Making the switch to Clipless for DH..Advice Needed.

PAMS 25 · Jun 7, 2005

You should try 5.10 shoes before making the switch. They are grippy as hell, awesome !

Phil Winn · Jun 7, 2005

This is my humble opinion.

I've been trying clipless in the off season for 2 years and it just doesn't work for me. If you went OTB then clipless will only make it that much harder to bail(atleast for me) I've had my worse OTB crashes wearing clipless. I know you probably think that if you had clipless you probably wouldn't have been bouncing around in rock gardens and stuff, which is true. But if you got forward on your bike and went OTB the results would have been the same in clipless.

I think clipless is good for pedalling efficiency and if your comforable on them. I grew up riding/racing BMX not XC.

Some of the current top riders ride flats.. ie.. Rennie, Hill, Graves. I've been running the 5.10 shoe all winter and man.. I freakin' love them. I put my foot on the pedal and it's in the same place at the bottom of the run. It's actually so grippy that you have to pull your foot off like 2 inches to re-position.

I also was at the Angel Fire race this weekend and my foot never came off in any of the technicals or rocks. Or atleast I didn't feel anything.

check em' out.. www.fiveten.com (products/impact shoe)

ps.. I'm not a rep just a rider.

later
P"

Jayridesacove · Jun 7, 2005

We have a 5-10 rep here in Blacksburg, and two of my friends have demo'ed the shoes. Those things are definitely sweet if you still want to run platforms.

Those things are crazy sticky, just walking around the parking lot at Snowshoe, my friend Derek was picking up little pebbles with the shoes.

downhillzeypher · Jun 7, 2005

PAMS 25 said:
You should try 5.10 shoes before making the switch. They are grippy as hell, awesome !

It's not about grip. It's about the fact you can pedal "up" and you and the bike are now connected, like it or not. The increased control of the bike is unreal with clips.

ncrider · Jun 7, 2005

downhillzeypher said:
The increased control of the bike is unreal with clips.

oh thats why you like to hug builders huh. :blah:

Jayridesacove · Jun 7, 2005

Your best bet is to go clipless and see, cause if you don't like it and go back to platforms, you could just get the 5-10's.

JRogers · Jun 7, 2005

If you do a search or just look back a bit, this exact topic was addressed like a week ago. Not being a dick, just trying to help out.

Anyway, I just started riding clipless for DH this season. I think I like it better than flats (and I have run many kinds of flat pedals with 5-10 shoes, among others). Practicing as much as possible is the key to getting in and out quickly. Clipless gives better power transfer and, for me, better control over the bike on the ground and in the air.

The shoe doesn't matter too much as long as it mates with the pedal. I 'd suggest, if possible, to run pedals with a cage. Makes clipping in in rough conditions much easier. Also, if you can't get in, gives you a bit more security. Some people run skate-type SPDs and some run XC racing shoes with equal success. If I had to get a pair for just DH use, I'd probably go Adidas Hematoma. I run Nike Ligure shoes (carbon sole XC shoes) and they're good.

dG video · Jun 7, 2005

I have a question about the 5.10 shoes.

On the website it says they only make them in sizes 7-13. I wear a 14 with a little room but a 13 might be too small, I noticed on there sizing chart that they had shoes sizes up to 14 so I was wondering if you can get them in that size?

Also what do you prefer, high or low tops?

Dan

JRogers · Jun 7, 2005

rockymt21 said:
I have a question about the 5.10 shoes.

On the website it says they only make them in sizes 7-13. I wear a 14 with a little room but a 13 might be too small, I noticed on there sizing chart that they had shoes sizes up to 14 so I was wondering if you can get them in that size?

Also what do you prefer, high or low tops?

Dan

The sizing on the old ones was funky. I wear a 10-10.5 in basically every shoe made but I have a 9.5 pair of Impacts. I don't know if they changed the sizing for the new run, though.

lovebunny · Jun 7, 2005

downhillzeypher said:
like it or not. The increased control of the bike is unreal with clips.

man i would not want to see you ride without them then :eek:

gastro · Jun 7, 2005

JRogers said:
The sizing on the old ones was funky. I wear a 10-10.5 in basically every shoe made but I have a 9.5 pair of Impacts. I don't know if they changed the sizing for the new run, though.

I believe Acadian wrote somewhere that now the sizes are more in line with what they should be, and based on the 11.5's I demo'd, I would agree.

WheelieMan · Jun 7, 2005

bpatterson6 said:
It's all good. TBH, I have never given much thought about Clipless until this past weekend. Now, Since I already own a pair of 661 Launch Shoes, The Pedals and the Clips for the shoes, I'm really thinking hard about it after my experience going OTB on my Race Run. Never the less, I dont think a pair of FiveTen Shoes is a bad investment.

That's interesting, I can't imagine wanting to switch to clipless after riding at Angel Fire. After riding there this weekend I have a new appreciation for flat pedals! Now I just need to get myself some nice low profile pedals and these 5.10 shoes that everyone is talking about!

Jayridesacove · Jun 7, 2005

http://www.fiveten.com/

You should locate the closest rep to you and demo a pair of shoes for the weekend.

dhtahoe · Jun 7, 2005

Damn lets answer the question at hand. The most comfortable switch would be to try the Crank bros. Mallets. A lot of my friends that have rode flats in the past have told me it's the ONLY clip pedal that felt like they were not bolted to the bike. Tons of float, easy as hell exit, but only when you need it. First thing he said was I have decided to give clipless a try, and this get turned into a debate AGAIN.

Sherpa · Jun 7, 2005

WheelieMan said:
That's interesting, I can't imagine wanting to switch to clipless after riding at Angel Fire. After riding there this weekend I have a new appreciation for flat pedals! Now I just need to get myself some nice low profile pedals and these 5.10 shoes that everyone is talking about!

Thats also interesting. After Angelfire, i'm going back to clipless.

Anyone know how the Shimano DH shoes mate with CB Mallets?

WheelieMan · Jun 7, 2005

Sherpa said:
Thats also interesting. After Angelfire, i'm going back to clipless.

Anyone know how the Shimano DH shoes mate with CB Mallets?

Haha, yeah I've got that combo. Needed one shim to enter and exit cleanly.

The Shimano 123XYZ or whatever the dh shoe is called is a great shoe, nice stiff sole and a high inside to keep your ankle solid. If only riding clipless didn't bother my knees and mess with my head.

Sherpa · Jun 7, 2005

WheelieMan said:
Haha, yeah I've got that combo. Needed one shim to enter and exit cleanly.

The Shimano 123XYZ or whatever the dh shoe is called is a great shoe, nice stiff sole and a high inside to keep your ankle solid. If only riding clipless didn't bother my knees and mess with my head.

See, maybe since i ride XC quite a bit, and been riding clips for over 2 years it doesn't bother me. I'm just not that comfortable on drops with clips yet, but oh well.

downhillzeypher · Jun 7, 2005

lovebunny said:
man i would not want to see you ride without them then

Shut yer mouth boy

I don't see how I'M the FR'er and I ride clips while you're Mr. DHR and you don't.

dhtahoe · Jun 7, 2005

downhillzeypher said:
Shut yer mouth boy

I don't see how I'M the FR'er and I ride clips while you're Mr. DHR and you don't.

Ummmmmm yeah... That was a burn!!!

stgil888 · Jun 7, 2005

I tried riding clipless once last summer when a friend was using my ride. I was surprised how much control I gained. I was not more confident, and I missed the feeling of a big platform under my foot, but it was not as big a difference as I had expected. I plan on trying clipless more this season. I use clipless pedals on my other bike and after tipping over a few times learning to use them, I've never had any problems getting in and out, even when crashing.

bizutch · Jun 7, 2005

I'll chime in and say that if you've got the Launch shoes, it's going to be your most similar switch from flats b/c it and the Shimano's and maybe some obscure one from Lake are the only clipless shoes with a somewhat wide sole that is like a skate shoe...Hematomas and all the others taper and are rally narrow at the arch and heal...giving you nothing to stand on.

If you don't like the Allium when you go to find your pedal and can't get clipped in, go to the Atac DH pedals from Time before giving up.

But honestly, knowing what I know now about the 5.10's along with all my other teammates (we all race clipless) are loving the Impacts...it's just strange.

Racer-X · Jun 8, 2005

don't learn to ride clips at snowshoe.

5.10

Thrillkil · Jun 8, 2005

lovebunny said:
man i would not want to see you ride without them then

I gotta go with david on this one - I really have an easier time maneuvering my Super-8 with clipless pedals. I can see how some people don't like them, but I have really acquired a taste for using them.

jon-boy · Jun 8, 2005

I'm way more happy ripping it up at speed with my SPD's than flats. I'm happier doing drops and step ups/downs too. In fact I'll ride all of Whistler with my SPD's on. I like being able to control the attitude of the bike in the air so that I can hit the transitions nice and smooth. I tend to find that the rear of the bike wants to drop away when I'm riding with flats. That's probably due to my crap jumping technique.

Biscuit · Jun 8, 2005

Clipless pedals don't require downward pressure (obviously) to keep your feet in place.
This means you can unweight the bike through rocks, without risking your feet coming off the pedals.
Roughly translating to smoother riding, less broken parts, more controll and more SPEED!

If/when you decide to go clipless, I definitely recommend using shimano pedals.

I really liked my time atac's, switched to time platforms and could never get in.
Tried the cook's and loved them untill I had both feet literally "roll" foreward out of them (twice) during a race run.

Alas, tried shimano's and they are, in my opinion, the best out there.
True they don't have the float, but they have adjustable tension and are by far the easiest pedals get in when blasting down a trail.

lovebunny · Jun 8, 2005

downhillzeypher said:
Shut yer mouth boy

I don't see how I'M the FR'er and I ride clips while you're Mr. DHR and you don't.

well mikeD is fixing that this week. :eviltongu

ncrider · Jun 8, 2005

lovebunny said:
well mikeD is fixing that this week. :eviltongu

What you get some clipless pedals from him or something? Hmm, you sure you want that for the fronj?

Making the switch to Clipless for DH..Advice Needed.

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