My trusty flat Five Tens are at the end of their life and I’m in need of new shoes. I ride SPD with my gravel bike and think my current clipless shoes for that are amazing.
That gets me to think maybe I should just ditch my flat pedals on mtb and get clipless. But I’m a little hesitant because of added risk of falling.
If you ride clipless on mtb or especially if you ride it both gravel and mtb, do you have any tips or thoughts to share?
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Like a ski binding, you can adjust the resistance on your clipless pedals. It takes a few days of pract, but you can basically pop right out on demand if you lead with your heel.
I’ve run clipless on gravel and snowy trails and city streets (Boston) for a decade now and have never had a problem with an emergency “dismount”.
Like you eluded, the shows for clipless are way more versatile, mine have a sole around the cleat that allow me to walk around like a street shoe.
+1 for Giro vr70
Started with clips on the trails and never really had an issue with falling but I rode easy trails and I rode conservatively.
Switched to flats to get better at jumping and never switched back. I was really surprised how well the shoes grip the flats to the point where I didn’t feel much loss of efficiency.
Now I ride a lot more aggressively and while I rarely need to bail… I think flats are just superior.
What kind of MTB terrain are you riding? Clipless can be great for cross country, especially on a hardtail. You can rattle over rock gardens and not worry about your feet shaking off the pedals. Though I’m flats only if there’s significant downhill jumps, drops, etc. Having the ability to bail quickly is too important there.
I’m usually riding what would be called trails. Some ups and downs, natural rocky and rooty terrain. No jumping.
I think I’m probably going to test out my gravel pedals for a loop or two and see how it feels before purchasing anything :)
