Are Flat Pedals Actually Just As Fast As Clipless Pedals?

Now try with cages.

As usual, great videos! Yes, I'd be interested to know how flat pedals compare to clipless ones over a long distance.

I ride for years only flat pedals, ( I took down all my SPDs on all my bikes ) . Not much of a difference in performance, but lots of advantages of the flats : Easy to save the bike in a crash, safer if you got attacked by stray dogs, During hard climbs, uphill you can move your foot position on the pedal, you can pedal even with your mid or the heel of the foot, you can even break with your normal shoes, you can walk if you want to do a portion of hiking and so on . I do also running and the shoes that are no longer good for running, I use them on the road bike :)

with flat paddels you can stand on the paddles with only your toes. this gives so much more power going uphill. or going into a sprint

I have a mechanical bike I used with pedals and another with ultegra di2 with wahoo clips I’d rather use the clips when I’m going on my longer rides with climbs and long sprints when I’m getting my work out in etc one thing I noticed is my saddle position got better when on clips I definitely got more comfortable and way better at descending down hill I like having pedals but I only use my pedal bike when I commute to work or I’m just cruising something I’m not traveling to far . Riding long rides on pedals hurt my back just because my pedal position would change from time on my long rides .
taking pedals on and off isn’t impossible but it is annoying also if your buying clips It means you enjoy riding already for longs periods of time and you want to shred and take it to the next level you are definitely and above average rider .
10-20 miles stick to pedals long rides 40 plus definitely give clips is the way to go the clinks and the clanks are definitely worth it . 😂

Good to know that I shouldn’t swap out my adidas gazelles and toe straps just yet

are you just really short or is he just really tall??

You clip into a clipless pedal?

I've historically used flat pedals on my MTB and only recently tried out clipless. The main reason is that some of the terrain I ride on my hardtail causes me to get bounced right off the pedals. I've never had an accident due to this, but it's just uncomfortable and inconvenient.

Things I liked:
1. In a sprint, they're super efficient. It's easier to put down power and you get more for your work.
2. More comfortable on tech, plus nice to know my feet won't slide around or get bounced off the pedals.
3. It takes less effort to pop the rear end up when I need to clear something. (Remember, I ride a hardtail)

Things I didn't like:
1. I fell several times when trying slow tech. Used to clipping out or not, removing your feet from flat pedals is always quicker and easier than unclipping them from clipless pedals. There's little you can do when you're climbing up something and your tire suddenly slips; clipless can make bailing nearly impossible, depending on the circumstances. In the same scenario, I'd have been fine with my flats. Regular shoes are also perfectly stable once they hit the ground.
2. I can't move my feet intuitively, and I'm feeling a little bit of strain in new areas of my legs as a result of riding clipless. I also can't 'point' my knees as I had been able to do when riding flats. I just feel constrained. My pedals allow for several degrees of float, but it's minuscule. Adjusting for more float causes the cleat to be too loose and end up rattling and squirming.
3. I can't change my foot position on the fly. When I'm climbing I like resting the pads of my foot on the pedal, and when descending or riding on flat ground I like to scoot my feet forward. Being unable to change this on the fly, with clipless, is unfortunate.


To summarize: the pros are great but the cons are painful in more ways than one. I'll give it time and will also try different cleat positions to optimize. Something tells me, though, that I'll choose one or the other depending on the trail I'm riding that day. Overall, flats are just more practical for most scenarios.

I race for 4hrs doing 100km againts crosswinds all the way and been able to keep up to draft and keep a constant gap with less fatigue while crossing the finish line though i did not win to be among the first ten cyclists using flats pedals.

I should of watched this before I brought new shoes, cleats and pedals

I don't need to watch this to know that pulling up helps turn the cranks. I can feel it. This is a dumb debate. If you're scared of clipless so be it but obviously pulling up helps.

I coming from toes cage age. To me clip less is just a bit scary especially in horrible traffic condition in my city. Now I am running flat pedals in all my 3 bikes.

Wow, pathetic content reach. Can you next do one on handlebars vs no handlebars? Then one on saddle vs no saddle. Then one on wheels vs no wheels. There, three weeks of new vids, no extra charge.

So, you heard us stating that soft shoes grip better, then used stiff shoes for the test? Brilliant

Very enlightening video for someone who's been riding clipless for many years but contemplating a switch. I've been riding a road bike with older Speedplay Frogs, their former mountain bike pedal, for the ease of engaging and dismounting not to mention walking around while off the bike, so crossing over from road to mountain pedals was never an issue for me. As a non competitive 55 year old who's fitting out a new endurance bike, I'm considering just going all the way with a pair of flats. Based on this video, however, it would seem that a combo pedal such as the Funn Mamba would give you the best of both worlds: flats for most riding conditions with the option to clip in for steeper climbs and occasional bursts of speed on a nice long flat stretch of road. As always, GCN is a great place to help you make informed decisions. Keep up the great work!

I am constantly shocked at how weak these cyclist are when sprinting. I can droop 1400 watts seated lol, but only ride at 160 watts for an hour.

It would be so easy to just say "clipped pedals" or "clip pedals" but you insist on "clipless". Somebody has to start saying it and others will follow. Do it!

Interesting. Seems like a massive case of groupthink along with some confirmation bias and sunk-cost fallacy thrown in. Thanks for doing science!

From a mtber perspective, I love my clips on my mtbs because you can just control the bike so much better, crashing is scarier though

Flats for life! MTB, road, gravel, BMX, trials, commuting, all of it! Did the fietselefstedantoch (spelling?) 11- city bike tour, 240kms, in the Netherlands, on flats. Came 7th in Provincials for xc mtb once. Was always told I should go clipless (by the folks I was always waiting for).

i can only ever having strap in to clips way back in the day, never clip in. Time now to call clipless clip-ins surely

Problem: Casual riders think they are tour capable.
Tour riders clip in and 4 + hours later clip out.
As such the clipless pedal.( what a stupid name for a pedal you clip in to? ) is fit for purpose.
But tour riders don't stop at intersections / pedestrian crossings/ lights / let old ladies have right of way and they definitely do not have coffee breaks.
Casual riders and enthusiastic amateurs do all the above.
The perfect pedal for us is the Shimano PD EH500 - flat one side and SPD the other.
The pedals last darn near forever - and you could break into a quick jog into the coffee shop to feed your cakehole because the appropriate shoe sole is flat.
Shimano Shoe XC5 - brilliant - with a rigidity of 7.
And 165mm cranks - yore mama!

My husband and I were shocked by these results! Our predictions were that the clipless would perform better. WOW!!

So... Negligible benefit unless competing at high levels or sprinting or going up hills

Clipless pedals are the epitome of groupthink. The so called ‘efficiency gains’ have been proven minuscule at best, yet the risks like knee pain, hip issues, and awkward falls are very real. For what?
To squeeze out a tiny fraction of a watt? unless you’re racing at the elite level, the tradeoff just isn’t worth it. Flats give you the freedom to ride without worrying about joint alignment or clipping in and out. Don’t let the herd convince you to sacrifice your health for marginal almost nonexistent gains.

Clipless pedals are propped up by cycling culture’s obsession with elitism. The system preys on new riders with promises of ‘efficiency’ and ‘power transfer,’ yet delivers negligible performance gains for anyone not competing at the highest level. Meanwhile it exposes everyday cyclists to serious risks like knee misalignment, hip strain, and the inevitable embarrassing falls.

The entire setup is a trap: specialized shoes that cost a fortune, cleats that wear out and need constant replacement, and a system that forces you into an unnatural riding position. All this for what? A fraction of a watt improvement you’ll never notice in real life?

Flats work with your body’s natural movement, let you wear whatever shoes you want, and eliminate the risk of getting stuck mid crash. Clipless pedals are just another way to gatekeep cycling and sell unnecessary gear to feed the industry machine. Break free from the herd ditch the clipless cult.

Tried both, prefer cleats. When the cadence is high, your feet can more easily come off of flats. I also like to pull up on each stroke quite often, so the inability to do that with flats is very noticeable.

Due to a botched knee replacement, I am now unable to clip out of clipless pedals and am forced to ride on flat pedals. I use pedals much like those you showed and cycling shoes specific for flat pedals. While riding I have found little difference between the two types of pedals. One issue that you didn’t mention is coming to a full stop. I always put my right foot down and therefore that crank is up and the left is down but I push off with the left so I am forced to raise the left by placing my foot under it to raise it. By the time I do this my riding companions have already left me!

Clipless?!? what is that??? hahaha amateurs.
Real pros use flat pedals! 😂

flat pedals are better than clipless clipless is really useless because if your too fast and its wet you could just slip

Clipless?

lol never mind

I've just switched to flats because of discomfort in my big toe (it's either toe arthritis or a bunion: hopefully the podiatrist will tell me next week). Last year, when it was starting to get uncomfortable, I switched from clipless to clips/straps, and that made some improvement, but for the past few days I've said "sod it" and just ridden on flat pedals. I've had very few problems, and found I can totally take the pressure off my toe. What I tend to do is cruise with my foot in a normal position but then move it back slightly when it's time to climb (which is what particularly aggravates the toe, I've found). I'm using ordinary flat pedals and my regular approach shoes, but I may try a more specialised pedal, just to improve the grippiness. Like a lot of people on the thread I'm not a hardcore cyclist, but I like riding a lot and I don't want to be put off by something as daft as a dodgy toe...!

what about, flats with a toe cage, non strap type ?

If you’re not a competitive cyclist, why bother with clipless?

depends if they have a groove and you're shoes stick to it. I've had mixed SPD and used the flat part with my running shoes on Duathlon XCC, with the shoe with a parallel groove to the pedal.

If you do science with an opinion it will always be a twisted answer

Does anyone in pro peloton use flat pedals?

Yes, this question does sound absurd, so can GCN explain their title?

I've rode MTB on flats with proper plat shoes for years. I've gotten into drop bar riding recently and stuggled with foot pain, only on my right foot. Wider shoes, moving the clip back and in, still get issues. I guess with the difference being this close I'll just fit flats and not worry about it.

I'd bet that sprinters in clipless would run away from flat pedal riders during one of those mad sprints at race's end.

This feels like a hit piece on flat pedals since the guy doing the testing didn't change his seat position to move it forward and wasn't planting his midfoot in the middle of the pedal, which is how you can put much more power down than with a clipless setup.

I did a 360 Mile Bikepacking trip, where so many people dropped out during the ride due to repetitive knee injuries, and 100% of them were running clipless. So clipless may be more efficient in some ways, but I think flat pedals are healthier for long multi-day rides, especially if you have a spill.

First of all nice video guys. But I cannot believe that you did the flat pedals test without pedal straps or cages. I use flat pedals with cages. I tried clipless but I didn't like them. I feel much more comfortable not being clipped in and being able to slightly adjust/change the position of my feet on the pedals while riding. But I also use flat pedals specific road bike shoes which are very stiff as you mentioned in the video. I am glad that the times are practically the same for the two types of pedals. Obviously as someone else mentioned in the comments, the flat pedals were at a disadvantage here because Connor is used to clipless not flats.

Yes, go to hell clip!

After watching this I'm switching to flats. Clipless gives me anxiety, I've crashed so many times going .001km/h in my clipless LOL

I have abandoned clipless pedals for flats. Almost every accident I had – albeit mostly in slow motion – was caused by clipless incidents. I have very similar flat pedals. But here is one big danger with flats – pedal strike. I notice it is definitely more dangerous. The metal pedals extend out wider and cause a harsh hit. Otherwise – never going back to being locked in!

I use all types and prefer nether one over the other. It's down to which bike I prefer for the days ride. If I'm out for speed then I take take a racer with clipless or toe clips. If there's much walking involved then it will be the SPD one. Clip pedal are sometimes a fiddle to get back into but can give you super acceleration when you have the energy. Most of my pedal time is with flats, MTB and gravel bikes. (I have N+1 ism)

The data doesn't make any sense. One ride for each type of pedal is not nearly enough and their are not accounting for wind. Also, the duration of each test is laughable.

I use flats on ice and snow, combined with spiked tyres and spiked shoes.

Do you prefer clipless or flat pedals? And has this video made you rethink? Let us know in the comments below! 👇