Clipless shoes (Freeride Area)

[AceDuece]

What's up ya'll? Noobus Maximus of downhill/freeride sports here, don't laugh. I'm purchasing a beefy hardtail dirtjumping bike to complement my triathlon and drop-bar xc commuter bikes.
I don't have much history or experience with technical dirt riding. I'll probably start using it primarily as a trail bike with spots of light dh and urban riding as I build my skills.
I've decided on a clip-in pedal with light platforms, Time Atac Z's, to make the tank more trailable yet offer something to grab and huck with.
From reading some previous posts here I know you guys are all about the 5.10 Impact flats (doesn't look like they have a plate). I'd like a shoe with cleat-plate that offers excellent feel and traction out of clip, like those- any suggestions?

I also figure that if I keep the lock-tension tight I will be able to come out of the clip for technical stuff, ride the platform with a level of control and not re-engage.. is this a reasonable possibility? What about over jumps?

[Boxxer]

Youll find alot of static when mentioning clipless and DJ's. Its going to end up getting you hurt. Unless youre riding with power as a priority, any type tech riding(street, park, DJs etc) while being clipped in, no matter how loose(if theyre really loose, then whats the point right?), is a bad idea.

When I ride at the park or DJs, theres a million small corrections I make by repositioning or sliding my feet around on the pedals while in the air or rolling up to a stunt or DJ or, well, everything. Being clipped in wont allow you to do this. Also, BIG hops dont come from being clipped in, nor do safe manuals. Sorry if Im running on here, just woke up. But moral of the story, unless its speed and power youre after, stay away from clipless set ups.

[Boxxer]

Ill also say this before someone else chimes in with it. We all know of world class DH and BMX racers that ride clipped in(depending on courses and tracks). These riders and very skilled and are well aware of the limitations and risks of riding clipped in over jumps(most not as steep as true DJs) and DH courses, but are willing to make the trade off to lower their overall times.

[AceDuece]

I can understand that. I am trying to set up an all-mountain hardtail that i'd like to hit some jumps with and am looking for advice on the versatile shoe/pedal combos. This thread is also going on in Downhill Forum. I've gotten some good responses there. Maybe some of you Jumpers could post there. Thanks.

[mattmatt86]

Buy two sets of pedals, so when are you doing longer epic rides you can be clipped in, and when you are doing more aggressive freeriding you can have platforms.

[ZHendo]

^exactly. on my yeti asx, i ride azonic a-frames when freeriding/DH stuff, and when trail riding on the asx because my damn iron horse cracked, i ride eggbeaters. changing pedals is literally a 2 minute deal, so don't compromise and get yourself hurt.

[sanjuro]

I can understand that. I am trying to set up an all-mountain hardtail that i'd like to hit some jumps with and am looking for advice on the versatile shoe/pedal combos. This thread is also going on in Downhill Forum. I've gotten some good responses there. Maybe some of you Jumpers could post there. Thanks.

I would buy a cheapo pair of BMX pedals, under $30, as a backup. But if your jumps are just part of a trail ride, not a dj park, I would plan on using clipless. Straight dj's you have to go flats, unless you like being the landing strip for your bike.

You might also be more comfortable being clipped in than riding flats. I did a lot of road, and I still find myself catching air better when I am clipped in.

[trailblazer]

as a dedicated clip in my limitations are real.
I no longer ride natural logs. Close set ups in park and dj are not happening as you need time to clip in and out on starting ramps etc.
That split second of clip in/out is essential for doing daring stunts. I had a lengthly conversation this summer with Dangerous Dan Cowan about clipping in and riding skinnies. It's next to impossible and so risky that injuries can not be stopped after a snag that you could usually bail from then drives you into an obstacle or the hard ground below.
I still do the ****e clipped in but my injuries have been adding up this past year and the pay off for cleaning stunts is paling as time and pain go by. My problem on flats now is simple...I have lost my flat skills being clipped in for 4 years now.
There is no room for clip ins at the DJs/street nor in the deep woods in BC riding skinnies and logs.

[Tattooo]

I've ridden clipless on my DJ, my DS/4x and my DH bike for a whole season. For DH I won't ride anything else, they really do make me ride better in that respect.

For DJ I rode Time Z's for a long time, and have switched this year to relearn how to jump without them.

For DS/4x I am for the time being giving up on them until I can work out how to better do my gate starts.

I freeride in clips, xc in clips, do 8' drops in clips. but that is all I've ridden for 15 years, so...

[AceDuece]

It's fascinating some of you here have given more positive responses about clips, I had this posted in the DH forum but they closed the thread; everyone there was pretty adamant about not wearing clips, especially for the light dh and urban riding I had mentioned wanting to do. No one even entertained my interest in riding a clipless pedal with a standard shoe when necessary.. did you do this <Tatoo>?
In the end I decided that their advice about honing skills without them was fairly sound, and that I would probably be focusing more on my urban riding so a pure flat was probably the way to go. My new bike is ordered up from the shop now with Soljam Vipers. The DH'ers were pretty much refusing to give me positive feedback about the clipless, probably because they see many novices with the myriad of problems you've been describing, and also know I would have, as I'm a beginning mtb'er myself.
If the Atac-Z had come with traction studs I probably would have given it a shot, it looks like a good pedal. But I have some Ritchey standard clips i can put on if I want to try that on the trail. I like the idea of having a platform clipless that performs as both equally though.

[Tattooo]

If you're going to ride the Z with a regular shoe, you might want to really consider a shoe like the Five.Ten Impact Shoe, and even that might not be enough. It works pretty well as a pedal when you're off for a few seconds/minutes, but keep in mind it is still a clipless pedal, and as such it wants you to clip in.

The only way I've done this was on my BMX bike. I had the clips on there so I could train hard sprints on it around town, but when I was commuting to school on it I didn't have a lot of fun living in my DH clipless shoes, so I would run my skate shoes on them. It worked well enough for riding a BMX around, doing curb jumps and the occasional wall ride, but I wouldn't want to get all technical with that set up.

[Kanter]

I ride clips all the time. I ride skinnies too.

[motormonkeyr6]

I have been using clipless for about a month( about when I switched over to FR from XC) I love them for FR I have never had a problem in clipping out in a bad situation. Just practice and it'll be a sinch in a pinch :)