Clipless vs flats - to each their own.
But my experience... after riding flats for 15 years, I moved to riding on the island from riding on the shore. So I decided I should switch to clipless because of the more "trail", or "aggressive XC" nature of the trails compared with the shore gnar. After 5 rides I sold my clipless and went back to flats. I found exactly zero benefit from riding clipless.
I've actually never found a benefit to climbing in clipless, in fact, maybe it's just me, but while climbing technical trail, I like to adjust my foot in ways that clipless doesn't allow. And since the pedaling innovation studies which showed there is no need to pull up on the backstroke ([it's actually worse](https://pedalinginnovations.com/science/)), I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.
I also realized I also just love the free feeling flats provide. I ride with a bunch of different guys, some use clipless, some use flats, after years of riding with them, it's definitely shown me that just because you ride a clipless pedal it doesn't mean your getting to the top faster nor riding through the chunder quicker.
And I definitely don't recommend beginners start out with clipless. Learning to control and adjust your bike strictly through your pedals and staying on through rough sections only because you're clipped in are very bad habits to learn and will only restrict your ability to become a much better rider in the future.
Jan. 11, 2018, 10:45 a.m. - IslandLife
Clipless vs flats - to each their own. But my experience... after riding flats for 15 years, I moved to riding on the island from riding on the shore. So I decided I should switch to clipless because of the more "trail", or "aggressive XC" nature of the trails compared with the shore gnar. After 5 rides I sold my clipless and went back to flats. I found exactly zero benefit from riding clipless. I've actually never found a benefit to climbing in clipless, in fact, maybe it's just me, but while climbing technical trail, I like to adjust my foot in ways that clipless doesn't allow. And since the pedaling innovation studies which showed there is no need to pull up on the backstroke ([it's actually worse](https://pedalinginnovations.com/science/)), I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. I also realized I also just love the free feeling flats provide. I ride with a bunch of different guys, some use clipless, some use flats, after years of riding with them, it's definitely shown me that just because you ride a clipless pedal it doesn't mean your getting to the top faster nor riding through the chunder quicker. And I definitely don't recommend beginners start out with clipless. Learning to control and adjust your bike strictly through your pedals and staying on through rough sections only because you're clipped in are very bad habits to learn and will only restrict your ability to become a much better rider in the future.