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Clip ins


Frags's picture

By Frags - Posted on 24 April 2010

Hi all,
Have just bought my first ever pair of clip ins and I have never worn them before at all. Thing is I just rode Manly Dam to test them out and see how they work I dunno if this was a smart or silly thing to do as I had 2 crashes due to being tentative with clip ins in technical sections. Question is should I stay clipped in during the tech sections or unclip to have the freedom to move etc then once complete clip in again ? I am unsure as I said iv never worn them before and I did enjoy the added power by wearing them.

Thanks

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Brian's picture

It would depend on the pedal because the platforms with clips are meant for that reason. Personally I would stay clipped in all the time and actually find it annoying and feels dangerous if I start a technical section and miss the cleat and do it not clipped in.

Frags's picture

iv got crank brothers eggbeaters - i think they are candy's. I suppose with use and time i'l get used to it and it was the first time iv tried them and the guy at the shop actually told me to go practice in the park for a few days to get used to them before hitting trails but I thought I would just jump in the deep end and hit the Dam straight up cos I thought if I can do that I could do pretty much anywhere.

brakeburner's picture

frags, don't worry mate, i don't think there's a rider on nobmob that hasn't gone through the interesting transition of the pedal situation, i made the switch around four months ago and am now pretty confident and all the previous scratches and bruises end up paying off ten fold, as for unclipping at the techy bits thats a definite no no, it's only gonna create bad habits and slow the whole getting comfortable process down, the only other advice is that confidence is everything. Hope this helps mate, enjoy

obmal's picture

I clip out for the real technical downhill bits and still clip out for a lot of technical uphill bits.. that's why I have a platform type of clip in.

I feel a lot more confident that way, its all a personal choice.

hawkeye's picture

Clip-ins do take a bit of getting used to. I was going to suggest running them at their loosest setting, but that doesn't apply to Crank Bros. Sticking out tongue

I found much the same when I started - tentative through tech sections, which got me into a lot of trouble: I was tense and focussing on what I was going to hit instead of where to go ... so guess where the front wheel went. Sad Learning to ride off-road at the same time probably didn't help.

Commuting to work by bike, and practicing emergency unclipping in the park helped push me along to the point where doing a race permanently rewired my brain and got me over the fear. I'm now at the point where not being clipped in makes me nervous.

If I'd known about the TH trails and had joined nobmob earlier, my journey to competence might have been a bit less painful!

Frags's picture

Thanks for all the advise guys, I did have a little burn around the park practicing unclipping which i hope has helped. Getting the positioning of the cleats correct is another frustrating thing. Im tossing up whether to hit the Dam or Terry Hills tomorrow morning which Terry hills is looking much more cleat newbie friendly so far.

Fatboy's picture

Yep we have all been there mate. You will have the silliest crashes usually at low speed when you simply forget to unclip or aren't fast enough. Once you get used to them you will never look back. Doing a technical section unclipped will become history for you.

Frags's picture

yeh i had a couple of those silly crashes today by not thinking and then its too late your on the ground. Im thinking once i get used to them its going to cut quite a bit of time from my rides mainly through added climbing power unfortunately at the moment i am quite a bit slower through the tech sections which are the bits I like and usually make up time.

GiantNut's picture

I had Candy's crashed a few times and bought adjustable XT's as I was rattled as chainrings = blood loss. I used to un-clip one foot going into the Hydro plant drop with those planter boxes of death and again funny enough after the big rock at the Golf course that slow right hander as I crashed and lost blood there too.
Now, many months later I freak if I accidently un-clip - Keep going, get used to them if confidence wavers get adjustables like XT's. I still use the XT's but have tightened them up.
Re Terry Hills - Note: I fell over going up the sand dune on the Long trail the other day still set a PB time - sometimes it still happens!

Frags's picture

Cool, I will keep going with them, 2 of the places i stacked today at the dam are the most tech sections pity one of them was soft and just fell over ( on top of boardwalk before the takeoff to the rocky single track to wakehurst entrance ) the other was going down the single trail before hydro lab hit a concrete slab trying to avoid a branch on the track then went OTB and was unable to clip out. I made the rest of the tech stuff I was just very cautious and not confident as normal.

Trev's picture

Good advice. I have been using candy c's for about a month now. I rode Terry Hills exclusively for 2 weeks before I went back up to Red Hill. I found the bike time up on the fire trails a useful time to get used to clipping in/out without having to worry to much about tech sections. Back up on the Hill I found I could clip out when you needed to, but you also had to give that little more commitment to the nasty sections :0 I think a month or so down the track clipins have made me a better rider.

Flynny's picture

Stay clipped in. Unclipping just makes you more venerable as you haven't got good contact with the pedal and you ar emor elikely to crash.

Stay loose and aggressive in the tech stuff, the moment you freeze/stiffen up or hesitate you'll get yourself in trouble. It's a mind thing

The clipins will give you better control. . Crashing on flats hurts just as much anyway

daveh's picture

The simple fact is that being clipped in gives you more power & more control. The bit that sucks is that initially it feels as if you have less control if you do not have the instant ability to whack your feet on the ground if you get in a spot of bother!

I have only been riding for a matter of months and generally clip in. I find some skills really difficult so I find myself partially unclipping without even thinking about it which puts my feet in the wrong position & means that I have no chance to complete the section. Example, steps going up hill. I start to unclip approaching the steps, lose power & have no chance of getting up them.

I have taken to changing to flats to get the confidence up. It has given me the confidence to get through the sections & once I realise that I can make them, being clipped in is just as easy, if not more so. I say, if you ride with clipless stay clipped in. If you're not sure then either swap to flats or ride easier tracks until the confidence is up to the task! You will get there.

obmal's picture

crank bros mallet = training wheels

best of both worlds Eye-wink

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