I tried flat pedals yesterday

Those Xpedo's do look nice. But I think my next pedal will be Flybike's Reuben.
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I have a few flat pedals. My original Ringle ZuZu's from around 1999 (apparently I'm the only person in the world who didn't break them...). Then a set of Crank Bros 5050's about 5 years ago. Then a set of Crank Bros Stamps a couple of years ago. I like the Stamps.

Thinking about it, I prefer clipless when trail or DH riding when pedal strikes are likely, as I've found my feet are less likely to get knocked off the pedal. I like flats when I'm doing rides with friends and we'll stop and session a trail section a few times. Then flats are nice because it's easier to hop on the bike to ride something with minimal run-in. Plus, flat pedal shoes are typically easier to hike in.
 
I've been riding flats since I got into MTB last spring. Just starting using clipless 3 weeks ago. I threw flats back on for yesterdays ride and honestly didn't notice much difference. I like the way clips give you that connected feeling to the bike and confidence at speed. There is no arguing that being able to dab on flats is a huge advantage. I plan switching between both depending on the ride.
 
I was gonna put flats on the Farley to make it a bit more utilitarian anyway so I ordered a set of Catalysts based on yours and Frank’s recommendations and to be honest, I was gonna spend at least that much regardless of which flats I went with......so wth.
 
Juggernaut said:
I was gonna put flats on the Farley to make it a bit more utilitarian anyway so I ordered a set of Catalysts based on yours and Frank’s recommendations and to be honest, I was gonna spend at least that much regardless of which flats I went with......so wth.
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You will not be disappointed in them. They come with extra studs that are longer than the ones already installed. What I did was put them in one side of each pedal and left the shorter ones in the other side to see which ones I wind up liking more. So far I haven't noticed the difference on either side.
 
All this talk about flat pedals got me wondering what the hype is all about. So I got the cheapest pedals I could find to try it out.
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Couldn't find black ones on sale, so I got the poorly matched colored pedals. The red matches pretty good, the orange is way off, lol.
 
Mahnken said:
All this talk about flat pedals got me wondering what the hype is all about. So I got the cheapest pedals I could find to try it out.
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Couldn't find black ones on sale, so I got the poorly matched colored pedals. The red matches pretty good, the orange is way off, lol.
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I didn't want to try a cheap pedal in case I hated it because the pedal was not good. You should get the feel for it after 2 rides if you like it or not. Remember to lower the seatpost 20mm so you always have weight on the pedals. The trick with flats I think, is your weight distribution and how to keep yourself physicaly pushed into the pedals. One thing I did notice after riding flats was that my hands hurt more and got more blisters and callouses. I guess I'm moving the bike more with my arms rather than my clips?
 
Dajerseyrat said:
I didn't want to try a cheap pedal in case I hated it because the pedal was not good. You should get the feel for it after 2 rides if you like it or not. Remember to lower the seatpost 20mm so you always have weight on the pedals. The trick with flats I think, is your weight distribution and how to keep yourself physicaly pushed into the pedals. One thing I did notice after riding flats was that my hands hurt more and got more blisters and callouses. I guess I'm moving the bike more with my arms rather than my clips?
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20mm sounds like a lot... that’s almost an inch. I can see 2-5mm difference maybe? I’d be surprised if there was that much difference in pedal/shoe thickness between flats & clips.

When I swapped out, saddle height stayed the same and my angle of flexion was about the same. Maybe .5 degree difference which isn’t much at all.

If you’re in the saddle and you’re hands are blistering then there’s something else going on...
 
The Pedaling Innovations pedals are great, as @Dajerseyrat mentioned, you get the planted feeling of doing a squat. You can really get a good hip hinge and squat down on the bike. But then again, they're pedals designed by a crossfitter...

It's not that they're bigger, it's that they're longer where you can get your lower portion of your foot (heal) down on it and have much more stability. A lot of people need to actually change saddle positions with them.

I really liked them, however I felt the grip was lacking with the threaded pins. After they sent me to the ER I swapped over temporarily to clipless again and just never went back....yet.

The Chesters were like glue on the shoes when compared to the Pedaling Innovations, but nowhere near the same amount of support. I guess I'll go back after cross season...
 
Santapez said:
The Pedaling Innovations pedals are great, as @Dajerseyrat mentioned, you get the planted feeling of doing a squat. You can really get a good hip hinge and squat down on the bike. But then again, they're pedals designed by a crossfitter...

It's not that they're bigger, it's that they're longer where you can get your lower portion of your foot (heal) down on it and have much more stability. A lot of people need to actually change saddle positions with them.

I really liked them, however I felt the grip was lacking with the threaded pins. After they sent me to the ER I swapped over temporarily to clipless again and just never went back....yet.

The Chesters were like glue on the shoes when compared to the Pedaling Innovations, but nowhere near the same amount of support. I guess I'll go back after cross season...
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were you using the longer pins that they supply now?
 
Dajerseyrat said:
were you using the longer pins that they supply now?
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I was using the shorter ones. Decided to try the longer ones, put them on, proceeded to slice my leg up and went back to clipless shortly after. So I only have one ride with them. 🙂

Shouldn't *have* to use the longer ones though. While I think the large platform is great, I wish it used a different pin setup. I was actually thinking of machining the pedals to utilize different pins.

Have you tried the longer pins and found them good?
 
Santapez said:
I was using the shorter ones. Decided to try the longer ones, put them on, proceeded to slice my leg up and went back to clipless shortly after. So I only have one ride with them. 🙂

Shouldn't *have* to use the longer ones though. While I think the large platform is great, I wish it used a different pin setup. I was actually thinking of machining the pedals to utilize different pins.

Have you tried the longer pins and found them good?
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I used the longer pins and was fine, even with shitty Vans sneakers. I also wear shin guard all the time so Im not worried about shinburgers.
 
I have to ask, what's wrong with vans? I wore them when I was a kid and I wear them now and never had any problems slipping off the pedals. Am I missing something?
 
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