MTB flat pedals
Discussion
Rode my new MTB for the first time yesterday. Hilarious fun along some super singletrack I found. What did become apparent (other than 2.6" 650B wheels being a bugger to pedal!) was how sketchy it was to ride clipped in, my preferred style. In a road bike I feel secure clipped in and the bike rarely moves around. Skidding, slipping and sliding everywhere - less so. Came off once which was awkward, too. Granted, I'm not used to this type of riding so there is obviously a level of skill I have that's missing. However, I'm wondering if I'm better off with flats? I think I'd worry less, be more confident and allow the bike to move around more knowing I can easily jump off.
So, is a flat pedal and better than any other flat pedal. I can see stuff from £20 to £120. The Hope pedals look Gucci, but am I just as well off with a pair of V8s?
(Oh, and shoes - any recommendations there, too. I don't mind the mud and only have a couple'a pair of new balance trainers that I'd like to keep clean! My riding is purely XC at the moment but quite fancy tackling some beginner trails when I get a bit fitter, if that makes any difference to flat pedals.)
So, is a flat pedal and better than any other flat pedal. I can see stuff from £20 to £120. The Hope pedals look Gucci, but am I just as well off with a pair of V8s?
(Oh, and shoes - any recommendations there, too. I don't mind the mud and only have a couple'a pair of new balance trainers that I'd like to keep clean! My riding is purely XC at the moment but quite fancy tackling some beginner trails when I get a bit fitter, if that makes any difference to flat pedals.)
Just bought some nukeproof neutrons for £23. Seem to get positive reviews mostly. Replacing some V8's. The V8's I have a quite thick and the BB on my bike is very low. Hoping the thinner pedals will reduce pedal strikes a little.
I've recently gone back to flats on my 27.5 plus bike, 5 ten shoes and some decent pedals are very grippy and I don't miss being clipped in most of the time.
I've recently gone back to flats on my 27.5 plus bike, 5 ten shoes and some decent pedals are very grippy and I don't miss being clipped in most of the time.
the V8 platform is a bit small.
I ride both clipped in and flat - there are benefits to both on an MTB. Once you get used to it you can place the bike much more accurately with clips - because you're not bouncing off the pedals. But you can take more risks with flats, and they can be more fun.
But I also like to feeling of smashing though a rock garden in SPDs with the bike bouncing all over the place while you're sort of floating above it with the pedals fixed to your feet... Horses for courses.
Assuming you're using SPDs then I'd stick with them for a bit to get used to it. Muddy winter riding is definitely the toughest test for a mtber in SPDs, come the summer it get much easier once the trails dry out!
I ride both clipped in and flat - there are benefits to both on an MTB. Once you get used to it you can place the bike much more accurately with clips - because you're not bouncing off the pedals. But you can take more risks with flats, and they can be more fun.
But I also like to feeling of smashing though a rock garden in SPDs with the bike bouncing all over the place while you're sort of floating above it with the pedals fixed to your feet... Horses for courses.
Assuming you're using SPDs then I'd stick with them for a bit to get used to it. Muddy winter riding is definitely the toughest test for a mtber in SPDs, come the summer it get much easier once the trails dry out!
Unless you are planning on being an XC racer, there really is little point in clipping in for your average rider. Riding flats will teach you to ride a bike better & rely less on poor technique (spud hopping your way out of things for example).
You don't need to spend much money on decent pedals these days. The Nukeproof Horizon Comps are really rather good. Don't be put off by good plastic pedals - they are comparable to alloy bodied pedals now.
One thing if you are planning on riding flats I would invest in, is a decent pair of shoes to pair with your nice new pedals. There really is only one option in this world: FiveTen. A decent pedal & a set of 5-10's will give you huge amounts of grip & you will avoid the classic mistake of doing what clipped in riders do, deciding they want to try riding flats, buying a set of crap pedals, and trying any old shoes, having a terrible experience & proclaiming it to be rubbish.
FWIW, I ride both. Probably 80/90% flats.
You don't need to spend much money on decent pedals these days. The Nukeproof Horizon Comps are really rather good. Don't be put off by good plastic pedals - they are comparable to alloy bodied pedals now.
One thing if you are planning on riding flats I would invest in, is a decent pair of shoes to pair with your nice new pedals. There really is only one option in this world: FiveTen. A decent pedal & a set of 5-10's will give you huge amounts of grip & you will avoid the classic mistake of doing what clipped in riders do, deciding they want to try riding flats, buying a set of crap pedals, and trying any old shoes, having a terrible experience & proclaiming it to be rubbish.
FWIW, I ride both. Probably 80/90% flats.
I've got for some Nano pedals (purely because they are a small british company and I like looking out for the small guy :-) ) https://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/shop/mounta... coupled with Five 10 Elements.
great pedals in my opinion, a slightly larger platform than my mates Hope's
great pedals in my opinion, a slightly larger platform than my mates Hope's
lickatysplit said:
I've got for some Nano pedals (purely because they are a small british company and I like looking out for the small guy :-) ) https://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/shop/mounta... coupled with Five 10 Elements.
great pedals in my opinion, a slightly larger platform than my mates Hope's
Yep. Nanos and 5:10 Freeriders have been my combo for years now. Easy to service toogreat pedals in my opinion, a slightly larger platform than my mates Hope's
I ran SPDs on my MTB for 10 years, thinking that pedalling efficiency was more important than being able to bail off the bike. Then last year I fitted flats as an experiment. I wish I'd done it sooner; I now have so much more confidence on downhill trails, and I discovered that pedalling efficiency for that scenario is irrelevant (especially when you're out with a bunch of mates, you're not racing them), the fun factor is far more important.
I bought these from Carbon Cycles, affordable and they do the job well:
https://www.carboncycles.cc/?product_code=CC-PED07...
Thanks for the replies. I don't want to give up my SPDs completely, but I think I'll start better at winter mountain biking not clipped in. I don't have the skills/balance/control when sliding all over the place currently. But hey - I guess I need to give them a go, properly, to make a judgement.
5-10s are new to be. Most seem quite...big. I should imagine great if you're flying downhill or on some wicked trails, but I'm not sure there. Is there a better lighter 5-10 model to start with, that gives me grip but isn't like a massive thick soled skate shoe?
5-10s are new to be. Most seem quite...big. I should imagine great if you're flying downhill or on some wicked trails, but I'm not sure there. Is there a better lighter 5-10 model to start with, that gives me grip but isn't like a massive thick soled skate shoe?
I've got some V8 copies on mine and could do with something a little bigger, but other than that they are spot on. I tried spds and it didn't go well, including a knee injury that hasn't gone away almost a year after I tried them (and means I now drive an auto). The loss of dignity as I helplessly toppled over wasn't good either.
I've got Giro flat soled shoes, they look like a pair of skate shoes, but are stiffer. They have been really good on the few occasions I've used them, gripping the pedals much better than standard skate shoes.
I've got Giro flat soled shoes, they look like a pair of skate shoes, but are stiffer. They have been really good on the few occasions I've used them, gripping the pedals much better than standard skate shoes.
I Use the dmr v6 (same design as more expensive v8 and v12 but don't look taty with missing paint as plastic and cheap enough can throw away when bearings worn out. I also use the 5ten sleuth shoes as much smaller than most the others (less/no crash protection) but grip just as well as same sole design.
I’m quite new (4 months) to the whole biking thing, apart from when I was a kid, so tried the clip in pedals and pretty much injured myself every time I rode on them. I swapped to some sealed bearing V8 copies (WellGo) for about £20 and haven’t looked back. I just wear a pair of Sports Direct waterproof trail running shoes ( Caracal I think) which grip superbly and are more than up to the job. I’ve covered 1200 miles and been up the equivalent of Everest four times with this set up and never had a dodgy moment, despite going through some serious mud and trails.
I broke my leg and had surgery to pin it all back together back in May last year. Having been several years since I rode flats, I only had SPD pedals on my CX/Gravel and XC MTB. I was desperate to get back to cycling by November, but there was no way I had the ankle strength or control to unclip. So I strode bravely into my local Halfords and bought these...
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/pedals...
Not cheap, at £36, but not terribly expensive either. Aesthetically pleasing, and nice and thin too. I chose them on account of how the bearings felt a whole lot smoother than on many of the branded pedals I'd picked up and twirled around in shops. Obviously now, after a fair bit of winter use, they're scratched to buggery, but still as smooth as the day they were fitted. A much larger platform area than the DMR V6/V8 stuff too. Worth a look, imho.
I use mine with a pair of trail running shoes (Kalenji 'KIPRUN TRAIL XT6' from Decathlon) I bought a few days before I broke my leg. I still can't run again, so they'd be going to waste if I wasn't wearing them to cycle in. When you get the pins located 'just so' in the tread of the shoe it's a very safe, stable pedal/shoe interface. I'll probably go back to SPDs at some stage, but so far I'm loving these pedals on my MTB. Although I have already gone back to SPD pedals on the Cannondale gravel/cx/adventure "thing" I also ride (because I got fed up swapping one set of flat pedals between bikes, and because my ankle is strong enough to clip in and out again now).
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/pedals...
Not cheap, at £36, but not terribly expensive either. Aesthetically pleasing, and nice and thin too. I chose them on account of how the bearings felt a whole lot smoother than on many of the branded pedals I'd picked up and twirled around in shops. Obviously now, after a fair bit of winter use, they're scratched to buggery, but still as smooth as the day they were fitted. A much larger platform area than the DMR V6/V8 stuff too. Worth a look, imho.
I use mine with a pair of trail running shoes (Kalenji 'KIPRUN TRAIL XT6' from Decathlon) I bought a few days before I broke my leg. I still can't run again, so they'd be going to waste if I wasn't wearing them to cycle in. When you get the pins located 'just so' in the tread of the shoe it's a very safe, stable pedal/shoe interface. I'll probably go back to SPDs at some stage, but so far I'm loving these pedals on my MTB. Although I have already gone back to SPD pedals on the Cannondale gravel/cx/adventure "thing" I also ride (because I got fed up swapping one set of flat pedals between bikes, and because my ankle is strong enough to clip in and out again now).
Edited by yellowjack on Monday 21st January 21:28
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