[Jayem]

Also, DH clipless pedals are the best to learn on, the ones with the bigger platforms. They are a little more stable and makes getting back in a little easier, which tends to become the most challenging part of clipless as you progress. Shimano 530 type pedals were a steal at around $30, but are no longer available. They aren't as good as the full DH type stuff like Saint, but they were way cheaper.

 

[sgltrak]

if you're on a budget and you are not squeamish about wearing someone else's shoes, used SPD-compatible shoes are easy to find on the used market. people buy them all the time because the "need" them to become "serious" about cycling, triathlon, spin class, etc. many people give up on them after a while and the shoes end up on local classified or in a thrift store. I've only purchased SPD-type shoes new once because of this.

I bought my last several pairs of SPD shoes on eBay. My current pair of Specialized carbon shoes retailed for over $150 and I bought them for $26. The previous owner ordered the wrong size, wore them once, and then didn't return them in during the return window and ended up dumping them for cheap on eBay.

 

[Tomass79]

Thanks for all the advice. I am actually going to my local ski shop (which unfortunately is 50 mins away) for some ski related things. They also deal with bikes so maybe I can see what they got since I am there anyways. I believe you guys did convince me to let go of the hybrid idea. I will just put my flats on when I am going to the downhill park (which isn't often).

 

[Tomass79]

I bought my last several pairs of SPD shoes on eBay. My current pair of Specialized carbon shoes retailed for over $150 and I bought them for $26. The previous owner ordered the wrong size, wore them once, and then didn't return them in during the return window and ended up dumping them for cheap on eBay.

Not squeamish at all. I work maintenance in a state prison. Not the cleanest place and I also eat the food everyday

 

[CaveGiant]

My experience is different.

It's a very beginner thing to look at SPDs as something better.
People ride in cheap shoes and rubbish flats and want more grip thinking that flats blow. Missing the point that their flats and crappy shoes are the issues.
Something like a 5.10 impact pro and some oneup metal pedals cost a ton, but they grip.

Technology has moved on since then.

Unless you are racing and every second counts, to me, the disadvantage of a clipless massively outweigh the limited benefits. Unless of course you are a pro.

5.10 sticky rubber and large thin flat pedals provide all the traction you need. They are also more predictable. Predictable is what inspires confidence and makes riding more fun.

Clipless is using victorian technology, materials science has come a long way.

I even have flats on my timetrial bike as it let me use a mid-foot position which my power meter and the clock liked.

SPDs may be fractionally faster under some circumstances, but to me they are less fun and less safe.

I've seen a lot of crashes when SPDs release when you were not expecting, or not release when you wanted.

There was an amazing spd caused crash at Fort William a few years back. If the pros struggle to clip out, what chances do mortals have.

It's about safety and fun, unless you are a pro, then get SPDs as the risk is worth it.

Edit: just so it's totally not controversial I'm totally in agreement with the above, hybrid pedals are the worst of both worlds.

 

[eb1888]

I rode in running shoes with Walmart pedals with cast pins to start. How are you going to stick with that setup?
Low heels and off the seat make any shoes with some tread stick hard to any pedals with raised pins. You don't need or want the sharp long pins that stick to 5.10s. Unless you wear shin guards to protect from gauging from the pins.

It's all about physics.
Low heels with weight create an angle you have to scrape your soles across the pins to lose your grip.
It's impossible. Can't happen. You can't be bounced off those pedals.

 

[dysfunction]

So another specific question becomes an argument against that specific question. MTBR on a day that ends in 'g', or 'h' in this case.. maybe 'y'.

 

[rockcrusher]

My experience is different.

It's a very beginner thing to look at SPDs as something better.
People ride in cheap shoes and rubbish flats and want more grip thinking that flats blow. Missing the point that their flats and crappy shoes are the issues.
Something like a 5.10 impact pro and some oneup metal pedals cost a ton, but they grip.

Technology has moved on since then.

Unless you are racing and every second counts, to me, the disadvantage of a clipless massively outweigh the limited benefits. Unless of course you are a pro.

5.10 sticky rubber and large thin flat pedals provide all the traction you need. They are also more predictable. Predictable is what inspires confidence and makes riding more fun.

Clipless is using victorian technology, materials science has come a long way.

I even have flats on my timetrial bike as it let me use a mid-foot position which my power meter and the clock liked.

SPDs may be fractionally faster under some circumstances, but to me they are less fun and less safe.

I've seen a lot of crashes when SPDs release when you were not expecting, or not release when you wanted.

There was an amazing spd caused crash at Fort William a few years back. If the pros struggle to clip out, what chances do mortals have.

It's about safety and fun, unless you are a pro, then get SPDs as the risk is worth it.

Edit: just so it's totally not controversial I'm totally in agreement with the above, hybrid pedals are the worst of both worlds.

as a data point on this I purchased Shimano M737 pedals the week they became available in the early 90's (I think), even before compatible shoes were available. I modified some light hikers and attached the cleats and felt like a pro. I literally rode clipless up until 2014 when I moved to WA and started riding with my kids. (I had stints on Shimano, crankbros, time, and bebop pedals and everything from lollipops to full flats with clips). Riding with youngsters I just swapped to using hikers and some old wellgo flat pedals I had from supergo, as I was often rescuing kids or walking back up or down a hill to help and frankly spd shoes weren't cutting it for me.

I swapped to Vans for a little more pedal compliant sole and then finally swapped to actual riding shoes. I can't even imagine going back to clipless pedals now. I use them on my commuter but have used flats on that as well, but my foot position on the flats conflicts with my fenders which are mandatory in the PNW, so I use my old clipless shimano pedals on that bike.

My kids ride flats, I got my wife riding them, and I ride them as well.

 

[silentG]

Two years ago, during the long cold winter here in Arizona, I decided to learn how to ride clipped pedals.

One thing that you might want to consider is float which is how much the pedals allow your foot to move side to side and influences the angles needed to get your foot to unclip.

For example, I used some SPD pedals and they don't allow very much side to side movement of your foot and they tend to have a narrow angle required to get the pedal to disengage.

Some people really like that and on the other hand you have say Crankbrothers type pedals which are sloppier (relatively) side to side and can have a wider range of angles to move your foot to in order to disengage.

I'm used to flat pedals so moving my foot around is natural and my knees didn't love the SPD float setup but some people are the opposite.

I couldn't overcome years of muscle memory on flat pedals as far as getting my foot off the pedal in a hurry. YMMV but it might not be a bad idea to find a used pair of shoes and pedals to start so you aren't in for a ton of money and decide that flats are a better match for you.

Second piece of advice would be to spend time riding around on something really chill and clipping in, clipping out, clipping in, clipping out before hitting trails with evil intent.

 

[silentG]

Follow up - I'm not Johnny Clipped Pedals here by any stretch but IIRC Time pedals are kind of in the middle between SPD and CB as far as float and angles.

I don't have any experience on the Time pedals so if I'm full of 💩 apologies, thinking back over when I was trying to figure all of this out to see if I was missing out on clipped pedals.

Blister has a good overview of the ins and outs there, no pun intended - You are being redirected...

 

[rangeriderdave]

I started riding with plastic flats ,my feet were either bounding or slipping off. This is before mountain clipless, so I modified those to install toe straps and cages. That work ok, then I got a road bike that had Look clipless, got used to that. Shimano came out with the SPD'S ,rode in my area for 4 or 5 months ,went to Moab and took them off, not used to the tech. Put them back on when I returned. Went though versions of SPD'S ,then went to Crank Bros. even put some on the road bike. Got a Ebike a couple of years ago and decided to put flats on that using some cheap skate shoes. ,that didn't take much getting used to, as I also ride off road moto's. Now I have arthritis in my knees and using clipless hurts ,so all my bikes are flats now. My point is choose whatever works for now, you can always use something else later.

 

[BarryR]

There is no "right" answer RE: clipped (or clipless as they're so stupidly called) vs flats. I ride SPDs with Shimano XC-5 shoes.
I started MTB 2.5 years ago and started clipping in about 2 weeks after I began MTB. At first I had to think about releasing my foot and comically fell over from a stopped position (on grass) once or twice when I more or less forgot to unclip. After a little while I got totally used to it. Now I unclip without even thinking about it in a fraction of a second whenever I need to.

So, I agree that you should avoid the hybrid pedals. If you want to switch back & forth then swap pedals.
If you get SPD and really want to ease in, you can start with the SPD 56 cleats which allow you to release by pulling up and some other angles unlike the 51s which require you to rotate your foot. I would think the learning curve would be pretty short.

For me, if anything, it's too easy to get out the 51s not too hard so I wouldn't want the 56s.
I got the XT pedals but from what I've read, the 520s are fine and a great value.

Also, Shimano pedals come in an XC design with no real base beyond the part that clips in (like the m520s) and more of a trail design with a bit of a platform. The XC design is a little lighter but the other design is better if you need to get a stroke in before you actually engage the clip. I have one pair on each of my bikes (29er DS & Fat). I prefer the platform design but YMMV.

 

[DoctorJD]

My experience is different.

It's a very beginner thing to look at SPDs as something better.
People ride in cheap shoes and rubbish flats and want more grip thinking that flats blow. Missing the point that their flats and crappy shoes are the issues.
Something like a 5.10 impact pro and some oneup metal pedals cost a ton, but they grip.

Technology has moved on since then.

Unless you are racing and every second counts, to me, the disadvantage of a clipless massively outweigh the limited benefits. Unless of course you are a pro.

5.10 sticky rubber and large thin flat pedals provide all the traction you need. They are also more predictable. Predictable is what inspires confidence and makes riding more fun.

Clipless is using victorian technology, materials science has come a long way.

I even have flats on my timetrial bike as it let me use a mid-foot position which my power meter and the clock liked.

SPDs may be fractionally faster under some circumstances, but to me they are less fun and less safe.

I've seen a lot of crashes when SPDs release when you were not expecting, or not release when you wanted.

There was an amazing spd caused crash at Fort William a few years back. If the pros struggle to clip out, what chances do mortals have.

It's about safety and fun, unless you are a pro, then get SPDs as the risk is worth it.

Edit: just so it's totally not controversial I'm totally in agreement with the above, hybrid pedals are the worst of both worlds.

Why does every clipless/flat thread always have to include one disciple of the Church of (Flat/Clipless) that tries to indoctrinate the OP with their worldview? The OP wants to try clipless, let him/her do it and decide for himself if it's for them.

Modern flats and shoes are amazing, and SPDs aren't the spawn of the devil as you have portrayed. I've ridden SPDs for close to 25 years and I can count on one hand how many "involuntary releases (?) I've had. Conversely, the only instances during that same period of not being able to clip out were when I was learning within the first few weeks.

I won't advocate for, nor demonize either pedal. It's 100% up to the individual's preference.

"SPD-caused crash"? SMH

 

[Juansan]

Time pedals, in my opinion, are the best. Sram now owns Time and I'm hoping they will not make any changes to the pedal. I ride in muddy conditions ( PNW ) and regardless how mucked up my shoe and pedal get I can always enter and release. During the winter I do switch to the Time Speciale for more of a platform. Shoes are a important factor when using clipless pedals. You want a stiff sole and a tight fit any lateral movement will greatly affect your ability to release. The cheaper Time pedals lack the ability to adjust spring tension I believe that option is available on the ATAC 6 and higher I personally ride the ATAC 8's. Recently Time has include a new cleat called the Time Easy 10 the 10 means you only have to move your foot 10 degrees to release, the regular cleats can be switched from 13 to 17 degrees of release, I've always used the 13 option with no problems pre releasing.

 

[AgentX]

I thought I was the only [[other] human on Earth still riding Times. I even use them on my road bike. I didn't know there were now variants with adjustable spring tension...

 

[AgentX]

For the OP--those of us riding clipless since time immemorial often feel completely unsafe on flats due to the lack of connection to the bike...don't worry about the "CLIPLESS GONNA KILL YOU!!" vibe from a very few.

That said, I know the way I use my feet to maneuver the bike around is, to an extent, cheating, and a better rider could do it with flats-only. And trying to ride what you do clipless on flats (and vice versa) only improves your riding and your perspective, exposing both weaknesses and advantages for you to work on/further exploit in your preferred normal usage. But do get really used to one way of doing it before changing it back up for its own sake.

 

[Peachypupp]

I’m going to disagree with the statement about the half and half pedals… I’ve been using them for years as well as just straight clip less and they both work great. No issues while single tracking whatsoever. The nice thing about them is when you want to use the bike for a casual spin down the block to have a beer, you can wear Flipflops… not so much when you have straight clip less.

 

[Nat]

I’m going to disagree with the statement about the half and half pedals… I’ve been using them for years as well as just straight clip less and they both work great. No issues while single tracking whatsoever. The nice thing about them is when you want to use the bike for a casual spin down the block to have a beer, you can wear Flipflops… not so much when you have straight clip less.

Did you learn to use clipless with the half-and-half pedals though?

 

[Tomass79]

So much to think of. I think I do want to try as when I ride with others (not close friends but people I run into on the trail and tag along) they all seem to have them and the person that got me into MTB had them as well. I figured maybe it is the next step for me. I am liking the idea of finding some used items in case I don't like it. Is there a good used site besides ebay everyone likes to use?

 

[Fast Eddy]

I have been seeing that. The half and half pedal. I have some Saint flats so maybe I should just commit and get the true clipless. Any recommendations on a set for beginners? I would like to keep the entire investment less than $200.

At the local "Good Karma" bikes where there are used parts I regularly come across top-quality older SPD pedals such as SPD-747s for $5/pair. I ride SPD-646s on a couple bikes. They were originally BMX pedals with a platform. I like them a lot and they last forever. I have one pair that's 20 yo and still rides just fine.