Oct. 22, 2014, 11:03 p.m. -  PeterO

#!markdown Growing up XC racing I always used clips but I had a brief riding break during college and when I returned back to riding I decided to try flats. I stuck with them for a couple of years and learnt a lot from flats. I always had it in my mind that I would go back to clips but before my re-attaching Five Tens appeared on the scene and after trying a pair I was blown away by the level of confidence they provided. I've now been using flats exclusively for over 10years and unless I return to race at a serious level I can honestly say I'll never return to clips. The skills you learn on flats are incredible and once you dial in the correct inputs you don't need the 'performance' enhancement provided by clips. All new MTB riders should rock flats for at least a few years to build the right techniques before ever even trying clips, there's no advantage to clips to the new rider but there are many disadvantages. I'm a strong believer that if you are racing and you are at the pointy end of the group then ride clips because they could be the difference between winning and losing, unless you're Sam Hill of course!! Clips for racing, flats for recreating…