2 Fatbike newb questions.

CrankAddictRich said:
Well written post and I can't disagree with any of it. I'm not actually asking if clipless is better than flat, I'm 100% certain it is. As a road cyclist, I'm 100% comfortable clipping in and out, so when I got my fatboy I threw clipless pedals on immediately. I'm actually wondering if maybe I jumped the gun a little bit and I should switch back to flat for a few months as I get used to being off-road, which is essentially the order you describe in your post, learning to ride off-road on flat pedals for some time before switching to clipless.
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Been on clipless for a year now, so a bit of an update.

I would suggest since you are already comfortable being clipped in I would stick with it. I'm hard pressed to recall an incident where I couldn't pop out of the pedals in time. I would suggest keeping the tension on the lowest setting at first. In addition to what I wrote I think clipless is better with not getting jarred off the pedals in rough terrain. This is REALLY subjective but I do think there's a difference. Oddly of all the differences my thought right now is the pedal clearance advantage is a bigger confidence boost in the rocks than being able to jump off the flats.
 
extremedave said:
Been on clipless for a year now, so a bit of an update.

I would suggest since you are already comfortable being clipped in I would stick with it. I'm hard pressed to recall an incident where I couldn't pop out of the pedals in time. I would suggest keeping the tension on the lowest setting at first. In addition to what I wrote I think clipless is better with not getting jarred off the pedals in rough terrain. This is REALLY subjective but I do think there's a difference. Oddly of all the differences my thought right now is the pedal clearance advantage is a bigger confidence boost in the rocks than being able to jump off the flats.
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Yes.. I'll probably just stick it out.
 
Hit Rutgers today and pushed myself to try some sections of trail that I didn't do last week when I was there. Did some descents and some rooty climbs. Just felt more confident all around. I think it was a combination of just having more time on the bike and the tubeless set up that I did over the weekend.
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Hey guys, I just wanted to report back based on today's ride. I met some friends and we rode Patriot's Path and the Northern Loop in Lewis Morris today. There were definitely sections that were more technical than anything I've done yet, climbs and descents with roots and rocks. I tried to apply as much of the advice that you guys had given me as I could.... keeping my weight back on the descents, using that rear brake. On the climbs, I tried to keep my weight over that rear wheel, while keeping the front wheel down, using my gears to get up. I was super stoked to get up and over and down the things I did today without unclipping or putting a foot down. Thanks for all the advice and help guys. Im definitely getting more confident on the clipless pedals as well, so I'm gonna stick it out and keep them on, at least until it gets snowy and flats are the better option.

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CrankAddictRich said:
Hey guys, I just wanted to report back based on today's ride. I met some friends and we rode Patriot's Path and the Northern Loop in Lewis Morris today. There were definitely sections that were more technical than anything I've done yet, climbs and descents with roots and rocks. I tried to apply as much of the advice that you guys had given me as I could.... keeping my weight back on the descents, using that rear brake. On the climbs, I tried to keep my weight over that rear wheel, while keeping the front wheel down, using my gears to get up. I was super stoked to get up and over and down the things I did today without unclipping or putting a foot down. Thanks for all the advice and help guys. Im definitely getting more confident on the clipless pedals as well, so I'm gonna stick it out and keep them on, at least until it gets snowy and flats are the better option.

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The number one thing you can do is to ride with someone better than you. When I am riding behind someone with better skills, I always see lines better and do things I would not usually do when I am by myself.

As for the clipless, in my opinion is to get a pair of clipless pedals with a platform. I ride Time ATAC MX8 pedals and I can clip in when I want and if I need to start on a steep decent, I have a platform to ride on until I can comfortably clip in. Not only does it help with efficiency, it helps with control of the bike, especially in rocky and technical terrain.
 
goodvibe said:
The number one thing you can do is to ride with someone better than you. When I am riding behind someone with better skills, I always see lines better and do things I would not usually do when I am by myself.

As for the clipless, in my opinion is to get a pair of clipless pedals with a platform. I ride Time ATAC MX8 pedals and I can clip in when I want and if I need to start on a steep decent, I have a platform to ride on until I can comfortably clip in. Not only does it help with efficiency, it helps with control of the bike, especially in rocky and technical terrain.
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Yea.... I can definitely understand how riding with an experienced rider in front would help. The friends I was riding with yesterday are from my road club, and they are relatively new MTB riders as well, but they got their Fatbikes last year, so they're definitely more experienced than I am. It definitely helped to follow and watch the lines they picked and adjust based on what they were doing. My buddy John was leading and I was pretty stoked that I was able to get past some obstacles without putting a foot down and he did have to put a foot down a few times. I think part of the problem though was that he was on flats. He had swapped his flat pedals on for a ride with his son and had forgot his wrench to swap them back before yesterday's ride. I think if he had been on clipless he would have easily gotten up everything as well. More than anything, I'm happy that I had the confidence just to keep in it and keep going, just 2 weeks ago, I think I would have clipped out and walked some of what I rode yesterday.

For pedals, I'm using Shimano M530 pedals, so there is a bit of a platform. I like that I can keep them on and ride with sneakers when I go for a ride in the park with my son.
 
CrankAddictRich said:
Yea.... I can definitely understand how riding with an experienced rider in front would help. The friends I was riding with yesterday are from my road club, and they are relatively new MTB riders as well, but they got their Fatbikes last year, so they're definitely more experienced than I am. It definitely helped to follow and watch the lines they picked and adjust based on what they were doing. My buddy John was leading and I was pretty stoked that I was able to get past some obstacles without putting a foot down and he did have to put a foot down a few times. I think part of the problem though was that he was on flats. He had swapped his flat pedals on for a ride with his son and had forgot his wrench to swap them back before yesterday's ride. I think if he had been on clipless he would have easily gotten up everything as well. More than anything, I'm happy that I had the confidence just to keep in it and keep going, just 2 weeks ago, I think I would have clipped out and walked some of what I rode yesterday.

For pedals, I'm using Shimano M530 pedals, so there is a bit of a platform. I like that I can keep them on and ride with sneakers when I go for a ride in the park with my son.
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Glad it is working out for you. Your buddy would have made the climbs with the correct technique for flats. You can ride clipless like flats, but not flats like clipless.
 
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