6 Mistakes To Avoid With Clip In Pedals | MTB Skills

Using clipless or clip in pedals when mountain biking can be intimidating for those who haven’t used them before. But don’t let that put you off, they will soon become an intuitive part of your MTB rides, allowing you better pedalling efficiency and security. Neil shows you a few mistakes to avoid when using them, from unclipping to poor technique.

If you’re starting out with cleats and pedals it’s important to practise twisting your ankle to unclip. Don’t worry about falling off, we’ve all done it.
Try and get pedals and shoes that work well together, with matching interfaces that allow you to clip in and out easily. The same goes for the type of riding that you do, lightweight narrow pedals are great for racing cross country, but won’t offer the same sort of stability and engagement that a larger downhill or enduro pedal does. Cleat placement for MTB shoes is a matter of personal preference but the general rule is to not have them too far forward on your shoe so that the ball of your foot is in line with the pedal axle.
Finally it can be easy to let your clip in pedals develop poor MTB technique, we’ve all done it. Learning the correct rear wheel lift technique will enable you to ride much more safely over jumps and drops, whilst also enabling you to lift the rear wheel much higher than you can otherwise by just lifting with your legs.

Do you have any tips for mountain biking with clip in pedals? Share them in the comments below 👇

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Do you have any tips for mountain biking with clip in pedals? Share them in the comments below 👇

[YourFavoriteCyclist]

Been riding clipless for a long time. Really it's just practice makes perfect. Just got new shoes and still working on finding the sweet spot for my cleats on them!

[davisclark]

Get Clipless, they are so worth it. I’m a X-Country Race for my High school team & They seriously give 2x the power! I was getting between 25-30th using flats during races. But after I switched, I jumped up to top 15 out of 108 JV.

It takes practice, getting Clipper in & Clipping our but after it’s prime🤙🏼

[thomasmedeiros]

I started riding and racing road bikes in 1990 clipped in with Shimano SPD. When I started riding and racing MT.Bikes it was just natural to be clipped in. It’s a matter of experience and exposure to road riding and having a racing background.

[urastus]

Awesome! I've got a dodgy left foot due to bad injury. I use spd on my hardtail and I'm always falling over to the left on slow technical stuff. I've just ordered some multi release cleats (shimano SH56) - I'd never heard of these before. I just use one of these for my left shoe. Thank you

[AndyHill]

+1 for the Shimano SPD multi-release cleats (SH-56 if you want a part number). As well as the normal twist to release, they also let you pull out up/sideways... which is the natural direction to pull out when you're about to fall sideways. Saved my bacon a number of times now.

[kwmtb]

Road to GMBN 1 million subscribers I'm so excited

[thomasmedeiros]

One of the best videos to analyze riding clipped in. This is the first GMBN Crank Brothers sponsored video that has talked about Shimano pedals ability to adjust tension and use a multi release cleat to assist those riders learning to ride while clipped in. I have been riding clipped in for about 25 years so I have some experience with the subject. I came from a road riding and racing background and eventually raced mountain bike cross country.Recently I tried riding flats with pins but just could not get use to not being connected. The only advantage I had was bailing out when I failed to clear an obstacle or tech section that I always clear when I am clipped in and able to keep pedaling because my feet haven’t bounced up and off.

[HallMarc_Trails]

I’ve rode clips for years and thought of riding flats scares me, I used to slip off my pedals on flats on rocky terrain, clips stopped this and as a result I became more confident, I don’t even think about most rocky stuff anymore, I realise now though that I could of achieved the same result with a grippier pedal and shoe combination, might give it a try as clips has definitely caused me some bad habits, great vid 😁👍🏻

[carbonsuicidemtb]

People give up too early to get used to using clipless, it takes at least 10 good long rides to get used to them, you will crash, just man up and get used to the pedals to gain the huge advantage they offer

[ztanner]

I love clips coming from my bmx racing background but on the trails at least the local ones hear in modesto next to the river i couldn't imaging riding or hitting the jumps i do on clips!

[anthonymc]

Practice in a field with soft ground and if you have crash pants elbow pads and knee pads .
If not pick up some cheap roller blade equipment for like $50 . Go to a stop and at first wait till you lose balance and unclip both feet at same time. When you feel good just unclip the side that you begin to fall to .That way you can repeat . As well sometimes we stand so do that too.
Stop while standing and so sit quickly to twist off. When you get better you can push weight to the handle bars and unclip as well.
It is better to practice safely than wait until there may be harsher consequences.
To make a long story short practice in a soft terrain field, cheers .

[Paulo-zrzo]

I'm using sandals slippers on trails for, so far so good.

[andme]

I've ridden SPD clipped for more than 5 years. You have such good tips. I fucking love riding clipped and would recommend it to anyone into biking. For me it's like the difference of driving an automatic or manual transmission. No comparison.

[patrickvoortman]

I was thinking of changing to clips but got scared but now I know what to avoid!

[jamesfiegel]

Platforms the best on the technical single track in SE WI😁. I use crank bro’s and the clip less egg beaters on my road bike👍🏻

[henryfarron]

Great video im thinking about going clipless

[georgelives]

Tried & tried with clip in pedals (8 months) and after many falls from not being able to clip out on technical gravel and rock climbs I've given up and switched back to a nice big flat pedal with pins for grip.
Undoubtedly clips increase performance on down hill and flat riding but for the 45 year old amateur rider the risk of injury on steep technical climbs is just too much.
Kept my clips for winter riding where i do more easy trail riding and dry feet are easier to achieve with a good pair of over shoes.

[mattthebat]

When i bought my Orbea second hand it came with clips and shoes lol... had to learn quick

[samblaker]

Hi Neil can you do a bike check on that canyon you have