Flats vs Cleats. Your findings

[Vetseun]

... as long as it isn’t clipless

K

[DR ◣◢]

As long as it isnt flat pedals

K

[ChrisF]

In the 80's I had a nice 25km trip to school, and again in the afternoon ...

 

 

Good old toe-clips and straps. You just knew to release those clips getting to a stop sign ...

 

Dont recall ever tipping over due to being clipped in....

 

 

Decades later .... MTB and trails .... think the choice of flats were initially budget driven.

 

For our weekend trails flats does the job well enough.

[ridr]

Decided to try some nice flats on my hardtail last week to finally work on my (non-existent) skills - bike threw me off spectacularly while showing my daughter how to go over a bump downhill Rookie mistake.

Will be back playing on the flats as soon as I can grip my mtb handlebar again.

Flats definitely have their place. Looking forward to playing around on shorter stuff and improving my bike handling hopefully. But I'll stick to cleats for longer stuff.

Edited October 4, 2020 by ridr

[thehoof]

At the risk of derailing the discussion... what's the feeling on the Ryder Dual pedal?

 

 

https://bike-addict.co.za/collections/ryder/products/ryder-mtb-dual-2-0-pedals

 

cleats on one side, "flat" on the other

[ridr]

At the risk of derailing the discussion... what's the feeling on the Ryder Dual pedal?

 

 

https://bike-addict.co.za/collections/ryder/products/ryder-mtb-dual-2-0-pedals

 

cleats on one side, "flat" on the other

I'd have to say no. It's not really a mtb flat pedal - flats have wide base and pins so they make an awesome pedalling platform. And mtb clipless pedals are multi-sided for a reason - I've had to ride road pedals on a mtb before and it makes life very difficult having to get the pedal the right way to clip in on technical stuff.

[thehoof]

I'd have to say no. It's not really a mtb flat pedal - flats have wide base and pins so they make an awesome pedalling platform. And mtb clipless pedals are multi-sided for a reason - I've had to ride road pedals on a mtb before and it makes life very difficult having to get the pedal the right way to clip in on technical stuff.

Thanks

I had hoped it would allow the "quick ride to the shops without cycling shoes"... but you make a good point re clipping in on technical sections!

[Hairy]

At the risk of derailing the discussion... what's the feeling on the Ryder Dual pedal?

 

 

https://bike-addict.co.za/collections/ryder/products/ryder-mtb-dual-2-0-pedals

 

cleats on one side, "flat" on the other

 

 

Thanks

I had hoped it would allow the "quick ride to the shops without cycling shoes"... but you make a good point re clipping in on technical sections!

As a commuter bicycle pedal it will work

[ridr]

Thanks

I had hoped it would allow the "quick ride to the shops without cycling shoes"... but you make a good point re clipping in on technical sections!

They could be ok for riding on the road and commuting, but not for mountain biking. Rather get something more decent. You get double sided mtb pedals with cages. And my old eggbeaters that the kids now use came with plastic platforms that can be clipped onto the pedal for riding with normal shoes when needed.

[gerriemtb]

Talking about cages on clipless pedals: Any advantages in a peddle with a cage/bigger contact area than the Shimano 520? Does it give better stability and/or power output. Or is this something that is negated by the stiffness of your shoe?

[DR ◣◢]

Talking about cages on clipless pedals: Any advantages in a peddle with a cage/bigger contact area than the Shimano 520? Does it give better stability and/or power output. Or is this something that is negated by the stiffness of your shoe?

 

When I switched from 520s to 540 Trail pedals I found the bigger platform to make it easier to clip in quickly while riding. 

 

With the V-Twin the even bigger platform added more support but I didn't notice any benefit to distributing the weight across the pedal. It was still mostly on the cleat area. 

[The Ouzo]

In the 80's I had a nice 25km trip to school, and again in the afternoon ...

 

 

Good old toe-clips and straps. You just knew to release those clips getting to a stop sign ...

 

Dont recall ever tipping over due to being clipped in....

 

 

Decades later .... MTB and trails .... think the choice of flats were initially budget driven.

 

For our weekend trails flats does the job well enough.

lol

reminds me of an incident many years ago.

A group of us pull up to a traffic light on a slight incline, I lean over to the left to lossen the strap, but somehow I think because of the incline of the road and the angle I was at I fell over to the right. Bouncing off my thigh and right in front of the car waiting at the light.

Much lols were had at the time.

[DR ◣◢]

lol

reminds me of an incident many years ago.

A group of us pull up to a traffic light on a slight incline, I lean over to the left to lossen the strap, but somehow I think because of the incline of the road and the angle I was at I fell over to the right. Bouncing off my thigh and right in front of the car waiting at the light.

Much lols were had at the time.

I can imagine it felt the same as that one morning I dropped my motorbike in the Main Street in Sabie. Right in front of the Midas.

[ChrisF]

At the risk of derailing the discussion... what's the feeling on the Ryder Dual pedal?

 

 

https://bike-addict.co.za/collections/ryder/products/ryder-mtb-dual-2-0-pedals

 

cleats on one side, "flat" on the other

Got a set on a bike I bought a few years ago ...

 

Cant comment on how it works as clipless.

 

 

Can confirm it was rather useless as flat pedals

 

Even a pair of plastic flats worked better ...

Edited October 6, 2020 by ChrisF

[Chadvdw67]

So, just to add my 2 cents to this, I know everyone has their own preferences etc, so this is not saying that what I found will apply to everyone, it is just what I found works best for MYSELF...

 

On the MTB I have never run anything but flats, always used to just have those cheap plastic pedals, and they worked fine, but that was just commuting to school and back and to friends etc, move on many years to getting my first "real" MTB and riding proper trails, I tried out a set of "proper" flats, the right tools for the job, changed my life, the grip and security they give is just amazing, then I got my 510s, was less enthusiastic about them, made my feet numb and they really just were not comfortable and there was no noticeable increase in grip, in fact it felt like there was less grip, but I carried on riding with them because I was not going to have just wasted that money on a pair of shoes, I got more comfortable with them, they shaped to my feet etc, now I really enjoy them, but still don't see a noticeable difference in grip, but the stiffer sole does help with comfort on the pedals.

 

So, when I got a road bike, I did the "right" thing and got proper road pedals and shoes, the right tools for the job, I was not at all comfortable with them, but I carried on using them because I knew it is something one needs to get practice with, I got more and more comfortable with them and kind of started to enjoy them, sold the road bike, kept the pedals and shoes, got a gravel bike and obviously put the pedals on there, it was ok, but my last 2 rides on the Gravel bike, I tried out the Flats+510 combo, I will be selling my cleats, I am just so much more comfortable and confident with flats, and I just don't see any benefit at all to cleats, in fact I am faster on my gravel bike with the flats than with the cleats, I put this all down to be comfortable and confident, maybe cleats are more efficient, but I can't see any benefits for MYSELF, I couldn't care less what that scientific data wada wada bull**** tests say, the test was not done on or with me, but with another person/s, so that data does not apply to me, we are all different, and not everything will work the same for each person.

Edited October 11, 2020 by Chadvdw67