Spuds and jumping

that's what they say...probably true.

I think you're going to get an answer like, go with platforms or some
variation thereof. but probably not SPD. always have worked fine for
me but I'm an XC honk.

bri

Doki said:

Am I correct in thinking that if I ever want to mess about jumping on my
bike, SPDs are a bad thing?

--

* enjoying the karma *
remove LKJSDFJSD from address to email

Doki said:

Am I correct in thinking that if I ever want to mess about jumping on
my bike, SPDs are a bad thing?

Jumps are better done with platform pedals so you can bail out more easily.
SPDs aren't a problem if you take it easy and don't go big until you get
your confidence and smoothness up. If you're doing DH though,
platform-style clipless pedals such as the shimano M646 and the Crank
Brothers Mallet are a much better bet.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Phil said:

Doki said:

Am I correct in thinking that if I ever want to mess about jumping on
my bike, SPDs are a bad thing?

Jumps are better done with platform pedals so you can bail out more
easily. SPDs aren't a problem if you take it easy and don't go big
until you get your confidence and smoothness up. If you're doing DH
though, platform-style clipless pedals such as the shimano M646 and
the Crank Brothers Mallet are a much better bet.

Crike. I need to bail on occasion when I'm XCing 😉.

On 2004-10-18, Phil, Squid-in-Training penned:

Quoted message said:

Doki said:

Am I correct in thinking that if I ever want to mess about jumping on my
bike, SPDs are a bad thing?

Jumps are better done with platform pedals so you can bail out more easily.
SPDs aren't a problem if you take it easy and don't go big until you get
your confidence and smoothness up. If you're doing DH though,
platform-style clipless pedals such as the shimano M646 and the Crank
Brothers Mallet are a much better bet.

Do you mean the 647?

http://bike.shimano.com/Footwear_Pedals/pedals/componenttemplate.asp?partnumber=PD-M647

(Disclaimer: I ride XC and have not the foggiest clue about jumping)

I got this pedal because I was having trouble forcing myself to stay clipped
in during sections where I thought I might fall. I thought a
platform/clipless combo would let me slowly transition. Instead, these things
turned out to be much easier to get in and out of than my old, cheaper pedals.
I think the platform makes it easier for my foot to find the right spot to
clip in. I never come out of the pedal unless I'm about to fall, in which
case I always seem to exit smoothly without having to think about it. Maybe
it's just a Dumbo's feather effect -- I'm sure I've gotten better with the
clipless as I've used them more -- but I am in love with these pedals. They
gave me the confidence to stay clipped in just about all the time.

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Jumps are better done with platform pedals so you can bail out more
easily. SPDs aren't a problem if you take it easy and don't go big
until you get your confidence and smoothness up. If you're doing DH
though, platform-style clipless pedals such as the shimano M646 and
the Crank Brothers Mallet are a much better bet.

Do you mean the 647?

Nope - the 646.

http://www.cambriabike.com/SALE/pedal/shimano_646_dh_clipless_pedals.htm

Your 647s serve the same purpose, albeit with more slippery plastic instead
of pointy aluminum.

Quoted message said:

I got this pedal because I was having trouble forcing myself to stay
clipped in during sections where I thought I might fall. I thought a
platform/clipless combo would let me slowly transition. Instead,
these things turned out to be much easier to get in and out of than
my old, cheaper pedals. I think the platform makes it easier for my
foot to find the right spot to clip in. I never come out of the
pedal unless I'm about to fall, in which case I always seem to exit
smoothly without having to think about it. Maybe it's just a Dumbo's
feather effect -- I'm sure I've gotten better with the clipless as
I've used them more -- but I am in love with these pedals. They gave
me the confidence to stay clipped in just about all the time.

I'll bet that you'd be at home with double-sided clipless-specific pedals by
now if you're riding XC. I ride clipless-specific when I ride XC, and
that's about once every 4 months, which is about a grand total of 6 hours a
year, which is not much. However, at the collegiate race I attended this
past weekend, I rode with clipless and unclipped quite easily even though my
tension was relatively high, once I got reacquainted with it. One of my
main fears is that I'll wash out in a 15-mph turn and not be able to dab
before going down, but I'm guessing instinct helped with that since I was
able to do just that.

Away from the trail, on pavement, I am absolutely horrible with clipless...
I fall on a regular basis because I end up doing (i.e. attempting)
trackstands and "adult bmx" type moves that require a lot of foot-angling
and some sliding. Jumping mostly falls into this category.

Oh, and I ride the same clipless-specific pedals when I'm riding road, but I
clip out well before traffic lights... I've done the slow-mo "jar falling
off the top of the cupboard" fall when failing to unclip many a time.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

On 2004-10-19, Phil, Squid-in-Training penned:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Jumps are better done with platform pedals so you can bail out more
easily. SPDs aren't a problem if you take it easy and don't go big until
you get your confidence and smoothness up. If you're doing DH though,
platform-style clipless pedals such as the shimano M646 and the Crank
Brothers Mallet are a much better bet.

Do you mean the 647?

Nope - the 646.

http://www.cambriabike.com/SALE/pedal/shimano_646_dh_clipless_pedals.htm

Your 647s serve the same purpose, albeit with more slippery plastic instead
of pointy aluminum.

Well, the 647s replaced the 646s, which Shimano (afaik) no longer makes.
They're not on the website, anyway.

I looked at both and decided that the plastic would be less likely to take a
chunk out of my leg. It would have been a lot cheaper to go with the 646s
(which are on close-out), but the 646s just looked painful if you missed. The
plastic is pretty solid, and iirc the 647s are also a bit lighter than the
646s (not that a weight weenie would be using either one).

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

"Doki" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Am I correct in thinking that if I ever want to mess about jumping on my
bike, SPDs are a bad thing?

Depends what 'mess about' means. If you want to learn to jump then it is
best to learn with flat pedals. You'll learn how to 'lift' the rear wheel
properly and get a better feeling for the jumping technique, as well as
being able to bail. I imagine it is very hard to bail from spd's in mid air
when you realise you have't quite enough speed a fraction of a second before
you hit the back of a jump...

Steve.

Monique Y. Mudama said:

On 2004-10-18, Phil, Squid-in-Training penned:

Quoted message said:

Doki said:

Am I correct in thinking that if I ever want to mess about jumping
on my bike, SPDs are a bad thing?

Jumps are better done with platform pedals so you can bail out more
easily. SPDs aren't a problem if you take it easy and don't go big
until you get your confidence and smoothness up. If you're doing DH
though, platform-style clipless pedals such as the shimano M646 and
the Crank Brothers Mallet are a much better bet.

Do you mean the 647?

http://bike.shimano.com/Footwear_Pedals/pedals/componenttemplate.asp?partnumber=PD-M647

Quoted message said:

Taking it OT....: Wow you guys get a much better Shimano site than us! The
Shimano Europe site http://www.shimano-europe.com is a proper pain to use
and really slow. Will be using the US one from now on, the bookmark has been
changed!

Mark

"spademan o---[) *"
<[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Depends what 'mess about' means. If you want to learn to jump then it is
best to learn with flat pedals. You'll learn how to 'lift' the rear wheel
properly and get a better feeling for the jumping technique,

Jumping, lifting with flats and a hardtail also teaches proper weight shift.
You can't get the rear wheel off the ground unless you shift your weight.