Any Mtn Bikers on RME?

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
are you sure? Mark isn't coming or driving anymore, so there's room for you if you'd still like to go. I understand the difficulty of getting time off so early in. Let me know what you want to do.
 

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
Maybe you could snag your own permit Saturday night. You'll have a lot more flexibilityof where you can camp since you can cover more than 20 miles a day. You could also drive the whole trail in one day and hang out wherever you find us.
 

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
If you're not spending the night on the trail then you just need a day use permit. I don't think those are limited in quantity, but you should call canyonlands to make sure. If you're spending the night on the trail, you'll need to reserve a campsite and get the permit for it.
 

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
we'll be at candlestick campground sat night. You're welcome to meet up with us sat, sit around our non-campfire and hang out with us 'till you go to bed, then drive along with us Sunday if you want, heading out sunday evening.
 

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
as of right now there are 7 open campground reservations for saturday night. Most are a little ways from candlestick, but at least you'd be out there on the trail. Plus you could take 2 other rigs with you for a bigger group if you wanted.
 

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
we've currently got spots for 2 more bikers and 1 more driver if anyone's interested in joining us for the white rim 104 mile mountain biking trip. March 13-16


A bit about our group and what to expect:

- we love to have fun and explore. Often this means no rigid schedule and we make things up as we go.
- we don't like complainers. If you can't adapt to what mother nature or group dynamics throw at you without whining, you won't like our group, and we won't like having you with us.
- you must be able to roll with the punches. We make changes to our schedule on the fly all the time.
- we almost ALWAYS set up camp after dark. If you can't handle that, you won't like camping with us.
- It's your job to be prepared. Don't expect us to bring your water or 1st aid kit or food. Weather can be unpredicatble this time of year. We might get snow, or we might get 70* days.
- please leave the stereo at home. We don't want to hear your speakers blaring your favorite tunes as we ride along or as we sit around at camp. Feel free to wear headphones, just don't make us listen to your music while we try to enjoy nature
- We keep our outings family-friendly. Kids are often present at our trips and we want to keep the language and activities PG-13.
- We'll stay up past midnight, play games, and joke around, but we aren't party animals. Most of us don't drink. We don't mind alcohol at our camps, but we'd rather not see people getting trashed and wild, especially in front of the kids.
- we believe in TreadLightly! and LNT principles. We don't bury our toilet paper, we don't chop down trees for firewood, and we don't leave our fire burning all night.
 
Location
West Valley
For those who ride without clip style pedals, what kind os shoes do you wear and any recommendations? I have been looking at the Five Ten freerider as it pops up as a very common shoe. Not sure exactly what specifics to look for in a non-clip pedal shoe.

http://www.backcountry.com/five-ten...piY3NDYXQxNDExMTAwMDEwMQ&skid=FVT2008-GYBK-S4
I just wear some Salomon XAComp7 trail running shoes. They are great all around and don't shift around the pedals much, if any. The pedals I have are some off the shelf Welgos. So nothing special about them. Never been a fan of clip pedals, personally.
 

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
Ideally, you want something with a stiff sole, so the power will transfer across your entire foot, not just to the ball of your foot. A stiff sole will make it tougher to walk in, but more comfortable to bike in. The freeride XVi have a good balance between stiff and flexible imo.

Five tens are ridiculously sticky. Almost too sticky for some people. Your shoes sink in to the pedals a good 1/4", and you can't twist your foot. You won't have to worry about slipping a pedal in those shoes. They also offer good protection. You'd be surprised how much abuse your feet take when riding and crashing.

All that being said, you don't "need" bike-specific shoes. Any skate shoe or flat-bottom shoe with soft rubber should be fine.
 

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Stinkwater
So, this is a topic of interest to me. I have really big feet, and even the super wide pedals I've got right now don't support my entire foot. I've been thinking on going to clips, but it's not immediately in the budget. Would buying a set of stiff bike shoes intended for clips and using them on platforms help me at all? Or would that be silly?
 

MikeGyver

UtahWeld.com
Location
Arem
I've been wearing Five.ten Guide Tennies daily for my last 3 pairs of shoes. They work pretty well for biking; they have a relatively thin sole and flex a fair amount so they probably aren't too good compared to a still sole shoe. I bought some studded wide platform pedals and you couldn't twist your foot on them if you wanted to., the difference over plastic pedals for example is insane.
131202_2890_XL.jpg


Welgo MG-1. magnesium, light, cheap.

Free-shipping-font-b-Wellgo-b-font-font-b-MG1-b-font-font-b-Pedal-b.jpg
 

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
Smart idea if you pick the right shoes, silly idea if you pick the wrong shoes.

Originally, platform pedals came out way before bike-specific flat shoes were around. So most people rode with vans or similar skate shoes. Skate shoes have great grip, offer good protection, and are comy with and a nice flat profile. However, they also have a soft sole, which may be fine for bmx and jumping (and even there I'd rather have a stiffer sole), but vans aren't super great for efficient pedaling.

MTB clipless (for clipless pedals, or ones that you click into), different shoes will have different stiffness. Some are focused more on walking, and have a softer sole. Others are more focused on riding and have a stiff sole that are a little awkward for walking very far in. Unfortunately there's no rating for how stiff a shoe is, so you should read reviews and see what others say. The stiffer the shoe, the more it'll spread the load over your entire foot and reduce pain/pressur and increase efficiency. Don't confuse a stiff sole with a non-sticky sole though. A lot of the fiveten, teva, and other bike shoes have stiffer soles but retain a squishy sticky rubber underneath.

MOST MTB clipless shoes have a tread pattern designed for walk, not riding. Since you don't need tread on your shoe when you go clipless, the tread is only used for off-bike activities. That means they're not building a tread pattern that's meant for use with flat pedals. So the wrong clipless shoes will absolutely suck with flat pedals.

There are a few exceptions. You'll notice the grippy tread that will attach to platform pedals. The vans still have soft soles so power transfer/efficiency isn't that great. The five tens should have a stiffer sole.

warner.jpg


FivetenHellcatBlkGry.jpg


2581454-p-MULTIVIEW.jpg
 

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Stinkwater
That makes sense. I hadn't seen shoes designed for clipless with a waffle tread before, I'll see if there's any of those I like. Are the patterns to bolt in the clipless part pretty universal, or should I be thinking about which clipless design I like before I look for a shoe?
 

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
All clipless shoes should be compatible with all clipless pedal brands.

Everyone's got their favorite preference for clipless pedals. I've used expensive ones and I've used cheap ones. Now I just use the cheapest SPD pedals I can find. I use these:

http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-PD-M5...d=1424976357&sr=8-2&keywords=shimano+clipless

Clipless pedals aren't the best solution for everyone. I like both flats and clipless, depending on the trail/riding conditions. If I'm jumping or doing tricks/BMX stuff, I always use flats. For the rest, I use clipless pedals. Apart from the first week I got them, I have never crashed because of clips, and they've always let me out when I needed to get out. I set them almost as loose as I can. Clips allow you to come closer to being able to pedal in a full circle. Being able to pull up while pedalling is really nice.

One isn't "better" than the other, they just appeal to different people for different reasons.
 
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jentzschman

Well-Known Member
Location
Sandy, Utah
Another thought: What about clothing, specifically shorts and/or pants? Are there certain things that make mtn bikes shorts/pants a better choice over shorts like hiking shorts and the like?
 
Biking shorts usually have a liner that hugs your skin to prevent chafing and might have padding for your butt. I go back and forth between bike specific clothes and just my favorite clothes.
 
Pedals/cleats are a personal preference, but I don't know anyone who has gone clipless for a while and then went back. There are just too many advantages in stability and efficiency. I do like flat pedals for just messing around, though, so I go for the wellgo flats that have cleats on one side. Takes some getting used to, but for me, they have the best of both worlds.
 
Clipless shoes all have the same bolt pattern as far as I know, but the cleats can be different. This is only important if you want to swap bikes back and forth with a buddy or son.
 
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