I know a lot of men wear clipless for XC and even some for DH. I was wondering what your thoughts on clipless were, I am thinking of getting a pair, I hear they are better at working out the legs.
Well, for XC they certainly help. It's not that they are helping work out your legs, it's more that they help transfer more of the power created in your legs through your pedal stroke. I wear clipless for XC, but flats for DH. Why? I don't know. Probably my riding style, I was more of a plow through stuff rider than a finesse rider when it came to DH. I feel like I can feel the pedals and the DH bike better in flats and that I have a better response time with body movement and positioning, but I have heard the same exact arguement from people that wear clipless for DH.starrbabes said:I know a lot of men wear clipless for XC and even some for DH. I was wondering what your thoughts on clipless were, I am thinking of getting a pair, I hear they are better at working out the legs.
Depending on the course, I race DH clipped in. If it's loose (like Mammoth) or really rocky and muddy (like Diablo), then I'm on flats. For mountain cross, I'm on flats. But I'm always clipped in for XC and Super D.habitatxskate said:i'd never ride clipless dh or jumping or for freeride, iif i have to bail, or if i fall i don't want the extra force landing on me..i'd rather kick the bike out..
Excellent suggestions!!! I also took the cleats out of my husbands shoes and gave him my new cleats. I found it was easier for me to learn on his "broken in" cleats.sunny said:RE: LOOSE CLIPS
You can adjust the spring tension on Shimano pedals, and perhaps a few other SPD-compatible pedals.
Alternatively, wear in your cleats well so that they are not so stiff.
TIPS FOR RIDING IN CLIPS
1. Always clip out before you come to a stop.
2. Always clip out on both sides till you are completely comfortable.
3. Practice trackstanding (without the clips) - it will improve your balance and confidence.
Good luck!
LOL! This same thing happened to me. I was on my XC bike but went for a quick road ride. Cape Cod. Middle of tourist season. I laid the bike down because I forgot to unclip when I came to a light.mohshee said:I think the hardest part for me was the very first time I tried clipless pedals, I couldn't get the timing down for clipping out at a stoplight and provided onlookers with an embarassing foray in clumsiness.
Shimano 959s are great mud shedders for XC. They are on the pricey side though.TreeSaw said:I ride in a lot of mud and I found that they didn't shed mud nearly as well as my husband's Time pedals, so I switched over to Time clipless platforms for agressive XC & freeride and I have regular Time atacs for my road bike and less aggressive XC riding.
zoey said:I raced a mtb tri today and was clipped in for the first time. The course was half pavement, and half dirt, with a huge climb on pavement. I thought being clipped in would give me an advantage. But truthfully I don't think I climbed any better or rode any faster being clipped to my bike.
There was also a few stream crossings with rocks and I didn't manage them well clipped in. I felt like if I had my platform pedals on I could have powered across the rocks a lot easier. Plus I had to unclip a few times, and wasted time trying to get clipped back in.
I'm going to stay with the clipless for another cross country race that I'm doing on Sunday. I did this same race a few months ago on flats. It'll be interesting to see if I feel there is a difference.