I dabbled with flat pedals a little bit around Y2K but I've been by and large clipping in since I started mountain biking. It's meant a heck of a learning experience riding flats the past couple years - but also a clean slate which is how I figured out pretty quick that super sticky Five Ten shoes aren't for me and what pedal shapes I like best.
It made riding clips much less interesting (I'm not racing anyone up or down and really enjoy the dynamic feeling of riding flat pedals) but it's just brutal on the single speed and even running gears on a hardtail I prefer being clipped to the bike in really chundery situations hence looking for that unicorn pedal/shoe combo.
It took A LOT for me to come around to riding Crank Brothers pedals because for years working in a shop they were awful (all their products - dropper posts, wheels, etc) but after my first experience with the Highline post I really came around and my Mallet DH pedals have been truly awesome. They're so easy to rebuild, service kits are readily available, and they really hold up well.
March 14, 2020, 3:52 p.m. - Andrew Major
I dabbled with flat pedals a little bit around Y2K but I've been by and large clipping in since I started mountain biking. It's meant a heck of a learning experience riding flats the past couple years - but also a clean slate which is how I figured out pretty quick that super sticky Five Ten shoes aren't for me and what pedal shapes I like best. It made riding clips much less interesting (I'm not racing anyone up or down and really enjoy the dynamic feeling of riding flat pedals) but it's just brutal on the single speed and even running gears on a hardtail I prefer being clipped to the bike in really chundery situations hence looking for that unicorn pedal/shoe combo. It took A LOT for me to come around to riding Crank Brothers pedals because for years working in a shop they were awful (all their products - dropper posts, wheels, etc) but after my first experience with the Highline post I really came around and my Mallet DH pedals have been truly awesome. They're so easy to rebuild, service kits are readily available, and they really hold up well.