Riding 100km is no mean feat, but have you tried a long-distance ride without clip-in pedals? Conor, a cleat fanatic, cycled 100km to see whether his mind could be changed on the use of flat pedals for endurance rides. Would he be converted or would the ride be as flat as the pedals themselves?
00:00 Intro
02:53 Ride route
04:40 25km into the ride
05:52 50km into the ride
09:55 60km into the ride
12:19 100km ride finish
13:05 Flat pedals pros and cons
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Have you ridden over 100km on flat pedals? 🚲
Let us know how it went in the comments below!
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Clipless or flats which pedal should you use to get the most out of your riding it’s a topic which always Sparks debate here on gcn and we love hearing from you lot about your positive experiences of both but today I am taking this discussion a little further 100K on
Flats will this long ride change my mind about flat pedals only one way to find out h The bike I’m using for my ride today is my Canyon in jewy race normally I’d have it set up with my usual clipless pedals so they allow you to fully fix your shoe in but today I’m swapping them out for wide strong metal Flats with pins for
Grip and pairing them with a stiff sold cycling specific shoe solid ankle support and rigid design with the aim of helping pedaling style last year in a previous video on the channel we compared this setup with flat pedals on to my usual setup with clipless pedals
Over a series of short tests a short Hill Climb 5 km flat effort and a max power Sprint and surprisingly we actually found that there was pretty minimal differences between each aside from the Sprints where the clipless pedals did have the upper hand and indeed there is research out there that
Points to this conclusion too which finds there is no difference in pedaling efficiency between flat and clipless pedals and it was also great to hear from all you guys too in the comments section where you shared your positive experiences of using flat pedals on your bike I just feel the advantage of
Clipless pedals once you use them is that you don’t have to worry about where your feet are they’re secure they’re fastened to your pedals and it’s just a case of hammering down on your legs and getting the ride done I think as I start to Tire towards the end of the ride
That’s where it really comes into its own because you’re not worrying about your your foot getting lost or having to readjust your position but at the same time I’ve been really pleasantly surprised with how flat pedals have performed in any of the GCM videos that we’ve created and indeed you folks have
All said we need to do a long ride comparison of flat pedals and then give our honest opinion on what we think so today is that day I’m heading out on a winter epic the pedals are flat the feet are free there’s 100K hopefully in the legs
Have to do a bit pedaling first so not not as much messing Around my route today consist a 33 km lap starting and finishing in the city of bath the reason for doing a lap on this ride I’ll explain fairly shortly but obviously I’m going to complete three laps to bring my ride up to 100 km and I’m hoping that I’m also going to
Tackle bathwick Hill pretty well- known climb here in this area I’m going to tackle it on each lap so hopefully give myself a realistic way of comparing my performance today on the flat pedals to my previous performances us in clipers and so I am off with an open
Mind the road ahead of me and flat pedals beneath my feet I’m so curious to see how this little experiment pans out at the end of this ride so far so good 10K in I must admit it’s rather lovely I feel like I’ve just stumbled across a nudist beach thought about turning
Back but actually ended up thinking maybe this could be a good idea whether I’ll get a burnt Bottom by the end of my sunbathing is another story but we shall see the ride goes on 100K flat pedals Y so about 25 km in so quarter of the way round first impressions after I’ve kind of got a bit under the belt starting to feel a little bit of fatigue perhaps fairly good still feeling good I feel like my body’s adapted to riding now it’s got over those kind of midwinter
Wobbles set itself into the Groove and actually I’m not really noticing the flat pedals almost feels the same as if I’m riding normally I get this one one moment every now and again just the top of the pedal stroke where I kind of almost like to push the pedal forward
Or lift up which is what I’d probably be used to doing but aside from that I’m ticking along nice endurance aerobic Pace Maybe able to spin fairly well and there’s been nothing really to report on Yet so just coming up to 50 km about halfway over 2 hours of riding in the bank the weather’s brighten up it’s good for morale I’m still feeling pretty good good but I’m definitely noticing the odd the odd sign of fatigue and tiredness creeping in I’m still chugging away
Still finding a decent Rhythm on the pedals every now and then I kind of do lose them and I feel I’m not quite pedaling in circles but I probably would feel like that anyhow this time of the ride so it’s not at all doom and gloom still enjoying the flats I’m still not
Thinking there a hindrance for now all is Well it’s actually surprisingly nice being in Flats it’s quite it’s quite enjoyable honestly I’m not not really noting the difference it’s just uphill you feel it when you’re kind of reaching for the pedals other than that it’s quite nice actually you can like adapt to your position so when you’re not quite
Feeling right you can just kind of move your feet around and TR dig in and you get like another little Groove to ride in quite enjoying [Applause] it Massive headwind oh I think my legs are going to be a bit tired after today I am feeling them in places I wouldn’t normally my quads are pretty tired definitely going to be putting myself under a lot of Strain coming into the end of this ride
To be honest i’ be feeling like this either Way I think if you’re riding a lot there still the advantage of clipping in like for me I don’t like my position changing all the time I just feel like I’m getting it wrong a lot I like to be able to dial it inas with Flats there’s like
Quite a big difference by riding on your toes or maybe in the middle of your foot or you can go a bit wider on the pedal and I’m I’m riding asymmetrically a lot of the time so one one foot one shoe’s out the other’s in you readjust but it isn’t the
Same it’s being quite meticulous with your bike setup and actually dialing it in and knowing that’s the position that worked on that ride so I’m going to replicate it on the future rides I think that’s where the disadvantage to Flat sles just can’t quite get that consistency that you need
I’m not yet convinced of flats even though I’ve got nothing bad to say about them on this ride and they’re coping with this hill supremely well like a duck built platypus that’s been Unleashed from his Rocky cave in the mountains he sniffed some cat food he’s found his
Way he’s Wheeling out of that cave striking to the top of the hill a do Bill platus no more but a super du P [Applause] Platus to of France is not long Away 2/3 of the way through then I’m dropping back down into bar ready to take on my final laps and I’ve got to say if I am picking holes one area where I haven’t been a fan of riding flat for such a long period it’s on the desend very very subtle
Difference but I think because I’m so used to being clip into the bike when I’m at speed on rough roads banking into Corners it does feel a little bit loose not having my feet firmly planted on the pedals I’m just so used to the movement of the bike and being able
To to use my foot position to adapt the Handling one more lap to go then I’m going to finish on this climb with one last fatigued effort I can feel that leg starting to bite now ah right oh I fell it that time I dig deep there’s a chap on an ebike ahead of me and I just couldn’t close the
Gap quads are screaming cars are screaming four mes iffy got in the bag though feeling good now for the final 25 km let finish this 100K see what conclusions I can draw from This we’re heading into the sunset not a bad evening to be out on a bush bik always the highlights of a winter Epic fishing on into the dark seeing the light fade and the colors come out in the sky that view so finished the 100K it’s in the bag and about as tired
As you feeli after 100K ride but I must admit I do have a few more niggles then maybe I normally would just a little bit sore in places on my knee and my Gro I think mainly just because I’m kind of stabilizing my position I don’t feel like I’ve got quite the same
Support and I thing that has cost me a little bit but either way I’m pushing on at the moment finishing off one last climb to hopefully get some results and see how they canare my previous effort efforts right there morning’s broken I’ve recovered from yesterday’s ride and
In actual fact had a great time a real winter Epic on flat pedals for a change this is something I have not done in a long long time and I was actually looking at yesterday’s ride as a bit of a challenge to try and complete on the
Flats but an actual fact I had a great time I I don’t really feel that I was held back by being on these pedals compared to my usual setup I felt comfortable I felt like I could put the power down for this sort of ride I felt
Like I could adapt my position at times and and not be feeling like I was I was kind of being set back I think it would be quite hard to pick holes in the setup that I used but I am going to pick a few
Holes I’m going to pick a couple I must say that I definitely felt a bit of fatigue start to creep into my muscles a little sooner than usual and I was noticing small little Nickles which I wouldn’t have experienced with my usual setup mainly around my knees groin area
Places where I was kind of stabilizing my legs through that pedaling movement because all these sort of micro adjustments were happening all the time my feet weren’t totally fixed I did feel that started to to pay a bit of a price on my overall feeling when I was
Pedling I think if I’d been properly fixed in as usual yes you you tie you fatigue but because you’re doing it in the same position every single day it’s like you begin to adapt you begin to get used to that and because you’re not moving as
Much you don’t get those kind of small little niggles and bits of fatigue around around those areas so whilst I enjoyed using the flats and they were comfortable I do feel that over time they’re not going to quite be the same as clipless and I I for that
Reason this ride hasn’t changed my mind about carrying on you using clipless pedals although it has changed my mind about Flats because whilst I would have never used them before now I definitely would I think for bike packing trips rides that are of lower length less intensity
Perfect option wouldn’t hold you back at all and that was actually backed up by the fact that my time up bathwick hill pretty similar so I delved into the analysis and the stats time at the start of the ride and at the end of the ride really comparative between both efforts from
When I did it back in the summer on the same bike but with clipless pedals really not that much in the difference so they didn’t slow me down it was just the sensation and the feeling in my legs which is a totally personal thing too so that might change from person to person
So if you like using Flats carry on using them they’re not going to slow you down they’re a great option if you pair them with a good cycling specific shoe metal pedal with pins for that grip keeping your foot relatively in place perfect but if you do want to go to
Clipless pedals there is an advantage to be had definitely in terms of performance at higher intensities and if you’re looking to ride multiple days back to back I do think you’re going to be comfortable in the long term that’s my opinion though and I’m willing to be rud prong in the comments
Once more so let me know what you think thanks for watching hope you found this video useful and we’ll see you on the next one
34 Comments
Have you ridden over 100km on flat pedals? 🚲
Let us know how it went👇
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'clipless' isn't a good term, they are both clipless.
I ride straps so that I can get the best of both worlds – fixing my feet, but I can carry any shoes and also I can ride different foot positions, which can also be an advantage.
My only complaint about flat pedals – and the reason I don't use them anymore – is that feet tend to slip off the platform on rough, bouncy pavements. Sure, some of them have pins for improved grip, and are supposed to be used with adequate shoes, but even so I find it hard to keep my feet on the pedals when a crack in the asphalt comes my way. And I find pedalling to be noticeably less efficient, but it should only be a concern for those who are after out-and-out performance. Otherwise flats are the only choice for commuting, and are way less fiddly than clipless pedals if you ride in the city a lot and have to stop frequently at traffic lights.
I think that Connor needs to do this same ride another two times. On mtb (xc) pedals and shoes and again on his slippery roadie gear. On consecutive days. ;-}
Don't have to think about keeping our feet on the pedals? That just shows the rider isn't used to riding on flats. Your feet don't come off the pedals if you ride platform pedals regularly. It's just not an issue.
I like how Conor refuses to call them MTB pedals and shoes 😊
How can he ride without glasses? All the rubbish into his eyes off the road!
I've loved riding with the combination flat/SPD pedals for the last 14 years on my bikes. Search for this video for a review:
"Shimano PD-A530 Flat/Clipless Pedal – Long Term Review"
I usually ride the clipless side on the pavement portion of my rides, then flip to flats in the dirt. But I'll often ride with left foot clipped in (helps with starting out on steep hills) and the right foot on the flats in case I need to put a foot down quickly.
I used clipless forever for everything from casual rides to 100 mile rides. Eventually moved toward flats for most things and clipless only in the road bike and for distances longer than 25 miles. I still enjoy using stiff shoes for biking, regardless of the pedals, but the differences are very very small and it’s a joy to be able to walk around normally in real shoes or boots when hanging out with family or using the bike as transportation rather than strictly a sport. I am grateful for examples like this, which remind us that some of our assumptions are based in feelings rather than science. Both options are good, but riding flats does require more conscious thought keeping your feet aligned.
Urban Riding on Flats is super practical. I can wear my Doctor Martens or My Sneaks or sandles. I have done 141 K in a day on Flats no sweat riding a 1978 Schwinn Voyageur.
Are we just going to ignore Connor's unhinged platypus monologue?
I think it helps if you have good flat pedals, I personally use OneUp aluminium pedals which are very grippy and high quality and I love them. Occasionally they shred the back of my ankles when I walk along side my bike, but I feel completely planted in them when I ride. I'm a bit unconventional in that I ride a 20" Swift folder which I ride like a road bike. I'm fortunate enough to live in Granada in Southern Spain In among many high mountain ranges. I often put more than 100km in a ride and just visiting friends usually involves hundreds of meters of climbing. I don't really like riding clipless and it's nice not having to wear stupid special cleats.
I love riding my bike, but I’ve never been able to transition to clipless. I’ve tried. But is essence it’s not a ‘transition’ at all. You either ride with your feet locked in, or you don’t. I’ve come a cropper too many times to have the confidence to try again. There’s no transition. It’s all in, or nothing.
As far as clipless allowing you to not have to worry about where your feet are positioned, the exact same thing can be said about toe cages. To those who can use clipless, great. I’m just not one of those.
I have no interest in speed or performance in my cycling. I cycle to go places, I cycle to see things, I cycle to burn off steam and clear my head. I ride on flats, usually wearing walking boots so I can park the bike and go a wander. I wear whatever clothing suits the rest of that day, whether my work clothes or outdoor waterproofs or general leisure wear. There's waterproofs (and more) in my pannier if it rains.
If I do go out for a leisure ride, I generally actively avoid roads as it's just too much concentration and too similar to my daily commute ride. So if I'm out for a ride I want shoes/boots that can handle mud or loose surface.
I understand clipless and clips for performance riding, it's just not the sort of riding that interests me.
Please, let's once and for all abolish the term Clip-less pedals. Call them strapless for the lack of a better term as that is where this term "Clip-less" has derived from..
I.e. We stopped calling movie theaters / cinema's as "Picture houses", right?
Anybody still communicates as in the following example?: " I jumped into my Skivvies, put on my Britches and Galoshes to peak outside and go for a stroll".
Although, pants worn when cycling by teenage girls in 1940s-1945 were called "Pedal Pushers" which still is relevant today 🤔lol
All I am saying is that there are terms and names which still could be relevant to this day, however some are just "outdated" so to say and this is one "Clip-less pedals" just adds confusion nowadays. Especially to people who are just starting out 😀
However, this is just my opinion (the opportunity was right there) as someone who was studying philology (linguistics)(not English as first language) and a Bike Pedal Pusher, Mileage-Farmer on a motor-less vehicle, A Persevering and Relentless Hobby-Horse enjoyer.
Педали от тренажера с лямками топ, только вытащить грузило, тяжеловатые но для barefoot обуви отлично, и не надо одевать узкие кроссовки.
I only commute in a short distance, I thinked a lot of going with a clip pedal, but the cost just doesnt makes sense, and I ride on a very busy city (São Paulo – Brasil) I dont want to worry about clips if I need to take my foot of the pedals. I sure need to buy bigger flats since I have a bigger foot.
And I feel What Eleanor Runner said here in the comments… some people are a pain, if you want to run flats, run flats if you like clipped, just dont critique others that can maybe kick your ass without clips.
I rode clipless for 25 years and recently switched to flats. Not going back. The fatigue you are feeling is simply your muscles adjusting. Continue to ride flat for 5 or 6 mid – long rides and that goes away. You're using different muscles than you're used too.
Overall, as you noticed there is no significiant differnce. Unless you're riding in the Tour (as a sprinter) there is no real advantage performance wise to clipless. Plus you don't have to look and walk like weirdo (which that alone even if performance took a hit would still be worth it).
The biggest downside to flats which I've never seen anyone address is actaully bike security. Living in a large US city, I'm more concerned with someone riding off on my bike while I take a leak or stop into a store to buy something. With clipless it was very hard for an average person to just hope on the bike and ride off with normal shoes.
I don't have the slipping mentioned in the video, but have size 33 shoes which is smaller than most. I do think the type of pedal used to test isn't the ideal, much better flat pedals out there.
flats for the pub ride or spirited cx and spd's for a long day out.
Flats
Usually flats for me. I've kept my vintage Le Monde with clipless but also ride shorter these days. Longest ride on flats was 2 centuries back you back (miles). However that was with toe clips, so maybe that gave me a fixed foot position. Touring, trail and round town I'm on straight flats. Maybe just old habits from 60 years of pedaling! Always love these videos … keep it up!
My two cents on flats vs clipless.
POWER / EFFICIENCY
Everyone kept telling me 'get clipless they're so much more efficient than flats' having now been riding them for about 6 months I don't feel they really offer any gain in power or efficiency for 90% of cycling scenarios. GCN has done a few videos showing there is little difference in terms of efficiency. A couple of scenarios where clipless are more efficient is all out sprints and cycling over rough roads = not having your feet pop off the pedals.
SAFETY
A positive point which I don't see talked about much is the fact that clipless are very helpful in the rain, keeping your feet on the pedals with no chance of them slipping off. However, I feel having ridden flats for a decade they are much safer in built up areas / city centres where you have to stop regularly (and abruptly) for potential accidents.
COST
Obviously flats are cheaper, even without factoring in cycling shoes.
OTHER
Having some recent issues with my feet which caused my leg alignment to go out of whack clipless shoes actually help to keep my leg aligned and alleviate knee pain. Regarding Conor's comments on muscles aching from flat pedals, when my feet were good, having ridden flat for many, many years I never had any aches or pains from them. I actually feel like flats force your leg to build more stability, round the ankle for example and that this is a positive thing to have.
Cheers!
Cant feel much difference, one pro for SPD is climbing technical terrain on the mountain bike I can do a push/pull/hop thing that really helps get me up and over logs/rocks on a steep slow section. one con is going down technical terrain when you wan to stop or just dab to take a look before committing its a bit sketchy trying to clip and and just go… I often back up a little for just a few more seconds to clip in. On long rides I like the few degrees of float SPDs provide, with my pins I have to lift my foot completely and place it exactly in the right spot… sounds silly but its not as easy as it sounds. My knees will let me know if I have been ridding with my feet at an odd angle. My SPD shoes are all just stiff enough but I can comfortably walk in them, could not would not wear those rock hard race shoes.
Judging by the crazy leg movement you see following cliped in riders you must be crazy to clip in if you want any longevity in this activity.
I had some near misses nearly falling over when having to stop suddenly with clipless pedals in city traffic. Flat pedals are safer for me (male 71+ years) with my go very fast days are well behind me. Dont mix up your possibilities with your capabilities. Cheers and beers.
The thing about clipless, IMO, is that you need a decent bike fit or else you'll wreck your knees and/or have a really uncomfortable ride. With clipless you become a part of the bike, so need to make sure things are dialed in properly.
But also with clipless, what I like, is the ability to "pull up" on the pedal stroke.
I love my clipless on my gravelbike, they feel secure and the position is the same every time. But for all day og even multiday bikepacking trips, I usually prefer my flats. Over the whole day my clipless position is not perfect and therefore I cannot adjust for a creeping kneepain (my cleat position is appearently not perfect). Also for bikepacking, I prefer walkable shoes off the bike.
Am going to try a fast overnighter on the gravelbike this summer though. to see what its like.
Back in the time when I used flat pedals, I always felt pain in my sartorius and hamstring muscles when I do long rides, especially on mountainous routes. That pain went away when I switched to single sided SPD pedals. Best of both worlds
Adaptation works both ways though… Your muscles would have adapted to the flat pedals too if you gave it more times… IMO…
I switched to flat pedals after falling a few times like clipping out on the left when the curb was on the right, broke my derailleur hanger in the process ending a cycling holiday early. also better for commutes where you have to stop unexpectedly in any unforeseen situation. it's just safer overall and no investment into cycling shoes required. always hated walking around with cleats on even with mtb shoes and spd cleats. the cheapest pedals will be just fine 15 eur I paid yesterday for some
Hey, guys!
Can someone explain to a non-native English speaker why some of the guys from CGN (like the one from this video) pronounce words as if they were starring in a film about the monarchy in the UK? This makes them difficult to listen to on x2, as the most common words sound as if they were spoken by a lord or some noble from ages past.
ps: Am I the only one having this problem?
ps2: I haven’t encountered this on other YouTube channels?