After cutting up my shins last night on my platforms (w/ studs) I might go buy a shitty pair of Shimano 505 and some SPD shoes and give it a shot.

I went clipless about a month after getting into riding mountain bikes and that was back in 1991. I will always ride with clipless.

I do, but I gotta admit I am thinking of riding the rubycon and I might put on platforms for that..

Spent many years on SPD's. I really liked them except in sand & mud. I recently switched to Mallet C's and have enjoyed the clipless/platform combo. Plus, they are unaffected by sand & mud.

http://gallery.rei.com/media/705485_39Prd.JPG

dirt jumping, park riding or downhill - flats all the way (ghost ride, if needed). Mountain biking - clipless 100%, you will find that you have muscles you have never used before.

I have ridden with clipless pedals since there inception in mountain biking and have used most brands and swear by SIDI shoes and Time pedals. that being said, the shimano clipless are very well made and allow more adjustment as far as the safety release mechanism (used them 4-5 years).

and stay away from nike shoes, i had several pairs that the soles seperated from the shoe. Granted I am a little bigger than most cyclists.

i love my shimano's. love them more than the ones that came on my khs (broke them after 4 months of owning the bike). if you aint ridin clipless before you will bust it acouple times.

and stay away from nike shoes, i had several pairs that the soles seperated from the shoe. Granted I am a little bigger than most cyclists.

i have had my nike shoes since last auguast and aint had any problems w/ them.

Shimano M520 ATB clipless

they're awesome. No complaints here

My bike came with 505 Shimanos, they gave me $25 back and took them off, but giving me the chance to buy them back later for $25. I'm going to run them and make sure the clipless thng is for me. Not sure to get some crappy shoes off ebay first or just go for the SIDI's (everyone recommends the dominators).

i have a set of time ATAC's - have ridden them for over 6 years now and luv 'em

My Time ATACs are about to wear out after many years of use and abuse. I have smashed them on rocks and so far they haven't broken. Riding clipless is by far the best thing you could ever do to improve your ride/workout.

Don't be worried about falling either. The natural reaction to put your foot down has pretty much the same motion that releases you foot from the pedal, so its all natural.

spd and sidis on my mtb bikes

speedplay on my roadbike shoes are DMT's

platform/spd on my ss

get them. you will have more power and a smoother pedal stroke. as for brands, get one that adjusts. any spd type will work fine for getting use to them, upgrade to something else later when you know more about what you want. as for shoes you just want something with a stiff sole. avoid the casual looking ones and lace up ones.

I have mallet c's and shimano mt50's or whatever...lace up shoes. they're nice. comfortable, can still pedal wtih regular shoes and the slightly less stiffer shoe doesn't take too much away from the stroke. the crank brothers eggbeaters are nice...easy to use and the mallet c's allow entry from either side, so there's very little thought put into clipping in.

My ATACs have outlived two bikes now...
feels wrong to ride without them.

the only thing I can think to add to this is make sure your pedals are adjusted properly, If you have them too tight and you can't unlock, you will go down. And not in a good way... ha. sux to get run over also...

Been on clipless for years!
Grew up bmx racing on flats, later in life got into MTB and a couple years later went to clipless. I actually got back into bmx racing as an adult for three years and did it on clips and kicked butt.
Clipless seemed to open up a higher level of MTBing.. no more bouncing off of the pedals on bumpy terrain, more control over the rear wheel and more efficient pedaling.

I always recommend to the new clipless rider to ride your new pedals on the loosest setting and slowly tighten them down as you get more confident. As a personal rule I tighten one click every time I rip my foot out of the pedal when I'm not trying to get them out, like on a jump!
Another recommendation is to at least be able to do a decent track stand. The longer you can track stand the more likely you are to get un-clipped before falling over.
Practice in the streets before you go to the trails!

Lots of pedals out there to choose from. I seem to wear them all out fast so I have stuck with the Welgo SPD's. They are cheap and will get me through at least a year of hard riding, when they wear out I get another pair. Only like 25-30 bucks. I have a set of eggbeaters that I haven't even installed since the others have not worn out in the past 3-4 years.

Back to the topic of clipping in on the Rubicon...
I've ridden it many times, in fact MTBing the Con is what got me into 4Wheeling. The many rocks on the Con, the up & down staircases, is where I seemed to ruin a lot of pedals and is what made me go to the cheapies. Of course I used to be more trials orientated and would stand on rocks with my pedals a lot. If you're used to hauling extra parts in your rig on the con then you might want to take a few for you cycle as well. I've seen lots of pedals give way out there but it just may be who I ride with? Good to carry extra cleats and clip mechs if you have them, they don't take up too much room anyways.

Here's a write up I did in 2003 about a ride we did on the Con that resulted in a Life Flight: Gary goes ATB (http://www.bmxnonstop.com/tahoebike/garyflys.html).

good luck.

Ride clipless on my bighit and giant, ride primo super tenderizers (sealed) on my hardrock and S&M

I have eggbeaters now and after 3 years with SPD I enjoy them much more. They are tensioned by the plate on your shoe so the angle of release is deteremined by the plate not the tension in the pedal. This has saved me a few times from some hairy falls. The only down side is you have to have shoes and eggbeater plates.

I just recently started riding clipless. I couldn't imagine riding without any more. It feels so much more efficent.

I love my clickers. If for not anything more than making your ass pucker up in the nar nar.

I love my clipless, but the guys I ride with that ride platforms sure as hell don't...they can't keep up in the climbs and dont have as much control in the downhill... You will bust your ass and look really stupid for the first week or so ( just sitting there and you will fall over firgettin that you have to clip out) and the first realy hard scooby snack will bring the suck if you didnt nail the clip out force on the head...I had mine WAY too tight and the firt time I wiped out hard I didnt come out and you can just about imagine how the rest went.

The clips I'm not worried about because I am going to start out with a pair of $25 Shimano 505's.

I'm almost tempted to get a pair of SIDI's and make this a one time plunge. What shoes are you guys wearing and if you could give a brief review that would be great.:)

I got a 180 dollar top of the line pair os specialized for 45 bucks BC i have a big ass foot and they had been sittin' on the shelf for 2 years :)

oh BTW I LOVE THEM

The clips I'm not worried about because I am going to start out with a pair of $25 Shimano 505's.

I'm almost tempted to get a pair of SIDI's and make this a one time plunge. What shoes are you guys wearing and if you could give a brief review that would be great.:)

I have an old pair of Shimano (SH-MO80G) shoes and the last pair were old Shimano's too. Old because they last me so long. I'd recommend them on that alone and the fact that they don't cost but around $100.00 or at least they did when I bought them. I like the velco only retension system, makes for quick removal by friends and paramedics in cases of emergency:smokin:

I went clipless when I got my bike ~2.5 years ago, and love it. I think 505's? (whatever came on it.) I got shimano's cheapest shoe cause I didn't want to inest too much at first, and I'm cheap...Now I see the difference, but need to find a pair of decent shoes on sale...On the new bike (Liquid) Im gonna go w/the platform/clipless cause I like the ability to cruise around, and I'm a wuss on tighter trails.:p

Ive been riding clipless for years as well and love it for xc riding. Jumping, cruising, or DH I dont like it as much.

My setup is mallet pedals and specialized sport shoes. Not too hot on either of them really. The mallets have the clip inside that fully rotates, making it a pain to click in sometimes when they are rotated vertically. I like the platform though. I had time Z pedals last, and some aliums before that, and loved both of them til the Zs got stolen w/ the bike and the aliums fell apart after lots fo abuse. I love time ATACs, theyre great pedals, go for the aliums or Zs for a few bucks more, theyre great. I learned on used cleats and it worked well because they were already a little worn down (easier to release). I think theyre worth the extra bucks, they work great in all conditions. Only downside to times is the spring tension is fixed fromt eh factory, no changing it, but I dont think its that big of a deal really. My shoes are another story. Ive had them about 2-3 years now, and they're working alright, but they arent as comfortable as my old specialized sports. They used to be super cheap on their website (last years models) but they dont have them like that anymore. I would use my mallets for DH, but I couldnt always get back in when i wanted to due to the problem mentioned above, so i put my holzfeller flatties back on and theyre great.

I have a set of SPD type pedals that came on my jamis and I never used them, if you pay shipping, theyre yours, brand new, still in bag i beleive. email me if you're interested freeride_forever at yahoo

I've been riding clipless for 9 years now. I'd never go back. It takes some getting used to, but well worth the better performance. I've been a DH racer for the past 6 years and I've ridden the north shore many times. I always do it clipped in ( including all the skinnies, stunts, and steep stuff ). I also use them on the dirt jumps too. If you know what your doing they aren't any slower or harder to get out of then platforms. Plus, they are going to make you faster. Go clipless all the way. Even if you like riding the tech stuff. It will make you a better rider because it will keep you from pussin out over the rough stuff. It will teach you to ride it rather than dismounting to walk over it.

Bought some Sidi Dominator 5 Lorica's today. Had to go back in and exchange the first pair because I picked up the wrong size when getting checked out. Wearing them right now to help with the break in and then realized the shoplifting tag is still on... so tomorrow morning's ride will be done with platforms.

Sidi's and entry level clipons (thanks christyle for the 505's!!!) man I'm gonna look like a real noob on Sunday.