clipless

Also the Shimanos seem to hold up better over time.

This may be the understatement of the year.

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.

^ 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.

Yea I get that, but you need some tension there or your feet will be constantly blowing out of your pedals. That would be annoying.

I'm also a believer in the learning process…. like as in, go learn how to do it ffs. ;)

I find loose pedals make you feel like you're trying to balance on a couple marbles. Terrible. I borrowed a buddies bike once to hit a small drop and both my feet came off. Turns out it's a problem with a solution. Crank those pedals up. To start with set the tension just shy of what you figure it'd take to snap your ankle (use reason). They'll loosen up over time - replace the cleats when they do.

MacGuyver to the rescue!!!

hack-dom has its perks ;)

Thanks for all the feedback on my OP.
Rode Fromme today and was stoked to find when I hit some sketch my feet disengaged. I didn't have to consciously twist my foot angle for this to happen. As this realization sunk in my confidence and aggressive riding went up a few notches.
I also began to tighten the clips somewhat, 1/4 turn at a time when I found unintentional disengagement happening.
Glad to report some progress.

When I built up my am hardtail this year I committed to riding clips for the first time ever. It took a few rides to get the hang of it and the first logride scared the crap out of me but as time goes on I really don't even notice it much anymore. If anything it forces you to roll through stuff clipped in that you might normally dab on if you were riding flats, and forces you to balance and make that pedal stroke instead of putting your foot down. I feel that it's making me a better rider. I started with Shimano DX pedals and just ordered up some XT pedals without the cage. I'm not entirely sold on the cage, the pedal is pretty useless if you're not clipped in, cage or not. I was thinking the cage might actually hamper your ability to find the right position when clipping in.

I'm not entirely sold on the cage, the pedal is pretty useless if you're not clipped in, cage or not. I was thinking the cage might actually hamper your ability to find the right position when clipping in.

Let me know how that works out. I like using the cage to find the spot to clip in.

I'm using Shimano "multi-release" cleats and like them alot more than the regular cleats.

Let me know how that works out. I like using the cage to find the spot to clip in.

I'm using Shimano "multi-release" cleats and like them alot more than the regular cleats.

I will. My thoughts are when your foot hits the pedal cage you hunt for the right spot a bit. Without the cage you'll know right away if you're not there.

Let me know how that works out. I like using the cage to find the spot to clip in.

I'm using Shimano "multi-release" cleats and like them alot more than the regular cleats.

I found that on up strokes, I would pull out of the multi release a lot.

just switched to crank brothers after using SPD since about 1994. reason was that after spraining/breaking my ankle (on Pipeline!), I felt uncomfortable twisting out of the SPDs, i found it heard to deliberately torque my foot that way out of fear of buggering up the ankle more.

anyway - i like the crank brothers. they are vague getting in and out, in terms of feedback through the foot and ears, compared to the shimanos, which is why i tried them out. but after using them for a while, i have no desire to go back to the SPDs. i think they use slightly less brainpower to get in and out of, so one less thing to think about.

i am curious that people are saying the break a lot - the crs look ingeniously simple - how do they actually break?

how do they actually break?

They break because the wings of the spring are exposed and they get bent out of shape. Also, the end of the spindle breaks and the body of the pedal will easily slide off.

Cage vs not.

With the cage style pedals you can get a pedal stroke in when you need it then engage on the next stroke - like trying to get clipped in and going in a technical situation - as in almost every trail in the lower mainland.

I'm not entirely sold on the cage, the pedal is pretty useless if you're not clipped in, cage or not. I was thinking the cage might actually hamper your ability to find the right position when clipping in.

I'm with you there. I've been clipped in since the first SPD's came out around 1990. I don't care for flats at all. I tried them foe only a short period of time though. I won't ride a skinny that is high up. Too much exposure for me. I only run XTR/XT style pedals. I had the DX for a year and the cage didn't do anything for me. I tried the DX shoes but I prefer something with a very stiff sole and it seemed like a regular 230 shoe wasn't so hot on the cage unless clipped in. The cleat on the DX shoe seemed to skate scross the DX pedal too making them less secure than xc pedals. I often end up standing on the XTR pedal not clipped in and it's fine. I don't ride very far unclipped and I don't unclip and then ride something on purpose.

That was good advice to start with low tension and do it up as a response to inadvertant releases. Kind of like ski bindings. If the binding releases when you didn't want it to, you go up a DIN number until you elliminate unwanted release.

crankbrothers do have a tension adjust… it's called time. :p

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

you must be new around here.