Switching Back To Flat Pedals And How It Changed My Perspective of Clips Vs. Flats 

Daily MTB Rider I never watched that clipless video because it made me angry lol

Your completely right man it’s 100% personal preference great video

Here's my complaint, boo on you for the clickbait. I did watch it though so I guess you were successful.

Nothing done wrong. There's a time and a place for both! "Both can help us be a better rider" that's the quote of the day. I use both depending on what I'm doing.

Well, no complains from me. I was almost convinced to make the switch to clips, but I've been comparing pros and cons. Like you say, it's a non issue. Thanks for the feedback. I might try clips, but I love flats so much.

Trail Features hahahahhaha

I prefer LEFT foot clipless/ RIGHT foot flats. Fight me.

Crank Pushers ಠ_ಠ ...Let's dance. (ง •̀_•́)ง

Is it bad that I now really want to try this 😂

Daily MTB Rider your next pedal debate video...now should it be front foot flat or clipped?

One day I'll get there and totally make a clickbaity video about it 😂

find a prorider who doesnt need pedals :P theres a video wheres phil kmetz ridesa trail for a few hundred meters, legs spread widely ;)

I use no pedals and I remove my seat and just use a seat post. I've been told I'm quite manly.

I’m a total weight junky so I just use my frame, fork, and wheels.

^ Great weight savings too ^

Hahaha! That feeling of death will really get you!

Alex G that makes no sense.

You could ride flats a little bit more to learn the proper technique... or just stick with clipless. :)

You riding a hardtail? I think that's one area that clips really benefit you. On a modern full sus trail bike though, you should be able to keep your feet on with flats (good flats and proper shoes). If you can't do that, then you should switch to flats just to learn that skill, then it will improve your riding even when you're back on clips!

I'm new to mtb (but I race dirtbikes) and I'm surprised to hear that clipless is preferred in rock gardens... It's a safety issue if you begin to tip over. Trials riders don't use clipless, so if I'm not climbing hills all day, why should I?

Thanks Kyle! People need to take a big chill pill!

Same with religion...

It's not so much about what they ride, it's about what they claim. Clipless riders make all kinds of claims that make many flat riders wonder if they should switch when in reality all their claims are BS! The biggest of them all.. "Pulling up to gain power"... it's absolute utter BS! You will never be able to apply enough upward force to equal anything near what your other foot is pushing down making any gain unlikely. They won't STFU and keep pushing new riders to go clipless. So that's the problem. If they would just STFU and keep their BS placebo effects of clipless pedals to themselves, everything would be fine.

@@MotoAtheist go ahead and think it ride with what you want but it's been proven that being able to pull up with clipless pedals gives a significant power increase. Physics massively disagrees with you

That's exactly what I was thinking. No matter what others think of say. You do what you feel best to do and what you are comfortable with. I ride clippless what others thinks is good for them...lol

+1 Completely agree. The debate is only for arguments sake. People may have a preference and some conditions MAY favor one for certain riders, but neither is really any better or worse than the other for everyone.

sony is the real winner lol

SunnysShredLife LOL.

So true Orbie! At the end of the day it's the user, not the product!

but canon doesn't gimp the video preview resolution through the USB feed like nikon does... :P

Exactly!

Savant bringing the wisdom as always!

Keep both pairs of shoes and pedals with me all the time🤘🏼

I am by no means an accomplished rider but I use both. Clipless on my XC bike, flats on my trail bike. I got the XC bike first so I was used to clips the first time I rode flats. Suffice it to say I had a bit of an "oh crap!" moment the first time I jumped off a little ledge and both feet came off the pedals mid-air...

Actually, the accomplished rider on clipless can already ride flats. Flats take no skill or ability whatsoever by comparison.

So stoked you love what I'm making man! Just trying to keep the peace and help people see the bigger picture!

You're welcome man! People need to be ok finding what works for them!

That's it man! It's all about using what you love and not getting stuck in one for too long!

The Crashing Dad of course Sheyn you would prefer riding with flats cause cough cough someone in town is riding an awesome purple flats =) @thecrashingdad

Alvin Enobio 😂 haha... We'll... I just picked up some Crank Bro's Mallet pedals to try on some trails I'm more confident on 🤷‍♂️ I think getting good at both could be beneficial 🤘

Jeremy R - adulting 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Same bro

Clips are a tough thing to learn, but super nice after a while!

Clips or clipless? They're not the same and this discussion is clipless vs flats. Toe clips? Waste of time. Half-assed attempt that falls short of clipless. No reason to use them anymore.

That's the only logical answer !

Amen!

Before clipless came along, I was using road shoes with road cleats and double leather straps off road. I was completely locked in. Made me a good bike handler though.

Road biking in the city on clips is asking for it, but that's me

Yes David you finally got it! That's what I want people to know!

Preaching to the choir, brother! 😀

Strange, I started on flats went clipless then back flats and hated it. Way more shin bashes with Flats

No problem Chris! Happy to answer the question a lot of people have had

That's it man! Switching it up makes you better!

Multi-release are awesome for being able to get out! Happy to hear you're loving them!

Stoked to hear you agree Stuart! We need more people like you in the world!

What?! Started with clip pedals ˋ74,in the eighties Look pedals and later on spd sl and now i use Look S Track-skills got better and better! Would never go on flats,will ride clipless as long as i live! 🤙

Some more great information on the topic - thanks for sharing Gunnar!

Flats really help with good form - that's for sure!

Both are helpful for some many styles of riding!

It's so true Tyler! And all the commenters seem to agree as well!

You should just try flats again man!

Daily MTB Rider I definitely will. Thanks Josh!

No worries man! That's what I'm here for!

So true me - me and you both know it's the rider not the pedals

Daily MTB Rider neither are superior. Just personal preference

Sounds like you've found the perfect pedals for each job! It's all about finding what works for you!

That's a great option for sure!

You keep this up and I’ll ground you mister! 😂

That's great to hear the switch went well for you! More people need to try them to see what they're all about!

He's been converted! 😂That's awesome to hear you're enjoying it!

Flats are much better for learning skills - I can't disagree there!

The Gefster after two years of shinning myself, I have trained my legs to spread out as soon as I can’t feel the pedal. That puts my shins out of range of the pedal.

Shin guards are so uncomfortable though! I've had luck with great pedals for the last 3 months - let's hope to 3 more months without shinners

Yeah but how are people supposed to know your a mountain biker without scars all over your shins? 😂

Good one! Gotta love a guy with a sense of humor!

YOu nailed it man - just go have fun!

I find the same thing - clips make me feel confident!

I've heard of a lot of people go to flats for recovery from injury! Thanks for agreeing that both are great!

I actually didn't! Just working on my lighting and settings! more!

I love clipless man - always will

Daily MTB Rider Great videos man. Way to stay neutral. LOL

Thanks man! That's what I'm going for!

For your use*

More people need to get on the both pedal platform train!

Ty gets it! Thanks man!

That's no good at all! Stuff like that happens for both pedal types and it's always a bad thing

Get out there and just ride, Amiright?? Stoked that you get it Ken!

you forgot magnetic flat pedals, clip-less flat pedal in one, but to me none of the pedals on the market make any sense for my size apart from Catalyst pedals. supporting the arch makes sense. it's actually quite simple for me, but not something everybody knows about. I wish this was more known, I am glad I found catalyst pedals, I always wanted them before I even knew they existed. they beat every pedal on the market. Magnet pedals pedals with clip-less shoes make no sense, straps don't make any sense, but I still see some people still use them, with longer enough platform there is no need for a strap, or clip-less system. it's just one of the things I though don't make sense, but I won't comment on all of that here. A lot of things make no sense in the industry and on some bikes. but the past years we got a lot of good things, like proper pedals,dropper posts,proper geometry.......

So true CJ! You've caught the truth!

I got hit hard be people being ticked - but it's all good!

Manny Fonseca you're joking right?

Ian Holmquist Haha, yeah of course I'm kidding.

It's amazing how a switch of pedals can boost your confidence!

Clips give me the feeling of complete connection with my bike and control - I can get 99% of the way there on flats, but there's nothing like clips for me!

I used to race XC, and clipless pedals feel incredible when your legs are tired. On a long fire road, you can concentrate on using all the muscles in your legs to pull and push the pedals and it helps a ton.

You still can buy clipless pedals that also have the platform you can feel (although due to the harder soles, that feel will be much weaker).

Räuber Hotzenplotz you don't need clips

I tried using a computer once. No thanks, I miss the feel of pen and paper. I accidentally shut down the computer twice too lol. Why do we even need a computer when you can write everything down?

You nailed it - it's whatever gets you out there!

I bike in a high-density urban landscape, cutting cars by inches and while still maintaining high speed --clipless is 100% stupid for those scenarios yet I ride a pure, slick tire, road bike. The difference is environment, not type of biking.

@@j.ballsdeep420 You do you, not me...

@@enlightenedidiot9552 -- So you ride clipped in a busy, high density urban environment?

@@j.ballsdeep420 I think it's stupid to ride a bicycle at high speeds in an auto traffic environment. Regardless of the pedals....

@@enlightenedidiot9552 -- Ah, gotcha. Well then that's an entire different argument and we're not talking about the same thing at all, so sure.... clipless all day then ✌ Not everyone lives in the burbs and I'll take a bike any day over a car as I always get places quicker than anyone in a car, but totally different convo.

You nailed it! Everyone should give both a try!

you nailed man! It's all about the rider

Clipless is best if you want to actually win and shread

jdeleau Every watt counts

@@Scolecite Yes, just watch pro racers they all have clipless except few guys.

GCN, yo!

@@elmeri9237 there are pros that dont??

It is! I'll be making a video about it soon!

Magnifire i thought it was his full on bike and I was abt to frie the same comment.

Nothing wrong with picking the best one for the task!

I've never heard of someone doing that - it sounds crazy! You'd need two different shoes

A little different but both are great!

I hear what you're saying on my title - but I stand by it! I think everyone should switch back and forth to see the benefits and negatives of both!

I understand, but you've just said it better in this response, Josh. "I think everyone should switch back and forth to see the benefits and negatives of both!". I get the "use both and alternate them every so often" recommendation, but that's not what your title is saying. It's saying "Switch back to flats", period. I'm actually all for that since it forces riders to have better technique, but everyone is free to choose :). Whether or not you change it, thanks for the response, and keep shredding!

lol can't wait to see your video about flats with your accurate title on your own channel, RGCastro7

RGCastro7 Props for pointing it out! I totally agree with you. It's nice that Josh talks about his experience on the bike with different equipment but it's just not ok for him to also title his videos like he's really qualified to give advice about how other riders should do their mountain biking. Especially when some time ago he supported the complete opposite side. This shows that he still has much to learn. And Josh if you're reading this, don't get discouraged. I have to say that it's obvious from your channel that you've learned so much and developed so many skills. Just be more fair when you're titling your videos to spare the time of your viewers. Thanks!

Panda, what are you on about, man? I'm not claiming to have "The Truth" on types of pedals. I'm telling him that, both in his verbal and written conclusions, his recommendation is that it's convenient to alternate pedal types once in a while, and his title transmits a different message. If I were to do some sort of review on flats or any other topic, I'd be sure that whatever I place as my video's title reflects the opinion that I'll share in it. Like I told him, it's not a big deal, and I'm perfectly aware that he has every right to label things however he wants. Pointing out something that's inconsistent doesn't mean I'm a hater, o that I'm working against him/looking down on his work. I'm pointing out an inconsistency between what he's said verbally and in a written response to me in comparison to what he wrote for the title. Now, since you're trying to discredit me because of what I believe has been written politely and as a constructive criticism, I hope you're motivated enough to let me know what it was that you didn't like about the way I presented my thoughts. You're welcome to head over to my channel and see that all videos have titles that are relevant and reflect whatever happens in them, though I warn you that none of it is particularly interesting. It's mostly for my own reference that I've uploaded videos of different sports, and some other academic stuff that I've had to use at some point or another.

It is great to sprint in clipless

Haha you know me too well Ethan - it's flip flop time!

I prefer riding in flip flops so I'm a flats kind of guy. Can't find any flip flops with clips...

You got it, and the first comment! Congrats!

Sounds like you have the right mindset! It's all about the switch, trying one and going to another! That's how we get better!

It's all about keeping those heals down man!

Nothing wrong with that Dave! I'm just stoked you were willing to try both!

Thanks man! I'm stoked you get the point!

You and I are in the same boat my man! Keep trying both!

You get it Dominic - spread the truth!

When I First Startes with clipless pedals, it was a difference but now it really isn‘t Important anymore, and that‘s what I Tell everyone about it

Thanks man, stoked you liked it! And glad you got to try some new shoes and switch it up!

I hear you man, foot placement kills me - but I make it work

Haha thanks Caleb - I love being the hero

That's awesome you were willing to try flats man! Nothing wrong with liking clips though

So happy you watched the whole thing. Happy you agree!