FutureHero

Like the title says, I would like some advice about pedals. I'm new to mountain biking, and it seems that everyone I run into on the trails is using Clipless pedals. Am I missing out on something here? I understand the advantage of Clipless pedals as far as getting power on the upstroke while you're pedaling, but is there a big advantage to using them for trail riding? To be honest, I'm a little terrified about being mechanically attached to my bike. The pedals that came on my bike are pretty horrible and I'm going to replace them, I just didn't know if it would be wise to make the jump to Clipless, or to get a nice pair of platform pedals.

pablosnazzy

if you are new, get flat pedals and learn to ride. after you get really really good, get a really really good set of flat pedals and have fun. you don't need to be clipped in on a mountain bike, ever, unless you want to be.

people who say you need to be clipped in to ride up technical trails are wrong, and say that becasue they don't have the skills to ride up stuff on flat pedals.

Stealthammer

I've been on clipless pedals exclusively on my road bikes and mountain bikes since 1987 (including my trials bikes and FGs), and I feel uncomfortable without them. But you will hear from a lot of riders who never use clipless, and often it is the downhill specialists and ex-BMXers who lead that pack. There is no question that clipless pedals really benefit you when climbing or riding out of the saddle though, and it seems like more singletrackers prefer them as well, but what it really comes down to is personal preference.

Daspydyr 

Preference and environment. I went from cages to clipless and have gone to pinned platforms and sticky shoes. (I chose 5.10s for shoes and really like them.) There are some situations where I end up going over the handlebars and need out of the pedals NOW. When I was clipless I ended up having the bike follow me tagged to one shoe. On a stiff climb I had to restart and ended up cratering.

The power transfer with good clipless setup is the best, but you are locked in. But platforms with a good sticky bike shoe is a very close second. PLUS, a sticky shoe lets you hike around without a metal cleat where you need traction.

RobertHurst

I would get clipless. There is an obvious power advantage, very nice for climbing and accelerating, and your freak-out goes away completely after a while. You literally will not even think about your clipless pedals while riding if you set them up right and get used to them; you'll click in and out unconsciously. But there will be a little learning curve during which pedal fears will interfere with your mojo over technical sections. It goes away.

Lawrence08648

I'm 60 yrs old, I went from road riding, pedals to cages thinking cages were wonderful when there was no other choices but I always didn't like how stuck I was in the cages and was scared. Then I went clipless and now I won't go back. This was for the road. I got into MTBiking and used regular pedals though I was clipless on my road bike for many years. I resisted clipping in on my MTB for many years though I felt I was experienced with clipless. The problem I had with MTBiking, over rolly pollies, going up hill and back down, going down and up, going over logs, many many times my feet would come off the pedals, just slide forward, then I would crash down on the handlebars. A very dangerous situation. I decided to go clipless and did not like it for a long long time. Now I don't think any other way. The only pedal I would use in the woods is Crank Brothers Candy because CB pedals are the easiest to unclip from, especially if the cleats are worn. Because of this, I always keep worn CB cleats from my road bike when I put on new cleats to move them to my MTB shoes so I can unclip faster, easier.