
i hate overly grippy pedals. for tables and turndowns i like to slide my foot around on the pedal and up the crank. for downhill i prefer more traction for obvious reasons but other than that, i like to be able to shift my feet around easily, so i just run a wide pedal which lets me do that, but it still grips when i need it to.
Exactly. To do a proper table ect, the foot has to be able to twist on the pedal. Also i've had occasions at the dj's/sk8pk where i tryed to bail out, only to find my feet were kinda glued to the pedals! I remove the centre pins on my jump bike, but leave them in on my dh pedals.
I've just started hitting some DH clipped in, it's scary as hell at first but the extra speed from being able to peddle almost everywhere is awesome!! But for freeriding it's always gonna be 510s and flats
I can't help but feel this argument is a little bit daft because it vastly depends on what kind of riding you're doing. If you're riding dirt, street or park you definitely can have too much grip because it becomes hard to get your feet off for tricks, and when you land a no footed trick and your foot doesn't land perfectly square on the pedal it becomes very hard to slide your foot back into place in time for the next obstacle. In dirt, street and park you will occasionally take a pedal to the shin, and when that happens you don't want to be running meaty ass pedals that tear your legs apart. If you ride DH or FR most of the time you want your feet welded in place - which is where the 5.10s and big platform flat pedal come in...
too much grip sux on a hardtail when ripping down anything bumpy, hardtails kick around enough to unsettle your feet off the pedals for short moments so when you have to reposition back you can't really do it if the pins are buried in the soles.
I like to re-adjust my feet a wee bit when riding, and if you put your foot down on the wrong spot, and they get stuck as the pedals are too grippy, you'll spend more time thinking about that rather than the tree you are heading towards etc etc.
Hey guys relax. I actually thought about this and felt bad and came back to say i was sorry and I respect clipped in riders. I used to ride toe things and yes there are advantages to them. I recently switched it up and went standard and surprisingly after riding years of one way I was shocked how much I got used to the standard pedals.
God Bless
something in the middle is best i understand that you need grip but too much grip and its not really a flat pedal anymore but to little and its not a very useful pedal
randybadger i know excactly what you mean recently switched from skate/bmx shoes usualy vans or etnies to some 5tens an allthough the 5tens have an emense amount of grip i find them a bit too thick an find it hard to "feel" the pedal.
if i get loose or get flat out foot out, it can take a bit more thought to get back on to a comfertable position or to feel confident that my foot is in a good position on the pedal so robably gonna go back to skate/bmx shoes next
I also find that a deep pedal concave an a good knurled surface is way grippier than any amount or length of pins but thats just the bmx'er in me
Try the Astral Brewers. They're technically kayaking shoes, but they have Stealth Rubber and a lower profile sole. They're lightweight, yet tough and they're made to dry quickly when you get them wet. Perfect for summertime riding with lots of creek crossings.
I was a bit skeptical at first from the way they start to curve up at the toe box, but after using them a lot, I like them better than any 5.10 I have ever owned.
Long story short, best shoes I have EVER owned.
I like grip for everything, if foot land funky on landing, i naturally just sligtly lift it and move it to a comfortable spot, im using kona (wahwah, or jackshit) pedals on lakai shoes and perfect for me for both dh and dj~
Traction is good to a point. Too much traction, when your foot gets sideways you cant slide it back straight. Not enough traction, you gonna have some sore shins.
i had a bad fall the other day just poppin wheelies tipped one up and my feet would not come off my v8's fell flat on my back, i was wearing a backpack full of junk and it bent my back really bad left me with a nasty bruse
I about fell over when I first got my Deity Decoy's because I didn't lift my foot up enough before moving it to the side. But then again, I'm kinda retarded.
Because if your not worried about tricking, and you want the most bike control possible along with knowing you will never slip a pedal, then there is nothing that beats being clipped in..
