Thursday, 9/4/08 at 5:35 PM
by Tara Llanes
by Tara Llanes
To Clip or Not to Clip...
In the world of mountain biking you’ve got plenty of choices. You’ve got hard tail bikes, front suspension bikes, and full suspension. You’ve got 1.75 tires, knobby 2.2 tires, and full on downhill 2.5-inch tires. And then you’ve got clipless pedals, flats, or clip pedals. Sometimes it seems like there are too many choices!
When I first started racing my choice of pedal was the flat pedal otherwise known as the BMX pedal. We mainly used flat pedals for slalom type racing, but since both the shoes and pedals have improved so much a lot of riders use them for downhilling as well. Flat pedals generally have a square or rectangular cage and differ in sharpness. They used to be really pointy and sharp so that your foot wouldn’t slip off, but through the years they have changed into more of a flat pedal with multiple little pins.
The shoes have changed as well. We all used to wear waffle soled Vans and the sharp cages would fit nicely into the diamond shape soles of the shoes. Throughout the years shoe companies have also worked with the different types of rubber compounds and have come up with a super gummy compound that seems to mesh better with a pedal with small pins. One company in particular is Five Ten. They are actually a company known for making rock climbing shoes, but broke into the bike business some years ago and made a very sought after flat pedal racing shoe. I’ve heard from some of the top racers on the World Cup circuit that using that combo is as good or better than clipping in.
When I came from BMX and got into mountain biking most of the riders were using clipless pedals. Now the name clipless doesn’t make a whole lot of sense at first because you figure you are actually clipping into something so it should be called a clip pedal, right? Wrong. When people first started racing and way before you could actually use SPDs and become attached to your pedal there were clips. Clips look sort of like a basket for your feet. They were attached to the pedal and you would slide your toe into them and they were meant to keep your feet on your pedal. The advantage was to keep your foot in over bumpy terrain or while climbing. It just secured your foot a bit more, but you could still get it out in case of an emergency. They looked a bit goofy though and sometimes if you took your foot out you couldn’t get it back in and the clip would then get caught underneath your pedal and drag on the ground. Not the smartest invention, but if you’re riding around in the city they work just fine.
Shimano invented the clipless otherwise known as the SPD pedal in 1988 and it has since been one of, if not the best, mountain bike invention to date. SPD stands for Shimano Pedaling Dynamics. The SPD has transformed into a very lightweight and sleek way to actually clip into your pedal so that you can use both the upward and downward strokes to your full advantage. Shimano has also perfected their SPD shoe so that it too is very lightweight, sleek in design, and ultimately molded to your foot.
Since my very first days of racing I have tried all three and I now use my SPDs for every type of riding/racing. Cross-country, downhill, slalom, and even BMX. I would encourage you to try each and everyone and see what works best for you!
Happy Trails!
tara
When I first started racing my choice of pedal was the flat pedal otherwise known as the BMX pedal. We mainly used flat pedals for slalom type racing, but since both the shoes and pedals have improved so much a lot of riders use them for downhilling as well. Flat pedals generally have a square or rectangular cage and differ in sharpness. They used to be really pointy and sharp so that your foot wouldn’t slip off, but through the years they have changed into more of a flat pedal with multiple little pins.
The shoes have changed as well. We all used to wear waffle soled Vans and the sharp cages would fit nicely into the diamond shape soles of the shoes. Throughout the years shoe companies have also worked with the different types of rubber compounds and have come up with a super gummy compound that seems to mesh better with a pedal with small pins. One company in particular is Five Ten. They are actually a company known for making rock climbing shoes, but broke into the bike business some years ago and made a very sought after flat pedal racing shoe. I’ve heard from some of the top racers on the World Cup circuit that using that combo is as good or better than clipping in.
When I came from BMX and got into mountain biking most of the riders were using clipless pedals. Now the name clipless doesn’t make a whole lot of sense at first because you figure you are actually clipping into something so it should be called a clip pedal, right? Wrong. When people first started racing and way before you could actually use SPDs and become attached to your pedal there were clips. Clips look sort of like a basket for your feet. They were attached to the pedal and you would slide your toe into them and they were meant to keep your feet on your pedal. The advantage was to keep your foot in over bumpy terrain or while climbing. It just secured your foot a bit more, but you could still get it out in case of an emergency. They looked a bit goofy though and sometimes if you took your foot out you couldn’t get it back in and the clip would then get caught underneath your pedal and drag on the ground. Not the smartest invention, but if you’re riding around in the city they work just fine.
Shimano invented the clipless otherwise known as the SPD pedal in 1988 and it has since been one of, if not the best, mountain bike invention to date. SPD stands for Shimano Pedaling Dynamics. The SPD has transformed into a very lightweight and sleek way to actually clip into your pedal so that you can use both the upward and downward strokes to your full advantage. Shimano has also perfected their SPD shoe so that it too is very lightweight, sleek in design, and ultimately molded to your foot.
Since my very first days of racing I have tried all three and I now use my SPDs for every type of riding/racing. Cross-country, downhill, slalom, and even BMX. I would encourage you to try each and everyone and see what works best for you!
Happy Trails!
tara
Comments
thank you so much for the message. i'm doing well and working hard in therapy. I'll hopefully be back on a bike soon.
I hope my giant for women blog was helpful and please come back to read more.
take care,
tara
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