Flats for MTB

[Sidersky]

Started on flats, tried cleats, went back to flats. Many thousands of kilometres since on flats, happy as a clam. But…  I did some homework. As stated above, good flat pedals are key, large platform with good grip. Shoes also make a big difference. I have not tried 5Tens yet, but I found enough evidence on the web to tell me that DC skate shoes do just as good a job at half the price. The flat soles are the key, and the rubber soles grip nicely into the spikes on good flat pedals. My DCs are about 5000km old and I cannot tell you how impressed I am with how tough they are. Mud, water, rocks, sand, and after each ride I scrub them with a shoe brush. Good as new. The soles have grooves in them now from where I grip into the pedals.

 

The irony is that even in the trickiest places I seldom ever put a foot down, but psychologically I love the option of being able to dab if I need to…

 

Yes, I’ve been told a million times I’m losing ex percent power blah blah blah, and maybe so, but I’m okay with that. My only issue has been on single track which is quite narrow with rocks or foliage, where I have occasional pedal strikes as the pedals are slightly wider than the smaller cleated kind. But it’s a small price to pay.

 

I have a riding buddy who rides flats on his hard tail and dual sus. Last year he completed S2C on flats…

[Alouette3]

DMR's are decent, but for the extra R50 I'd go Shimano GR500 all day. They are basically the old Saint pedals, much slimmer and probably lighter then the DMR, with adjustable and replaceable pins. The DMR is just very chuncky.

 

Still love my Nuckproof Neutrons, but you can't get them any more. And there just is sadly not the range in SA that you get say in the UK.

[Alouette3]

Correct me if I'm wrong. I only have a set of knock off V8's as spare, but

 

V6 plastic

V8 some fixed pins, very chuncky and thick

V12 replaceable pins etc, and the better of the crowd

 

These look like V12's

https://www.bikehub.co.za/classifieds/319055-dmr-pedals/

[Eddy Gordo]

Like the op, I am very comfortable on road bike cleats when riding road. Last year I tried mtb cleats, which I hated. I like my feet to be free when riding off road. I also dont like how limited the mtb cleat adjustment is compared to roadie.

I will always use flats on mtb

[LOCO4360]

Started on flats, tried cleats, went back to flats. Many thousands of kilometres since on flats, happy as a clam. But…  I did some homework. As stated above, good flat pedals are key, large platform with good grip. Shoes also make a big difference. I have not tried 5Tens yet, but I found enough evidence on the web to tell me that DC skate shoes do just as good a job at half the price. The flat soles are the key, and the rubber soles grip nicely into the spikes on good flat pedals. My DCs are about 5000km old and I cannot tell you how impressed I am with how tough they are. Mud, water, rocks, sand, and after each ride I scrub them with a shoe brush. Good as new. The soles have grooves in them now from where I grip into the pedals.

 

The irony is that even in the trickiest places I seldom ever put a foot down, but psychologically I love the option of being able to dab if I need to…

 

Yes, I’ve been told a million times I’m losing ex percent power blah blah blah, and maybe so, but I’m okay with that. My only issue has been on single track which is quite narrow with rocks or foliage, where I have occasional pedal strikes as the pedals are slightly wider than the smaller cleated kind. But it’s a small price to pay.

 

I have a riding buddy who rides flats on his hard tail and dual sus. Last year he completed S2C on flats…

Again I fully agree with this as I and my riding buddy ride flats on our hardtails (same Giant sport flats) and often see people either topple over or overtake people on the climbs (especially my buddy). I guess it depends on your riding style and fitness levels too, for hardcore XC and hectic climbing you will benefit from clips especially for those long rides but for all mountain or aggressive trail riding flats is 100% the best (especially if you need to bail fast) or put your foot out as you attempt to drift and not die. I would say this though that if you have developed the muscle memory using clips you will still be much more efficient using flats, so put the clips on the trainer if you have one and use the flats to improve essential skills. 

[V18]

Flats. I believe in addition to the above points made that all but the super pro level should try not to exhaust knee stabilisers by using them to pull on a pedal. Legs are for stomping. Pushing down. Deadlift motion. It's a miracle knees don't slide about more on those condyle surfaces. That miracle is due to fresh and ready stabilising muscles. Pull on them AND push on them when they are tired... Have a look at a cyclist in your group on flats and one in cleats. Have a look at they knee motion after about 3hours of riding. The flats rider will have a more stable knee motion whist the cleat rider (if he is average like most of us) will have some wonky motion just before the downstroke. Another good argument is having behemoth legs taking the brunt of your kinetic energy during a crash as opposed to your scaphoids. I crashed twice properly at klippies the weekend. Arms never really touched ground. Only back and legs.

[PhilipV]

So, I'm a serious roadie, who committed to riding W2W 2018...

 

I've been having some skills lessons but find the MTB terrifying!!

Would it be advisable to find a pair of flat pedals and appropriate shoes to ride W2W with? Or, will be unable to manage the bike at all?

Persevere with the skills lessons. And please don't be discouraged. Riding a bicycle, and riding a mtb over technical

terrain are two different animals.

People don't become proficient at golf or tennis after a few lessons, mtb'ing is no different.

I reckon go with flats. If it makes you enjoy riding more, then you are winning. You will eventually feel more comfortable on the mtb, and then you can progress to clips.

My Wifey rode flats for more than a year before progressing, it was worth the wait.

 

Oh, and when you hike up the ou Wa pas on day 1, then you'll be happy if you are not wearing fancy racing slippers.

[V12man]

I'm really comfortable with cleats on the road, I just don't feel safe on the MTB

Get some skills coaching as early as possible - don't learn bad habits early that are hard to unlearn.

 

Personally for W2W I would ride cleats because I think it's easier to ride fast with them - but if you just want to finish then you can ride flats - but prepare to have your shins shredded from time to time.

 

And yes - I do ride flats - on my downhill bike - but enduro and XC both get cleats.

[T-Bob]

An idea might be to get some enduro type, wide platform, clip pedals (nukeproofs etc) and back the cleats tension right off. That's how I have my old Shimano DX's that I put on for more pedally routes (harkerville etc). On those kind of courses I find that having a stiffer shoe and cleats works pretty good and if I ever need to get my foot out it's pretty loose. Also allows you to 'scrape' and pull on the backward stroke and pull up if you want climbing. 

[deefish]

My riding buddies and I often have the clips vs flats debate (most of them ride clips) and my take on it is that if you're in the top echelons of racing and chasing down podiums, then the perceived gains (whether actual, mental, or otherwise) definitely warrant riding clips. If you're a social rider, like most people, then flats make things a lot more enjoyable. I guess the other reason to ride clipped in is if you do actually just like the feeling which is a perfectly good reason to be doing it. I've had minimal pedal strikes throughout the years (a lot less than I would guess I would have fallen had I been riding clipped in), and in all honesty most actually happened when I was younger and riding a BMX. The notion of 'progressing' to clips is also a bit misguided, in my opinion. I would rather refer to it as merely swapping to clips, absolutely no 'progression' involved

[Thermophage]

Flats. I believe in addition to the above points made that all but the super pro level should try not to exhaust knee stabilisers by using them to pull on a pedal. Legs are for stomping. Pushing down. Deadlift motion. It's a miracle knees don't slide about more on those condyle surfaces. That miracle is due to fresh and ready stabilising muscles. Pull on them AND push on them when they are tired... Have a look at a cyclist in your group on flats and one in cleats. Have a look at they knee motion after about 3hours of riding. The flats rider will have a more stable knee motion whist the cleat rider (if he is average like most of us) will have some wonky motion just before the downstroke. Another good argument is having behemoth legs taking the brunt of your kinetic energy during a crash as opposed to your scaphoids. I crashed twice properly at klippies the weekend. Arms never really touched ground. Only back and legs.

Trust him, he's an engineer. 4k, I mean doctor

[MudLark]

Guys, I cannot speak to the biokinetic aspect – I know nothing about it. But what I can tell you is that if you are looking for a good compromise, try the Shimano multi-release cleats. You can get out of them very easily and quickly – far more so than the normal seats – when you need to. They aren't quite the same as flats in terms of quickly dabbing a foot out there but they aren't that far off either. As a relatively new guy to the scene, I started out on flats but I found out that they have some disadvantages as well. With normal cleats, well I had a few issues with those too. I have found the multi-release cleats work very well for me; I can get out of them easily and quickly but I remain locked in when I need to be locked in and want to be locked in. Today I went for a ride along a fairly bad route on an oldish bike that I have kitted out with flats. I found that I prefer to be in cleats on that sort of terrain. Horses for courses…

[Spirog]

the Shimano multi-release cleats. You can get out of them very easily and quickly – far more so than the normal seats – when you need to. They aren't quite the same as flats in terms of quickly dabbing a foot out there but they aren't that far off either.

Which are these?

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Which are these?

They're slightly different to the ones that get lumped with the SPD's. You have to buy them separately. They're better than the normal single-release cleats, but no comparison to flats. 

 

Buy the flats. Seriously. 

[lenzman]

I use the flats because I am really terrible in cleats

 

Specialsed 2FO shoes clipless FTW

[stefmeister]

Flats and clipless. Depends on my mood, or where and how far I ride. I like both, but prefer flats as I can always bail out on an overcooked manual when my brain has a d'oh moment.