Need help

[Niek8]

Hey.

 

Im very new to mountain biking, and would like to get some advise on what type of pedals and shoes to buy

 

Cheers

[partydave]

Shimano SPDs and Olympic shoes. You can thank me later

[Odinson]

There are two schools of thought on this:

1. Buy flats and decent flat pedal MTB shoes - this will allow you to learn better technique and give you more confidence as you can quickly get your foot out;
2. Buy clip-in shoes and pedals and off you go - you're going to fall a number of times when learning to use the pedals.

If you're only into riding on jeep track and tamer trails, go for clip-in. If you want to learn to ride technical terrain and build your skill set, go with flats. Shimano Saints are good pedals. Just don't use the nylon rubbish that you get with a bike.

[Dieter ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]

I would get decent flat pedals (platforms not beartraps)

 

I found myself moving back to flats to get better. SPD's are nice but it is easy to learn bad habits, the clipping in and out part you can learn in your driveway in half an hour so not much to be learnt in that aspect.

[Vetseun]

Just not flat pedals.

Clipless is the way to go.

I am very fond of Look Pedals

[Dieter ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]

Just not flat pedals.

Clipless is the way to go.

I am very fond of Look Pedals

If it's only jeep track then actually yeah! Depends of the terrain I think...

[phenning]

Go for flats, Saint, 50/50, answer there are loads of choices. Get one where you can replace/tune stud lengths.

 

More importantly is proper shoe for flats. you can`t beat the grip from Five Ten ( Impact for full on strength )

[popcorn_skollie]

[Fox3]

Shimano SPDs and Olympic shoes. You can thank me later

Jip great choice. Won't fail you, low maintenance and affordable. Set the cleats loose so you can unclip easier and tighten with growing confidence

[Boerklong]

Shimano SPDs and Olympic shoes. You can thank me later

^^^^THIS^^^^

[Rocket-Boy]

Captain Myles needs to keep some stuff stored for some copy pasta edumacations.

[AlanD]

Bwahaha, so flipping funny. Nothing but the truth though.

[AlanD]

I would get decent flat pedals (platforms not beartraps)

 

I found myself moving back to flats to get better. SPD's are nice but it is easy to learn bad habits, the clipping in and out part you can learn in your driveway in half an hour so not much to be learnt in that aspect.

Fully agree. Been on flats for a good few months now after being on SPDs for many years. Not going back soon.

 

Flats also allow you to put a foot down quickly in a sticky situation.

[igg]

Having a mad case of deja vu right now:

https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/162259-mtb-shoes-looking-for-advice-please/

 

and Myles' contribution:

https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/162259-mtb-shoes-looking-for-advice-please/?p=2945473

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Okay. Seeing as you're a beginner, and don't have any experience with MTB - DO NOT GET CLEATS. Whoever is telling you to get them as someone with zero experience, and getting into MTB, is talking out their ass and is giving you the stock standard BS LBS salesman response of "cleats are better"

 

BS.

 

Okay. Now that that's out the way, you may ask "but why is everyone trying to force me to go for cleats?"

 

Well - easy. Because they've been brainwashed to think that there is an intrinsic benefit to having them on their bikes, as a result of the carryover from Road cycling where a direct connection to the pedals (and zero technical skill requirement) is a boon, and they are used in flat out sprints when that is the only time that you will benefit from a "pull on the upstroke"

 

To EVERYONE starting at the bottom: FLATS WILL HELP YOU LEARN PROPER TECHNIQUE. They also give you more confidence as you CAN just pop a foot down in a section where you're unsure, and you don't have to panic and think about how you're going to get your foot out in time if the **** hits the fan, or rapidly put it BACK on the pedal without wondering HTF you're going to be able to "clip back in" when you're just about to come up to a tricky section and you're trying to locate the cleat without looking down and also negotiate the trail which you can't do unless you're clipped in and and and... you fall on your face.

 

Yes, the clip in and clip out technique CAN be learnt pretty quickly, so that it's *almost* as if you're using flat pedals, but that's not what you should be concentrating on when getting started in MTB or just cycling in general. Far better concentrating on your technique, skills progression and confidence which - surprise surprise - happens so much faster and easier on flats.

 

Now that we have that out the way, where to from here?

 

 

Well, for the pedals, there are a couple of cheapish options which give you a good base from which to progress.

 

1 - Giant Comp flat pedal - normally around R 500 or so, and is a solid option

2 - Shimano Saint pedals - normally around R 1,000 and better than the giants (pins go all the way through the pedal body and can't be ripped out by stray rocks) but not worth double the price, IMO.

3 - DMR v8 - the old stalwart. Literally the only things that will be left, apart from cockroaches, after a nuclear fallout. Heavy, but oh so strong. Can be bought for around R 500 - 700 depending on the source.

 

The Giant pedals or the v8's would be my go-to recommendation. 

 

Now for shoes. 5-10's are the ultimate in flat pedal shoes, but you can get by on your normal flat soled shoes until you've got enough cash for them. Think old running shoes / tennis shoes / squash shoes / skate shoes. No, they won't be as good as a 5-10, but they will work until you can afford those, or one of the alternatives like the Adidas Terrex trail or whatever it's called. 

 

Only problem is that the normal shoes don't have the same toe protection of the 5-10's and other dedicated flat pedal shoes so your toes may complain when you hit a rock, and don't have the Stealth Rubber (same stuff they use on climbing shoes) so they're not as grippy. Also - normal shoes aren't as stiff as dedicated shoes for flat pedals, but shoes for flats aren't as stiff as the ones for cleats (smaller contact point necessitates a stiffer sole)

 

Now - don't listen to all those people who are trying to force you into cleats. THAT IS NOT THE ANSWER. They will not automatically imbue you with the handling skills of Aaron Gwin or Greg Minnaar, but what they will do is allow you to learn bad habits, that you wouldn't be able to get away with if you were on flats and had to learn the proper technique. Things like the proper technique for braking, you can learn on cleats but not as quickly on flats. Flats are crucial for learning how to bunny hop, jump and take drops, and also allow you to dab a foot when you need to... 

 

When you've learnt how to ride, and feel that you need to take it to the next level or are starting to race at the pointy end, THEN you can consider cleats as you'd have a solid platform on which to build your technique, and won't learn any bad habits (think bunny hopping by pulling up on the pedals - NOT the way to do it, and you just won't be able to do that with flats - you'll have to learn how to do it properly)

 

But for EVERY new entrant to the sport, and that includes former roadies and children alike - put flats on your bike. End of story. 

 

Edited by Myles Mayhew, 15 August 2016 - 02:48 .

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Look, I'm not saying that cleats are *bad*. I'm saying that for a beginner, they're not the best solution. I'd far rather recommend someone start off on flats, then once they've learned the basics like how to ensure they stay connected to the bike in the air, and how to do drops properly and position themselves on the bike, THEN "progress" to cleats if they feel like changing it up a bit - where they can build on what they've learnt with the confidence that they can do things the right way...