Why mountain bikers need to go clipless...
Sep 20 '00
Note: I'm sure that clipless pedals are useful for road riders, also, but since I'm not a 'roadie', I'll stick to speaking to my fellow mountain bikers out there.
I'm an amateur racer. I ride about 100 trail miles a week when I'm employed, and when I'm between jobs, I ride probably 200 miles a week. I've been riding fairly steadily for about 8 years. When I started, I was literally riding a toy store bike through the woods. Suffice to say that since I started, I've progressed in skill, stamina, and equipment (see my [http://www.epinions.com/./otdr-review-59AA-51036EC-3859340E-prod4] review of my current bike).
At a certain point in my mountain biking career, I came to a point where I had a fairly decent bike, I was in pretty decent shape, but I still couldn't keep up with my friends. The reason was... you guess it... clipless pedals! I didn't have them! Now, I had the plastic toeclips that did, in fact work pretty well. But, still, clipless pedals make a big difference when mountain biking. Why?
1. Pedal in circles! With traditional pedals, when you're actively pedaling, you push down on the pedals to go forward, right? With toe clips, you push down, but now you can also push forward to a limited extent, right? Well with clipless pedals, you can pedal in full circles. As long as you're clipped in, you can actively push/pull your foot anywhere in the pedal's circular motion. You gain a tremendous amount of energy and speed by being able to 'pedal in circles'. Now, it's a lot tougher than it sounds. First, it's tough to get used to pedalling in a circle. It feels strange for a while. Secondly, it's hard! It's not difficult in the sense that you have to be an acrobat to do it, but it's physically difficult because more than likely, the muscles you use to pull up and back on the pedal are rarely used. So, it's tough, but you get to go much faster, and you get a much better workout.
2. Stay on! For mountain bikers, a serious consideration when riding is just staying on the bike! Most riders can't count the number of times they've hit a large or even unexpected obstacle and they've either fallen off completely, or their feet have flown off the pedals (guys: often called a 'ball-buster'). Well, with clipless pedals, this happens much less often. Now granted, if something major happens, you WILL unclip (assuming your pedals and shoes are working properly). And when you want to un-clip, you will be able to (with a bit of practice... we'll get to this later). But for the little stuff, you stay clipped in! You will be amazed at the stuff that you can clear with clipless pedals. You can either plow through stuff that would've otherwise knocked you off, or you can bunny hop over it (now, you can lift your rear wheel into the air!).
3. Look cool! Well, even if you still don't know what you're doing, at least people will think you do...
But, now you're thinking: how do they work? Well, if you've ever been skiing, the principle is very similar. You have a fixed cleat on the bottom of your special shoes that clips into a spring-loaded clamp in the pedal. As long as your foot is straight, you stay clipped in. If you twist your foot for any reason (accident or on purpose), you un-clip. It's very easy once you have a bit of practice. There is also an adjustment on the pedal that allows for varying degrees of tightness. This is because if you do pull hard enough while keeping your foot straight (depending on this adjustment), you will un-clip. This is for major accidents in which your foot may not twist, but you still need to become unattached from your bike.
So, hopefully, you understand a bit more as to why clipless pedals are such a good idea for any mountain biker. Invest a bit in buying the pedals and the shoes, invest a bit of time practicing getting in and out (on some nice, soft grass), and you'll have much more fun mountain biking!
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Epinions.com ID:
NineNine
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Member: Frank
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Reviews written: 30
Trusted by: 13 members
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