clipless pedal stacks

[Mur]

Im looking at getting clipless pedals, probably mallet C's, not sure what shoes yet.
Ive read most of the other threads on this topic and alot of ppl using flats claim that they are dangerous and that u cant get your foot out quick enough.
i was just wondering if anyone using clipless has stories of serious crashes or injuries that they think wouldnt have happened if they were using flats.
now i dont mean they whole falling over when you come to traffic lights thing, but SERIOUIS (high speed) crashes.

[posty26]

Not really answering your thread but IMO and having spent 10 yrs on clipless pedals offroad and countless crashes I don't recall any high speed nasty ones resulting from failure to release my feet. At least 9 times out of 10 in any given crash I find my feet are unclipped when I come to rest from crashing somewhat "instinctively" whithout thinking bout it. Go the Mallet C's too, great pedal.

[cheese]

Well ill only ever use platforms on my bike, I had a mate who wanted to try clips for a while, after falling over from not being able to unclip at a standstill and embarresing himself (haha Scott) he went back the way of the platform. I have another mate who crashed with clips an broke his collar bone, im not sure if being able to get his foot out would have prevented this but he is on platforms these days.

[Robb]

Well, I recently bought some flats (after riding clips for 5 + years) to put on my VP free when i get it built up and after doing some riding. When i would go to stop, or take my foot of the flat peddal i would twist my heal and inch then lift, just because the brain had been taught that if i wanted to take my foot of the pedal, i first must twist my heel.

Its all todo with practice i guess, but i want to ride flats on my downhill/free ride bike. You also cant reposition your foot as easy/move it around so if you are tryign to balance in one single spot that could be why it was more challenging.

[Balfa_Oli]

Well i think you'd be fine wiht clips.
Last night at the intro to mntx luke strom was trying to go earlier wen the gate came down. he was wearing clips and wat happened is he went straight over the bars and instantasiously he was clipped out.
The reason this was happening because his gate goes down on the second beep the one at homebush goes on the third so the one he was used to was obviously different to the one yesterday.
BY the end of the night he was nailing the gate starts and fkying round the course.

[R33F]

I think the only time you will hear 'horror' stories about failing to release from clip-ins is by people who a) dont wear them, or b) have them adjusted too tight.

Mallet C's are great.

[kona_kona]

I think the only time you will hear 'horror' stories about failing to release from clip-ins is by people who a) dont wear them, or b) have them adjusted too tight.

Mallet C's are great.

second that.

there are 3 types of people in the pedal discussion

1.the people who prefer clips

2. the people who prefer flats

3. and the idiots who bitch about clips saying they are the end of the world and should never be touched.

Go and try some. It's horses for courses. I ride mallet M's for DH and they are great. After over a year on them i have had to increase the release angle because i was finding it too easy to unclip.

[DHbob]

Yeah I'd go clipless I used to ride crosscountry with them and i had a few stacks but your feet just get used to the motion of coming out so never really had a major stack due to clipless. I've only had my dh a few day with flats and already i'm craving clipless again just so much more control

[Mur]

Thanks guys, this is about what i thought, some people say they are dangerous, but as i see it, if your going to crash getting your foot down quick isnt giong to change anything (i know this may be simplifying it)

[Kram]

I never ride without clipless. I can't stand not being clipped in and I never find it difficult to release when I want.

I use Shimano pedals, the ones with the resin cage and I find them to be awesome. Much easier to get in and out of than the old Shimano and fewer pre-releases. I'd be a bit nervous about the Crank Bros as Dean Davies, the Vets National champ, has snapped 3 spindles now and he's a very smooth rider. He's now on Shimano also and much prefers them.

[wannabeabighitta]

I Have been riding clipped in for nearly 9 years,& just had my biggest crash ever on friday, at the wandandian track.I now have a stuffed ac joint in my shoulder & will be out for a month or so.
Can't blame the pedals. I just fucked up

[Gaz85]

ive been riding clips for bout 5 years and a few months ago i started using the mallets. i have now cracked the shits with them and have gone back to shimano. so if ur after a set of mallet c's PM me.

[ozdirtboy]

another point of view about using clips and crashes is that you might even crash less. :cool: firstly, you never slip a pedal and your feet are always in the right place, so that eliminates quite a few crashes (and scarred shins) also, i know that when i'm clipped in i tend to put a bit more effort / concentration into trying to "ride out" of a crash (the easy types) and lastly i had a few big crashes clipped in and just held onto the bike and landed in an awful heap clipped in, but maybe that in itself saved some damage by not having arms and legs out all over the place trying to break the fall.......

for me clips are great......get some!!

[Carlin]

I used to be one of those people who would never use clipless pedals. Never had anything against people who did use them, but they were just not for me. But opinions change over time and especially when a couple of other flat pedal devotees made the switch and raved about it I thought I would give them a go, (mostly for commuting though).

I love them now, especially in the rough stuff. Riding a rigid single speed they offer far more control. The connection and "oneness" with the bike rocks.

Stacks wise I am glad I left it such a long time before changing to them. I know how to track stand, and by balace is not bad. I have had none of the problems that you sometimes hear about regarding commitment to technical sections. I had a couple of spd stacks but not too many and only one bad one being on an uneaven rocky surface at the time.

As for the high speed stacks it does not worry me. I am finding that I am starting to unclip automatically now. The damage that I could see as probable in a high speed stack would be the twisting of the legs/knees with the laverage of the bike. But as soon as you twist you unclip. Doing trials type manouvers such as pivots to fakie and so on I find myself unclipping as I push the bike around. I have also unclipped when trying to really lay the power down in sprints, so I think in a stack my feet will come off.

I love my flats as well and I am glad I learnt on flats as they teach you stuff that riding clipless will not. In their place they are great, but so are clipless pedals.

[hardtail_rider]

mate just go and get some... if you race 4x/mtx/bikerx etc etc.. they are good because you are getting the "pull up" aswell as the push down on your pedals - hence you can spin up quicker - this is excellent for racing out of the gate (but PLEASE make sure u know how to ride a gate first!!! :D)

[juzzo]

daz from rockhampton had a big stack and is still recovering, im not sure of the full story, j5ive will know but

[Mica]

From my experience it's not the high speed crashes you have to worry about with clip ins, as the built in profanity release device in all pedals kicks in and releases your feet (i.e. never had the feet stuck in after a crash at high speed).

It's the low speed crashes that are the issue. Becomes a problem trying to unclip if you're at low speed and have a fair bit of weight on your feet, such as logs rides etc. Seen one of my mates accidently clipped in (thought he was standing on the platform but his foot fell into the clip) try to do a barrell roll off some pallets about six feet up but luckily hit a small tree on the way down which righted him and stopped him falling on his head!!

All in all though that is the only such incident I've come across in about 10+ years of riding and in my opinion clipping in is the way to go for all forms ofriding but just gets a bit sketchy for north shore as you want to be able to bail quickly.

And since your after malllets i'll even sell you a pair if you wish (A mate bought some (in a lovely blue) and only does XC and only realised they were complete overkill too late so they are sitting around in a box completely unused with all cleats and screws etc) I'd take them myself but I'm a Time man.

[blt2ride]

First things first, when it comes to Mallets, I've found that flat-bottom clipless shoes work the best with these pedals--661 or the Shimano shoes (with the flat-bottom).

As for clipless pedals in general, they take time to get used to, and have their postives and negatives. If used properly, they can make jumping and cornering a lot better. However, not all riders feel comfortable with riding clipless pedals. I have crashed with clipless pedals, mainly racing BMX, and have always come out of the pedals.

My suggestion, give them a try for yourself and see what think. Perhaps you can barrow a friend's bike with clips and some shoes. Not everyone can ride with them, and there is nothing wrong with riding flats. Run what you're comfortable with. Look at Sam Hill, Nathan Rennie, and Chris Kovarik...they rock platforms with pride!

[powermutant]

As has been mentioned, the only time I believe clipless provide an extra element of danger is at low-speed, where you stall and fall. Sometimes it can be difficult to unclip. So if you're riding lots of (high) skinnies you should probably consider flats. As far as being an issue at high-speed, I wouldn't worry, the pedals will release when you crash, and you'll have greater concerns (busted hands/arms/neck etc) than whether your feet are going to stay clipped in.

[Philo]

I've found with clipless that if you set them right you don't have trouble getting out of them and stay in when you need to. Having said that I have just changed over to flats on my Vp-free and I'm feeling more comfortable each ride. It all comes down to confidence in which ever pedal your on and which you prefer. I would encourage you to make your own decision not from opinions of others. Anyway I think I'll be riding both...

Philo.

[C*RISSO]

The only crash i know of was my mate who had clips. He hit a road gap for the first time and to cut the story short he slid out and because he landed on his foot he couldnt twist out and cracked his heal in three spots. Couldn't ride for a year. He will never ride clips again.