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What are your thoughts on clipless? (self.mtb)

submitted 1 year ago by htmono to c/mtb

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My trusty flat Five Tens are at the end of their life and I'm in need of new shoes. I ride SPD with my gravel bike and think my current clipless shoes for that are amazing.

That gets me to think maybe I should just ditch my flat pedals on mtb and get clipless. But I'm a little hesitant because of added risk of falling.

If you ride clipless on mtb or especially if you ride it both gravel and mtb, do you have any tips or thoughts to share?

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[–] negativeyoda 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I've been riding flats for the past year but I'm probably going to go back to clips. That said, I'll probably get something with platforms as well as clips

I hate clips for technical climbs. If you take your foot off the pedal, getting clipped back in while trying to get going immediately is a PITA. That said, spinning up non tech climbs with flats just feels inefficient. I also have crap jumping technique so having my feet separate from my pedals mid air freaks me out.

I've never crashed and remained clipped in for what it's worth

[–] htmono 2 points 1 year ago

That is very good point about the climbs, didn't even think about that.

I never do jumps so thankfully that has been a non-issue :)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What kind of MTB terrain are you riding? Clipless can be great for cross country, especially on a hardtail. You can rattle over rock gardens and not worry about your feet shaking off the pedals. Though I'm flats only if there's significant downhill jumps, drops, etc. Having the ability to bail quickly is too important there.

[–] htmono 1 points 1 year ago

I'm usually riding what would be called trails. Some ups and downs, natural rocky and rooty terrain. No jumping.

I think I'm probably going to test out my gravel pedals for a loop or two and see how it feels before purchasing anything :)

[–] isazi 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm using SPD pedals with a flat side, so I stay clipped in on easy terrain, and unclip on technical terrain where I want to be able to put my feet on the ground as fast as possible. Ride the same pedals on my mtb and gravel bike.

[–] htmono 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is pretty good idea, thank you! What pedals are you using? Do you you find that clipless pedals grip enough on the flat side?

[–] isazi 2 points 1 year ago

I'm using Shimano M324 SPD, and for my usage I can use the flat side with clipless and normal shoes without any particular issue, but I'm a beginner :)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Started with clips on the trails and never really had an issue with falling but I rode easy trails and I rode conservatively.

Switched to flats to get better at jumping and never switched back. I was really surprised how well the shoes grip the flats to the point where I didn't feel much loss of efficiency.

Now I ride a lot more aggressively and while I rarely need to bail... I think flats are just superior.

[–] Blamemeta 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I hate it, feels like if I were to crash, I wouldn't be able to put my feet out