@rcannon100 162490 wrote:
I just switched out my clipless speedplay frogs for flats. The difference is tremendous.
First – if you concerned about falling – you can generally adjust the clipless pedals to make them easy to unclip. SPDs you can adjust the tension., Speedplay frogs (which I love) have no tension and are so easy to get out of (they also have the most float, which is good for knees).
Will clippless make you faster. I will disagree with some here and say YES clipless will make you faster. It is hard to quantify and I remember when I made my decision to switch – I struggled to find anything that resembled sound empirical evidence. That said, I think you can assume you will gain a gear. A big reason is efficiency. Your pedal is always clipped to your shoe on the downstroke and upstroke. But to me, more importantly, your foot is always in the right position. Hit a bump? Doesnt matter, your foot is always in the correct position. No fumbling. Also, while you could wear a stiff – I dont know – boot – with flats – clipless pedals go with stiff (at your preference) shoes which will transfer all your power into the crank. You gain a lot of efficiency by having that foot fixed to the pedal.
Using flats my foot is bouncing all of the place. I am spending a lot of time repositioning. And in the wrong moment, my foot is now in the wrong position, flexing and not transferring full power into the crank.
Another big difference is control of the bike. With clipless, you have four points of firm control of the bike – two hands, two feet. Clipped to the pedals, you can control the movement and balance of the bike. Hit a bump, and your bike will move with your feet – when you land – your bike will still be under you. With flats, its up to your hands. And your feet can do is pedal. But they dont contribute to control.
Flats with pins are pretty cool. I prefer my speedplay frogs more than anything for the additional control of the bike they give me.
Sounds like you need better pedals and better shoes. :p
As someone who rides both clipped in and on flats, I feel ZERO difference in efficiency 90% of the time I am riding. The only difference I notice is on a REALLY steep hill. I have tested my speed clipped in versus flats, and it is exactly the same on pavement and gravel (I did this because I got tired of people telling me that I would be faster clipped in). I am faster on flats when mountain biking (this is for different reasons than pedal efficiency, though). My feet never leave the pedals unless I want them to and I can “pull” up similarly to what I would do with clipless (granted, it is more of a scooping motion than pulling up). Shoes made specifically for riding with flat pedals (think 5.10 style shoes) are just as stiff as most mountain bike clipless shoes. The exception, of course, being the ridiculously stiff XC race shoes that cost more than some folk’s bikes.
For the record, I ride Wellgo MG1’s or MG5’s (pedals) and FiveTen Freerider Pro’s (shoes) on flats. I ride Time Allium or XC-8’s (pedals) and Pearl Izumi Launch II’s (shoes) clipped in.
That being said… Everyone should ride what they feel most comfortable in. If clipless works best for you, then YAY! Ride clipless. If riding flats works best for you, then YAY! Ride flats. If you want to learn to use both efficiently and swap between them, then YAY! Ride both.
.
