Clipless and learning mountain biking

[Susan]

You will see, standing on your pedals has nothing to do with "being attached to your bike" - really. I know sometimes there are thing that somehow "feel" safer or easier in your mind without a reason, so you have a gut feeling that you would prefer to do it in a certain way.
Standing on your bike is quite similar to standing on a scooter, quite relaxed.

The idea of being clipped in on a mountain bike is horrifying me. I have a good friend who is going clipless on his MTB, and he is a good rider, much better than me. I think being clipped in helps him in certain situations like small jumps or going uphill over big roots.
That said, I had so many situations where I had to get my feet on the ground REALLY fast, or had to balance me by putting one foot on the ground, or even going over the handlebars very unexpectedly I cannot trust clipless pedals on uneven ground.
On the other hand, lifting your rear wheel with flat pedals or jumping is more learning effort at first than doing the same things clipped in. Being one with your bike certainly gives you more control.
And I have some "nice" tattoos on my calves from the pins on my platforms.

[Catrin]

Thanks for all of the good information and advice! I am so much looking forward to the Clinic, and nervous at the same time

[Irulan]

hmmmm, I've been doing it wrong then. I have one pedal up and one down, and a leg leaning against the bike. I have not tried to pedal when standing on the pedals yet...

This is not intended as a slam, but it's classic roadie-to-mtb behavior.

You will get so much out of the clinic...

Legs in contract with bike frame will give you lots of nice bruises, and makes for instability.
Notice in my little write up I specifically say, "don't hover"? The next classic beginner mistake is to get pedals levels, then hover above the seat, with the knees gripping or rather close to the frame or saddle.
One of the most primary skills in mountain biking, which the neutral position points you to, is body-bike-separation: getting your body to move independently of the bike.

Been discussed here before:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...hlight=youtube

[Catrin]

Awesome, thank you! I will check out the link this evening

[amandar]

This has nothing to do with what you're asking, but if you're having trouble with standing to climb, it might help you to ride a single speed (with or without platforms) on the road for a while. I'm a newbie with mountain biking too, but thankfully climbing isn't that hard for me, and I think it's all do to the amount of time I spend out of saddle on my road bike.
Of course you can stand to climb on your geared road bike too, but the SS forces you to do it- or walk.
I'm out of the saddle all the time on my road bike, whether geared or ss- over tricky pavement, fighting a headwind (stupid, I know), or going up short steep hills.

Descending is my problem- if only those rocks would get out of my way I'd be golden. And I can't imagine learning with clipless, I'd probably kill myself.

[Irulan]

Standing to climb isn't typically done much on mountain bikes. This is why fit is so important. With the correct fit, you just scootch forward on the saddle, boobs to the tube, saddle at correct height, and you should be able to climb almost anything.

Standing for a climb on a mountain is usually only done in racing, or some other situation where you need a little power burst to get you over the top. I can't imagine doing sustained climb standing.

[amandar]

Oops, I thought being out of the saddle was her issue? I stand to climb everything, but where I live the hills are very short (southern new england)
I'm sure this wouldn't be effecient on a long climb.
My local trails are pretty flat but very techy, so that is what I'm learning to handle first.

Do you stand on your single speed?

[Irulan]

Do you stand on your single speed?

That, I do.

[amandar]

Okay good, that makes me feel better. I have been riding fixed and SS on the road for so long now that I forget what to do when I have gears.
I pretty much treat my mtb like an SS, that I happen to shift every once in a while. I thought about an SS mtb, but I like having that option to downshift, even if I don't use it that much.

[PscyclePath]

I disagree. Having attending, and then coached many clinics, I strongly suggest flats. In addition, the professional coaches I work with strongly recommend flats. You can't force someone to change their pedals.

If you are trying something new, the last thing you need to be doing is monkeying around with clipping in to get started. In a clinic setting, there's a lot of sessioning, stop and go, and messing with clips can really affect initiation and suck away mental focus. That's the initiation part. Then there's the clipping out part. If you are trying something new: maybe a low skinny ( straight line riding) or a low teeter ( just for fun) or a descent that's more that you are used to... you might want to bail, FAST. Clips will keep you from doing this. You care going to be more injury prone with clips trying new things.

I ride clips normally, but switch out to flats for clinics.

Agree... One thing that's worked well for me is to install a set of pedals that have an SPD clip on one side and flats on the other, rather than plain double-sided SPD or some other device. Shimano M-520s, I think they are. At any rate it makes it easier for me to ride in either regular shoes or bike shoes, and as Irulan points out, there's lot's of times when life is a whole lot easier with flat pedals.

[Catrin]

Agree... One thing that's worked well for me is to install a set of pedals that have an SPD clip on one side and flats on the other, rather than plain double-sided SPD or some other device. Shimano M-520s, I think they are. At any rate it makes it easier for me to ride in either regular shoes or bike shoes, and as Irulan points out, there's lot's of times when life is a whole lot easier with flat pedals.

I have these pedals, and I hate the flat side - my feet won't stay on them So I just ride the clipless side, and these are the only SPD pedals that have worked for me. I need a very light resistance, but we can't seem to get the dual SPD pedals to adjust that lightly. So the 520s are staying on my LHT for now, going to experiment with Frogs on my Gunnar, and BMX pedals are staying on my mountain bike for now. If I like the Frogs, they will also go on my LHT. I understand that Speedplay is coming out with a new kind of mountain bike pedal but it hasn't been released yet.

[Irulan]

eh, I give a thumbs down to the 1/2 & 1/2 pedals. Which ever side you want is always on the other side, and that split second of messing around with the pedal, flipping it over with your foot, is crucial sometimes.