clipless in mammoth?

[wimp67]

i cleaned every dh/fr run, those sick a$$ drops off the side of lower velocity and the little doubles/wall ride at the base with the "help" of my clips. i prematurely ejected on a couple of dh runs but either got right back in or road the platforms (shimano 454s) till i could. i love the fact that i can utilize the extra lift to clear an obstacle or keep from casing a double. i saw too many bloody calves on saturday to convince me to switch however i bow down before those who clean the same obstacles on platforms, you're the best!!
any other dh/fr's addicted to clips?

[danlorek]

when i first got into dh/freeride i thought i was "supposed" to use flats. after a couple of weeks of trying it, it just wasn't for me.

i use itty-bitty xtr and 959 pedals with 661 shoes.

[Bryguy17]

Normally I would ride anything i ride in flats in clips, but mammoth is an exception. with the trail conditions up there, it's nice to be able to effortlessly stick a foot out and and bounce off a boulder.

I tend to stick with the clips if I'm going to be going fast/racing. you get extra pull from your pedaling, and it's one less thing to worry about. for free riding stuff like mammoth though, I'll stick with flats. I can do everything on either, but it's good to know how to ride the flats. makes your form good and impresses people who can't bunny hop without clips

[2wheel_lee]

Originally Posted by Bryguy17

Normally I would ride anything i ride in flats in clips, but mammoth is an exception. with the trail conditions up there, it's nice to be able to effortlessly stick a foot out and and bounce off a boulder.

I tend to stick with the clips if I'm going to be going fast/racing. you get extra pull from your pedaling, and it's one less thing to worry about. for free riding stuff like mammoth though, I'll stick with flats. I can do everything on either, but it's good to know how to ride the flats. makes your form good and impresses people who can't bunny hop without clips

You've learned well, young Jedi.

[Mudman]

It's all preference, there are hundreds of threads on it scattered throughout multiple forums. Just comes down to comfort and skill level.

I prefer flats myself, because I usually find myself bailing out in a rock garden. In either case- cutting open my calf has only happened once, its more of shredding the front my shin that happens.

[nikolas]

i perfer the flats just incase you need to dip your foot to get back on track mammoth is slippery

[Rockinthecasbah]

if your using your clips to bunnyhop you need to go back to flats and work on bunnyhops for awhile. Using the pedals to pull your bike up will lead to disaster

[wimp67]

i wear trophies on my shins from racing bmx "bear traps" (in my youth)!! i've since come to my senses and have yet to revisit my past (thank God for shin guards)!! i can bunny hop a trash can on flats and a 3 1/2 foot wall with clips!! i could probably do the same with flats if i took the time but i have a life (helicopter training, studying for law enforcement, youth ministry, etc..

food for thought

[slo65]

bah, this thread makes me sad, i went right into clipless after a couple of rides, mainly because of techy climbs, but i realized while reading this i never learned how to bunny hop without my clipless pedals/shoes.. i think i'll go for a ride now with my flaps and see how it goes

[Cableguy]

I woudn't want to struggle to clip in the middle of the 10-yard rock garden in the middle of Bullit trail. Or before the ladder drop off of Flow. I normally ride clipless, but for Freeride type of riding, I prefer flats.

[art23rockpile]

Within the past few months, i've really gotten into FR/DH riding. I'm lucky to be able to ride with and learn from from a number of people who are better at it (in some cases much better) than I am. Almost every one of them uses flats. I've discovered for myself the pros and cons of using them. It definately takes more skill and finesse to jump in flats, as one's feet are not 'attached' to the bike. Being able to dab in a split second (without unclipping) is huge. One of the things I like best about flats (and something i've learned from surfing, of all things) is the ability to use more body-english by changing foot position.

I've yet to learn how to ride clipped-in (I used to ride in toe clips). The only plus I see is pedaling efficiency, which is certainly important if one's focus is XC riding.

[jasonmason]

I tried riding mammoth last weekend with a set of mallets - big mistake. They couldn't unclip fast enough for me to be able to dab if i needed, and trying to use them as platforms made it impossible to shift my weight around effectively. I constantly had to be thinking about where my foot was so i didn't accidentally clip in, and my feet were in the wrong position for me to ride confidently. Switched them out for platforms sunday and it was a night and day difference - more confident, faster, and smoother.
Clipless has been great for me in the xc arena, but from now on i'm running flats for more agressive riding.

[uzziboy]

I rode the whole weekend clipped in, no crashes and alot of dabs. I cant ride flats, it doesnt give me the controll of clips. but I will give them a try next year

[Cableguy]

The other thing to think about is crashing, which happens to me at least once and sometimes often at Mammoth. Much easier to push off the bike. Like on top of the log at the end of Flow. You don't want your fall/roll impacted by being clipped in.

I also got into lot of bad habits being clipped in. Like bunny-hopping by lifting my feet up. Dropping and feet moving. Took at least a day to get rid of those habits on flats at Mammoth.