When I first got into mountain biking I rode a 1996 Specialized Hardrock, which at that point, was probably 10 or 12 years old. Not knowing any better, I was learning to rip up the local trails on that rigid beast (okay, “rip” may be a stretch) and was rocking some sexy plastic flat pedals that came stock on the bike. Ignorance is bliss, right?
Before long, I began the descent into full-on mountain biking addiction. Somewhere along the way, it was brought to my attention that I should be riding clipless. “Hmmm, you mean you are actually attached to the pedals?”
“Yes,” I was told… it is a more efficient transfer of power, it helps you be one with the bike over technical terrain, and so on.
Off to the bike shop I went and bought my first pair of entry-level SPD’s and a pair of red and silver Specialized shoes that matched my bike. It was dead sexy, if nothing else.
I practiced in the street before hitting the trails. On my first trail ride I remember going through a particularly rooty section with more ease, and the only “crash” I had was when I unclipped on one side and the bike leaned toward the other. Lesson learned: I needed to coordinate those two actions in the future.
Years passed and I upgraded from my old Specialized to a Gary Fisher XC bike and then to a Santa Cruz trail bike. I also switched to Crankbrothers pedals along the way, but I was still riding clipless and not thinking much else about it.
Let’s at least assume that my bike skills improved through the years. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, my style and approach on the trails changed over that time too. My philosophy has migrated from a “let’s see how fast I can go” mindset to a more Zen-like approach to the overall experience of trail riding. And, of course, I continued to read articles and forum posts about everything mountain biking, including countless discussions on the pros and cons of clipless vs. flats… many of them right here on Singletracks.
I began to question what I thought was gospel. XC-type riders use clipless and flats are reserved for AM/DH or beginners, right? Well, not always it seems. In addition to what I was seeing on the Interwebs, some of the riders I met along the way were very skilled AND they were riding flats on the local trails.
As is often the case, there are as many opinions as there are riders. What I did glean from my growing interest in returning to flats is that a good pair of pedals and proper shoes is critical. My novice experience of using the stock flats that came on my old Specialized combined with who-knows-what shoes was most likely not reflective of how it truly could be… or should be, for that matter.
Since I had already been toying with the idea of purchasing a different pair of shoes for bikepacking, I felt like this was the perfect excuse to re-enter the world of flat pedals. For bikepacking, I figured the flat pedal set-up would be more comfortable and versatile compared to a clipless set-up, but how would it do on the local trails?
After some research, I pulled the trigger on Five Ten Freeriders and Kona Wah Wah pedals. Upon receipt, the shoes felt great and the pedals installed with ease. The real test was going to be on the trails, though. Over the next week, I rode three familiar local trail systems which ended up being a great test.
I quickly learned I had to make a few minor adjustments to compensate for the fact that I was no longer fully attached to the pedals, but overall, I was really surprised at how locked-in my feet felt.
During those first few rides, I had made mental notes of several sections of trail where I was curious to see how things would go in flats, and most often I rolled right through with no problems. I didn’t feel like I was losing much, if any, efficiency while pedaling, and did not feel I was at a disadvantage by comparison.
Further, I felt like I was railing turns with more confidence. Perhaps it was the result of more pedal surface area translating into more force on the outside pedal keeping things locked in. Or, it may have been increased confidence knowing that if I started to slide out, the foot would come down more easily to help prevent a crash.
Other advantages included not having to change shoes at the trail head and increased foot warmth. In the colder months, I struggle with keeping my feet warm. I’ve tried numerous remedies, and none of them have worked as well as just wearing the Freeriders.
It’s been a couple of months since I started riding flats, and I have ridden numerous trails and over a variety of terrain. I have found my current set-up to be comfortable, versatile, and efficient. When I set out on this little experiment, I figured I would soon return to clipless, but now I am not so sure. Only time will tell.
So, if you’ve been pressured by friends or the media to ride clipless “because it is the right thing to do,” but are curious about riding flats, I’d recommend you do your research and plunk down some coin for a good pedal/shoe combo. You may find that being wrong never felt so good.
Fleetwood lives in Richmond, VA and considers Pocahontas State Park his home turf, where he loves to ride and work on the trails. He enjoys traveling throughout the state and beyond to explore new trails, and in the last year went on his first bikepacking trip in the George Washington National Forest. Mountain biking has opened a whole new world to him, and he looks forward to many new experiences, new friends, and fun times on the trails. Find out what he is up to at Escaping the Dreary Confines.
Thank you fine sir for this post. Having gone from flats to clipless and back to flats myself, I can vouch for the truth in this post. The confidence I gain on flats makes my ride ten times more enjoyable.
Thanks, I did the same thing. I road my Cannondale ridgid frame and fork when I was in my early 20ies on flats and before that my bmx. I recently bought a new AM and after a 20 year break. I road it a few times on the street, I put on the clips and hit the trails (I have 20 years of ridding my road bike with clips under my belt). I was surprised how I had lost my touch granted I’m now 43 but still. I rocked on my cannondale could ride it up steps and did 4 foot jumps. I decided to practice some more and put the falts back on. I have found that my problem or loss of curage isn’t so much about getting out but getting back in! If I’m approaching a technical area from a stand still or after I’ve clicked out to catch my balance and don’t click in first shot then your down. After a couple times I lost my nerve and now with the flats it’s no worries again!
Pure Blasphemy.
blasphemous blasphemy I say!
I think that’s a double negative, so clearly, flats are legit!
Have you done XC races on flats?
I have… that’s all I do are XC races (marathon distance of 40+ miles) and they do quite well. It’s really nice to have the sneakers on the HAB sections!
I have not, but I’m not much of a racer. Did an 18-hour a couple of years ago and might do another one day. Jury is out on what pedals I’d use this point. I rode the same course that I raced using my flats and it was fine.
Good post and way to go with what works instead of what everyone else thinks works. I like my clipless pedals but I have a friend who’s a great rider and she likes her flats. To each his own I say 🙂
Great Article. I myself have gone from stock flats, to clipless, and back to Flats. This issue to me is more personal preference. There are as many different ride styles out there as there are fingerprints. I’m not a competitive cyclist, I too go for the more Zen approach. I prefer to get out for half a day or more and stop to take in the sights or smell the roses along the way. While I am slightly less efficient on climbs, it’s not so bad that it makes me want to go back clipless. To each thier own.
I too must agree that speed and “being one with the bike” is not the only consideration when riding. I like to be comfortable, safe, and enjoy the experience.Thirty years of avid riding and I am using a flat pedal on one side with SPD on the other. The bike should be convenient, fun, user friendly and a utility. Pushing the edge is not my goal anymore. I have speedplay and dura ace pedals that belong on bikes that will be all day affairs. Thanks for opening up the idea that flat pedals are a valid choice.
Thanks guys!
Love the flats….gotta get me a pair of the freeriders to complete the package. When I entered my first race (with flats nonetheless) I was nervous about the efficiency and the vast majority of the field was clipless. It was only Cat 3 but I’m not gonna lie, when I passed 3 riders on a particularly challenging hill I felt like I won one for the flats. But I’m thinking pro category at 3 times the distance might be a different story… 🙂
Another option is pedals that have clips on one side and flat on other
In my experience, those pedals usually provide the WORST of both worlds instead of the BEST of both. But that’s just my 2 cents…
My entry level GF Wahoo came with stock flats that weren’t very good. Rode a rental bike in Colorado that had some really good flats and I’ve considered switching back. Clipless can be really tough (painful) in Texas Hill Country rock gardens. By the way Fleetwood, LOVE going to Pocahontas when I’m in Virginia. I make a lot of business trips to Va and I have an “out of town” bike stashed at a friends house in Hampton. Always worth the hour and a half trip to the park.
Cool. PSP is a great park with some great trails. Have you ridden the eastern trail systems — York River, Freedom Park, Wahrani? Not trying to disuade you from coming to the RVA, but they’d be closer for you.
I am, and will remain, a clipless devotee. However, I have and occasionally ride flats. I find clipless allow me to get sloppy in my technique, so I will occasionally throw on the flats to re-hone my skills and then when I go back to clipless, I can really rock the trail. If you can bunnyhop with flats, you can really fly with clipless!
One nice thing about clipless, you cant get beartrapped by them.
My current fave pedals are my recently acquired Shimano combo flat/clipless. I thought I might be disappointed as they would be a compromise of the benefits of each, but I’ve found them to give me all the benefits of clipless with most of the benefit of flats, making them my ultimate trail riding pedal.
“Beartrapped” I like that… Never heard it b4
Huh, interesting. Just read the last part of your comment about the flat/clipless combo after responding to another comment above about the same sort of pedals.
In my experience, I did feel like they were the WORST of both worlds instead of the best… but again, maybe this is yet another different strokes for different folks thing. 🙂
This is why there are so many options out there.
Yeah, I was afraid I might get the worst of both worlds when I bought them.
Here’s the tradeoff and why I’ve decided it works for me. Straight clipless offer two key advantages: more consistent power transfer by being able to use the full pedaling circle rather than just the downstroke, and light weight. I really appreciate the former and, not being a racer or aerobic fiend, don’t think much about the latter. So I get all the power transfer I want and don’t mind the additional weight. Then throw in the ability to have a solid platorm while getting clicked in, which has become a very desireable feature when I’m forced to dismount and remount in very technical terrain, and I’m golden.
Keep in mind that a pedal that is flat on one side and clipless on the other is different than a pedal that has the combination of flat and clipless together on both sides.
Ah we may be talking about different things. I was talking about these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002ATNX5S
Yeah, I was talking about these:
http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/16421-240_SHI457-3-Parts-65-Pedals/Mountain/Shimano-M545-MTB-SPD-Pedals-offerIN13DFSH.htm?utm_source=Shoppingcom&utm_medium=datafeed&utm_campaign=SHDF13&zmam=3075515&zmas=1&zmac=15&zmap=16421&
Ah, yes, that would be much better!
YES!, a very similar experience to the writer’s. On flats now and, aside from road and the occasional xc race, flats along with my trusty 5-10s are all I ride. The flats are even more fun when paired with a dropper post. Hike-a-bike’s are a breeze (heck, I hiked up pikes peak in my high impacts), low ridin in the parking lot’s fun, im way more aggressive in corners, and relearned proper technique for bunny hoppin…to each their own though.
Yeah, my first bunny hop on the trails post-flats wasn’t too pretty, but I’ve worked it out since along with a few other adjustments.
Oh yeah, definitely can go with CB Mallet (or something similar) and some 5-10 Maltese Falcon for example for a nice in between. Working at a bike shop I always point out the 5-10/flat option for an alternative but its amazing how many riders only drink the clipless cool-aid.
I had the flat/clipless combo for a while and did enjoy them until I started using the clipless side the majority of the time. Then it got annoying trying to always get the pedal flipped to the right side.