Paul H
Fearless OOS Poser
Can't imagine what they will do to your shins... ouch!If you have issues with grip, you can always resort to these bad boys. Who remembers these? Good ole shinburgers....
https://goo.gl/images/3Yq6un
Can't imagine what they will do to your shins... ouch!If you have issues with grip, you can always resort to these bad boys. Who remembers these? Good ole shinburgers....
https://goo.gl/images/3Yq6un
See I dont have an issue committing going down hill on clips, nor do I feel uncomfortable at speeds on them. I actually feel comfortable connected to the bike and anytime I got out of line at speed I was able to clip right out. The issue I have is when Im at low speed doing technical climbs over chunky terrain, I feel like I cant get out of them in time and I tip over and fall occasionally. I also feel uncomfortable trying to do more dumb stuff like wheelies and manuals with worries I cant get my feet down in time. On a flat pedal I see myself trying more rock climbs and things like the big log ride at six mile.
Can't imagine what they will do to your shins... ouch!
Considering the 60lb downhill , murder machines they used to make..The pedals are pretty tame.Can't imagine what they will do to your shins... ouch!
This is where I'm at. Clipless on the road, Fivetens and flats on dirt.I’ll echo what’s being said already - your experience with flats will dramatically change with 5.10 shoes. I’ve been on flats for years on the mountain bike but wear clips on my road bikes.
Flats will make you a better rider, if you've never ridden flats before. I come from the time when we spent our summers cruising around on BMX bikes, stealing lumber from building sites to build ramps, and doing generally stupid shit on a bike (not unlike today). A lot of newer riders have never had the pleasure, so its good to try flats out. I've experienced flats, no suspension, and primitive geometry. I have my clip-less and full suspension now and ain't never going back. Having said that, I occasionally put the flats on to keep my chops up.
HA!!! I remember the days of finding discarded plywood in a parking lot and building makshift ramps with it so we could jump our bmx bikes. As kids we were too poor for any of us to afford to purchase a Super Jump ramp at the local bike shop, that was reserved for the rich kids.
As for the "doing generally stupid shit on a bike" loved that part as well. Including the smacking I got from my mom when I came home with a piece of beer bottle glass embedded in my left hand because I crashed on one of my jumps and landed on the glass. The smacking was due to her having to take me to the doctor to get stiches and having to pay for it becuase growing up we had no health coverage. 35+ years later she's still pissed off at me about that.
Flats are awesome to learn with. After you get all the techniques down it doesn't matter which you ride, there's been about 1,000 studies that show you get a zero % power advantage using clipless. It's 100% false even amongst the best Pros that ever lived.
Clipless on the road is used to dial in foot position and decrease hot spots, has nothing to do with upward power. I would argue the benefit of a stiff-soled shoe for power transfer but that's about it. For MTB most would benefit from flats over clips unless you're really comfortable with your skill set or abilty to get out quickly. You do not climb better regardless of how you might perceive it.
to each his own and I know I could probably improve my technique to some degree but damn, for the rocks and bouncy crap I ride, flats are suicide. I know going to five10 shoes would help but not enough to overcome the separation of pedal and foot that happens when I'm really smoking a downhill.
Flats highlight flaws in your technique/approach/body position, call it what you may and if you take the time to work on those flaws, you’ll be surprised of the results.
Last time I rode at a DH Park I wore my clips and thought nothing of it. The last go around at a park was with flats and there were a couple sketchy sections where I found some separation between the bike and myself. I realized what I was doing, made some corrections and kept it as one unit. It is these corrections that go unoticed when clipped in.
Yes, to each is own, however I feel there is a learning curve with flats that can pay dividends even when clipped in.
Good old days. We used to have height and distance contests, usually with objects or people lying on the ground behind the ramp for motivation. We also used to have bunny-hop contests, usually also over people. You didn’t want to be the last guy that had to be cleared. The best was when my friend learned how to make a lipped ramp from BMX Plus I think. The thing was a monster to us, about 3ft. high and would take 4 of us to move. My friend lived on a hill, so we’d set that thing up so that we could come booking down the hill, hit the ramp, and land on his sloped lawn that was a natural transition. We still ate shit about a quarter of the time, these were the days before anyone even thought of helmets. Always had to drag that ramp into the woods and hide it before his dad came home, since he destroyed that ramp’s predecessor out of fear of being sued.
What corrections did you make? I have heard heel down going downhill and heel up going downhill from different people.. I would think heel down would make more sense.
What corrections did you make? I have heard heel down going downhill and heel up going downhill from different people.. I would think heel down would make more sense.
It’s more than just “heel down”. Foot and body wedge for keeping bike glued to you.