Flat pedals

R

Ron

Well-Known Member
So who rides flat pedals for cross country? Have been doing a bunch of reading about people going back to it to hone skills. So for the 27.5 I am gonna give it a shot. Have some Race Face Chesters on order and a pair of Northwave Vibes, wife has Five Tens. All the Five Tens in my size are sold out and ship dates are at least a month away.
 
You’ll definitely become a better rider, especially over logs and on technical climbs. I find flats to be almost as good as clips on modern dual suspension bikes. Your feet stay planted unlike on a hardtail or rigid bike, which require more technique.

Personally I still prefer clips but will switch to flats if I’m on a ride where we’re going to play around on stuff like log rollers, drops and jumps. It’s easier to bail and save your ass with flats. Enjoy!
 
I switched to flats after my clips were clogging with snow... after that I liked them and stuck with them, I have the Chester’s on all my bikes, seems like a good enough pedal to meet my needs. Not sure my ability or riding time warrant the Atlas. As far as shoes , I just ride in my old Vans or Merrell sneakers which are pretty grippy, and I like being able to just get in my car and go without changing shoes. After switching to flats I felt less/no post ride pain in my outer knee, but I’m sure any pain from the clips was due to improper setup on my part.
 
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Wife and I got the kids good bikes last year. We do a lot of rail trails with them and will getting them to 6 mile and Nockamixon (sp?) this year.

I was able to find a pair of Five Ten shoes in my size in stock. So they are on order also. Will probably return Northwave. Then off to some shops to find new gloves and one pair of baggies when out with kids.
 
I switch back and forth between clips and flats. But I have the Chester pedals and five ten shoes and they're a great combo.

You might want to consider shin pads eventually when you start getting into techy trails... You don't want any flat pedal shin strikes. Ouch.
 
yes, I remember those from back in the day of the DK pedals on a bmx bike.

I also have both set ups for pedals. This will be the first season on the flats. Luckily I drive down 287 from work everyday. So I will be hitting Six mile to start, after stuff dries out. But Chimney Rock is my favorite after work spot.
 
Also you can shorten the pins on the chester's. With a good pair of shoes you could wind the pins halfway out and still have great grip with much less consequence if you get a good shin strike.
 
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The biggest culprit to shin strike cause is tension -uncertainty about foot position, your shoes, and general over-thinking (multiply x10 if you’ve already adjusted to clipless). When I switched from coaster brake (BMX) to FW (Trials) in the 1980’s pedal strikes deadened all the nerves in my shins! After a season on the Trials bike strikes simply stopped - no special pedals and no special shoes - you need time to adjust and build your pedal feel!

All you need is a decent concave pedal and soft rubber sole with smaller grooves/siping/pockets (not big lugs). I prefer to use lightweight hiking shoes, for a point between too soft (Skate shoes) and too stiff (cycling shoes). But I’m not a racer and I’ll walk in them nearly as far as I ride in them.
 
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I went to flats a while back and love them. They help correct some bad habits I have developed riding clipless. But now I kinda feel like I wanted to go back to riding clipless for a bit. I put my clipless set up back on today and rode a few miles and noticed almost immidiately that for some odd reason my quad muscles were fatiguing pretty quick. It was an odd feeling..anyone else experience this??
 
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Dajerseyrat said:
I went to flats a while back and love them. They help correct some bad habits I have developed riding clipless. But now I kinda feel like I wanted to go back to riding clipless for a bit. I put my clipless set up back on today and rode a few miles and noticed almost immidiately that for some odd reason my quad muscles were fatiguing pretty quick. It was an odd feeling..anyone else experience this??
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I find moving my seat up or down, even a little, makes a big difference in how my quads are "hit." YMMV. Disclaimer, I switched back to flats about 20 yrs ago, never felt the desire to go back to clipless.
 
Dajerseyrat said:
I went to flats a while back and love them. They help correct some bad habits I have developed riding clipless. But now I kinda feel like I wanted to go back to riding clipless for a bit. I put my clipless set up back on today and rode a few miles and noticed almost immidiately that for some odd reason my quad muscles were fatiguing pretty quick. It was an odd feeling..anyone else experience this??
Click to expand...
I have to raise my saddle about 1/2" when I put on clipless or it doesn't feel right.
 
jklett said:
I have to raise my saddle about 1/2" when I put on clipless or it doesn't feel right.
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Yeah I raised it a bit also. Still weird. I went for a local rode at frost woods and it burns my upper quads when I climb...weird...Guess with the flats I was using mostly hamstrings. Oh and I feel really awkward on the bike now, like it's not natural. I noticed I can't lean the bike over as much in the turns due to being locked to the pedals.
 
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