For People Who Ride Both on Flat and Clipless Pedals
 

Do people who want to ride on flats to improve technical skills and use clipless for cross country mountain biking, do you switch between pedals? Or, do you use the hybrid pedals that are both hybrid and clipless? Are there any disadvantages to the hybrid pedals? The reason I ask is that I almost always ride with clipless pedals. However, I'd like to work on rear wheel lift. Eventually, I might want to learn how to manual and bunny hop. I know that especially for the rear wheel lift I know that riding clipless can mask an improper technique.

For mountain biking, I use one or the other. I’d never use hybrid pedals for actual mountain biking. Really bad idea IMO. Good for a commuter or maybe road/gravel use, not for MTB.

There is really only bike I use both on (most bikes are one or the other). I just swap pedals. Takes about a minute.

If you want to learn flats, get GOOD flats. There are many great options for ~$50. Deity Deftrap (my fav), Kona Wha Wha 2, One Up, RF Chester…. All good.

I'm always clipped in on my MTB, so I don't have any personal experience with them, but on a MTB-focused forum I frequent, the general consensus seems to be that hybrid pedals are bad at both things.

I have those kind of hybrid pedals on my touring bike at the moment. Funn single-sides. The flat/spikey side is fine. The clips are inferior to Shimano's own.

My wife has Deity pedals and really likes them, despite being a devote atheist.

Usually the first ride on flats, there will be a moment of panic feeling trapped coming up to a stop. I will push my right heel down and out, and it won't move. I will do a double take and then remember to just lift my foot off ...

I used to employ clipless when needing to be as efficient (fast) as possible and flats the rest of the time because they were more fun. I would just switch the pedals. My wife rides Shimano hybrids so she can unclip the left side when descending "dangerous" trails.

I used to ride clipless on everything, including downhill

it’s only in the last couple of years, and after a knee replacement surgery, that I switched to flats

my cross-country bike is still wearing SPD’s, but my big travel trail bikes are gladly wearing flats still

The only thing I’ve been riding the past couple months is my e-bike though, which is like a monster truck in the trees. Way too much travel and brakes are stupid strong—- I don’t think it will ever see spots

I used to ride flats on my mountain bike. But my shins got mad at me after awhile. Maybe I just never learned to ride them properly, but ever since I switched to clipless I never took a pedal to the shin ever again.

Always used those XT PD-T 780/ XT PD-T 8000 never looked back since then

After riding clipless on all my bikes for over 30 yrs I recently switched to flats on my bikepacking bike. It was quite a learning experience for me to get used to the flats (Crank Brothers Stamp 7’s). I still run clipless on my mountain, road, and fixed gear bikes….. the old classic eggbeaters…

I’ve been riding mostly flats for the last year. It’s hard to reprogram myself from the previous 30.

Once I got accustomed to it, I noticed my overall pace/times were just as fast. And my uphill techie climbing is actually better.

I still ride clipped in on my road bikes and gravel bike, and occasionally will switch to SPD for long distances where the uniform pedaling circles is less fatiguing.

Hybrid pedals seem like they’d be ok for a spin bike or maybe a grocery getter. Not much else.

I have never found a good pedal that does both. The flat side is always inferior to a dedicated flat pedal.

I crashed bad clipped in about 20 years ago. That was enough for me

This means nothing. What is the point of it with zero context. Anything can happen but it doesn't mean a certain pedal is bad. There are so many factors that could have been involved.

The double sided pedals suck at both jobs, but they really suck at being a flat pedal. I have em on my touring bike, because most of my "tours" are under 15 miles round trip to local breweries, and I curse them all the time

My mountain, touring, and "speedy cruiser" all have two-sided pedals (flat one side, SPD on the other). The only pure-SPD pedals I'm currently running are on the racer. They're fine for most riding. On the tourer and cruiser, I usually stay clipped in, while on the MTB I'll unclip n' flip in certain segments that have a higher risk of sudden horizontal stops (I don't bounce anymore when I hit the dirt & rocks, so I try to keep vertical or at least keep my involuntary dismounts somewhat graceful.)

You can also crash bad not clipped in.

I decided it was best to switch pedals depending on what type of riding I'l be doing. I will use the flat pedals if I want to work on skills. I will be using the clipless pedals for my trail riding and racing.

I use Shimano hybrid pedals on a bike I leave at the grandkids' house. I ride clipped in when I ride alone, but use flats when with the kids. It is amazing how often you put your foot down when riding with a 6 year old.

Mike