Mountain Biking - Where did my pedal go! or Why are my feet in the air!

Just wondering if anyone else who has recently began riding clip-less on other bikes (I commute/road ride clip-less) have had problems staying on the platforms when I get back on the MTB (platforms)?

I was out with the kids the other day messing around in some dirt mounds. I'm good until it comes time to hammer up a steep climb. I keep taking my feet off the pedals. Its instinct now for me to pedal full circles from riding clip-less. So, when I try to pull up on my upstroke, my feet end up in the air! :rolleyes:

Our 4 boys just laugh at the old man. Its the only way they can keep up with me on steep terrain! :p

Just wondering if anyone else who has recently began riding clip-less on other bikes (I commute/road ride clip-less) have had problems staying on the platforms when I get back on the MTB (platforms)?


I don't ride clipless, but I use toeclips on my MTB...then I took off my toeclips on my commuter when the wife wanted to ride it, but didn't like toeclips. Took me a couple days to get used to riding without toeclips...and my foot kept coming up and sliding backwards and everything.

I'm hoping to get clipless pedals/shoes this summer, but only for the MTB, the toeclips will go on the commuter then.

Our 4 boys just laugh at the old man. Its the only way they can keep up with me on steep terrain! :p

Yes its bound to happen. The day the kids beat there parents at stuff! :p

If you can adjust, point your toes down slightly. This will allow a good flat pedal to really stick to your shoe.

Ironically, I had the opposite problem the other day and my foot stuck on my flat pedal (I have a pedal with nice long spikes). Damn near killed myself.

I ride clipless on my mtb and road, as well. It's second nature for me, now.

Ironically, I had the opposite problem the other day and my foot stuck on my flat pedal (I have a pedal with nice long spikes). Damn near killed myself.

I also have nice long spikes and those aren't the funnest things to have hitting your shins :p It actually drew a lot more blood then I expected!

I ended up with 2 holes and 15 stitches in my shin recently. One was an actual hole that took a full 2.5 months to finally close. Thing bled a lot. Oh well, the price I pay for foot freedom :D...

Thanks for the reply guys. I never thought I would have a problem going back to my MTB with the platforms. I'll try your suggestion Maelstrom. If I can't force myself to "relearn" then I'll get some combo pedals with SPDs on one side. Guess its a learning curve like everything else. :D

I'm a flat kind of person as well.

I refuse to use anything but platform pedals. None of that clipless or toeclip junk.

I ended up with 2 holes and 15 stitches in my shin recently. One was an actual hole that took a full 2.5 months to finally close. Thing bled a lot. Oh well, the price I pay for foot freedom :D...


HOLY CRAP! OUCH!

Did you guys see my Univesity of Hawaii pedal tat?

Thanks to the kind folks at Truvative for producing my tat producing pedal. Add to that a rooty section, slipped pedals and a nice series of gashes to produce this nice tat. 6 weeks later and it's not fully healed. The deep wounds have formed scar tissue which is hard to the touch!

Yeah!

Ummmm....gross....:D

I showed you mine, now it's your turn to show us yours!!!!!

L8R

Looks like fun....not

This is it...3 months later. Still about the size of a nickle, was originally the size of a loonie (dollar coin) Bled for almost a month. They couldn't actually stitch the one furthest from the ankle completely. Could only get in 5 stitches there to close up around the hole. The other 2 scars were normal cuts so they got stitched and healed up fine.

Is that your right or left leg??

I had a similar "divot" on my right. Dern thing refused to heal. I guess the skin is so thin in that area it kept opening up. Then, it got infected and I had the pink lines radiating from it. Had to get a local anti-biotic. Doc looked at it and said, "You probably should've gotten stiches for that!" Ummmm, duh! That's why butterfly bandages are available!!!!

BTW, I still have the 'Divot" in my shin, but it's healed up pretty well now!

L8R

Yeah mine got infected. I dealt with it...the doc was more worried about physical shock then the infection haha

LEft leg...its always my left leg :D

mael, you ride left foot forward? (just curious)

I ride right foot forward and my right shin is pretty much ALL scar tissue. If I push in one spot really hard for like 20 seconds, I can make a nice hole in my shin. it will stay that way for a good hour or more. I have definitly had wounds that took months to heal too. actually, I would end up just ripping the scab off (with my pedals, not by hand) and just keep ripping it open. again and again and again.
then if I put shin pads on (because my shins would be SO sore) the scabs would get all soft from sweat and fall off. adding to the scar tissue factor.

now when I hit my shins really hard, it doesn't hurt my shin as much as it hurts in my head. really weird.....

The cure for this is to bang your head against the wall repeatedly!

I do this everyday at work!!!!

L8R

I too use some pretty gnarly spiked pedals and every so often I whack my left shin, that sucker bleeds like crazy. Even the smaller scratches are taking 2-3 weeks to heal!

mael, you ride left foot forward? (just curious)

I ride right foot forward and my right shin is pretty much ALL scar tissue. If I push in one spot really hard for like 20 seconds, I can make a nice hole in my shin. it will stay that way for a good hour or more. I have definitly had wounds that took months to heal too. actually, I would end up just ripping the scab off (with my pedals, not by hand) and just keep ripping it open. again and again and again.
then if I put shin pads on (because my shins would be SO sore) the scabs would get all soft from sweat and fall off. adding to the scar tissue factor.

now when I hit my shins really hard, it doesn't hurt my shin as much as it hurts in my head. really weird.....

Yep...90% of the time I do. Its also the first foot I try to put down when I am falling :)

riding right foot forward, when I slip my right foot off, that is the one that comes back up and smacks me. usually when doing no footed stuff and you don't get your foot back on right...

I ride on the ball of my foot so it has a tendancy to want to slip off easier then if I was riding more in the middle of my foot. but mtn. biking, I don't slip pedals too often and when I do, it's usually both feet that come off and then I land sitting on my seat w/ my legs out to the side, so I don't get the pedal bite coming back around.

I was riding on the ball of my foot, but after slipping often (big feet) I switched to the middle of my foot. Things are much better now :)

Maybe it's time for a new sticky: Post your wounds/scars thread.

I was riding on the ball of my foot, but after slipping often (big feet) I switched to the middle of my foot. Things are much better now :)

yea, when riding in the woods, just pedaling along, I sometimes change my foot postion but I've been riding for so long on my balls(:D) that it doesn't feel right if I'm 'really' riding. like riding hard or doing somewhat techy stuff. it's on the balls of my feet all the way.

If I am in racing mode where I pedal like a madman I have to use the ball of my foot. Doesn't feel like I generate enough power from my flat :) I definately agree here. I use the flats when dropping or doing tricks...

Maybe it's time for a new sticky: Post your wounds/scars thread.

I'm not at home, thus I don't have access to my picture file, but if someone starts a thread, I'll "Sticky" it!

L8R

Just wondering if anyone else who has recently began riding clip-less on other bikes (I commute/road ride clip-less) have had problems staying on the platforms when I get back on the MTB (platforms)?

I switch my pedals between my clipless and platforms depending on what I'm doing. I find that for the first half hour with platforms (I primarily ride clipless) I'm having to constantly think about my pedalling and foot position and such. After that then it sets in although I do still slip off the platforms at times... especially if I'm moving the bike around a lot under me.

I switch my pedals between my clip-less and platforms depending on what I'm doing. I find that for the first half hour with platforms (I primarily ride clip-less) I'm having to constantly think about my pedaling and foot position and such. After that then it sets in although I do still slip off the platforms at times... especially if I'm moving the bike around a lot under me.

Thanks khuon. The main trail that we would ride that is nearest home has some aggressive (by my standards) riding through the Missouri River Brakes(sp). I hope to get out this weekend and see how it goes. I still kind of like the idea of the combo pedals. I may get the cheap set from Nashbar just to see how they work out. Decisions, decisions... :rolleyes:

I still kind of like the idea of the combo pedals. I may get the cheap set from Nashbar just to see how they work out. Decisions, decisions... :rolleyes:

There are two types of combo MTB pedals I've seen. One is single-sided bindings and platforms with the other side being bare platforms such as the Shimano PD-M324. The other type is double-sided bindings and platforms with both sides equipped with clipless mechanisms such as the Time ATAC Z-Control or the Crank Brothers Mallet-C. Of the two, I've found that the latter is hard to ride with standard shoes as the bindings tend to stick up and protrude into the soles. Atom Lab is marketting the QuikStep pedal which has lighter loaded springs that will depress out of the way and not stick up into the bottom of your regular shoes. However, they're still new. No one I know has tried them and they're quite expensive.

If you want to try and convert your double-sided binding to single-sided platform with single-sided binding, you may want to check out the Winwood Decksters (http://www.winwoodbikeparts.com/decksters.html). I don't know how secure these are or how tough a terrain you can take them on. If you have SPD pedals, you will probably need to crank up the tension to hold them snugly. One big side-effect is that they drastically effect your stack height so you may have to compromise with adjusting your seatpost.

http://www.winwoodbikeparts.com/images/PD1150.jpghttp://www.winwoodbikeparts.com/images/PD1150-A.jpg