Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Who uses clip ins? I'm pretty new to mountain biking and I think I'm going to try and get used to clip in shoes on the road first, then see how confident I feel on a mountain. I love the idea of having them when climbing, but I tend to put my foot down a few times each decent which would lead to a crash in clip ins Any tips/stories?

If you can lessen the tension of the clips on the pedals, so that you can kick out easily until you get the hang of just kicking out instinctively ... it will possibly save you from having a few stacks.

Also if the tension is too strong and you find yourself kicking-out or twisting-out often, to dab often, you could end up with sore heals and/or Achilles tendons until you get familiar with the action.

Be mindful of the position of the cleats. Setting the cleats so that they're good enough ... isn't good enough. Think about how everything feels.

Good luck.

Warren.

I prefer to MTB in clips, feet are always in the right place on the pedal. you dont loose your foot going over obstacles etc.
Wise to get used to them before going bush tho.

wouldn't ride without clip-ins on the MTB anymore. i was already used to them from the road bike, so it wasn't much to get used to, but i reckon they're awesome - would suggest them to anyone getting into it.

I suggest going for broad flat platform pedals with clip-ins. Especially for technical riding, it means you can pedal without having to clip in.

As the other posters suggest, clipping out when you get unstuck is something to learn and consider when tackling obstacles. When you do start to fall, everything goes into slowmo, are you fast enough to clip out?

Crowz wrote:.snip..I tend to put my foot down a few times each decent which would lead to a crash in clip ins Any tips/stories?

Stop putting your foot down on descents

Some riders use flat pedals and good cycling shoes (stiff soles and grippy rubber soles). Nothing wrong with that.

Others use clipless pedals. Most people who use clipless pedals would not go back to using flats.

From what I read the people who have the most problem with clipless pedals are the ones who don't use them.

In about 2000 I brought some SPD pedals and shoes. I put them on my bike and have been riding them ever since.

I like Shimano SPD pedals some recommend "egg beaters" as good beginner clipless pedals others say Time pedals are good too.

Either buy flat pedals or Clipless pedals not combo pedals (flat one side clipless the other). IMHO the "combo" pedals are awful.

mitzikatzi wrote:Either buy flat pedals or Clipless pedals not combo pedals (flat one side clipless the other). IMHO the "combo" pedals are awful.

That makes sense - you don't want to be mucking around trying to get the pedal around the right way when you should be having fun instead. My SPD flat pedals have clipins on both sides.

when I had one mtb for all duties I had the pedals that were flats on one side and clips on the other. Clips for commuting or trail riding, flats for when I put the trailer and took kids out. It can be annoying trying to spin the pedal to get the clip side up, but was still a good compromise.
Check your cleats - spd's some with a single-release or multi-release. Multi-release will come out with a good pull in many directions, I've not had trouble when I lost the back end to get the full out. Single release though you need to twist your foot to get them out. In either case adjust it loose to start with.

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll see how I go on my next ride

I have been using SPD pedals since 1992 and won't ever go back to platforms.

I have 3 types.

DX SPD on my all mountain bike



XT and lower level trail SPDs on the MTB and CX bike



And standard SPD on my fixie



I think the XT trails are the best and they are only $61 on c r c at the moment.

On those DX SPD and XT Trail pedals. The "frame work" is there to support your foot when it is clipped in. It just happens to let you ride on them un-clipped. Depending on your shoes it is not comfortable to ride for long periods on pedals like the DX SPD not clipped in. YMMV

these be "flats pedals"


Here are some combo pedals.



I still think "combo" pedals are a really poor compromise. The only place I might consider using them was on my pub/shopping bike.

I used to ride flats a long long time ago on the MTB, but only use SPDs these days. I didn't ride off road for a while and was using clip-ins on the road and figured I'd give it a go off road. A few times I've had clip-stacks off road but that just means my line and gear selection was rubbish means I have to try harder next time!

I have recently bought a new bike that came with wellgo SPDs...I have shimano cleats on my shoes and shimano pedals on other bikes and the wellgo/shimano combo doesn't seem to go too well. Looking at the wellgo cleats I think they would be alright with the wellgo pedals but I haven't had much fun with shimano cleats. Moral of the story, stick with one brand and get with the strength There are great reviews of the wellgos as a cheap entry to SPD but I haven't had a great deal of fun (I probably am not the target market for these pedals though...)

If you haven't already bought some pedals, you're more than welcome to the wellgos (with their unused cleats) for the price of postage. If you're riding on=road to try them out they will be fine. Maybe if you like SPDs after the trial period go for an upgrade though...

petie wrote:I used to ride flats a long long time ago on the MTB, but only use SPDs these days. I didn't ride off road for a while and was using clip-ins on the road and figured I'd give it a go off road. A few times I've had clip-stacks off road but that just means my line and gear selection was rubbish means I have to try harder next time!

I have recently bought a new bike that came with wellgo SPDs...I have shimano cleats on my shoes and shimano pedals on other bikes and the wellgo/shimano combo doesn't seem to go too well. Looking at the wellgo cleats I think they would be alright with the wellgo pedals but I haven't had much fun with shimano cleats. Moral of the story, stick with one brand and get with the strength There are great reviews of the wellgos as a cheap entry to SPD but I haven't had a great deal of fun (I probably am not the target market for these pedals though...)

If you haven't already bought some pedals, you're more than welcome to the wellgos (with their unused cleats) for the price of postage. If you're riding on=road to try them out they will be fine. Maybe if you like SPDs after the trial period go for an upgrade though...

Thanks for the offer Petie, I already have Shimano SPD pedels/cleats though.

Mugglechops wrote:I have been using SPD pedals since 1992 and won't ever go back to platforms.

I have 3 types.

DX SPD on my all mountain bike



XT and lower level trail SPDs on the MTB and CX bike



And standard SPD on my fixie



I think the XT trails are the best and they are only $61 on c r c at the moment.

I'm also not sure of these pedals, I wanted to ask you Mugglechops whether the DX outer cage is same as the M785 in terms of shoe/pedal contact? because I am thinking of buying the M785 but it seems that the cage around the clips is just aesthetic and your shoe does not touch them like in the DX

Personally I see no reason for the cages... my foot automatically goes back to the same place every time so riding without clipping is harder than ridding clipped in. They don't support my foot at all because the soles are rigid.
The only point I see in them is if you often ride in normal shoes.

I agree with the above. Single sided with flats on one side are Ok-ish on road but a disaster off it. You simply can't afford to be faffing about with trying to get it right side up in technical terrain. Face plants hurt.

With appropriately stiff shoes you don't really need the platform cages on the trail pedals in my view but then my limit is techy cross country. Too old for AM my bones are no longer made of rubber!

Shimano is good. A bit heavy but bullet proof. The only maintenance mine have needed is a squirt of Wd40 after wet rides to keep the rust away and them looking nice. My oldest set is well into its 4th year.

Mehran wrote:
I'm also not sure of these pedals, I wanted to ask you Mugglechops whether the DX outer cage is same as the M785 in terms of shoe/pedal contact? because I am thinking of buying the M785 but it seems that the cage around the clips is just aesthetic and your shoe does not touch them like in the DX

In the shoes I have now they touch a little but not as much as the DX.

They don't really like mud though and can be hard to get out of.

I have M785 pedals on my touring bike. The platforms are definitely in contact with my Northwave MTB shoes.

Mugglechops wrote: They don't really like mud though and can be hard to get out of.

My mud experience with the trail SPD's resembles that view but I much prefer having the cages as the Shimano shoes (especially the cheaper/softer ones) fully engage with the cage. The harder soled Shimano XC70 shoes have less need for the contact but I can still feel it.

My experience with Shimano SPD's in mud is that they are pretty damn good. Certainly zero issues clipping out... cleats sometimes need a bit of clearing with a few good kicks after a run. Snow is a completely different story!.
Although apparently the newer shimano SPD's are not quite as good as the previous version ( like in my pic ).

My point was to be able to ride with normal shoes, so having a M785 is certainly out of the question, right? what I understood from the above is that it depends on the flexibility of the shoe sole. But here's another question, what's the point of the platform around the pedal if your main contact point is the clipping mechanism in the centre?

If you want to be able to ride any distance in normal shoes. You need either "flat" pedals or flat/spd combo pedals.

Mehran wrote:My point was to be able to ride with normal shoes, so having a M785 is certainly out of the question, right? what I understood from the above is that it depends on the flexibility of the shoe sole. But here's another question, what's the point of the platform around the pedal if your main contact point is the clipping mechanism in the centre?

The extended body on the M785 pedals contacts the sole of the shoe fore & aft of the cleat recess, thereby increasing the contact area & reducing localised pressure/hotspotting. The cleat is still the primary engagement point, the pressure just isn't as concentrated on that spot. The design is not intended as an all-purpose/combination type setup that can be used with normal shoes. That's what the T780 Trekking pedal & other similar designs are for.

toolonglegs wrote:My experience with Shimano SPD's in mud is that they are pretty damn good. Certainly zero issues clipping out... cleats sometimes need a bit of clearing with a few good kicks after a run. Snow is a completely different story!.
Although apparently the newer shimano SPD's are not quite as good as the previous version ( like in my pic ).

The Shimano 'race' pedals like those obviously are OK with the mud but the 'trail' versions with the cage around them tend to hang on to the mud between the cage and clip. And the build-up can make unclipping/clipping in a chore because the mud puts pressure on the clip!! Cleans out OK but not with the same ease of the 'race' pedals...

Depends a bit on the model of pedal. I had a cheap OEM-spec M505 set for a while, and they had the cleat body in a module bolted to the pedal body. As a result, the body was a lot more cluttered than better (even M520) models, and suffered mud cloggage. The much more open M780 that I'm using now perform a lot better.

BTW Toolonglegs, I think clogged pedals are the least of your problem there.