5 Clipless Pedal & Shoe Mistakes | How To Switch To Clipless Pedals

Clipless pedals can transform the way you ride your mountain bike. But, being attached to your bike can be a little daunting and it is easy to make mistakes when getting them set up. Here are Rich's tips to help you avoid making clipless mistakes!
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Do your research before purchasing, make sure you choose the right shoe for the riding you will be doing in the right shoe size, and experiment with your cleat position as this will be different for everyone!
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Leave us a comment below!

[@gmbn]

Did you find these tips helpful?

[@matteodeswarte5408]

Yes

[@kittykat7618]

Yep

[@curtisf.r6233]

When I move away from flats these tips be perfect! Cheers Rich 🍻

[@drifterxl12]

Clips..... please

[@roebbiej]

Yes. I'm going clipless for the first beginning of next year

[@zackeryehsalloum5202]

Literally was about to set off on my first clipless ride, perfect timing

[@carlstanton2550]

I hit the deck at least 5 or 6 times on my first clipless ride! 😂 Took me a while to get used to them, and a few different combinations or shoes and pedals and how tight or slack I wanted the clip to be, and how much float to run, but now I have a setup I like, they're awesome! My advice is to just keep trying different things until they feel right. And don't make your first ride in them a night ride on a very rainy and wet, extremely rooty trail! 😂😂

[@Kaspurr84]

Same

[@zackeryehsalloum5202]

Surprisingly it went great, no real issues, just a couple last minute saves, tad scared to take them from the roads to the bike park though

[@leojones574]

I just hit the park for my first clip ride only hit one tree but it's seriously great

[@mmoesby]

About the Shimano SPD system, it´s worth to mention they have two kinds of cleats. The normal cleat, where You twist the foot to get out, and the multirelease cleat, that lets You get out a little easier. The multirelease is a good choice for starting with clipless pedals.

[@kenmoum162]

Shimano M cleats are a lifesaver for people like me whose feet look like this: \ /. I cannot get out of regular cleats but M cleats work fine. I also use pedal extensions so I can ride without hurting knees or my ankles hitting the crank

[@justinseau]

@@kenmoum162 do you mind elaborating on what pedal extensions are?

[@nodaysoff23]

Yup. I switched to easy release on my Look Spd copies. So great.

[@foxtrot2320]

I got Lucky when I splurged into a 20$Cad pair of clipless shoes, they fit well, and will be great, that is when I buy a set of pedals, since I no matter how much I searched, I seem to only be able to find the right pedal from the set I previously got!

[@ddsgardening7437]

After 30yrs plus, I've gone to flats a month ago, and can't believe how much better I feel, and doing jump, no problem ,I'm in love with my new Raceface peddles 💪

[@lightnervejm2664]

same for me, after riding clipless for 20 years, including 10 years in international competition, my knees articulations were severly damaged due to those (and yes, I did fitting many times, and changed brands etc... but fact are facts, with SPDs your knees are set in rails with less freedom of movement). So I went back to flats around my 40ies and what a relief, no pain anymore and more fun in cornering and jumping, while my riding has become more aggressive. Yep, you'll lose some efficiency, especially in very steep uphills, but for the rest, you will not regret gaining back some freedom. And for the (5%) less efficiency in fast long flat zones, I don't care anymore, this is irrelevant when you're having fun and not racing for competition.

[@Hunter_Bidens_Crackpipe_]

@@lightnervejm2664 If you want efficiency just get an emtb

[@ddsgardening7437]

@@Hunter_Bidens_Crackpipe_ already have a Trance pro 1,love it ,best thing to happen to mountain bikes

[@Jay-yz2qq]

only ride cleats if ur going fast..... especially for road bikes. mtb is about choice really

[@MrSupermugen]

after 10years on flats i went to clipless recently.. best thing ever, full on confidence and one less thing to worry about when pointed down, i always struggled for foot position on flats, now im used to clipless the same spot everytime is so good, can push into jumps and cornors without slipping pedals, can go massive in jumps now, love it so much.

[@sonickcrew4903]

Haha saw you there when you were filming this and said hi. Class vid as always!

[@calenpama3715]

Thanks for the tips and ideas

[@billysteenson9620]

All your vids are the best I have learnt so much

[@ltrtg13]

I have used Shimano, Time and Crank Brothers clipless pedals. I do keep gravitating to the Crank Brothers pedals. I do use the Mallet 2 pedals on my mountain bike. I use the Crank Brothers Candy pedals on my hybrid and to wind up GCN. I also use the Candy pedals on my road bike. I use the Five Ten Kestrel lace shoes on my mountain bike. I also use Shimano ME7 on my hybrid and road bike. I have use 3 bolt road shoes using Crank Brothers road cleat for the Eggbeater and Candy pedals. When I did use look road pedals on my road bike. I turned in to Matt Stevens.

[@gopro_vlogs]

as I do love flat pedals, I do use clipless pedals from time to time. I use the Shimano saints and the giro chamber 2 shoes. I think that this is a good combination, It is actually kinda common where I live, I know a fiew people who have the same shoe and pedal combination as me.

[@joppek77]

Here's my top clipless tip: * Don't go too cheap when buying your first clipless pedals! The mechanism on some (cheap) pedals work poorly and will leave a bad impression if those are your first pedals. On my MTB, I'm running a pair of Shimano PD-M8120 and they are like a dream clipping in and out. So smooth and easy to get in and out of that I almost forget that I'm doing it. On my commuter bike, on the other hand, I'm running a cheap pair of XLC branded hybrid clipless pedals, and they are _not_ great. Even on the easiest setting, they are kinda hard to get out of and I've managed to "get stuck" and fall over with them, even though I have 20 years of experience riding clipless. So, yeah, get some _decent_ pedals for your first set.

[@ColaGangster1]

I slightly have to disagree on this one: *Don't buy cheap pedals from a bad manufacturer. I'm using a pair of 27€ Shimano M520's on two of my bikes. They are very cheap for a pair of pedals. Never had a problem with them, even after 3 years and 7000 Km of mountainbiking one one pair in all weather conditions. The mechanism feels like on the first day and even the bearings are still fine.

[@KarlEller]

@@ColaGangster1 I was going to say, with how cheap the Shimano M520 (or ME700 if you want a pedal with a cage) are, there really isn't much reason to get a cheap generic SPD pedal, and they work every big as well as the high-end XT, XTR, and Saint pedals.

[@seanporter113]

If you want the quality and bulletproof nature of the PD-M8120’s but don’t have the $200 to spend. Get a set of Shimano 520’s. Honestly you won’t be able to tell the difference in them. You can find a used pair on ebay for around $30

[@shaquilleoatmeal2654]

Yeah I agree with the online stuff, I've got some eggbeaters for my first pair of clipless pedals ever. I heard on reddit that they were hard to clip in and that they won't last and that they are terrible I love the way they feel and clip in I love the four entry system you just hook on one wing with your cleat and roll forward and it clips in perfectly every time within my first couple minutes using them I can't say much about durability because I haven't even taken them for a trail ride since by back break needs maintenance and I only rode on the road with my front brake. I am only using my dads old mid 90's specialized xc shoes and I'm happy you shouldn't just believe everyone on the internet my friend likes his spd but I loved the look and idea of the egg beater and I really like them so far. If anyone would like me to update incase you are in the market for the eggbeaters just like the comment and I will come back to it and give like a one month update.

[@alexanderbritanico2515]

Nice tips bro...👍🚴‍♂️🙂🙏

[@comeridewithmeAE]

Of all the Clipless pedals I have ever used, Times by far are the best one. They are a perfect blend between the feeling of Crank Bros and Shimanos, I would recommend them for every body

[@gazzervw]

i use shimano and have had no issues ever. i recently picked up some egg beaters which ive yet to try but the idea of the clearance would help with cross and xc this time of year. shoe wise ive always used sidi and fins i need a size up as italian sizing is tiny. great video

[@stop619]

+1 for "disco slipper" haha =)

[@ZackSavir]

I don’t even ride clipless and yet this vid is AWESOME!!

[@nickcsuki8123]

Nice bike Rich! Gotta love your Pole!?

[@willgreen6480]

Perfect timing for this vid, just ordered some AM7s and a pair of DMR VTwin pedals - Clippies here I come!

[@BjornUPG]

Its nice to have a pare of cleats. I do xc and enduro and its great to have cleats. It just takes some time to get used to them.

[@willgreen6480]

@@BjornUPG I use cleats on my road bike so pretty used to them but have been hesitant to use SPDs for MTBing - should be fun!

[@BjornUPG]

@@willgreen6480 oh ok, enjoy shredding with your new cleats!😁

[@willgreen6480]

@@BjornUPG I will try! Only concern, how do you bail with cleats haha

[@prancisfena]

Loving the POLE TAIVAL 🤘❤️

[@xxMissSummerxx1]

Super nice Pole hardtail in the background 👍

[@ignaciocarvajal2612]

GMBN is so good that they have 1.3k likes and only 15 dislikes keep uo the good work

[@lexington476]

1:14 I've never used Loctite on any cycling shoes, road or mountain bike. I've never had cycling cleats come loose. Been riding and Racing for almost 20 years now. Remember you eventually have to replace the cleats, every cleat wears out regardless of type.

[@hobosbite6580]

Got nw7 ones. Awesome for north Europe winter riding, but I'm using flats..)

[@rhysgriffiths9269]

Rich is a really great presenter. Super engaging and interesting!

[@tonesdef]

Went clipless to flats. One up flats with 510 you are basically clipped in but can still dab easily. I know lots of people say you'll eventually get your reflexs so fast that you'll unclip instantly to dab. You'll also still fall over a bunch to. I'll keep the clips for my xc and road bike.

[@MrDTrain194]

Love you're using a hardtail for this video. Not seen that one around, is it new? Clipless scares the sh!t out of me but can see the benefits. One day I'll get a set. Looks like I'll be revisiting this in the future.

[@anthonywalters7434]

As someone who has ridden clipless and flats back to back on the same bike and the same trails I found that I was faster on the climbs clipped in (obviously) but lost time on the descents by as little as 3 seconds (400m smooth and straight downhill run) or as much as 15 seconds (800m more technical downhill run). I did all of this testing on an xc/trail hardtail.

[@oot-n-aboot]

@@anthonywalters7434 That's super interesting and curious. I wonder why that's so. Any ideas? I have the opposite on the downs: so much faster on spds than flats. With flats, I'm constantly thinking about and tweaking my foot position ("am I putting enough pressure on them?, "does my foot feel like it's in the right spot?"). With spds, I clip in and let loose never thinking about my feet placement. Of course, I also use pretty stiff soled enduro shoes with my clipless pedals. So, it all just feels dialed for me.

[@anthonywalters7434]

@@oot-n-aboot so a year later and on a full squish I’m faster all around while clipless if it’s dry-ish. But on a hardtail I find that I can “float” on flat pedals better than clipless which lets me tackle tech faster. Heels down, weight back, and full speed. When it comes to flats I position my foot so the ball of my foot is just slightly in front of the spindle, and keep my heels down.

[@oot-n-aboot]

@@anthonywalters7434 I can see that. I’ve only ridden my hardtail with flats and my full squish with both. You’ve inspired me now to do a back-to-back on my hardtail to see what might be for me. 🤘

[@anthonywalters7434]

@@oot-n-aboot right on! Proper technique makes all the difference so try committing to flats for a month and then doing a second back to back if it’s a skill you want to develop

[@jamesmarsden9348]

That Pole hardtail looks sweet. Can we have a bike check/review of it.

[@blazetesten2228]

Nice love that

[@philipstoop1955]

What do you think about flat pedals and skater shoes? Works pretty well in my experiance.

[@kittykat7618]

Nice vid

[@dougiegraham662]

I got so many pb's, top tens and kom's after putting xt pedals on my xc bike. Fly through that chatter, without the worry of bouncing off the pedals

[@andreschafer3836]

I think I ll wish myself some Shimano clipless pedals because I tried so many but the Shimano ones were the best for me🤘🔥

[@grandpa_6.7]

On my Yeti XC bike I have a pair of titanium Expedo pedals. They are the best pedals out there

[@urastus9202]

re shoe tightness - it is the opposite for me and always has been. I do my shoes up reasonably tight at the start of a ride - I always have to do them tighter in the ride.

[@sepehrlotfi9274]

What do I do if my shoes squeak? I tried using lubrication at contact point but it still came back. I tested out that it wasn't my crank nor pedals since I'm running Shimano SPD/flat so on flat side no problem. Any suggestions?

[@RiddleKingOnline]

9:13 Is me pretending that I'm working when the boss walks in.

[@alex_smallet]

What about thermoformable shoes, like Bont? Are they any good?

[@Danil-Crypto]

I regret not having tried the contact pedals before)

[@shaquilleoatmeal2654]

Going for my first clipless system I do a lot of trail riding but nothing too crazy and want clipless for the efficiency and control does anyone recommend a good pedal and shoe combo for around $150 us

[@waveylp4722]

So has an experienced road cyclist and my first pair of MTB shoes. Yes, I done just that.. Put the MTB cleats upside down and was like what is going on?!?!?! thanks for this video! ahahaha

[@alstuart8801]

you also need proper insoles which any decent bike fitter will recommend G8 are superb

[@FamousKramus]

Shoesizie 15 here, have considered switching to clipless, but there are almost no shoes manufactured in that size, let alone in stock. FiveTens for life i guess.

[@tdogthomas1039]

Literally just bought some clipless shoes as this video came out, nice

[@timh.624]

Nice

[@charlie9ine]

How about Shimano’s cleat selection?

[@nodaysoff23]

Ended up having to add blue locktite to my Gyro shoes as one bolt kept backing out causing some embarrassing falls not being able to unclip. 😒 My regular falls are bad enough.

[@jb-il3vh]

Liking the shirt

[@HChinarroRaat]

Time pedals! Since I tried them over 10 years ago they are my only choice

[@rupedog]

Yep...lots of float, clears mud better. Time and similar designs (look and crank bros) are best imo

[@bobstevens9040]

Not tried clipless yet? Where have you been for the last 25/ 30 years? Living in a barrel on the hillside?

[@ernstkromhout7793]

I have the Scott Genius 940 but I dont know what type of pedals to use; flats or clips?

[@rauldragu9447]

Judging by the way you asked your question you are most likely a begginer, in which case flats is the only way to develop good tehnique that you wont struggle to breake out off once you get the hang of everything

[@charlie9ine]

What about bike specific insoles?

[@bristolbicylerider1825]

Really don’t know what to get crank brothers seem quicker to clip into on the start gate

[@Paulklampeeps]

Coming from cb candy and switched to shimano m520 i noticed that the m520 pedals are really hard to unclip after mud gets in it. Is it really normal ?

[@yanduval7172]

No, it's not my experience. Maybe a special occurence?

[@kittykat7618]

Wow

[@stevendurham8401]

It would help if real wide shoes are made for bike shoes. I have got a few and not good.

[@tylerreid1789]

Here is a clipless pedal mistake I made. I rebuilt a set of pedals, and when I reassembled them the left pedal was on the right axle and vice versa. They were basically backwards making it impossible to clip in, and I didn't figure it out until I went to ride. Lesson learned, you can mix those part up in some cases.

[@gabcuyan1658]

Flats for life

[@robwalker4653]

For me, on a mountain bike you can't be flat pedals with a really good pair of flat shoes that can grip. There's been tests done that prove the power benefits from being clipped in aren't as big as people think. The truth is the down stroke is just so much more powerful than your upstroke. Plus for me there's much more feel in your riding when using flats.

[@darrinkulyk9560]

Why Waste Power

[@DeadsetYT]

Mistake #1.....Using clipless pedals haha. I'd be dead for sure, at least 10 times over by now. :D

[@johnnyutah6056]

You'll be fine champ!

[@uwhotm8really37]

that was a long shimano advert

[@farmerjoeygeorge867]

Brought merch but it’s so long even tho it’s a xs

[@lvpheno7025]

been riding clipless pedals for almost 20 years. started racing bmx at 7 and I'm turning 33. ALWAYS LOCKTIGHT CLEATS!!!!!!!

[@rupedog]

Never locktite cleats! Grease bolts, or they will seize into the nut plate over time (unless u only ever ride hot dry conditions, zero mud/water)

[@rupedog]

Don't use any locktite! Grease the bolts...otherwise the wet and mud will rust/seize the bolts into the shoe nut plate

[@jordancohen474]

These shoes work with the Peloton bike+ (April 2022), kzbin.infoUgkxGPkov2mNjgZfG33r6Bwvies8jKE4AKZB and are of good enough quality. I have completed 10 rides so far and there are no issues. The first time trying to fit them on the Peloton bike took 10 minutes (even with the help of an experienced cyclist friend who wears the same type of cleats). It took a couple of rides to break in. After the first two rides there were no issues at all.

[@SubmarinersDive]

You should do a video of common injuries due to clipless pedals on mountain bikes(there are loads of them btw). For road bikes there is an efficiency you gain, but for mountain bikes, the efficiency dwindles and risk of injury is magnified substantially. There's a reason why motocross doesn't use them, same should be for mountain bikes.

[@jonm7272]

Disagree. Watch a few 'fails and bails' video and see how many crashes are caused by feet bouncing off pedals. I think you are confusing risk with consequence. From my experience, particularly with hardtails, the risk of crashing is higher with flat pedals, the consequences of crashing are more serious when clipped in (if you fail to clip out).

[@SubmarinersDive]

@@jonm7272 per your own words "the consequences of crashing are more serious when clipped in (if you fail to clip out)" & herein lies the problem. Look at it this way, if your shoes fail to disconnect, for whatever reason, the rolling mass is greater when tumbling downhill, for instance, with your bike still attached. Physics doesn't lie.

[@jonm7272]

@@SubmarinersDive Yes, that's what I said, the consequences of crashing in clips (and not clipping out) are more serious than crashing on flats. Though of course, it's not the rolling mass itself that is the main issue, it is the constriction of movement (particularly in the ankles) because the shoe (and therefore the person) is fixed to an out of control pedal/bicycle that causes the injury (and yes, I am aware of the veracity of physics, I have a PhD to prove it :-)). However, 'shoes failing to disconnect' is not a random, passive occurrence, it is a matter of practice and experience (and set-up) whereas feet being bounced, or knocked, off flat pedals is much harder to control for, very difficult to recover from, and a far more common occurrence. And as for consequence, see for example, see this months 'fails of the month' and check out the consequence of coming off the pedals and landing, scrotum first, on the back wheel!! What you were suggesting though, is that the consequences of crashing (if failing to clip out) always outweigh any benefits of clips and you are obviously welcome to your opinion, as is everyone. For myself though, derived from my own experience over far too many years and of many (many) unplanned dismounts from both flats and clips, I disagree. It took me several years to make the move to clips and, as a regular technical black run rider, rock garden enthusiast and long distance marathon rider, I wouldn't ever consider going back to flat pedals.

[@joppek77]

Agree with Dr Jon here. Every week when I watch Pinkbikes friday fails, I see a number of crashes where the rider lose their footing after a jump or a drop, then they lose control of the bike and then they promptly crash. Most of those crashes could have been avoided by being clipped in. The most common clipless crash would be the one where you (embarrassingly) flop over on the side after failing to unclip when you're new to clipless. But in these cases, the worst damage will be that to your ego. :-)

[@Marcerze30]

Do you have any data on that because I've never seen any serious? Not that it would change my mind because I preferred the feel of clipless 😂

[@olliebtw9433]

Pffffffffffffffft! Who even uses pedals!

[@davidpavely4539]

Nothing to do with this but I hit a bird and a squirrel this year on my bike, could have hit a turtle several greese and deer and turkey, oh yeah and snakes. That's how you know you ride bikes

[@roebbiej]

Honestly I find you much more enjoyable than Blake. I don't want to be rude to him but I just like your style on camera better..

[@simonroebuck7145]

Definitely not speaking from experiance here, but the when Crank Bros claim that their cleats are SPD compatible, they are most definitely not. its that their cleats will fit into the holes in the sole of the shimano shoes. Again, im not speaking from experiance!

[@fabiobrugiolo9652]

.

[@spacecalander]

Why are they called clipless when they have clips? Clipless pedals would be flats

[@andrewlittleton7837]

The previous technology was toe clips, a cage that you put the front of your shoe in. It's a bit confusing, yeah.

[@spacecalander]

@@andrewlittleton7837 Thanks for update

[@gmbn]

Yeah, this is right! 👆 A bit confusing...

[@haydenwheatland4757]

I ride flats but I love gmbn to much to not watch this vid

[@matteodeswarte5408]

Nice, second to comment.

[@mountaintruth1deeds533]

Not hard to do, did it 25 years before the internet.

[@joshjenner1]

Some points were helpful half is telling u how to do up bolts and how to wear your shoes 😂😂😂😂🙈

[@stephenmitchum5864]

Why are pedals with clips called clipless 🥴

[@andywrollo2915]

Only 30 years too late 😂

[@arisgemino]

yeah im not about to loctite 400$ cycling shoes .

[@ThunderStruckMTB]

Mistake #1 - Wearing them.

[@timsmedinga9503]

🤔Here is a thing I don't get; Clueless: without a clue Careless: without care Clipless: WITH clips 🤣🤪

[@Mattventuring]

😂 They should be called strapless cos that would make sense.

[@bandbfarmskuna]

"5 Clipless Pedal & Shoe Mistakes"...first should be using them. #flatpedalmanifesto

[@Wanbokkhymdeit]

Hey can you give me one of your bike please because my parents can't afford it so please can you give me,i jave a dream of mtb

[@timtibbitts1017]

Please stop stop STOP! calling these “clipless pedals.” These are Clip-In pedals. The fact that you can CLIP your shoe into the pedal is the whole point. These types of pedals have more clippiness about them than any other kinds of pedals. Flat pedals have no clips. What used to be called “toe clips” didn’t/don’t really have any clips. They are toe-cage pedals. Or toe-holster pedals. They might have a cinch strap, but that isn’t a clip. The pedals that we definitively CLIP INTO are the type in this video. Calling these “clipless pedals” is like calling bicycles “wheelless vehicles.” Please save humanity and stop calling these “clipless.”