I Rode Flat Pedals And They Changed Everything

By changing just one part on our bikes, I'm going to expose not one but two ex-professional enduro racers' biggest flaws. It's actually horrific. Do you really want to try this? I'm scared. Oh my God. Look how close he was to that big stick. That would have went in his front tire. You were like the ship's going down and the captain never leaves the ship kind of vibes where I was just like Rose at the top of the ship just being held. Just beautiful. Improving your skills at any level is difficult. It requires hard work and dedication to build a well-rounded skill level. This has taken a step further in the world of racing when athletes are put up against the clock and any of their holes in their skills become exposed. Today, I'm going to be riding with none other than Dan Wolfe right here. Here he is. Not only is he a pretty handy pilot, but he's also an ex-pro enduro racer like myself. Dan, how's it going? It's going good. I'm really looking forward to today. Quite curious to see how this plays out. Yes, it's been good to be out here in Ireland. Today, I'm going to expose our biggest flaws on mountain bikes with these Crankbrothers Stamp flat pedals. Now, when was the last time you put yourself flats on? If I'm being honest, I'd say I try to do it most winters, but I attempted on a bike earlier this year and was riding with some really quick riders and I just took them off mid-spin. I couldn't even last a day because it's just harder for me. I am similar to you, probably a lot worse. I fully have the intention of riding them every winter, but winter comes, I put them on for a day, I ride terribly, I don't like it, and I take them back off and put my clips back on. Today, we are going to do a full day riding the gnarliest stuff you've got for me here in Ireland and see if we can learn something by riding these flat pedals. I think it's definitely going to put manners on us and, yes, let's get into it. Oh, my God. What? Can you beep that out? That's horrendous. Oh, my God. That is shocking. I hope that translates on camera. That is terrifying. This is quite a blind section, really, really big drop, and this landing down there, sort of landing, if not a landing, it's a two-foot step. It's a drop. They're landing into a drop like it's a landing ramp. It's not normal. The first challenge, lads, do this with flat pedals. I wouldn't be able to do that. I mean, I wouldn't do that anyway. I'd blow my feet off, ride the end, and then hit that berm and go over the bar. The best I've done is front wheel on top of that route, and that's terrifying. Then past that is chain ring, which would be death, and then past that would be rear wheel, which is cake or death. All right, let's get these flat pedals on. Imagine professional racing for how long and you can't burst out flat, son? Ages. You can't either. You can. Look. Watch. Oh, damn, Daniel. That was magic. I'm going to be so mildly quick on these flats. I have slightly smaller feet than Dan. Luckily for me, Crankbrothers do their pedals in two different sizes. These are their small pedals, and then Dan is on the large. Now, they do offer a size-specific setup. If your size is, I think it's up to size nine in your shoes, then they recommend the smaller ones, and then nine and above, you go up onto the largest, but it is personal preference. These ones fit nicely for me. Tidy. Damn. Little small stamps, big stamps. You could probably come up with some sort of joke where you need a stamp on a letter to send it. I can't do them on flat. Oh, go on. Oh, it feels weird. Oh, he's fast. So with these turns that we started on, I like a perfect place if you're first getting into flats, getting back onto them. It's a really nice place to feel out exactly whether you're dropping your heels, what we're doing wrong. Certainly from my perspective, it feels super weird going off this jump. I mean, I ride flats on my dirt jump bike, and I feel glued to the pedals when I go off jumps like that and when I'm in the skate park, but when I get on dirt and you take off and you're landing onto a rough landing, I just felt super disconnected with the rear end of the bike. Yes, it's just that terrain is the variable that changes everything. But yes, like Ferg said, starting off on something that's fairly mellow gradient, not too many bumps is going to be the best way to get accustomed to the setup, and then, yes, just start adding in new features, new dilemmas. Yes, this jump is one of them because you land onto quite a bumpy little landing into a shallow turn, so it's dynamic because you got to land, decompose, and then lean in. Following you, it's so cool watching you rip the turns. I think that's one of the raddest things about flats, right? It's why Sam Hill was so cool. Every edit I watched, I wanted to beat him because you just rip the turns, the back end just, ah, da, da, da. Oh, it's so good. Yes, flats too. If you're riding them well, you feel like a hero. Maybe we'll get our capes later. I don't know. Hey, I hope so. I don't know. Well, that was definitely pretty loose. I was blowing feet off left, right, and center. Don't feel like I'm actually connected to the pedals too much at the moment. I think that's just because I'm not pushing against them, so I need to focus on getting my weight a little bit to the side of the back, dropping my heels more. Definitely through there. You're going well. Well, I'm being videoed, so I thought I'd better try and be pretty good. No, it's definitely weird through bumps for sure. It's more on my mind. Then those corners don't really have any bumps in them. Up until the root section, it was actually quite nice because it wasn't steep. Would you change anything on your suspension setup, do you reckon? Yes, I was actually thinking that as well. I don't have an answer yet. Currently, I have quite a fast setup so that it's always going in and out of the holes and returning quite quick. I'm more in the start and mid of my stroke. I have heard in the past that some flat pedal riders ride their suspension a little bit slower. We'll see if that is something that I need to adjust to. For now, I'm happy, but we haven't rode anything insanely chundry. Yes, this next bit. This next bit will be. Onwards, let's go. Let's go. One of the things we've got to, we've got to our first technical section. The first thing that you and I both were saying is that there are lines that you and I would normally do on clips that on flats we're not so confident on. My challenge to you is we're going to try and ride the lines that we would normally ride on our clips. We're going to try it and then just see what happens. Line number one is he would usually, if he was riding at his peak, would try and gap from this stump here, this guy, over into that bank over there and see if he'd make it. There's no dirt on the front of that route. It's quite a chunker. Having clips helps and it also helps you get a bit of power out of the turn because it's a really bad run in. I'm not so sure this is doable, but we're going to do it. It's actually horrific. The bumps before it just really unsettled your feet and then just pulling up off that. It's just a lump. It's like a road block. To be honest, actually, now that I'm looking at it, I don't know why I was doing that before. It's quite bad. Yes, it's just bumpy on the way in. You've got that weird stuff there and then that's basically a no-go. Do you really want to try this? Yes. Okay. Let's change it. Caveat, the goal is just be on the high line after. However, you get there, it doesn't matter, but you just have to get on that high line. You can choose to do what you want, but you have to be on that high line bit, which we would normally be on because it opens up the next turn. We have to ride as if we're on clips. Okay. Let's do it. If he does go for it, I'd be surprised if he actually gets it because the running is so bad and then there's no dirt on that route for the takeoffs. It's going to feel horrendous. I think his instincts might kick in and he'll either go mid or actually just go full low. Oh my God. Right, there you have it. He actually did commit, fair play. The beauty of a case, probably front and rear wheel, certainly rear. Then just absolutely yeeted through this next section and caught out of control. Nice. I thought I was high-siding off down there. What I've lost going onto the flat pedals and what I'm noticing is I've lost the finesse that I've learned on clips. I'm a lot harsher, but I'm also way more in, I can feel what the ground's doing way more with the flats. I can understand, for instance, when I was losing traction there, I could push in harder with my heels and regain that traction. As much as I got out of control, I think I felt more confident being on the flat pedals that I could handle it. Just feels a little bit less dangerous. We'll see what the Wolfie man does now. Let's go. Come on. Oh, good pace. I'm disappointed. The goal was to be up here. What was that? That was my instinct saying, don't bother trying that high line, you're not going quick enough. I'm upset. Does that make it 1-0 to me in the flat pedal world champs? I didn't know we were playing bike. If you want me to just go off it recklessly. It's not a game of bike, it's just a game of who's better on bikes. I think we all like, you have to not case it if you're going to count it. No, I don't know what you're talking about. We'll do it again. We'll do it and we'll see who cases it and who doesn't. Do you want to play a game of bike first? It's not a game of bike, it's just- If you're going to call me out on GMBN, you know, we're going to hit that gap. We're going to pet that dog. Let's do it. I don't want to hit that gap though. That's so hard on flats, man. I cased it so hard. I mean, I'm pretty sure I cased it too, but maybe for context, I cased it less. Does that not make it one a piece? Dan Wolfe into the lead. Oh, I think the fans are going to love that. When we came in there, I think on clips, we would have had a tendency to put in a couple of extra cranks, which you can do on the rougher stuff. I think to ride flats well, when you learn to ride them well, you carry speed better through sections and then you save yourself quite a bit of energy, which is why I think we've seen on the EWS, you've seen used to look pretty successful. You had Alex Rideau win World Champs. You had- Sam Hill three years in a row win the series. Sam Hill three years in a row. I think it's really, really energy efficient if you can ride them well. Yes, you got to ride them well. You have to approach everything differently. I came into that turn up there. It's really shallow. It has a few roots and I went in slow, hoping for a good exit. In fact, I just went in slow, came out slow. There was an under-commitment and then I was faced with the like, do I pedal or do I just try to stay composed? Because composure is really, really important for these sections. Then my instincts were like, don't pedal, just cruise in because if I pedaled, I'd unsettle myself. Whereas in clips, I think I just would have thrown in a quick pedal or two. Yes, they're really different. Once you get into real riding like this sort of stuff, they're very different. I was scrunching up my toes, actually coming across these roots trying to grip, which I don't even know. If there's anyone that rides flats, please comment below. Be nice. Once you've been nice, please comment below and give us your techniques and your tips because we're rookies, to be honest, when it comes to flats. Yes, definitely highlighting my inability to ride them. It's making just every bit of trail more challenging, isn't it? It's fun though. It puts manners on you. Who doesn't love a good case? Hey, I mean, I love a good case. It's just beautiful. Dan, because we are old men now and we are mid-ride, I thought it was only natural that we should have a sit down, have a little bit of a chat about you, who you are, and exactly what you've done in your race career, really. Okay. Well, I guess to start off, I struggled for a long time to either call myself an athlete or call it a career. I don't know if it was an Irishism with that imposter syndrome or what, but yes, I started off biking 25 years ago. There was no real scene in Ireland unless you were racing, so it was just racing or nothing. It was XC or downhill. That's it. No in-between. Enduro didn't exist. Going on a spin didn't exist unless it was an XC spin. Yes, I started downhilling all those years ago. I was like 11, 12, and got into racing World Cups, raced for Ireland multiple times at World Champs, was national champion in downhill, and then eventually had a few, like, yes, basically struggle bus going to World Cups and doubting myself and struggling with maybe qualifying here and there. Then I had a few injuries and decided to actually take a step away from biking altogether for two years, and that was when I just finished college. I studied fine art in college. Then after that, I came home just as the boom of enduro was happening. I was like, oh, that's going to be easy. I'll just get fit. Turns out it was very complex, and I did that for 10 years. I did World Enduros or EWS, what we used to call it, and then into EDR for 10 years. Then just simmered out of that into some industry jobs where I help companies develop product. I test product and also run a few social media channels. Yes, I've had a great time. I had a really enjoyable career. I may not have gotten some insane results, but I enjoyed the journey. Everyone's is different, and also, it's not over yet. I think some people struggle when they get a bit older. They feel like their identity is lost because they were the fast guy or girl, but that's not necessarily the case for me. I just love bikes. I absolutely love them, all types of bikes. I'm not going to slow down anytime soon. You and I still ride bikes even though we race against each other. We did God knows how many races together and how many road trips together. It was wicked fun. When we were racing those World Cups, one of the things that I always noticed was when the weather got a little bit biblical like it's getting right now, a lot of the top-end riders would put flats on. Was that something you ever did when you're racing either downhill or enduro? Yes, for me, back in the day when I raced downhill World Cups, I actually got some of my best downhill World Cup results on flats. Sometimes back then, like it does now, of course, and it is now, they would just lash down and track conditions would get crazy because we had such a big volume of racers. Some World Cups, you'd have nearly 200 elite men. Back then, there was no junior category, so it was just everyone. I was just trying to keep my head above water, and I'd just try on flats because one of my favorite riders was doing that. I just had fun, and I didn't overthink it. I think some people, the longer we do this, they're still turning rocks searching, but sometimes less is more. I definitely didn't think too much back then. I actually had some of my best ever results on flats, which is crazy. Then when I got into enduros, I generally stuck to clips. I think then the longer I stuck at them, I just stayed in my lane. This actually has been eye-opening. When you got onto me about this challenge, I was like, yes, this is actually what I need. It shakes things up. Some bits, actually, I'm loving. Some bits, I genuinely feel like a hero, and you can feel the cape flapping behind you. Then there's some sections where it's really rough, where all of a sudden, I'm confronted with, oh, yes, I'm on flats. It is only day one. I think I'm actually going to put flats on my e-bike now after doing today, and then just have them just on the e-bike for the next while. Yes, put a bit of manners on me. I've really loved it. It's definitely a fresh take. Obviously, look, I'm sure everyone watching this, look, this has happened before, and yes, that's fine, but it's me and Ferg's journey, okay? Just be supportive. I think that's why it's so important when you're a beginner racer or a beginner rider that you ride flats because that's where you learn to feel and understand the bike. I do think it's really important to start off on flats, 100%. We were quite diligent for the first few seasons where we would return to flats every year. We even had a bike that was fully brakeless, and we would walk further up the track to try hit sections, and you were forced into committing. If you have the opportunity, if you're new to mountain biking, you've plenty of time. The sport is for everyone. You're going to be in it for a very, very long time, so don't rush in. Just enjoy flats and try to learn as much as possible. That's tricky. That's really tricky, but it's good. Yes, that's tricky. I really did a shallow pull because I think it comes at you so fast and it's uphill. Yes, I thought you'd pull earlier because there was that little rock. In my mind, I was like, oh, we pull earlier, but then you pulled later. It was nice. You've got a real nice glide. Then down to here, that was one of the things with the flats. I felt like I could push way harder onto the fire and it was way safer than when you're on clips. You're pushing and you're a bit wincing waiting for the- Yes, I felt like instinctually, the balance point between front and rear tire is just like you just know it. It's so much easier with this on that scenario. When I came on, I was like, oh, yes. It's easy. Yes. It's also that confidence. If it did get wild and you did start drifting, you can take a foot off. It's super quick, isn't it? Yes, or get high-sided down there. You're a brave man. You mean the last gap? Yes. Yes, I'm going to do that, yes. I'm scared. Okay. Just follow me. I think I know where I'm going. Just follow me. I think it's somewhere in here first. Oh, I can't get my feet on. Are you in? I'm in. All right. Oh, I've overtook it. Oh, he's done it. Oh, he's done it again. Oh, he's gone. I think that's not the first, but definitely the second section where, for me, it's really highlighted how I'm not weighing the rear enough or not well enough when I'm riding clips or I could ride them better. I'm dropping my heels, but I think on clips I would then just go light through the turns and allow the back end to steer and I potentially would lose traction. I'm not doing that. I'm trying to go light again and then I'm just losing my pedals. If you're the one getting to input and you get to push down and the trail's not pushing up, flats are amazing, but when the trail is pushing back, that's where I've noticed it becomes a problem. For me, coming from a clip perspective onto flats, it feels like you need to be really accurate and have amazing timing, but that could be because I'm bringing a clip approach where I like to know everything and I like to have my feet in the exact position. When I'm riding clips, I may be getting away with my timing being slightly worse. As we came down there, I wasn't driving my heels down as much. My braking was off and then I was finding myself getting kicked about the place and I wasn't getting that timing right through the turns and then just losing the flow. Then I regained it as I landed through here and was just pushing through. It felt better, but definitely through those tighter turns, it really puts manners on you, as you said, when you're not getting your timing right. Yes, it definitely puts manners on you. I'm probably trying to ride these like clips and control all the variables, but maybe I need to stop thinking about my feet, ride, and be a bit looser. I don't know. I need to talk to a proper flat specialist. Please comment below if you are a flat specialist. Sam Hill, if you're watching, teach us, please. He does love GMBN. Yes, I hear he's a massive fan. We'll do some more trail riding. I'm going to desperately try to improve my riding on these. Yes, I probably don't need to improve too much. Look, it's 1-0. Come on. Come on, then. Come on. Go on. I'm getting a bit more used to the setup now, but yes, you definitely get a different type of pop. I think to get the same level of pop, you're going to have to try harder. It feels more like a dirt jump. I feel like I'm pulling up more as opposed to pushing through jumps, but I think that that's probably my lack of confidence. I'm wanting to pull up to make sure I'm making the jumps. What I'm loving and when I really, really liked running the flats was up there on the off cambers. It feels like you can just feel where the grip level is on the rear tire. Therefore, you can be a bit more in tune with the bike as you're cutting across routes and things like that. I definitely felt more confident going across that. When I'm going over rough sections, obviously, it's slowing me up and it's pushing the pedals around. I'm finding myself searching for a smoother line. Sam Hill would always be getting off the main line as much as he could. I think that that helped him when it came to fatigue. It makes up for potentially where he couldn't pedal, he was able to carry speed because he wasn't getting stuck up in all those holes. You're going to try it, but the fact you're on flats allows you to think about that, which I think is pretty cool to give it a go. I'm not all that confident in my ability to do that, but we'll give it a go. I think it'll work, yes. Hopefully. I might go a little bit out here first. Big claims. Look at him. Out there. Yes. All right. Didn't realize you'd become a tree surgeon or whatever. He's coming in fast. In the bushes. Oh, that was unreal. Oh, my. I felt like Sam Hill. You're nearly off the side. Yes, but I meant I had to be over there on that fresh real estate. There was no way I was going to get that sweet, sweet inside if I didn't open it up first. That was sick. There was a decent amount of commitment at one point once I was locked in. I was like, uh-oh, I have to let off the brakes and then I had to hop over the rut, but it was mint. I think that's great. It's a very flat pedal thing to do, wasn't it? I think that's another point to me. Yes. Although it did look like you were on, you're writing the first few lines of an amazing novel until you just ruined it at the end, didn't you? I just wasn't quite as inside as you. One of the things I'm really liking about these flats are the pins. They're super, super long and I think that that's really nicely integrating with my foot and where otherwise I would feel super floaty and I think I would have blown my feet off a load of times. When I'm pushing through the pedals, it does feel like I'm glued right onto them. I think that's helping. How are you finding them? Yes. I think for any proper mountain biking, you need long pins like these. It's definitely making a difference for me as well. Also, the size of these, the actual platform for me has been really nice because sometimes my feet aren't in the best position. Maybe I started off and then I just decide not to move them. Yes, I have a lot of room there. It's good. Yes. I think it's a personal preference thing. Obviously, the bigger platform, like you say, allows you to move around a lot and still have your feet on the platform. For me, having these slightly smaller pedals is giving me better clearance and I feel like I'm not as easily going to catch my foot or I might catch a pedal on a stump or something, especially on these quite tight trails you got me on here. What have you got next for me? That was actually really fun. There was a little bit of jumps, a bit of a drop. Drops are weird because the bike's obviously coming up towards you, so you're getting the flat pedal pushing back up into you, but then I'm worried about it falling away. I'm worried I'm going to end up supermanning, but it doesn't happen. Basically, it's going to start getting steeper now. Yes, it pitches down after this left-hander and yeets all the way to the fire road. I'm curious to see what this is like. Like I said, I've not ridden flats in a while. I've not ridden any of these tracks on flats, so I'm curious to see will I be more comfortable, confident when it gets gnarly or yes, I don't know. The conditions are definitely pretty slick. That horrible in-between where it's not dry, but it's not full wet. Yes, it's not tacky yet, and then if it rained a lot, it would actually be grippier. We're in between halfway house. Right, onwards, that way. We're facing the wrong direction. We've got to this section. It's really, really technical. This is one of the downhill tracks. It's got a couple of corners, and then this really gnarly quite off-camber section down into a corner. Normally, this would be right up my alleyway. It'd be something I'd really enjoy doing as a clip pedal rider. Riding on my flats, I'm really, really struggling to get it good. I've had a couple of goes in now, and I just can't quite get it right. I think this is where the frustration sets in. This, for me, when I was racing was where I would put the flats away again. I just would get frustrated and give up. I think that you really have to persevere through that and almost take a few steps back in terms of how you're riding is in order to then take it a few steps forward. I think this is super important for beginners to set that base foundation. Then from there, they can build into a much faster rider. Maybe that's why I hit my peak when I did, and maybe I could have gone higher up if I'd been more consistent in riding flats. This is what I'm learning with this ride. It's really, really fun, but also super frustrating at the same time. I think if you have a timeline that's short, it's going to be frustrating. If you try this in the winter when you've got four or five months to ride and you don't put too much pressure on yourself, but you also stick to your guns and stay on the flats, maybe you won't hate them after a few weeks. I'm not saying I hate them, but I definitely, if I want to go quick, I could go quicker on clips. If you're in it for the long run and you want to become a better all-around rider, yes, do ride flats. It'll put manners on you. It certainly is putting manners on us. Oh, you were on the edge of the track. That was scary. You were trying to set up. I respect the send, but there's a point in which the setup becomes the set no. Look how close he was to that big stick. That would have went in That's his tire. This is his tire. There. Look at that. Just always looking for the widest line. Did you have a moment where you're like, uh-oh? Yes. I tried to let off the drop. Yes, you did. Then I was like, oh, I've let off and I've run wide. Now I'm trying to get on my brakes and the soft stuff. Nothing's happening because I'm not dropping my heels properly. Then my only hope was to try and rip the turn to try and make it out, which fortunately worked out. It felt way better at the top. I felt way more composed. You look good. Yes, just pushing through. It's just remembering the whole time to keep weighing the back of the bike. I'm just forgetting every single time. I get scared and then my heels just go flat. I think though that's the gradient. It looked like when it started to pitch down, you were lighter on your feet. Yes. That is a byproduct of gradient. Yes. I'm allowing myself to go forward onto the bike instead of pushing back with my feet. I'm pushing back with my arms. But it was a sick corner. Yes, man. Well, I'm going to give this an absolute blemmer. I think that was the dominator. No. Yes. I don't believe it. Yes. No. The composure, the exit speed, the glistening entrance. Nick, I reckon I got that one. My outside line was a hero line. I went outside to inside. In terms of embracing flats and really getting involved in the experience, I think I won that one. Yes, but you had no choice if you're getting involved in the experience. You were the experience. That's part of riding flats, I think. You were like the ship's going down and the captain never leaves the ship kind of vibes, where I was just like Rose at the top of the ship just being held. Just beautiful. I don't know if that makes sense, but I'm buzzing. You might weigh as much as the Titanic, but I don't think you were as graceful. I am. I am a big boy. Let's just give the full experience here. Get that audio up there for the fans. Okay, so far. It's coming in. Backing it in. Stunning. Knee work. Could have zoomed a bit. Oh, exit. Don't you worry. I got the zoom. I think the zoom was a bit touch and go there. I think there's a bit of sabotage here. The exit zoom was all right because, of course, I exited beautifully, but that mid-stroke zoom. Are you ready for this? I am. Not starting off with a sheer pace of me. But then look, I'm not bouncing around. I'm just paced here. Look. Then you nearly died. No, because look, it was just so fast. I think we know how to. We can just put these split screens side to side. We'll know who's quicker, okay? From here down, I was an absolute unit. I was so loose. You got no chance. I know you were loose. You might have got those top corners, but the race wasn't that. The race was how long you're in screen on shot, okay? We're always racing for, okay? Yes, and I think on this one, I won. I think we'll have to go to the split-screen judges on this one. Well, I think the time won't lie. I think I got this one. Guys, community, you need to come together now and vote for me. Vote for Ferg. Oh, there we go. Oh, Wolfie, what a ride, mate. It's so good to get riding with you. Flat pedals have definitely humbled me today. Yes, it's a completely different experience. Even if you know the tracks, it's like you're seeing everything with fresh eyes. It's greasy out here. It's steep. It's rough. Yes, if you're not dropping your heels the whole time, it's crazy. I think you nearly don't realize what you do if you're clipped. Also, I'm sure vice versa if you're at flats, but that's something I noticed over fadeaways and then through rough sections, I would actually not necessarily always drop my heels. You have to with flats because you need to apply that pressure. If you lift your heel up, your foot goes light, and then it's easier to slide around or even come off. I think what I've learned with that is I've learned to have a better feel for what the back end of the bike is doing. Because you're dropping your heels the whole time, you know where your traction is. I think that's why it's so important for beginners and advanced riders alike. Even if you're riding 10, 15, 20 years, take out winter, give some time to it, put them on. If you've two bikes, put them on one of the bikes, commit to it, don't stress out. Even if you're getting a bit frustrated with your on a spin with friends, just stick with it and just see what you learn. There's no harm. You're not losing anything. It's the winter. Certainly, I advise if you're young and you're new to this, stick on flats for a bit longer. Don't jump to clips because someone tells you you need to. You're 12. It's okay. You've plenty of time. I hope you guys have learned a little something about how good flat pedals are, not just for your skills, but also to teach even the oldest and more experienced riders out there a thing or two about their skills. If you guys like this video, don't forget to like and subscribe, and drop us in the comments below whether you're a clip or a flat pedal rider. Cheers.