I went clipless...
 

and I'm not looking back. Climbs just got a lot easier some reason and I don't know why. Its amazing what it does for my times, once you get used to the thought of clipping out. Who came up with the idea of clipless pedals anyways.

I did. But someone beat me to the patent.

Its because you are getting about twice as much power per pedal stroke. Riding platform pedals you cannot really get much power on the upstroke since you are not connected to the pedal. Now that you are connected to the pedal you can get that wasted power going uphill and you can definitely tell a difference. I ride a bike with platform pedals to work and I hate climbing any sort of hill or trying to accelerate. (Its a half mile ride, not worth clipless)

Which pedals you go with?

Last time I checked clipless pedals was to improve pedaling efficiency and improving control of one's bike amongst other things.

and increased traction.

... and stability in tough terrain

i went with shimano m520's and lake mx85 shoes.

I ride some cheap clipless Wellgos and they kick @$$ big time. I just love em. And because Im a cheap *******, I got a pair of Specialized Rockhopper shoes to go with them. All for $75 at my LBS. Nice...

Ricardo

I cant wait to see the new Look clipless pedals, Onyx or something they call it

Are you gonna get some?

Hello again. I took them riding tonight. They are deffinently hard to get used to. I fell 3 times. First time because my right foot wouldent come out and I just tipped over, second time because I was riding over a log and got stuck and I forgot I had them on and tipped over. And the third time I couldent get the right foot out again. I came home and adjusted the tension on it, but sometimes it just wont come out at all. It still helps a ton up hills and in control in rooty sections though. I sprained my wrist pretty bad though. It hurts even to type this. Oh well, I'll suck it up and try again tommorow. I hate complainers and Im starting to piss my self off.

What's this falling thing due to clipless? Never got bucked off the fixie due to them, have yet to fall off of the mtb yet due to them. Guess I'm just lucky.

Originally Posted by clichty "Its because you are getting about twice as much power per pedal stroke."

You do this allot, debunk someone's statement; never with an explanation. Care to?

While I'll agree you won't gain twice the power, you WILL increase efficiency/power. Clipped in, you're able to pull through the bottom of the pedal stroke (sweep), and on the up stroke. You can also better involve the opposing arm and back muscles for climbing.

Nah, you probably are pretty lucky. When I got my first set of Clipless, Every fall and injury for the next week or so after was due to those annoying, "Pedal, then stop, not be able to clip out, then teeter and fall" kind of things that hurt more than they should, and look way more wimpy than they should.

You don't know how to spell as well as you think. Look it up. NOW. :p

Are you Yoda? Nope. :rolleyes:

Correct me if Im wrong, but I believe some Downhillers ride with clipless pedals

Yep, couple of my mates do, I have on occasion but it depends on the type of track and I have a pretty loose cornering style, I get a fair bit of slip going so being clipped in freaks me a bit, I'm also pretty good at pedalling over rough ground on platforms but did notice the improvement with clipless.. Alot of the WC downhill racers do but it is all dependant on style. The main advantage when it comes to DH riders is being able to pedal over rougher terrain and not get as bucked around on rutted parts of tracks/rockgardens.

It is a strange feeling to me, I prefer my clipless pedals on my roadie and platforms on my DH bike. Now 4X and XC, that would be a different story, I would wear clipless on an XC ride and most 4X tracks.

Every rider in this vid was on clipless pedals.

They have a learning curve just as anything else does.

a natural response when new to clipless is to pull up, like when you rode flats, then out and when the up part doesnt work the mind tends to hesitate. by the time you figure "oh yeah, I gotta twist" you have crashed.
practice twisting at the ball of the foot as often as posibble for any particualr reason and in less time than you realize your brain will be retrained to automatically twist out. it sucks the first few times you ride on flats again because when you get off the pedal you twist by instinct, the foot comes off the side, the crotch hits the bar, the rest of you hits the ground

:lol:

These kinds of statements are only meaningful if you are talking about going straight from an ordinary pedal to a clipless pedal, not if going from toe clips to clipless. Toe clips serve the same purpose... they just aren't as convenient to use. More power going uphill is probably mostly psychological, but it's possible that you are pedaling harder with more confidence that you would have powering up a hill in just plain shoes and pedals without toe clips.

But I did spel it right. ;) Made it much easier for you to look up, huh. :D

You still haven't "educated" us re: your original statement.

Interesting. :rolleyes:

I guess you'll view this as a victory. I just can't get down to your level any longer. Please take me off your Christmas card list. :(