Cycling UK Forum

I,ve been riding clipless for 20yrs but feel,at 65,it,s time to get flats as,since a house move,my local trails include some rocky sections(dalbeattie,red route) which I wasn,t entirely happy on.My question is will old muscles and tendons adapt to these pedals without injury.Any advice appreciated.

I am also old and just bought my first mountain ebike.
I have been riding clipless pedals on my road bikes since they became available years ago.
I decided to go with flat pedals on it and honestly don’t regret it. I don’t do that much off roading but do occasionally come across the odd muddy patch and as my bike is very heavy I feel happier knowing I can drop the bike if need be, and not stay attached to the pedals…yes, it has happened.
I may have struck lucky with my pedal/shoe choice as the shoe when on the pedal doesn’t move at all, if I want to change my foot position I have to lift my foot to do so.

I have a Thorn off road tourer, equiped with clipless pedals and mainly used on road rather than off. However on one outing on landrover tracks I rather boldly / foolishly tried to cycle down a steep rocky bit which was to be honest a bit much. My more sensible companion walked down. Because it was a bit questionable I decided to unclip in case I had to hop off suddenly. Big mistake! The general bounciness had my feet off the pedals and a dangerously wobbly descent ensued. I would have been far far more in control had I kept my feet firmly clipped in. The conclusion -clips - abso-bloody-lutley

You could always go for those pedals with clips onmone side snd flats onnthenother and then swao between as the terrain changed.

I'm like profpointy - i prefer to be clipped innon the bumpy stuff so i dont bounce 0ff the pedals. You can ride this sort of stuff fine on flats but its a slightly different technique....which you'd soon pick up im sure.

cyclop wrote:I,ve been riding clipless for 20yrs but feel,at 65,it,s time to get flats as,since a house move,my local trails include some rocky sections(dalbeattie,red route) which I wasn,t entirely happy on.My question is will old muscles and tendons adapt to these pedals without injury.Any advice appreciated.

The red route is fine and I wouldn't feel the need to be clipped in to what is mostly forestry track. Only bits I would want to be clipped in for are those black sections but at my age (65too) I reckon they are just for looking at.
I'm someone whose ridden everything clipped in to Time ATACS. Over a year ago I'd a couple of pairs at 20 yo getting beyond viable repair. So increased my stock of flat DMR pedals. I'd originally used these only for touring to save carrying another pair of shoes. I've these more or less permanently on a cpl of bikes and I would say use flats for about 75% of my riding now. I reckon the muscles and tendons love them as I never hear a complaint from them on flats.

I don't do anything too technical and prefer to be clipped in, but certainly there's quite a few of the hot-shots at the JCC I do basics at who seem to prefer platforms for Mad Things. The trick seems to be a pair of soft soled shoes (5.10s seem to be the most typical Weapons of Choice) which let the wee studs on serious platforms dig in to for the sort of grip that will keep your feet in place over he bouncy stuff.

I've got Time "All Road" ATACs on my MTB which are platforms one side and mechs the other, but the platforms are too smooth (and thus slippy) for anything technical and they're accordingly a bit rubbish for the job (I have them as I had a spare set laying around rather than I thought they'd be just The Thing, which is just as well as they're not!)

Pete.

Thanks for the replies,paulatic,s probably being the most relevant i.e. older cyclist switching to flats with no probs.Incidentally,how did you get 20yrs out of ataks,mine got 5or6 and the left bearing always went first.Stopped using them and switched to spd as they wore out.

cyclop wrote:Thanks for the replies,paulatic,s probably being the most relevant i.e. older cyclist switching to flats with no probs.Incidentally,how did you get 20yrs out of ataks,mine got 5or6 and the left bearing always went first.Stopped using them and switched to spd as they wore out.

Regular taking apart and greasing and no hose pipes allowed. [emoji3]

cyclop wrote:I,ve been riding clipless for 20yrs but feel,at 65,it,s time to get flats as,since a house move,my local trails include some rocky sections(dalbeattie,red route) which I wasn,t entirely happy on.My question is will old muscles and tendons adapt to these pedals without injury.Any advice appreciated.

it is easier to go from clipless to flat than the other way round, perhaps. A snag is that if your pedalling style is well developed for being clipped in, you may pull your feet off flats as you start off and when you are climbing. Your feet may bounce off the pedals too in the rough stuff. You may find you need to use lower gears when tackling short steep climbs, too.

My tip is to maybe try using the clipless pedals on the very slackest setting, and/or with cleats that are rather worn (or strategically ground to release more easily). If you feet come out very easily indeed then this will lessen the "won't get your feet out in time" feeling.

Another idea is to use double-sided SPDs and to have the sides of the pedal set up differently, so that ahead of time you can change sides as needs be. If the sides are clearly marked (eg with a blob of coloured paint) then you will know which is which, even if you don't feel it as you clip in.

cheers

You might consider half clipless pedals.

Infrequent, older (69) MTB rider for about 20 years. Mainly XC, never that comfortable with technical stuff. Used SPD 'till last year, then switched to flats (Nukeproof Electron Evo + old pair of worn walking boots). Much, much better IME: once I taught myself not to slide the cranks round with my shins, that is

Went to flats and never looked back. Not being clipped in is one aspect to consider, but for me it's more about comfort. With platform pedals, I can move my foot into any position. At least for me, after a few hours of having my feet in "proper" position, it feels great to move them around, plus you can wear any foot wear you want. I have even ridden in flip flops.

Have you considered toe clips and straps, just a thought

plantfit wrote:Have you considered toe clips and straps, just a thought

Or even flats with half clips, no straps. Stop feet sliding forward when wet and gloopy.