clipless

i set up my clipless on the loosest setting and have never had an issue on both exiting the pedals off of a skinny or staying clipped in the rough sections.

with all the crashes i have had the pedals have never been in the way, in fact after i pick myself up of the dirt the pedals have never even entered my mind as to why i bailed.

i find having the extra grip on the bike on both the way up and down is awesome.

and as always it is what you are used to, if you spend the time to get comfy with the clips, which doesn't take long, you will be happy for all the riding options.

I ride with the Shimano DX, prior i had the Shimano with out the cage.

i set up my clipless on the loosest setting and have never had an issue on both exiting the pedals off of a skinny or staying clipped in the rough sections.

To the OP, i would definitely start this way (above). But I would tinker with the tension to find your happy spot. I find when the the tension is at its loosest, they feel sloppy. I also find the engagement in and out to be better/faster if they're a bit tighter… but maybe im dumb.

But really, clipless pedals have their place. in my opinion 90% of the riding to be done locally is not the place.

I totally disagree, there's nothing that I haven't ridden on clips, it's all down to comfort.
I do agree with everyone about CB pedals though, they break easily and they just dont' feel as positive as Shimano. I find the Shimano pedals easier to get out of as well.

i set up my clipless on the loosest setting and have never had an issue on both exiting the pedals off of a skinny or staying clipped in the rough sections.

with all the crashes i have had the pedals have never been in the way, in fact after i pick myself up of the dirt the pedals have never even entered my mind as to why i bailed.

i find having the extra grip on the bike on both the way up and down is awesome.

and as always it is what you are used to, if you spend the time to get comfy with the clips, which doesn't take long, you will be happy for all the riding options.

I ride with the Shimano DX, prior i had the Shimano with out the cage.

I have found that a loose pedal is a liability, it's not got the nice crisp click on engagement, and the release is just as vague, so you never actually know whether you're in properly or not.

i do agree with the tweaking, i should edit the post, i start with the loose setting and then as the spring works in i tighten a bit, as the spring usually starts off pretty stiff. but by the sounds of it, i don't tighten as much as you guys. comes back to what you are used to, appreciate the need to know if the clip is hooked in, every once in a while i do get that feeling, but doesn't bother me personally.

another note, get the shoes with the soft rubber soles, not the hard plastic XC shoes. if you need to hike-a-bike, jump off and not want to skid/slip/slide, and have traction on the pedal when not clipped, the soft rubber soles are the bomb!

With the right pedal/shoe combo can you unclip and ride as if you were using flat pedals?

no

"Commit or Eat $hit."

yes

You can ride any skinny as easy on clipless pedals as on flats. Its just a different style. You basically have to learn how to weight your bike more with your hips. It comes naturally just practice it.

I have never stayed clipped to my bike in a crash from a skinny or in any situation, in 14 years of riding. You'll learn to throw your bike away.

I can't for the life of me see how some people can run their pedal tension loose. Mine is almost cranked fully and I'll still come out if I'm putting lots of effort into a sketchy corner.

Clipless FTW… the new Shimano XTR trail pedals (PD-M985) look like my next set of pedals… they add a bit of a platform for some foot stability but are otherwise the same good old spd's we've all come to love.

Clipless FTW… the new Shimano XTR trail pedals (PD-M985) look like my next set of pedals… they add a bit of a platform for some foot stability but are otherwise the same good old spd's we've all come to love.

I am looking at getting a pair of these as well. However I am wondering if the cage on the trail version will interfere with the lugs on the bottom of my shoe. Any insight anyone?

I can't for the life of me see how some people can run their pedal tension loose. Mine is almost cranked fully and I'll still come out if I'm putting lots of effort into a sketchy corner.

I've also blown both feet out of my clips going down a descent - loose tension + big rock. Scary, but somehow got my feet back on.

I run mine moderately tight now. I've also pulled out of my clips climbing. I think people run them super loose for fear that they won't get out, mostly because they aren't used to them.

I have the M540's as well. I've been using them for half a year now and I'm pretty used to them. I really like them on the climbs. As it's been said "commit or eat shit." I've become a lot more confident on them and when I do crash they release. I have mine on the lowest tension. Might increase it a bit though as sometimes I come out a bit too easy. My riding is more xc/trail than you and I don't do skinnies very often. Especially once they are more than a couple feet off the ground. But I didn't with flats either.

My only complaint is that sometimes they are hard to get back into if I put my foot down for a second and then I'm approaching something techy. So I'll have one foot clipped in and the other just sitting on top which can be bloody scary. It's at that point I wish I had a bit of a platform for added "insurance."

As for maintenance, I've done zero except for the initial adjustment of the tension to the lowest on all 4 nuts (2 per pedal). I've also put some grease on the mechanism on the pedal once to get the clipping in/out process going smoother again. I've heard you should do this. I'm not sure if I even greased the right parts. Ha.

thinking that maybe more suspension allows for looser pedals as well, i run it looser on my current bike with 6 and 6, but on my old bike which was 5 and 5 i had the clips a little tighter (but still pretty loose) to avoid the bounce out. can't remember the last time the pedal came unclipped ripping down any rocky trail, not sure if it really has on the current 6 and 6 bike…

agree with the coming unclipped on the climbing, definitely need it set so that doesn't happen, but again it doesn't need to be locked down.

for me, not fear of not getting out if too tight, more the speed of getting out and not puling too much on the pedal as the shoe unclips. being high up on a skinny and needing to pull a leg out for balance, i don't like too much resistance on the release or reclip.

think it is agreed that you start with clipless as loose as you are comfy with and as you get more used to them you can then tighten them up if needed.

bottom line, there is no need to fear the clipless for ANY riding, they do come with lots of benefits.

… it's all down to comfort.

Nuff said. I run flats almost exclusively now because I don't feel 100% confortable on the downs in clipless. I ride twice as fast and in more control with flats. Not because they're better, but because I have way more confidence in flats. It's a head game, not a tech game for me.

I can't for the life of me see how some people can run their pedal tension loose.

I think people run them super loose for fear that they won't get out, mostly because they aren't used to them.

^ This is why Wayne. To some (like me), twisting your foot out is not intuitive. It should come with practice/usage, but I'm not there yet. Consequently I run them loose and, surprisingly, don't usually have a problem unclipping accidentally.

i run my pedals at medium tension and don't generally have a problem getting out in a pinch. but on the last day of the 4q, i blew out my CLEAT bailing on a tricky corner instead of coming unclipped - ripped it right off the shoe. that was pretty f'd up, and ended up blowing most of the threads on my bolts. but i ended up having extras in my camel back (wtf), put it back together and finished the race. true story

MacGuyver to the rescue!!!