Originally Posted by
Caliper
Well, I go and ask a question then promptly bang myself up clipping a tree and bruise my ribs... Back to riding more now. Got some Chesters (what the LBS had in stock), but still using my SPD style shoes on them since they have a nice stiff sole, upgrading the shoes are next.
The Chesters, plus keeping my heels down has made a huge benefit over the bumpy stuff so far. I still have my feet leave the pedals during drops though. I also find my feet coming off the pedals over small bumps when pedaling on flat sections or even dirt roads. I guess I have a subconscious habit of unweighting my feet on the upstroke since I've ridden clipped in most of my life.
So, what do people do over drops with flat pedals? I'm slightly out of the saddle with knees bent, so it is especially unnerving when both feet come off the pedals since that would make for a painful landing if they don't find the pedal again on the landing...
What you are describing is what I struggled with most when I started using flat pedals more often. And to be fair, I still do a little and am weirded out by the idea of being in the air for long with flats. However, I have found it is not as hard as I thought.
It is somewhat instinctual, but I think what I do in the air is point my feet down (heels up) so that the bike is sort of wedged between the pedals and my grip on the bars. I push my feet slightly down and back into the pedals.