Clips or Flats?

[MrSafety]

I guess it's all just a compromise, there's pros and cons of both. I have ridden flats for ages and it's only recently that I have tried clips. I really liked it in some ways. I could 'pick' the bike up with my feat, peddle better ect. ect. To use the tracks in the National rounds as an example, Adelaide didn't really favor either, Shepparton was better on flats and Stromlo was a clips track. In a perfect world i would use both, at the same time.

 

[dh 4life]

I have ridden both clips and flat and as said above its easier to pick up over things and to move your bike about is great. Flats easier to corner cause you can take a foot off easy. If your going to crash your going to crash doesn't matter if you in clips or flats either way its always going to hurt.

Just my 2 cents

 

[VTSS350]

Im a downhiller trying clips now, first impressions awsome, all the little movements like over jumps and rockgardens that occur when riding flats are just eliminated. However I havent ridden any tracks that arnt my locals yet, so when i do that will be the biggest test for these fandingeld things.

Look at the date of the last post, 2007

Let the thread die. Stop grave digging!

 

[Steve-0]

There's nothign wrong with grave digging a thread like this as the topic is timeless..

I've probably already posted in here but here's my experience with clips. IMO there way better then flats for anything off-road. period....but they take a lot to get used to. Only downside in comparison to flats would be less heel support (only really an issue for really harsh/big hucks) and wet weather use. Clips can be a bitch to get your foot back in when there clogged with mud.. however new brands of pedals have (sort of) fixed this problem. Also if your riding style means the middle or back of your foot is on the pedal, then clips would suck as they only come so far back on the foot.

I can get either foot out for corners in a split second 100% of the time and correct unexpected drifts just as easily as flats .. even when the front goes and i'm going over the front i can easily jump over the bars and run it out (in context to flats in that situation). I've very rarely been tangled in the bike due to feet sticking in.

Of course to get the benefits of clips AND still use them with the proficiency of flats, it requires a lot of practice, years even.. I've ridden clips since i was 12 and for reference to the above i've always had shimano SPD's and currently its DX pedals, fairly loose and DX shoes with the cleat all the way back.

 

[DHboy]

Up too you

depends on your skill i reckon, i ridden easy runs on clips and ive raced the DH on flats, if your really good at riding, like never stack, youll find clips heaps better (hopping etc) but if your like me and is on the ground more than your on the bike then clips will fuck you up hahahaha
hope that helped

 

[CourseOut]

i personally think everyone should start outon flats - having raced bmx for many years it is easy to see the bad habits that people pick up if they ride clips from a very young age. You will see a lot of people dropping the nose down too far, or being too "busy" in the air because they have ;earnt to jump on clips. People who start riding on flats are definitely much smoother on their bikes, particualrly in the air.

However, i you have the confidence to run clips after this learning period (I don't!) you will have the benefit of more power, less slipped pedals and the safety net of being able to pull up with your legs if necessary. I have seen some pretty gnarly crashes on clips over the years so I can't say that I'm perosnally keen to give them a go

 

[Steve-0]

i personally think everyone should start outon flats - having raced bmx for many years it is easy to see the bad habits that people pick up if they ride clips from a very young age. You will see a lot of people dropping the nose down too far, or being too "busy" in the air because they have ;earnt to jump on clips. People who start riding on flats are definitely much smoother on their bikes, particualrly in the air.

However, i you have the confidence to run clips after this learning period (I don't!) you will have the benefit of more power, less slipped pedals and the safety net of being able to pull up with your legs if necessary. I have seen some pretty gnarly crashes on clips over the years so I can't say that I'm perosnally keen to give them a go

+1. Just like riding a hard tail before going dual suspension will make you smoother, riding flats before you go clips has big benefits. Mainly for jumps and definatly for full bike control. Otherwise you'll spend some time clipping out accidentally mid-air while your trying to whip etc.

Also wanna add to my previous post. Wet weather/mud is REALLY bad for SPD's and clips in general lol. Went riding yesterday, walked up a muddy hill and the bike was un-rideable until i got most of the mud off my shoes.

 

[Ducky Punk]

Flats all day, they improve your skill and make you more of a man.

 

[Greg882]

Clips Clips Clips... Just run em a bit loose just in case but i have never had any real problems

Just ckeck your shoes everynow and then i lost a bolt once that wasnt the best but shoe did disengage from pedal still

 

[the woodiest man alive]

Flats.... easier to fall off on

 

[condog]

Flats because my feet stay in place much better.
Also, alot of the time people who ride flats come from a MX back ground. where as people with clips usually come from BMX/XC/Road.

 

[Nathan_S]

i run both for differnt tracks. guys at my school are like " fuck clips you'll brake your feet", not really. your feet will turn sideways automatically, and if set loose enough they will unclip easy

 

[wespelarno]

Clips. There is so much more control and feel when you are attatched to the bike. Sections someone on flats is desparately holding on for, clips allow you to pedal through.

The falling off bit is kind of a void statement. I'm so used to unclipping that I twist my feet of flat pedals. I have a photo sequence of my bailing a jump mid air-accross 5 photos I get my feet unclipped, and throw the bike away from me no problems at all.

Anything offroad apart from DJ, and clips are by far my preference.

 

[.Alex.]

clips for xc, flats for dh

 

[quan_warriors12]

I would recomend flats because if you try to bail with clips you may get screwed but with flats you can bail and get your foot off easier.