Goudgey
Likes Dirt
Hi all, so today I went for my first ride on flats and it wasn’t quite what I was expecting.
l classify myself as a start again beginner and I’ve been riding ridden clipless for as long as I can remember. I’ve started to feel that clipless has been holding back my progression for all the common reasons often talked about, lack of confidence in tech where the ability to dab can be beneficial, bad technique for bunny hops, drops, etc. For these reasons I decided to make the transition to flats, DMR Vaults paired with Leatt DBX 2.0 shoes to be precise.
I’ve often heard about “clipless levels of grip” from good shoes (5:10’s) paired with good pedals but I didn’t find this at all. On relatively smooth flows trails I found the grip to be adequate but through rock gardens and when the rear of the bike was unweighted over small jumps or drops my feet were popping off the pedals. I was even losing grip when my gear changes were less than smooth.
Ill be the first to admit that my technique is nonexistent and requires a lot of work, and for this reason I’m hoping that in time as my technique improves the level of grip from the flat pedals will also improve, Is this a fair assumption, or is my experience typical of what flat pedal riding is like?
Perhaps the combination of the Vaults and Leatt shoes isn’t good and It'd be worth me trying another brand of shoe?
Should I stick with flats or go back to clipless?
Cheers
l classify myself as a start again beginner and I’ve been riding ridden clipless for as long as I can remember. I’ve started to feel that clipless has been holding back my progression for all the common reasons often talked about, lack of confidence in tech where the ability to dab can be beneficial, bad technique for bunny hops, drops, etc. For these reasons I decided to make the transition to flats, DMR Vaults paired with Leatt DBX 2.0 shoes to be precise.
I’ve often heard about “clipless levels of grip” from good shoes (5:10’s) paired with good pedals but I didn’t find this at all. On relatively smooth flows trails I found the grip to be adequate but through rock gardens and when the rear of the bike was unweighted over small jumps or drops my feet were popping off the pedals. I was even losing grip when my gear changes were less than smooth.
Ill be the first to admit that my technique is nonexistent and requires a lot of work, and for this reason I’m hoping that in time as my technique improves the level of grip from the flat pedals will also improve, Is this a fair assumption, or is my experience typical of what flat pedal riding is like?
Perhaps the combination of the Vaults and Leatt shoes isn’t good and It'd be worth me trying another brand of shoe?
Should I stick with flats or go back to clipless?
Cheers