Lemons to lemonade. When everything seems to be going to hell is a great time to start dancing. Is your country at war? Take a trip because everyone is afraid to fly. Maybe a new plague is upon us. Travel regionally to smaller venues that can really use the support. It was this approach that made me decide to make a long overdue visit to ride with friends at the Snowshoe Bike Park. In the summer of 2020 as the pandemic was still hot and heavy, I went up to spend a long weekend with my pals who had recently come off a year plus of #vanlife to begin work on the mountain.
This seemed curious to me because, a. I had never been to Snowshoe despite legions of my friends having been regulars there for years and b. even with my fascination with DH/Freeride and having gone to ride numerous places for such shenanigans I somehow never made it to Snowshoe.
That place is no joke when it comes to downhill riding as it has hosted many UCI World Cup and regional events. There really isn’t anything to ride there that is beginner friendly. The lines are steep, technical, fast or all of the above. It was this trip that changed my eyes, opened my mind or whatever paradigm shift cliché you like regarding riding flat pedals. I plan to discuss my experience with riding flats, how they became my pedal style of choice, and some getting after it thoughts, but first some more old and awesome harDCore.
Swiz: Complete Discography Is there a descriptor for something that is different from what is popular by harkening back to something that said popular style contrasts with? 1985 contained the now famous period in DC punk known as Revolution Summer and this was coincidentally when I first moved there. I was fortunate to see many of those bands who fused the trail blazing early DC hardcore sound with emotional and more introspective lyrical themes along with more melodic elements. As great as they were some including myself missed the harder hitting sounds of yore. The band Swiz exemplified this as they admittedly stated that they wanted to be more Minor Threat than anything going at the time. If you love the Out of Step album you will find much to like here. Another local band whose sound comes through here is later Government Issue. The rhythm and pacing are reminiscent of GI and that classic overdriven Marshall amp sound is here in spades. If you like this stuff, definitely check out Red Hare too.
Step on it. I said at the onset of my ramblings here that readers would get plenty of opinionated bike crap. That will continue today, but I preface this by saying for you, dear reader(s?), to do whatever turns you on. Way back I chose to do or try things after seeing them in a magazine or simply accepting that whatever thing came with the thing I wanted was what I should be utilizing. Additionally, it sort of had to fit within my budget (many times it did not but thank dawg for Ramen noodles). This was true of anything I got into. I rode toe-clip pedals for my first six years of mountain biking. That is what the bikes came with and seemed like how one was supposed to ride. Clipless (clip-in) pedals arrived a couple of years in, and I made the plunge into that pool a few years later. I continued to ride clip-in pedals almost exclusively for the next twenty-six years. I dabbled with flat pedals during my early ’00s freeride fascination days but always came back to my more predictable clip-ins (Time ATACs FTW!). The above-mentioned Snowshoe trip instigated my leap into the flat pedal realm. The friends we stayed with made the jump a couple of years earlier, so I looked to them for advice. I started out with the ever-popular combo of OneUp composite pedals and a pair of 5.10 Freerider shoes. While this conglomeration got me started on the right foot (pun-intended, my chocolate foot is my left said in Hans Rey accent) I knew pretty quickly that I wanted something more specific to how I rode.
Strong opinion time! Having come from a world where my shoes were locked to the pedals I wanted maximum grip. This meant the grippiest tread on my soles and the most tenacious of pedals this side of being clipped in. I will say that if you are coming from a clipped-in background from mountain, road or both then you should be looking at a concave (dual concave fore, aft and laterally ideally) pedal with either grub screws or tall pins. Those OneUps were hard to beat for cost, but their flat, if not convex, profile did not have the locked in feel (more on this below) I was after. As for shoes, 5.10s and their stealth rubber remain the standard for most, but a grippier option exist with Specialized’s 2F0s. The Speshy’s are noticeably grippier and their price is awesome too.
Lock it up. Another strong opinion. The locked in feel I like isn’t for everyone. If you like to reposition your shoes on the pedals more easily, haven’t ridden clipped in or come from a BMX background then something with less grip is going to be more appealing. This means flat or convex pedals (like the OneUps or these) and shoes with a less sticky/higher durometer rubber compound.
Bigger pictures, mantras and the rest. Regardless of gear selection, one’s technique is paramount to maximizing your experience. This near universal truism certainly applies here. The following mantra should echo in your head indefinitely when it comes to flat pedals: heels down. Heels down! HEELS DOWN! I teach our kids on the team that the feeling should mimic standing on a curb with your heels unsupported over the edge where your fore foot supports your weight. This is mandatory when in technical terrain and will prevent the dreaded pedal slippage where those sharp pins take a core sample of your shins. The thing is keeping your heels down actually works well in all points of the pedaling arc. In contrast to being clipped in where you are driving with your knees, with flat pedals you are pulling with your calves. Basically, the opposite of being clipped in. Utilizing this technique can minimize the lack of grip from pedals with a flatter or convex profile and additionally maximize less grippy shoes.
Speaking of shoes, while the shoes mentioned above are great, a pretty terrific alternative are old school Vans. They won’t be as armored/durable/grippy as some of the cycling-specific choices, but they’ll get you there and look kewl too.
Lastly, a word to remember is commitment*. The above offerings will make things easier, but you must want to do it, experiment, practice, and find what works. Riding flat pedals is another one of those puzzle pieces that can make even your most basic rides seem all new. Become more connected with your riding by disconnecting.
*Do yourself a favor and do not bother with any sort of clip-in/flat combo pedal. These are a useless compromise that will make the transition to flats difficult and discouraging. Remember, I began seriously riding flat pedals well into my fifties in my third decade of mountain biking so old dogs can learn new tricks. There are tons of pointers and details regarding riding flats which I’ve not the space nor the time to cover but hit me up with any questions.