When I first started riding back in 2005 I just rode with the stock pedals that came on the Mongoose Alta that I had purchased from Dick Sporting Goods off their clearance rack. I got a lot out of that bike considering I didn’t end up upgrading till 2016 when I bought my new ride the 2017 Specialized Fuse Fattie Expert.
One of the items I ended up replacing on the old Mongoose that is still with me today on my Specialized was a set of Shimano Clipless pedals as well as a pair of Shimano Mountain bike shoes. When I originally bought these shoes and pedals there was a school of thought that a true mountain biker needed to ride clipless, at least that’s what Jeremy told Jason and me.
I will give him that they did help me build up a ton of confidence while riding some of the trails and features on those trails but it has also hindered other aspects of riding. So I have been researching a new pair of flats that I have put on my list for Santa and family this year.
Should you ride Clipless or Flats? This is really a matter of preference and riding style. I will probably still keep both sets of pedals. You can find the price for the pair that I have here on Amazon. I have ridden this pair for at least 10 years and for the most part don’t have any issues.
I really love the power these pedals give me on the inclines as all push and pull motions of my legs are captured while attached securely to the pedals. I got really good at getting out of the clips when needed which prevented accidents that most had when riding with these types of pedals. My main problem was and still is getting clipped in after riding for a while.
This is a bit of a pain especially when you stop at the bad spot on the trail. On several occasions, I had to backtrack to a better section of the trail to help ensure I was clipped in before attacking an obstacle. Part of this problem is that I haven’t maintained the cleats or pedals properly and it’s about time for an overhaul.
The minor problems simply arise from wear and tear and a need to simply needing to give them a good cleaning and lubricating. The last time I got finished with my ride on the local 286 trail I actually took a look and found some rust on the pedals themselves. I also noticed that the clips attached to the shoes were caked in Carolina clay.
So as I stated once before, the problems that are currently being had with this cleat and shoe combination is simply part user error. As the old saying goes, if you take care of your equipment it will last longer.
Riding Flats One of the main reasons that I am looking get back to riding the flats are for the confidence of not needing to worry about whether or not I am clipped in when I come up to ab obstacle. While riding flats this concern goes away. Simply put, I am looking for a change that might help me improve.
A quick and somewhat inexpensive what to change things up is to purchase a pair of flats. In September of 2017, I purchased a pair of flats by Alston for under $30 at the time. These weren’t their cheapest nor their most expensive pair, you can see their variety here on Amazon.
Initially, the change felt great! I was ripping around the yard at my place and through our personal trail in the back. I hucked off the cul-de-sac and took a fall but all in all, I really liked them. I decided to take them for a spin at Forest Ridge Park in Wake Forest, NC.
I rode around the trail, which doesn’t have too much technical stuff to worry about and was again feeling good. As I got toward the end of the ride I noticed a weird feeling in the non-drive side of the bike. The pedal was barely holding on. I was shocked.
After reading the reviews of this product on Amazon, I determined that my problem was the same as several others. The components of the pedal started loosening which led to the threads in my crank to be destroyed. Partly due to the fact that I didn’t catch it earlier and to be honest I might have cross-threaded or reverse threaded the pedal on the crank arm.
To make matters worse, all this happened just days before our September trip to Brevard, NC for one of our Camping and biking excursions. The most cost effective fix, which is still holding up today, was to get the crank arm tapped and set in a Helicoil.
To find out more about this and other problems I had with my cranks check out my article on Common Crank arm problems, I went back to my clipless for the time being,
Fast forward to Christmas 2018 and I received a new pair of Race Face Chester flats like this pair on Worldwide cyclery. The reviews online for these are great and there are a ton of them.
I have been researching this pair for well over a year and should have purchased these instead of the Alston’s which were half the price.
I have only been out on the trail with these for two rides as well as when following my little girl around the neighborhood after she learned to ride without training wheels this weekend. I have to say that the pins on these pedals are really grippy.
Things to work on
The thing is that now that I have gotten myself so use to the clip-less pedals I have to retrain my mind as every time I go to jump with these new peals I keep lifting my feet off the pedals. I am currently riding with a cheap pair of old Nikes that I will eventually be upgrading to flat specific shoes.