Flat Pedal Revolution

[maillotpois]

I have a friend who's gone flat on her MTB after a skills week and her bike handling has improved dramatically. I think I need to consider this.... I'm just not all that confident on my MTB if I'm not riding it regularly - and I'm not.

[Becky]

Any suggestions for flat pedals if I'm not ready to buy sticky shoes as well? Or do I need to bite the bullet and buy both shoes and pedals?

[Catrin]

Any suggestions for flat pedals if I'm not ready to buy sticky shoes as well? Or do I need to bite the bullet and buy both shoes and pedals?

I rode good stiff hiking shoes with my BMX pedals when mountain biking and they worked fine. Found them on sale or I would have paid as much as good sticky shoes though,

[Irulan]

you need a low tread, NOT like vibram. A lot of folks wear skate shoes like Vans.

[indysteel]

Any suggestions for flat pedals if I'm not ready to buy sticky shoes as well? Or do I need to bite the bullet and buy both shoes and pedals?

I like having both. The pins of a BMX pedal aren't going to do you as much good if you don't have a sticky shoe with less, versus more, tread. Just bite the bullet!!!

If it helps, there are some decent BMX pedals on the market that won't break the bank. Irulan has talked favorably of her Wellgos, and Performance offers one that costs about $50-60 if memory serves.

[Becky]

I like having both. The pins of a BMX pedal aren't going to do you as much good if you don't have a sticky shoe with less, versus more, tread. Just bite the bullet!!!

If it helps, there are some decent BMX pedals on the market that won't break the bank. Irulan has talked favorably of her Wellgos, and Performance offers one that costs about $50-60 if memory serves.

I just bought new carbon-soled MTB shoes! But I'd like to try flats for practicing in more technical areas. Maybe I can find something on clearance....

[Catrin]

I know they aren't technical, but my pins worked fine with my hiking shoes. The tread isnt deep and the vibram soles help provide the pins a good surface. Soles stiff enough for riding.

Never once did my shoes come off the pedals. Just saying that there are options. I got double use from them - hiking and mtb

Regardless of your final choice, have fun!

[Susan]

Any suggestions for flat pedals if I'm not ready to buy sticky shoes as well? Or do I need to bite the bullet and buy both shoes and pedals?

I'm currently using DMR "Vault" pedals. They stay connected to my shoe very well, even if I just wear regular sneakers. The pins are very sharp - so consider using some kind of shin guard. I still bit the bullet and bought some 5-10 Freeride shoes (they have sticky soles and are stiffer than regular sneakers), but I think any kind of shoe with flat soles will work.

[indysteel]

I know they aren't technical, but my pins worked fine with my hiking shoes. The tread isnt deep and the vibram soles help provide the pins a good surface. Soles stiff enough for riding.

Never once did my shoes come off the pedals. Just saying that there are options. I got double use from them - hiking and mtb

Regardless of your final choice, have fun!

I could have sworn that at one time you were on the hunt for sticky soled shoes for this very concern--based on your riding partner's observation that your feet weren't staying put. But maybe I'm misremembering....

[Catrin]

I could have sworn that at one time you were on the hunt for sticky soled shoes for this very concern--based on your riding partner's observation that your feet weren't staying put. But maybe I'm misremembering....

I was hunting for them because I knew so many people who strongly recommended them and I trusted their opinion - and I thought they might be useful for longer trail rides. Now that you mention it there WAS one time on Limekiln when both feet came off the pedals at the same time but I can no longer remember if it was a traction issue or if my foot hit something. I had forgotten that event!

[TigerMom]

As usual, Irulan has very wise advice.

I tried out my husband's SPD that are built into flat pedals, Shimano M424, a few times. I even tried riding downhill unclipped on the flat part of the pedals because I know that I cannot unclip fast enough if I fall.

My "frozen with fear" body on the downhill switchbacks was not worth the 10% uphill improvement being clipped in.

Back to my beautiful Campon flat pedals I go.

[Becky]

Total thread bump, for anyone who's looking for some shoe feedback:

I ended up buying a pair of flat shoes in preparation for an upcoming trip to Ray's Indoor MTB Park. Ok, actually, I bought three pairs and sent two back. I learned that my size in Five Tens and Vans is 1.5 sizes smaller than my running/cycling shoes. So, for my size 8.5 foot, I ended up wearing a men's size 7. I also learned that, of the two pairs of Five-Tens I ordered, the Danny Macaskills are slightly lower in volume than the Freerider VXis. As a result, I ended up keeping the DMs. The uppers on the DMs are quite stiff, but are breaking in well after just a couple of wearings around the office (much to the amusement of my coworkers ).

[Irulan]

Good feedback! The folks at 5/10 told me the Freerider VXi was reformulated for a better fit and would likely fit a low volume foot like mine.

[Becky]

Good feedback! The folks at 5/10 told me the Freerider VXi was reformulated for a better fit and would likely fit a low volume foot like mine.

I don't know if I had a pair that were pre-redesign or redesigned, but I wouldn't call them low-volume. I had tons of room in the toebox, height moreso than width. Between the stiff uppers and the volume, I had to do that uncomfortable "yank on the laces till the forefoot buckles and stabs you in the metatarsals" thing. Then again, I'm the one putting 5-Iron in my hiking boots to soak up some volume. YMMV.

It was a shame because they fit well otherwise and I think I would have preferred the slick spot on the VXis to the fully-treaded DMs.