Barry2 

If anyone queries “why are you not riding clipless?”
simply reply
”I didn’t feel the need, you guys are just a Recovery ride for me!”

Barry

Attilio

I have multiple carbon bikes and only my Salsa Warbird Carbon and Trek Emonda SL have clipless pedals. I "upgraded" in September due to pressure but went with SPD's because the shoes are more walkable as I like to explore and wish to avoid the duck gait. They are also easier to get in and out of. I keep the pedals all the way loose and have not found I risk unclipping when I don't want to, but have found that when I tighten them the risk of not being able to unclip rises exponentially. Also the pedals and cleats need to "break in" so you should spend about 10 minutes in your garage or against the wall of your house clipping in and out repeatedly to put enough wear that you can get in and out easier. They are harder to clip in and out when new for that reason. The Bontrager Cambion shoes (out of production, I got the last few in my size online) are fairly stiff for plastic shoes but lacking carbon they are not quite as stiff, but not fragile so you can actually walk around in them.

That said my hybrid/commuter bike and several mountain bikes including Mukluk Carbon XT are all flat pedals. I find that I slip a fair amount on trails and I like the ability to bail on on demand. Despite all these mishaps I never fall because the flat pedals though slower help my feet fall out instantly to catch me from going down.

I will say I was faster than a lot of people even using flat pedals but going clipless all else being equal for same effort pushes you about ~2mph faster, about the same upgrade speed wise as carbon wheels. You really are missing out (on that and a bunch of falls) by staying on flat pedals but I would never ever go clipless on a commuter bike I ride in the city, with the fam, on bike paths or trails and other situations where a sudden and unpredictable stop can happen at a moment's notice.

Atlas95

What?! 2 mph faster for the same effort?! Is that real?!?!

jlaw

And, OP get yourself a nice pair of these Levi's high tops for $40 to go with your fancy flat pedals! (I actually use these and they do provide nice ankle support and pedal feel without sensing the pedal pins.) Add $8 and get some Walmart gel insoles to go with them.

I will admit to being a bit of a contrarian which is part of the appeal of flats. But I also like the ability to move my foot forward to mash while climbing and move my foot back - ball over pedal axle - to spin. Helps to reduce fatigue as the ride progresses.



https://www.amazon.com/Levis-Oberyn-...17356373&psc=1

jlaw

Impressive!

But I bought a whole carbon bike and I don't think I got ANY faster!

VegasJen

I have flats on all my bikes, including my Cervelo tri bike. But I already know I'm an odd duck.

LarrySellerz

Its not real, clipless pedals help with sudden acceleration which can help in fast group rides where the pace can be surgy. However its just not a safety concern like aerobars or even flat bars, and people know that. Someone might say something about aerobars or lack of helmet, and they would have a point, but its just bad form to tell someone to get clipless pedals. They would be making themselves look foolish.

Another poster said his club required clipless pedals, tucked alongside rules with the aerobars and no supertucking, im gonna straight up call BS on that. Legit fast group rides would never care about clipless pedals to the point of making it a rule. I'd be embarrassed to be a part of a club that required that, it must be a slow pace. I ride flat pedals in groups, and the comments about flat pedals are always in the vein of "you might do better with these" not "you really should get these to be part of the group."

If you do show up with flat pedals, be prepared for extra scrutiny, riding in a group is dangerous and anything that is a tell that you might not know what is going on will make people wary around you. Once you demonstrate that you are fine you should have no issues, because flat pedals are just not a safety risk.

tomato coupe

2 mph for the pedals, plus another 2 mph for carbon wheels!

MarcusT

Do the pros know this trick?

veganbikes

This is Connor McGregor's custom built FiftyOne road Bike. I would say it is probably a $15K road bike:


I would say unless the group has a rule agains them just tell them that Connor rides them and that should shut them up or he could UFC them and I don't want to see how that ends. Seriously it doesn't matter I ride MTB clipless pedals on my road bike and no issues and don't care what people think. When I get to a rest stop I can walk around comfortably...

People spend a lot of time worrying what others think and it is just silly if people don't like you over flat pedals they are dumb and aren't worth your time. Especially if you have a set of custom Crank Brothers Stamp 11s (I have the 7s and they are great). I remember probably 15 years ago reading a listing for a band looking for a drummer or someone and they were like if you drink this particular beer (Yuegnling I think) we don't want you in the group. It is dumb attitudes like that they cause a lot of problems in the world. I can say if someone showed up with some goofy exercise bike pedals like the ones that have toe clips on one side and a Look Delta clone on the other and weigh 2 pounds each that is fair game but flats vs. clipless who cares. There are so many more important things to worry about.

seypat

Here's a suggestion for a question the OP might have in the future. If, if, you decide in the future that you want to try clipless, here's what to do. Find the cheapest SPD shoes you can find. Used from the Bay, CL, wherever. I went to REI and found some it their returned items area. They had a broken lace hole in one of the shoes. Same for the pedals. Find a cheap set of pedals with one side SPD, the other flat. Start out by clipping one foot in and the other flat. Ride around and switch. Ride some more. Switch some more. Clip both in, or not. Keep doing this and eventually it will click or not. If it does, then you can invest more in shoes/pedals. If not keep riding the flats.

himespau 

Do whatever makes you comfortable. If you can keep up and aren't all squirrelly go for it.

Attilio

I put carbon wheels on three bikes these last two year because I liked the effect of one set on one and indeed it was about 2mph speed boost. I also was able to do same group riding. I was a freaking monster last year faster than so many people, doing ultra-centuries with 12k climb. Fell head over heels for this thing but I overtrained and still recovering. OUCH. One year older and wiser will be more careful in the future.

shelbyfv

Cool! Is an "ultra-century" a double or triple or what?

terrymorse 

If you show up to ride with a new group, your machine looks and sounds decent and well maintained, and you're wearing an appropriate bike kit, you are giving off virtue signals that other riders read as "This new person appears to know what they are doing, I feel comfortable riding with them."

If everyone in the group rides clipless (very likely), and you don't, they may suspect that your riding skills may not be up to par, and they may be cautious when riding near you.

Atlas95

Not necessarily a bad thing...Once they see I can keep up I can't imagine it being a problem.

terrymorse 

Not necessarily. Being strong enough to keep up doesn't mean you have sufficient skills to ride in a group safely.

There's even a slang term for strong but unskilled riders: "fast Freds".

mschwett 

i prefer consistency in my virtues - slow and unskilled. no surprises!

DirePenguin

When I bought my Domane SL5 in Jan. 2021, I was still at the beginning of recovering from being hit by a car (which completely destroyed my Domane ALR 5) and I didn’t trust my ability to unclip so I had the shop put dual-sided Shimano PD-EH500 (SPD) pedals on and used the flat side for most of the rest of that year. I’ve built up enough confidence to use the SPD side, now. But, having the option is still important to me.