Dajerseyrat
Well-Known Member
Try to???
I tried flat pedals yesterday
- Thread starter Dajerseyrat
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Dajerseyrat
Well-Known Member
Prison rape painful.
Steve Vai
Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Did it involve a trip to the ER for foreign object removal?
Dajerseyrat
Well-Known Member
No, thankfully I was wearing my padded shorts and it just poked my taint.
Paul H
Fearless OOS Poser
Did you file a police report? Cuz you know.... Congress wont believe you if you didn't
Damn.... did I just say that?
Juggernaut
Master of the Metaphor
While I agree this has the “potential” to train wreck.....badly, from a “real world” perspective,It’s been extraordinarily tame compared to any “in person” group ride discourse on the subject. *It’s pretty apparent that tongues are firmly planted in cheeks.
One need go no farther than the official podcast for similar references made in jest.
*Edit: even as I typed this remark I could hear the snickers in my head of the various riding buddies over the years who would gladly pounce at the opportunity to bust my chops over it. It’s crude. It’s childish but at many levels it’s necessary (It is for me anyway).
Very few people have the opportunity to experience the commrodery of “the team” and by extension, “the locker room” post HS. Maybe college if you’re lucky like I was.
When you think back to the happiest days of our early lives, it isn’t the two a days in 100 degrees, the ten mile runs, the up downs (think burpees), the 12 hour bus rides or even the wins and losses. It’s the huddle, the one play made by the most unlikely person, the impossibly stupid thing someone said (especially if they didn’t realize it was stupid), it’s the center farting, the tension braking comment when all seemed hopeless, the bear hug in celebration or embrace of consolation.
The “locker room humor” as it is referred to is as important to my well being as therapy is to others. I don’t think I’m alone in this, I really don’t.
Sorry if this makes no sense at all... and since I’m typing on the phone, my middle aged eyes can’t always make out the letters and the typos are probably hilarious, it just really struck a nerve with me. I go out of my way to be supportive, respectful and inclusive of everyone while at the same time I’m being chipped away at from all sides.
One need go no farther than the official podcast for similar references made in jest.
*Edit: even as I typed this remark I could hear the snickers in my head of the various riding buddies over the years who would gladly pounce at the opportunity to bust my chops over it. It’s crude. It’s childish but at many levels it’s necessary (It is for me anyway).
Very few people have the opportunity to experience the commrodery of “the team” and by extension, “the locker room” post HS. Maybe college if you’re lucky like I was.
When you think back to the happiest days of our early lives, it isn’t the two a days in 100 degrees, the ten mile runs, the up downs (think burpees), the 12 hour bus rides or even the wins and losses. It’s the huddle, the one play made by the most unlikely person, the impossibly stupid thing someone said (especially if they didn’t realize it was stupid), it’s the center farting, the tension braking comment when all seemed hopeless, the bear hug in celebration or embrace of consolation.
The “locker room humor” as it is referred to is as important to my well being as therapy is to others. I don’t think I’m alone in this, I really don’t.
Sorry if this makes no sense at all... and since I’m typing on the phone, my middle aged eyes can’t always make out the letters and the typos are probably hilarious, it just really struck a nerve with me. I go out of my way to be supportive, respectful and inclusive of everyone while at the same time I’m being chipped away at from all sides.
This is fair and I almost posted something along these lines.
If there is an impression that Team MTBNJ is about dick jokes when nobody is listening, then holy wow, there's such an incorrect assessment of what we are I cannot begin to redirect that.
Dajerseyrat
Well-Known Member
Well, it seems as if you may have walked in the room at the wrong time and saw what can not be unseen. You are welcome for the visuals that you will not be able to erase from your memory,even after year and years of therapy..
Now back on topic about flats. I just rode Hartshorn with the Pedaling Innovations flats and all I can say is WOW..I think I'm officially a flats rider from now on. I liked the larger platform which enabled me to power down with my large thighs on the climbs. Those of you that have done leg presses or squats know what I'm referring to. The larger platform also enabled me to feel way more stable on the bike and be more flat footed than on the ball of my feet. I feel as if I lost zero power or ability in the climbs with these particular pedals. I loved being able to put a foot down on the more technical climbs that would cause me to bail out.
Now for the down hills: I felt really planted and the pins really gripped my shitty Vans sneakers at all times. One chunky section made one foot unplant for a split second but I easily foundy position on the large pedal and adjusted positioning once it was safe to do so. I found myself using proper technique down hills and into corners that I may have gotten sloppy with over they years from riding clipless.
Pedal strikes: none, literally not a one. People assume cause the pedal is so long you would strike more objects, well you don't.. One reasoning is you don't really point your toe down while pedaling with these pedals as much as you "drive" your heel downward as if doing a leg press. Plust these pedals are really thin over all, thinner than most flats I have seen. If your striking pedals anyway, it would be more of a cadence timing issue on your part, in my opinion.
Overall, I really like these pedals and think this guy that designed them is really on to something with the design. I recommend trying them over flats that cost $50 to $70 more..
ChrisG
Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
If nothing else, everyone should take this out of the thread. I can't tell you how commonly I ride with people with all kinds of experience levels whose asses seem glued to their saddles.
ok... pedals... those innovations are larger than "regular" flats, right? think foot size makes any difference? i have race face chester pedals and i LOVE them but i know my foot is smaller than yours.
moose35
Well-Known Member
I love my race face chesters also. I like the fact that that plastic slides over rocks when you do get a pedal strike instead of grabbing like the metal pedals do. Also the pins are easily adjusted and they dont cut your shins up like some other pedals do.
Dajerseyrat
Well-Known Member
Yes..I believe they are 115mm in length.
Frank
Wookie
one piece crank
1pc Cranky
I’ve ridden flat pedals for 40 years - BMX, Freestyle, Trials, MTB - on every imaginable surface, some I wouldn’t even walk on. I wear size 14 shoes too, and except for 1980’s KKT Lightnings, I’ve never really needed a bigger platform. The biggest failure I find with flat pedals is the lack of a concave surface. A flat pedal should not be truly flat, but concave so your foot can nest into it.
Example A: the Chester pedal. Note the center spindle area is higher than the leading/trailing edge! In my book this is a fail, as it has to rely on pins for traction. You could even argue the center projection reduces the effective pin height, so 5mm-2mm = 3mm pin height (this only affects gripping your sole, it will still rip your flesh with reckless abandon).
Example B: Shimano DX (vintage 80’s pedal). See how the parallelogram frame is concave, with a significant center drop? This isn’t a pedal strike magnet, but is is certainly a shoe magnet. And the pins do their job fine without as much flesh risk.
My simple recommendation is to get concave pedals. I never run threaded pins, and always replace them with formed-head pins like those shown below. This pedal has served me well even with the minimal center drop.
Example A: the Chester pedal. Note the center spindle area is higher than the leading/trailing edge! In my book this is a fail, as it has to rely on pins for traction. You could even argue the center projection reduces the effective pin height, so 5mm-2mm = 3mm pin height (this only affects gripping your sole, it will still rip your flesh with reckless abandon).
Example B: Shimano DX (vintage 80’s pedal). See how the parallelogram frame is concave, with a significant center drop? This isn’t a pedal strike magnet, but is is certainly a shoe magnet. And the pins do their job fine without as much flesh risk.
My simple recommendation is to get concave pedals. I never run threaded pins, and always replace them with formed-head pins like those shown below. This pedal has served me well even with the minimal center drop.
I went from these old Wellgo pedals
To these mammergammers. if anyone was thinking about cheaping out on pedals they should rethink their budget. Lighter pedals make a big difference. I agree on the non-threaded spikes. It’s the way to go. Looking at the pic of my Wellgos I realize I got a ton of use out of them so they obviously work but you’ll be happier with a higher quality (more expensive) lighter and thinner pedal.
To these mammergammers. if anyone was thinking about cheaping out on pedals they should rethink their budget. Lighter pedals make a big difference. I agree on the non-threaded spikes. It’s the way to go. Looking at the pic of my Wellgos I realize I got a ton of use out of them so they obviously work but you’ll be happier with a higher quality (more expensive) lighter and thinner pedal.
moose35
Well-Known Member
Nice Jamis