You Need a Bike with Flat Pedals | Bike Flat Pedals

With the tension adjustment left untouched for my first couple of rides, I found unclipping tricky. Even with the tension screw backed off completely, things still felt quite tight. Thankfully, after a few more days on the trails, the mechanism bedded in, things loosened up and clipping in and out became easier.

The release on both systems is distinct, and neither leads to unwanted exit. Due to its Iclic system, once the Time releases, it doesn’t feel like it wants to pull you back in if you are unclipping slow before a stop. The Look, on the other hand, always wants to maintain its closed position.

Road pedal performance is often heavily influenced by the the shape and amount of contact between the cleat and pedal. The cleat on the Shimano PD-A600 pedals is miniscule, but the wide pedal helps make up for that by supporting the lugs of properly chosen shoes.

Somewhere along the line came the discovery that he could string a few words together, followed by the even more remarkable discovery that people were mug enough to pay for this rather than expecting him to do an honest day’s work. He’s pretty certain he’s worked for even more bike publications than Mat Brett.

No doubt, these are more like a cross-country mountain bike shoe than a road shoe. The 2-bolt SPD compatibility and generous Michelin tread is all the evidence you need there. However, the laced retention, synthetic upper and reflective details are not features you’d typically seek (or find) in a mountain bike shoe.

The only issues I’ve witnessed is with two owners of SRAM etape systems who didn’t charge their batteries, so were stuck with limited years in the Pyrenees, but they could swap the front and rear mech batteries round, so low gears for the climbs and then big gears for the descents. Didn’t seem ideal.

That’s not my experience: when clean and in decent condition,  I find they’re solid even with quick or sturdy upstrokes on hills, and that they need a bit of a ‘flick’ to disengage, which suits me fine.

Joining the Deore XT SPD pedals, the XT flat pedals are pitched at the trail, enduro and e-MTB markets. This is a bit of a shift for the Japanese brand, which up until now has only marketed flat pedals for BMX and DH racing. As more everyday trail riders look to pedal with flats rather than clips however, Shimano has sought to expand its range of flat pedals and shoes accordingly.

In order to deliver power to your drivetrain efficiently, you need a good bike fit, a reasonably smooth pedal stroke, and a solid platform for your feet. Beyond that, if you think a clipless system will allow you to "pedal all the way through the stroke" or "eliminate the dead spot" from it in a way that flat pedals will not, then I’ve also got some oval chainrings and a perpetual motion machine to sell you.

We are a bedraggled and somewhat grumpy lot, we who line up the following morning to take advantage of a lull in the weather to actually head out. Old friends and new spend perhaps longer than strictly necessary tweaking and fiddling with pedals, saddles, bar height and brakes. One of our number, Ben, has been lamenting his lack of skill on a mountain bike, hailing as he does from a running and road-riding background. So naturally, once he’s set his Neuron up to his liking, he proceeds to demonstrate a facility with wheelies that belies his alleged noob status. And yes, further questioning yields the fact that he did, in fact, ride mountain bikes years ago. Wheelieing is clearly something that, like bike riding itself, never leaves you. His ease upon the bike is somewhat at odds with mine, as I attach pedals and attempt to assert my authority on my own machine through a fug of last night’s brandy (it’s that sort of hotel).

The speed I can clip in now off the lights is wicked. Actually feels a bit show-offy it’s that smooth and fast. I also rub a little lube on the cleat spring every weekend, that makes it super smooth to clip in too now.

These are indeed awesome: I still use 520 pedals with the SH56 cleats for my commute; I don’t think they can be beaten for stop-start over mixed terrain.