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Highly recommend the HT AE03.
Very grippy, very thin, pins go all the way through (but I broke none last season). Slightly smaller platform than a lot of the competition, beveled corners and, as mentioned, thin. Feels like I have less rock strikes than before.
Attachment 371325
I'll 2nd this. I've got Xpedo SPRY pedals, and they are nice platforms... but I have yanked more than one pin out due to pedal-strikes which has subsequently destroyed the female threads and made it such that a replacement pin won't stay in at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Andeh
Yeah, they're awesome but unobtainium right now. I must have gotten one of the last available pairs from Evo last year.Quote:
Originally Posted by jm2e
Best feeling pedals i ever had. Hard to step away after youve ridden pedals that thin but the bearings didnt last long at all. Same with the replacement set. Maybe the new ones are better. I sent them an email but they were unresponsive. Too bad. They were awesome when they were new.Quote:
Originally Posted by sf
I have canfield crampons on one bike and chesters on the other. Both good. Chesters could be bigger and thinner. Canfields need new bearings after 3 years but shouldnt be any problem. I think the next pedals i get will be deity composites or t macs or yoshimura's. They look as good as it gets and should last
https://yoshimuracycling.com/product...-bicycle-pedal
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I’m still a total beater, but I feel like my progression took off when I switched to riding with flats because they force me to ride with better technique.Quote:
Originally Posted by Duffman
This is a weird comment to me, and I've heard it before. I ride differently in flats than I do in clips. I don't think one is better or worse than the other. I like that clips allow me to unlock the front and rear of the bike more - in other words, I don't need to do anything with my hands to whip the rear end of the bike around. I can bounce the bike into the air like with flats, then if I'm a little low on the rear end cause I'm not clearing something, I can pull the back up without rotating the bars down - kinda fold into the cockpit is how it feels. I can force-pedal through sharp babyhead crap and keep uphill speed high, and whip my bodyweight around without worrying about deloading my feet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Self Jupiter
I get flat pedal love. I have some and ride them at times. Nothing like them for technical stuff you know you aren't going to 100% clear, for example. Nice on smooth downhills with loose corners too. But I don't think my style while using clip-ins is worse technique. I just think it's different. Am I missing something? Is it that you feel safer trying stuff so you progress faster?
My comment was in reference to how switching to flats seemingly aided my progression from an intermediate to an upper-intermediate or advanced level rider, not to suggest one pedal style is better or worse— I wouldn’t be qualified to say that.Quote:
Originally Posted by EWG
I actually felt less safe when I first made the switch, I hadn’t ridden a mountain bike without being clipped in since I was a little kid. Clipping out wasn’t the issue. I find I can’t ‘’cheat’’ as much with flats, so it forces me to have better technique and fundamentals. Getting better at bunny-hopping and jumping is the easiest example to bring up, but it’s been more than that. When I first made the switch I became cautious about going through really chunky stuff because I would bounce/slide around the pedals until I got better about body positioning and manipulating the bike. But if I were to enter an enduro race I’d probably want to be clipped in. (please excuse terrible writing)
Late to the discussion here, I used clipless pedals from the beginning. My first pair were Onza pedals, they had a elastomer release and pretty light. I remember I had a wreck where I slide off a spine into a tight small gulley upside down. I couldn't get out of my pedals and had to go into contortions to untie my shoes to release from my bike. Anyway, stayed with clipless for years, decades and ended with XT trail pedals and indeed they worked great. Then around 2014 my wife was hating her shoes and decided to move to flats and flat pedal shoes. She was liking here new setup so well I decided to try them as even so I like my pedals I didn't like my shoes either especially bike hike and driving. I ended up liking flats and never went back. I have kept logs on my rides for a long time and my ET's one vs another were similar.
So, my setups are my Hightower has Canfield pedals, I like them a lot, mainly the shape but the internal parts are cheesy and need regrease more often than I would like. My Ebike has Crank Bros X7. Big and IMO burly and tough and does not need regreasing. I don't like the way the width hangs out a little and potential catching a pedal strike.
I don't think you can talk about flats without talking about shoes. IMO, to get best performance you need dedicated Flat pedal shoes. I have had 5 10's the light ones like VX fell apart in less than a year and the heavy ones are way heavy. I now have RC shoes, my wife too. IMO, excellent shoes light and tough would not hesitate to buy them again.
Since I was recovering from a head injury last year I switched to flats for trail riding for maximum bailability (Protaper pedals and Freeriders). Didn't ride a ton, but rode them enough to form a legitimate opinion. I was never a fan, especially on extended and/or tough climbing. Bought myself a pair of PI X-Alp Summits and Time MX8s for Christmas. First ride on the new pedals and shoes was a few weeks ago and all was immediately right with the world. YMMV.
eta: I always ran flats on my DH bike. But, kids, etc. happened and I wasn't riding it enough so I sold it and rode clipless exclusively on my trail bike for about a decade. For bike park riding I'd still say flats are probably the right call if you're not racing and want to be able to ditch the bike as easily as possible. For trail riding though, NFW.
my favorite pair of flats shoes are the 661 filters. not made anymore though
5.10 freerides look like they’d fall apart in a season
I will say that the one place the flats *still* don't work as well for me is on extremely techy climbs. I apparently still have muscle memory that has me pulling up on the pedals in certain circumstances... and that definitely don't work worth a shit with flats.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dantheman
Other than that, I have nary a complaint with flats - I started with bear-traps back in the early 90's, quickly "graduated" to clipless, rode those for 20+ years, then migrated to flats about 5 years ago...
Maybe you should try climbing the road instead ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by skaredshtles
I was a flats rider forever, occasionally throwing the clipless pedals on for a ride or two and then eating shit a bunch and taking them back off. Probably 5 years ago I decided to commit to leaving them on for a month and didn't look back after a few weeks. Then everyone switched to flats.
flat pedals ... are flat
been on them for > 50 yars
IME just buy some cheap metal apres market pedals
even the plastic that came on the FAT bike seem fine
Fuck dat road!! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by snowaddict91
My desire to try flats is almost purely for jumping and handling the bike in the air. I love clips for really technical stuff (techy climbing is probably my biggest strength on a bike) and I see the advantage there to being able to quickly move the bike laterally and/or vertically instead of just forward or backwards. I've been riding clips since I was 12 so I can easily ditch the bike therefore it's not really a confidence thing for me - I find when I need to bail I'm out of the pedals without thinking about it. But as soon as I get in the air I find myself dead sailoring or pulling up on my pedals to get extra height to clear landings which tells me a) I'm not properly loading up on the ramp b) I'm not releasing off the lip properly and c) I'm not gripping the bike in the air properly. So when I get into bigger jumps or have to bunny hop something legitimately high I lose control pretty quickly. As a result I feel like my progression there has plateaued and I think clips allow me to get away with those bad habits that ultimately limit progression. I also think I'll feel less confident in high speed chunk with flats which will push me to have a better body position.Quote:
Originally Posted by EWG
I think there's a huge advantage to overall bike control if you can ride both flats and clips equally effectively (albeit different styles) and make the decision based on which one you prefer, not which one you know. Right now I'm not even close to that point with flats so I feel like my riding will benefit from being expanded in a slightly different way. In reality I'll probably fucking hate it but who knows
Your experience sounds similar to mine with clipless.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wes Mantooth
In fact, I'd probably still be on clipless had I not forgotten my shoes on a trip to Moab and purchased an inexpensive pair of flats and discovered that I really preferred them. And it only took me a few days to realize.
But yeah - 1st time I hit a trail with jumps on it... holy shit. Hang on to your hat. :D
Well I survived day 1 on flats (not that anyone cares). It was not as wildly different as I was expecting which I guess is a good thing. I noticed differences in unanticipated bumpy areas and off jumps but everything else was relatively the same. Immediately upon starting the descent I was all over the place and couldn't control the bike until I planted my heels down hard and then it was fine. Off jumps I'm definitely relying on the clips to get extra height but I was still able to get airborne and clear the usual kickers without flying off the pedals - next step is working on getting the extra height with flats. Overall I definitely didn't feel as confident since I felt less connected to the bike and it was more work on my legs to keep pressure on the pedals
I'll try them out at the local trail that is super technical since so far the bumpy stuff seems to be the biggest adjustment, especially when seated. I don't think flats are a one stop shop to getting better at riding but I do think they expose small bouts of laziness when it comes to body position and line choice so it's a good training exercise for clipless lifers like myself
What kind of shoes? Kinda like skiing, "it's all about the boots" Flat pedals really need a dedicated flat pedal shoe. Flat stiff soles that have a soft texture that grip the pins. Trying flats with hard cleated sole hiking boots or worse, trad bike shoes for clipless is not a good test...........Quote:
Originally Posted by Wes Mantooth
Fully agree. The shoes are *critical*...Quote:
Originally Posted by Quadzilla
I used my giro chamber shoes with the cleats removed. So obviously not ideal right off the bat due to the cleat cutout but they have a flat stiff sole with a wide forefoot and a decently tacky texture with a similar pattern to flat pedal dedicated shoes. I found the pins locked in the shoe quite well actually to the point where it was difficult to reposition my foot while riding due to the grip. I'm sure they're not as good as a dedicated flat shoe but I didn't want to put more money into this experiment unless the shoes were a complete nightmare right off the batQuote:
Originally Posted by Quadzilla
I think the instances where my feet did come off the pedals or slide around were more technique/line choice related than shoe, like hitting a rock while climbing that bounces the rear end laterally a few inches. With clips you can zone out and spin with light pressure in bumpy terrain and have no consequence but I felt like I had to be much more dialed with flats. Once going downhill with my heels dropped I had zero sensation of losing grip
Get some good flat shoes - they are WAY cheaper than hospital bills. For real. Do it. You won't regret it. You will ride way safer and in more control.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wes Mantooth
Overall, over than that, you're doing the right stuff - mainly, drop your heels.
Finally...I gotta ask ----- wtf is with "world's first 'analrapist' " ?? Usually, people don't claim to carry out criminal and violent sexual acts, so...??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bmk...annel=dastan89Quote:
Originally Posted by meter-man
I'm fully in the camp of having the right gear for the task and I do abide by that pretty soundly. BUT I am curious how different my shoes really are than dedicated flat shoes. Sure if I were wearing my sidi road weenie shoes with cleats off I'd be asking for a hospital bill and if I were wearing floppy skate shoes I'd be asking for super sore feet, but the chambers are designed to be like a flat shoe and the soles are built to grip supplemental pins on pedals like mallets or saints. Obviously the cleat cutout is the glaring thing here but what else makes a flat shoe so different from the chamber?Quote:
Originally Posted by meter-man
Also I was so confused what you were talking about since I made this account when I was like 16 but yeah what HAB said...
Been riding in skate shoes on flats and my feet almost never come off the pedal. And it is the iMotion composite with removable metal pins I bought for $25, after spending six months reading every pedal review and being unable to decide how much to spend on which pedal. Choose the cheap off brand option to replace my full plastic pedal the bike came with. Honestly can imagine buying anything more expensive down the road. Also have a cheap alloy pedal that is convex like the OneUp but have not tried those yet.
Fwiw not getting any serious air or hitting super techy stuff on my trek hard tail. But still having fun hitting some of the more well known downhill routes in my back yard.
AH gotcha. Those shoes are probably not terrible, but I bet true flat shoes would better. I'd guess they are stiff where the cleat goes. Probably would have better grip here with a more pliant sole. But if it works, it works.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wes Mantooth
The main thing is the sticky rubber and flat pedal area with lots of rubber for grip. Makes a nice combo for confident grip.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wes Mantooth
My 9yo has basically destroyed the plastic pedals flats that came with his bike and needs some new ones. I have a set of metal with pins (I have no idea what they are called as I ride clipless). I think those are too aggressive and he's end up with some pretty bloody shins.
I started to remove the pins but now they they will be too slick without them. What's a good kids flat pedal that won't injure him but stand up to some abuse?
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good info on the shoes. I have been riding for 4 years now just using hiking shoes. Want to improve was wondering if shoes would help. I guess I will try them.
I took dozens of wellgo beartraps to my shins on my GT Mach 1 when I was a kiddo.... He will learn quick.Quote:
Originally Posted by sethschmautz
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Race Face Ride are the pedals you’re looking for. $35, sealed bearings, well sized for kids, and surprisingly grippy despite not having metal pins.Quote:
Originally Posted by sethschmautz
Stiff sole on good flat shoes put more power into the pedals as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by BFD
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^^ Good info on those Ride's, might have to pick up a pair.
My daughter is on some Odyssey which have been working pretty well, but are a bit thick. My son's Vitus came with some excellent ones, but not sure what brand they are. They're really quite thin but no label/marking I could find.
That's what I'm thinking. The chambers have a super stiff sole which might actually be too stiff. I can see it being a fine line between too flexy where you don't get proper power transfer and so stiff where you can't really wrap your foot around the pedal or feel it well. I felt more in camp 2 with the chambersQuote:
Originally Posted by meter-man
This might be helpful: https://thebikedads.com/kids-pedals/Quote:
Originally Posted by sethschmautz
Main thing I'll say is to make sure they like the color. My daughter still has scars from starting riding with pins 3-4 years ago but the pedals were cool so she stuck with it.
So I shouldn't have just bought the cheap green Rides on Amazon?Quote:
Originally Posted by teledad
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They made the list so you're all good :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by sethschmautz
For flat pedals I still got a set of axo dualies in good condition, the soles are ribbed (for pleasure) so the pedal pins fit in between the ribs and the traction is pretty good
also the high tops provide a lot of protection to the ankles a few times I have sandwiched a foot between the bike and a rock and thot that would have hurt
IME a great shoe from 15 yars ago , i don't think they make em anymore
Started with one up composite pedals, kind of thick but the price was right for putting on to start back riding again. After a couple months went to one up alloy, light thin good grip big platform. There now on the ebike.
Tried clipless 3 different months over 3 years now and its a hard no go. So many stupid crashes. Then I started noticing all the clip related crashes in our rides. Flats for life.
Like the canfields but bearing bolt with nylock nut needs attention way to often. My xc hardtail and wifes bike have them. Medium platform and thin.
Just put hope pedals on my new Hei hei. Like them so far med/large platform, little thicker than the skinniest of the others. Biggest bummer was having to install the pins myself not pre done.
Got to try the kona pedals on my buddies big honzo tonight. Huge platform pretty thin. Hes a size 15 shoe so is trying for a while, he ride s clipless usually but I been setting pr’s and KOM’s on flats on our main spot so he’s interested.
510 free riders for me, and usually knee pads and long socks for poison oak protection. Major shin strikes have only happened in garage tripping over bikes or other loading unloading bike stand stuff, no trail scars. Got the wife the tall padded socks till she built confidence, no trail scars for her either. 510 freerider pro shoes.
I do think oval chain rings help a little more with the pulling up on the back stroke clipless claims. It seems easier to transition power from foot to foot and less dead spot at the bottom of the stroke.
Interesting re: oval chainrings, makes sense although most of my flat pedal experience has been on a bike w/ oval chainring so don't have a comparator. I'm solidly in the camp that I have to dial my riding way back on flats after ~25+yrs clipped in, but still give try to spend time on flats. I do recommend giving that Ryan Leech flat pedal challenge a go for those like me.
Ok for those of you like me who didn't want to buy flat pedal specific shoes as you tried out flats - just shut up and do it. I started to get the hang of flats with my chambers sans cleats but yesterday tried a pair of 510 freeriders and had my mind blown. The grip literally felt like I was in clips again if not better. The chambers had decent grip on the pins but nothing compared to 510s, and mainly the softer sole on the 510s allowed me to feel the pedal way more and grab the pedals with my feet. Main advantage areas were bunny hopping and jumping since I felt like I could pop the bike and hold it in the air, even adjust direction in the air. My feet also got knocked out of position less especially when climbing techy sections. Honestly from my experience flats with good shoes and pedals don't feel that different from clips. Still not sure which one I like better but the fact that I'm already asking that after only 2 weeks on flats tells me something