I can’t stop worrying about my pedals

Hello Lee,

I have been going through some hard times lately with my riding.. started when I bought Crank Brothers Mallets and I couldn’t get in and out quick enough and took some hard hard tumbles.. I mainly ride technical trail in FL. one of which is Alafia.

I tried flats out found out I had re-learn how to pedal and be able to bunny hop…I am not confident on the jumps ie. foot slipping fear…I have been ridding clipless since 95′ and I am 45 if that matters.

clipless where fine untill recently I guess I stepped up the game and don’t do the XC ride any more… I just like going out playing around learning how to wheelie off of drops, pump , jumps etc…just having basic fun.

I just dremeled the cleats down a little bit to see if the engagement would be quicker as well as the disengagement. should I just buy a decent pair of flats and stick to them? I did buy some 5/10 impact lows..

I’m getting alot of feedback – most riders say stick to the clipless others say go to flats I have know gotten to point I am confused and on my rides all the focus and energy is going into this one nagging question – flats or no flats??

Hopefully you can set me straight!

Best Regards,
Joseph Vazquez III

Joseph!

45 years old and rocking. Nice work.

I don’t understand why you’re having so much trouble with your pedals. From what I hear, Crank Bros pedals are almost too easy to get out of.

Maybe you just need to practice. Not on technical trail. On the road. Or in your living room. If you’re not confident getting in and out of your pedals in a clean environment, how can you expect to do it in the gnar?

DO NOT dremel any part of your bike (or shoes). That is insane. Dude, you’re 45 years old.

How about this logic?

• Clip-in pedals are causing damage. You have crashed because of them.

• Flat pedals might cause damage. You are worried about crashing because of them.

For you, clip-ins are not safe. Flats might be safe. So let’s try flats for a while.

Get some good pedals. My Answer Rove FR pedals cost less than $100 and work great. Other nice choices include the Specialized Lo Pro Mag and Truvativ Holzfeller. Heck, these days, if you shake a tree a bunch of nice flat pedals will fall out. You already have great shoes.

Go back to basics. If you don’t know how to ride with flat pedals, you don’t know how to ride. Some people hate hearing this, but it’s true. Slow down. Focus on great technique. Have fun finding real Flow on your bike. The speed and braaap will come on their own.

My Badass Lawyer Chris is 50 — and one of my favorite MTB kung fu students. As part of his training, he switched to flats last year. He worked through a short adjustment period, but now he says he’s flowing way better and having way more fun. When he clips in (say, for aggro rides with the fast boys), he’s killing it extra rock style.

Onward!

Lee

Know more. Have more fun!

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