Should a new mountain biker learn to ride on flat or clipless pedals?

Should a new mountain biker learn to ride on flat or clipless pedals?

  • Clipless

    Votes: 13 13.4%

  • Flats

    Votes: 57 58.8%

  • Doesn't matter

    Votes: 27 27.8%
  • Total voters
    97
Fat Trout said:
No we debate stupid stuff on alternate forums. Some important, some not so much. sH*t stirrers jump in and rile folks up etc etc. A beer or 2 sucks you into adding a comment....you later regret it. you know the usual. Meanwhile in real world terms (for the trolling crowd) its all about boat prep, gear prep etc. I have rods to re-rig, an autopilot to install, motor maintenance blah blah.
When ice out rolls around you have 2 groups. Those that get out and keep their mouth shut and those that crow about their KOM's ha ha.
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Haha. I was just trying to find jokes that combine fishing and bike stuff. I keep telling myself I'm going to really learn how to surf cast (I live 1.5 blocks from sandy hook bay) but I never get around to it. My dad is a good fisherman and one of my oldest friends is in the North east bass circuit. My wife's cousin is also a charter captain on lake Ontario out of sacketts harbor. Actually he used to be a bike racer, road and mtb. And has done ironmans, and is on ski patrol and a teacher and maintains a cottage he rents on the lake. That dude does a lot of stuff.
 
Patrick said:
well, now we are talking.
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If you ever want to take the fam for a trip it's only like 700 for a week. Quiet little dead end street. Rustic and quaint on the water.

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TimBay said:
Haha. I was just trying to find jokes that combine fishing and bike stuff. I keep telling myself I'm going to really learn how to surf cast (I live 1.5 blocks from sandy hook bay) but I never get around to it. My dad is a good fisherman and one of my oldest friends is in the North east bass circuit. My wife's cousin is also a charter captain on lake Ontario out of sacketts harbor. Actually he used to be a bike racer, road and mtb. And has done ironmans, and is on ski patrol and a teacher and maintains a cottage he rents on the lake. That dude does a lot of stuff.
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1.5 blocks....your killing me! lol.

I fish lake Ontario.....Mexico bay (north of Syracuse on the corner of the lake). I have a camper in Mexico. I fish elsewhere but Lake O and its tribs are my main sickness. Lake for years plus river.....heavy into it. Now back to the lake with intensity for the last 5 years. When training for a stage race I was up there doing 50 mile road loops up around redfield NY. Let me tell you a secret......those folks dogs are NOT constrained to staying in their yard at all. Oh and Pit bulls are fast M-Fer's. You find legs you never knew you had when a Pit bull is on your ass keeping up at 22 mph.
 
Fat Trout said:
1.5 blocks....your killing me! lol.

I fish lake Ontario.....Mexico bay (north of Syracuse on the corner of the lake). I have a camper in Mexico. I fish elsewhere but Lake O and its tribs are my main sickness. Lake for years plus river.....heavy into it. Now back to the lake with intensity for the last 5 years. When training for a stage race I was up there doing 50 mile road loops up around redfield NY. Let me tell you a secret......those folks dogs are NOT constrained to staying in their yard at all. Oh and Pit bulls are fast M-Fer's. You find legs you never knew you had when a Pit bull is on your ass keeping up at 22 mph.
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I've never done the steelhead or salmon thing up there. Came close to going to the Salmon river once, but I hear its a monumental shit show. My sickness is the upper Delaware, its really the only place around here where you consistently have shots on 20+ inch wild trout on dries, but you need to bring your casting A-game every time. If you can't cast, its gonna be a loooong day of roll-casting an indie rig. A couple of the guides up there are actually big-time roadies, and I can understand why given the roads. I used to know a guy that would pack his gear ride 130 miles up from NJ through Port Jervis. My MTB is strictly a tool to get me between spots up there.

The real question is, if you were riding flats instead of clips when that Pit Bull chased you, would you even be here typing?
 
Oddly, as I've gotten older, I've started to embrace trail riding on flats more. It's something I plan to do more of this winter. Since building the Megatower, it has mostly been used for park riding and with flat pedals since I found my jumping technique was out of whack due to so much riding with clips. I grew up on BMX, so the muscle memory is there, I just needed to remember it. I've recently done a couple of trail rides on flats and so far I miss the clips most on technical climbs when I need to get over a log or something. It's easier for me to use momentum and then pick up the rear wheel via the clips vs. using a more "trials-lunging" technique.

Were I to do a cross-country trip on a touring bike, I would consider doing it with flat pedals. If only in an attempt to reduce the number of shoes I'd need to carry.
 
Ian F said:
I've recently done a couple of trail rides on flats and so far I miss the clips most on technical climbs
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Just stick with it and eventually it just clicks and becomes second nature . Took me about a month to cleanly ride techy climbs and fly over large log overs with ease . Also took couple weeks to really nail down saddle height and angle because that will change when switching to flats
 
jklett said:
Yes. I can't break my instinct to jump up off the pedals when I start going over. I'm still riding them in certain parks like sixmile and on the road but any time there's anything technical I'm on flats. That may change at some point but I'm okay with it for now.
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I have an idea on why you are “going over”. In your jump video your center of gravity is really far forward, like well in front of your bottom bracket. So if you are going downhill in a similar position, you are easily bumped forward because that is where your weight already is. Just some food for thought, get that weight back and low.

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I’m also from the old school-
BMXed on flats, learning to bunnyhop and streetstyle
Began MTB with toe clips, just always left them loose
Now I clipless and Spey rod urrrything.
Truth told, I still run my clipless loose, but do rely on them more than I should.
Because I can. And lazy.

I think flats can help in the beginning for skills and confidence, but once you can bunny hop logs, or catch a marlin, you are ready for the added benefits of clipless.
 
stb222 said:
I have an idea on why you are “going over”. In your jump video your center of gravity is really far forward, like well in front of your bottom bracket. So if you are going downhill in a similar position, you are easily bumped forward because that is where your weight already is. Just some food for thought, get that weight back and low.

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Yeah, I know that I was a bit forward in that shot. It's not like I'm on the verge of OTB all the time but I am going to try and be more aware of my position. Thanks, I always appreciate advise!
 
jmanic said:
once you can bunny hop logs, or catch a marlin, you are ready for the added benefits of clipless.
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Pretty sure that the marlin catching happened during my stint on flats. Something something about correlation and/or causation.
 
stb222 said:
I have an idea on why you are “going over”. In your jump video your center of gravity is really far forward, like well in front of your bottom bracket. So if you are going downhill in a similar position, you are easily bumped forward because that is where your weight already is. Just some food for thought, get that weight back and low.

View attachment 112816
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Seen a couple of @jklett going OTB while on clipless. When trying to bail, instead of having the muscle memory and instinct to twist the ankle to unclip and put a foot down, he tries to jump off the pedals straight up with both feet. IMO, typically, its not a situation where OTB is warranted but he actually guarantees an OTB by trying to jump off and the bike just follows him which makes things worse than it should have been.

Crazy guy... lol
 
Paul H said:
Seen a couple of @jklett going OTB while on clipless. When trying to bail, instead of having the muscle memory and instinct to twist the ankle to unclip and put a foot down, he tries to jump off the pedals straight up with both feet. IMO, typically, its not a situation where OTB is warranted but he actually guarantees an OTB by trying to jump off and the bike just follows him which makes things worse than it should have been.

Crazy guy... lol
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? I would recommend breaking that habit, obvi
 
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