Posts
5
Joined
2/15/2012
Location
IL
Edited Date/Time
8/18/2014 8:11am
i'm about to purchase a per of shoes for my DH bike and i
dont know what I really need or want .
I want the best control of the bike but to be free on the pedal ,
i want to do some flowing berm .
if i'm go for clipless :http://www.jensonusa.com/Five-Ten-Minnaar-SPD-Shoe
if i'm go for flat : http://www.jensonusa.com/Five-Ten-Sam-Hill-Shoe
THANKS for every thing,
Alon perry.
dont know what I really need or want .
I want the best control of the bike but to be free on the pedal ,
i want to do some flowing berm .
if i'm go for clipless :http://www.jensonusa.com/Five-Ten-Minnaar-SPD-Shoe
if i'm go for flat : http://www.jensonusa.com/Five-Ten-Sam-Hill-Shoe
THANKS for every thing,
Alon perry.
i have ridden clipless before but only AM
have'nt really got cliplees on DH YET ....
I was at my local DH track on Saturday and I was finding and hitting lines I never new existed, it was awsome...
But I will say after riding flats and now converted, I can see the pros and cons for both, so it all comes down to personal choice.
I started out on clippless and it helped create bad habits that hurt my descending abilities. I was mainly doing cross country but as started the change to DH I still road my clippless for fear of my feet not being attached to the bike.
I eventually switch to flats (just last year) and my descending, jumping and all around technical riding improved. With clippless I was able to ride and keep my legs tight which caused other problems. I didn't realize it until I switched to flats I was keeping legs stif . My feet started getting bounces off the pedals when I cased jumps and road through technical terrian poorly from keeping my legs too stif. When I switched the flats I had to stay looser just keep feet on pedals which solved other problems as well.
I feel like the flats will continue to help me progress. I think some day I will reach apoint where clippless will help me get faster at DH racing but right now, (finishing near the bottom of cat 2) I am no were close to benefting from clippless.
i personally like it better due to the ability to adjust your feet
Now when I began racing DH in the 90s, I tought Palmer looked cool as hell so I took on the flats. Raced flats for a good number of years. Then I stopped racing/riding DH and started be clipped in again for trail riding and 4x racing/bmx racing. I've new come full circle as I have adopted flats again for most of my riding except BMX racing.
Flats are easier on my (previously operated) knees and I like sticking my foot out when turning! They also encourage a smoother pedal stroke without "cheating" like you would do on clipless.
Also, FiveTen have changed the game so much. I use to ride Vans in the 1990s and they were still are great, but the diff with modern flat pedal shoes is astounding.
Good luck and be sure to tell us what is your final choice.
it's also good if your scouting lines ( first couple of runs at a race) to be on flats then move to clips once you're confident on course and starting to increase speed
whatever makes you more confident really,
Post a reply to: Clipless OR Flat pedals for DH