Moving from Clipless to Flats

I only really use SPD's on my road bike now.

I started a thread a few months back about this as I did it for coaching and curiosity. Plus I won some flat shoes. It was a good experience. I’m completely comfortable with both now, although find the pedal strikes of flats a bit annoying.

This year I’m trying to push my riding on a bit, so testing myself more at the Golfie and other steeper, more techie trails.

Having now ridden purely spds since they first came out, personally I kept with spds when i started riding more techie stuff and on bike trips to Alps etc as that's what i was more comfortable/confident on

Definitely don't experiment with flats for the first time while trying to push yourself riding more difficult terrain them you're used to.

Either do the two things separately, or put more difficult terrain on hold for a few months/weeks until you're confident on flats.

If you can clip out easily and quickly without thinking, stick with clips. Its one thing not to worry about if you are already comfortable with them.

I was in a similar position, I wanted to ride more at the Golfie but sometimes trying to clip back in on steeper stuff could be a bit unsettling. A knee injury meant I had to commit to flats and I didn't go back. I had used flats on pump tracks for a few years which helped a lot, definitely don't go straight into the deep end. Decent shoes and pedals help too but you can get some cheapish pedals to start and maybe some cheap skate shoes to try it out.

@franksinatra
What size shoe are you?
I could maybe lend you some shoes and pedals so you can have a shot at flats with no outlay.

I moved from clips to flats, partly because as others have alluded to, the difficulty in clipping in on steeper and more techy trails, and partly because I had a lesson with a coach and he insisted on it.

One thing I found out is just how bad my footwork had become with clipless, and I think that then contributed to a lot of other issues.

Now I only ride flats on my MTB, and feel that I’m a better rider for it, due to needing to get my feet in the correct position to stop them coming off the pedals

I've moved to flats and prefer it now.

Took me a while and didn't really work with cheap pedals and approach shoes. I say go all in. buy decent shoes and pedals and accept that it will take a while to get used to (remember the first few months with SPDs? :-))

I switched because I've got a properly wrecked leg that does not like to twist, but, even so I'm glad I rode both. It's a cliche that you learn different skills on flats, imo you don't, it's just that you're encouraged- you can have all the same skills on spds, it's just that you also have the option to not have them whereas if you try that on flats you just kinda die. But equally spds can encourage committed foot-up riding and better pedalling which flats can tolerate you not having. So it's not a this or that but it's still I reckon worth it for everyone that wants to actually get better.

But it can be a real culture shock and a lot of people will bounce right off because they go from being able to ride how they want to having to learn basic skills.

The price doesn't have to be huge, but, I do say do it properly or don't. Decent pedals can be cheap, I'm using £15 chinese ones right now which are as about good as anything I've ever had and better than most pedals costing more. Shoes have a bit of a harder time of it but you can often find a five ten freerider for around £50-£60 and while they're not "best" they are excellent and you can be pretty much 100% sure that if it doens't work out it wasn't the shoes. Whereas if you're trying to go cheaper, maybe you can't.

(remember the first few months with SPDs? :-))

Nope, by the time SPDs existed i'd already been clipless 5 years and ridden thousands of miles of RSF stuff...

I did a decade of spds. When i started doing bikepacking i got fed up having to buy seperate expensive spd boots for winter camps. So i went partially flat pedals and found that technology had moved on. Pedals were grippy amnd shoes were sticky. And i could walk into the pub after putting up the tent without sounding like i had hooves. And they work really well for the bike parks too and i can go to the shops in my Five Tens. So i ride flats exclusively now. Really can't find a downside.

So has the pedalling efficiency thing with spds been debunked?

Bike magician Ryan Leach has a new website launch just now, with his flat pedal challenge course for free.
Cheap flats and sneakers are ok for town but no way will they have the grip available from a good setup. They might simply take you quickly back to clips.

Try get some proper flat shoes. 510 still have the best grip. Used perhaps? I’ve got some old 9s or 10’s - 9 I think. impact high. Pm me if you want.

Best pedals available IMO - and at a low cost are Kona Wah Wah composite. Under £50.
I’ve tried lots of the expensive brands inc Chromag Dagga and the WahWahs win easy. Grippy. Large. Chamfered edge. Strong. Thin.
You can even get a Chinese copy if you’re willing to wait

Info about a copy from this forum a while back - I got some as spares and they seem pretty much identical functionally.

WahWah copy: https://www.aliexpress.com/i/1005001436154620.html
SHANMASHI CVO 2019 Bigfoot Nylon Carbon Fiber Bearing Pedal Mountain Bike Road Bike Pedal Comfortable Bicycle Pedal 333g / Pair
mrdestructo Big feet, big flats. Shanmashi do some Kona Wah Wah clones. 120*118*21mm loads of colours. Last cheap plastic pedal I used had the pins ripped sideways on a stairset first ride. These have taken some knocks and look fine
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/major-life-decision-transitioning/page/2/#post-12119939

I ride xc spd & flats on the gnarr bike, found it hard to adapt to start, mainly due to cheap shoe/pedal combo. 510's & decent grippy pedals made a vast difference. I found that had got a little 'lazy' being clipped in, I had to work a little harder to start with using flats, but wouldn't go back. The ability to just bang your feet back on the pedals in the middle of a rockfest vs thinking about trying to clip whilst negotiating a hairy section is a win for me.

“roach
Free Member
So has the pedalling efficiency thing with spds been debunked?”
Yes
Look at BikeJames MTB strengthcoach. he has good reports on the science.
TBF if the ground is really rough clips can be an advantage keeping feet on. One less thing to think about of that fast DH. But, clips aren’t more efficient.
The more forward foot position enabled by flats is more biomechanically advantageous too. A more stable platform allows more power into the legs.
Try doing a deadlift or squat on the forefoot and compare your ability to do the same move with heels down.

i made the switch about a year ago after a very muddy race where i was clipping amd out and had a very awkward moment where i clipped out on a jump.

pretty much switched to flats for everything now.

pros
- my feet & knees are happier, especially on longer rides & in the cold, being able to shift your feet is great
-more confidence on steep & techy stuff, especially in the wet- Id unclip b4 entertaining a rough section, now I actually take my feet off the pedals less
-flats are cheaper
-no more click clack & scrabbling to walk in cleats

cons
- ive lost a bit of control, cant deny it, you have to relearn a bit how to move the bike around
-pedal strikes, have to be a bit more careful and ive gone to 165 cranks
- on really rough to stuff you have to push through the pedals to stop getting bounced off, especially on a hardtail

I moved back to flat pedals about seven years ago - after using clipless since 1996. You will need to relearn technique for maintaining contact with the pedals and it can take some time. Do persevere as it's good to have options in the pedal types you use.

There are some really helpful videos on Youtube and some great information you can find in 'The Flat Pedal Manifesto'. I haven't really experienced issues with my knees de to lipless use - but I have opted for Crank Brothers and then Mavic (Basically Time) pedals for approximately 20 years. Good pedals and shoes are a must - although preferences vary. I have used Specialized Boomslangs, Crank Brothers Stamp over a long period and have found they are reliable, durable and thin with good platforms and pins. Shoe-wise, I have used FiveTen Freeriders, Freeridee Pro, Trailcross and Sleuth. All seem decently durable and very grippy.

There's a lot of mileage in weighting your feet, dropping your ankles and moving the ball of your foot to ensure it is over the axle.

Good luck!

Bunch of amateur's - to be truly cool, left foot clipped & right foot on a flat pedal, best of both worlds...

I'm really lucky in that I can swap from clips to flats & back again pretty easily. Prefer clips for long pedally rides (the are more efficient on the hardtail - enabling me to pedal where on a flat pedal you can only coast) & flats for jumping & uplift days/general tomfoolery

I was on SPD's for over 20 years but decided a few years ago to give flats a go for much the same reasons as the OP. I'd say my riding has definitely improved as I had picked up some bad habits riding clipped in. Didn't take too long to adjust on the descents but I did find techy climbs tougher initially as couldn't just pull the bike up and over step ups.