advantages of using Clips

[Cameron1]

Just wondering wat da main advantage of using clips is?
wat is the biggest disadvantage? .ie. Hard to adjust from normal pedals? or always crashing?

[Jordy]

advantages= harder for your feet to fall off, you can pull up with your rear leg if your sprinting

disadvantages= harder to get feet off for cornering, painful if you go over the bars

[Cúl-Báire]

Hehehe I can second that painful thing... I slid down a rather steep hill (off the course to begin with) face first with the bike still attatched to me at the 8hour :oops: Normally SPD's are pretty easy to get out of, but they was well cloged with mud.

Advantages= You can hop with less effort or skill, you can drive on the upstroke of your pedaling motio; more effeciant basicly.

Disadvantages = you will fall off a few times before you get used to them... set the tension really loose and you'll be right :D

[LordNikon]

I've only fallen off once with clipped pedals... and that wasn't my fault... damned pedestrians! :wink:

The extra power you get from using them is huge, I've heard somewhere around 30% more if you pedal properly.

[Fat_Ride]

They can also assist in more agressive riding to keeep your feet from slipping off the pedals and you landing your nuts on the top tube!!!

[BrumbyJack]

I guess I have to find someone with a bike set up and feet the same/similar size as mine to give it a try.....

I don't like the idea of my feet being fixed, as I put my feet down a lot ATM, but I noticed my feet bouncing around on the pedals going down some drops the other day and I guess those clip thingies on the bottom of your feet would solve that?

[Cúl-Báire]

YEah I guess it would solve that problem... After a while you just dont even notice them any more, untill you try riding with normal shoes again :P

If the spring tenson is set loose you can pull your feet out pretty easy, I have and will again run clipless pedals, SPD's (really early XT ones) on a DH bike; no troubles there.

[fog]

well the australian champion dh r doesnt use clips.
wit clips you can bynny hop and shit like that but you cant do no footers .

[wendel]

no disadvantages if you are used to em its just automatic getting them out like taking your foot off a flat pedal. they are so much faster takes less energy. 4x its faster out of gates i use em for dh and 4x they kick ass

[wendel]

nico vouillez uses clips he only won world champion 10 years they must be shit

[Grover]

once you get used to them you'll wonder why you ever used platforms. the extra power and control you get is amazing. in the words of nike, "just do it".

[wendel]

grover has seen the light he gets my drift

[LordNikon]

I have a 6 inch scar on my shin that says I'll never use flat pedals again.

:wink:

[dunk]

wit clips you can bynny hop and shit like that but you cant do no footers .

You can bunny hops without clips, and when is a cross country rider going to do a no footer?

[DEVLIN]

Flats a cool if your are DHing and looking for tenths of seconds in the corners by pushing the limits and trailing the inside leg. Personally I would use clips for DH. I have seen Dave Cullinan do a flat as Pancake with the underside leg unclipped and fully extended to land clipped back in using Shimano XC pedals. Obviously a bit of practice there though.

For XC you are looking for efficiency and clips are the only way to go here. I use Time pedals and swear by them, won't ride anything else. You could try Eggbeaters or Shimano as well.

[Daver]

i can swing both ways- for xc, u r stupid if you don't use clips!!! the extra power up hills is pheneomenal...

but dh- it's a tough call between the pedalling benefits of clips, and the confidence factor of flats... i prefer flats for jumping purely because you can bail.

with an urban;/dj bike flats are really helpful to practice your techniques n all that shit...:wink:

[Misplaced]

Advantage to your dental surgeon: They get much more business out of you for reconstruction work


Free the feet!

[cam-o]

For XC go clips. Heaps more pedalling power and you get used to them pretty quickly.

[luckyphil]

last time i checked, this was in the XC forum, therefor, discussions about the use of clips for jumping (wtf>>????) seems kinda stupid.
imo if you've been riding bikes for a while, it wont take long to get used to clips, and you'll never look back. (i reckon clips help minimise falls, not make them worse)

[BrumbyJack]

Do you have to have them adjusted evenly???

I'm still learning and notice I put my right foot a fair bit, but rarely the left one.

If I made it easier to get my right leg out it would probably easier until I developed more skills and confidence? Or would that lead to problems?

[Rik]

You shouldn't have any issues BJ. In fact, I have my pedals adjusted very differently, to compensate for a dodgy left knee.

Anyway, W...T...F... is this talk about DH and crap? Fools...
If you're riding/racing XC, you'd be stupid to not clip in, the power and efficiency advantages are huge, and if you can't unclip in time for a corner/crash/whatever, you're a gumby.

[luckyphil]

well said. compared to road clips, xc are a breeze getting out of.

[BrumbyJack]

OK, so next question....

Which sort is the cheapest/most commonly used???

I realise there are many brands and types, so I realise that is somewhat like asking how long is a piece of string, but I hope you get what I mean.

I keep reading Shimano SPD?????

[LordNikon]

IMHO the best pedals to start out with are the entry level Shimano ones.

Heaps of bike shops have a package deal with shimano shoes and pedals for under $200. That's what I started with.

Shimano pedals are good as long as you don't get too much mud on them. Keep them well lubed and adjusted loose to begin with and as you build confidence you can tighten them up.

Personally, I use eggbeaters now because they're much better in muddy conditions and are heaps lighter. More expensive though.

[wombat]

Has anybody tried the mallets? I know they wouldn't be an ideal XC pedal but as a general trail riding product they seem like a nice bit of kit.

[Grover]

if you're in melbourne and you want eggbeaters melbourne bicycle centre is selling the that retails at 230 for 130. otherwise have a look at shimano's entry level pedals which have been redesigned to look very much like the xtr level pedals. number PD-M520 or PD-M540

[MrPlow]

I have never used eggbeaters but heard they have no adjustments or "clicked in" sensation.
Personally I would go shimano. heaps of ppl use them so if you want to test someones ride it is good to be able to clip in hassle free. they are strong and nice feel.
When you get them practice pedalling around in circles. Sounds weird but it is super efficient rather than pulling up on the pedals and pushing down in two different cycles. With clips you can drag the cranks backwards and push them forwards as well. Way good.

[Rik]

Not just practise circles, but practise parts of the stroke too. If you work on pulling back then up, as well as stomping down, you can build up muscles there and get good power gains. Incorporating pedalling technique exercises into your training will make you a better rider.

[BrumbyJack]

Thank you for the replies guys!!!

I have added some to my wish list.

Too many bills to pay ATM maybe by MONT time I might have some, but seeing that is right after winter....... maybe not ;)

[Sutek]

For what its worth BJ, I have always been a flats man and have been doing DH for years. Recently I purchased a nice gleaming new piece of XC Porn and a new set of clipless to go with them.
We did a 40kay ride from Fitzroy falls down into the valley, waist deep in urunga creek, back up and then road into Kangaroo Valley. I was completely farked, but the best thing about the whole ride was the sheer efficiency gained from those clips.I
Anyone who doesn't use them on XC is kidding themselves. I Forget the model, but I have a set of Ritchey pedals and some Lake shoes..bloody fantastic.
BTW..I have fallen off, but only at slow speed, forgetting I was clipped in. Once you get used to it, there is no turning back. The next day I was out on the DH bike on flats and felt weird..I might convert there too.
Hope this helps :wink:

[hazman]

I got Shimano shoes and wellgo clipless pedals about 2 months ago, i think they are great, got em all up for about $220, most shops will do a nice discount on pedals and shoes when bought as a package. Sure i had my first bad crash on them yesterday, and my shoulder and stomach are caining, but it wasnt because i was clipped in, it was because one foot wasnt clipped in and i got funky in the air, buy them, they are the best value for money upgrade youll do to your bike other than oury grips!! :wink: 8)

[luckyphil]

i agree hazman, even if u have the shittest spds in the world, u get soooo much power from using clips, i think its somehin like 30% more???
sure, at the start you'll fall off, but practice for a coupla days riding to shops n stuff and it just becomes second nature.

[Gonzo]

Actually when clipped in and pedalling properly you aren't able to pull up. What you do is you remove any down force that you would normally have in order to keep your foot on the pedal. Just thought you might like to know.

[luckyphil]

maybe you just fucken unco?

[Gonzo]

no, they did force analysis through the stroke when they had pro road riders pedalling.

[Rik]

Have you ever ridden with clips to confirm this supposed study?
Whilst only pulling up isn't the best technique, and only works at low RPM, you CAN do it. If I do it though, I get the strange sensation of my borked knee trying to seperate :x

You said "pedalling properly" so I guess it all depends on how you define properly. If you're pedalling with what I consider proper style, you'll be spinning too fast to actually pull up properly, as I believe everyone should pedal fast RPM with smooth circular pedal stroke (but that comes from my track/road background). Which is what you've said, sorta... but studying roadies is irrelevent to MTB'ers, as they don't have to worry about weight balancing and traction issues to complicate their pedalling style, and they generally pedal as much as twice as fast as MTB'ers.

[Gonzo]

I ride with clips almost all the time. The proper pedalling stroke I defined is exactly what you say, i.e quite high rpm. Sure if you ride with one foot in you can pull up during the stroke but considering clips are most often used to generate power then it is fair enough to disregard this. The advantage they give is more power at the top and bottom of the stroke as well as reducing the negative down force one is inclined to exert when the pedal is going up when you are using flats.

Mtb'ers and roadies don't pedal that differently. mtb'ers don't pedal aren't able to maintain as smooth a pedalling style as roadies but the legs and cranks are still the same basic design and so whatr is good for one is going to be good for the other. track cyclyist are a bit different as they only have one fixed gear and pedal farkin fast.

If you are worrying about getting traction then it is better to pedal faster than to pull a big gear and pedal slowly.