Undoubtedly true. I switched to clipless 10 years ago and have had a number of small accidents where, due to the clipless, it was most practical for me to fall directly onto my elbow and hip. Unfortunately 8 weeks ago I had a highish speed accident (about 30mph) and ended up with 4x breaks in my left pelvic bone where I landed. My decision to now abandon clipless is what brings me to your video !
100% agree. I ride road and came off at about 30kph two years ago whilst looking over my shoulder and hitting a raised manhole cover. Time to unclip? None, I was down and on the road before I even knew what had happened. I severely bruised my hip, could not walk properly for a few months, badly bruised my ribs, [none broken fortunately] and skinned my shoulder and arm. Now I can't say I would not have a broken leg or what other injuries I would have sustained if I had flat pedals, but before watching this video I had not put down the nature of the injuries sustained to the pedals, just took them for what they were. But my injuries 100% concur with the conclusions in this video. However, I still ride clipless because I do find them advantageous when riding a long uphill or accelerating, but at least now it is an informed decision. Most people talk about falling off when stationary due to forgetting to un-clip in the early days - no-one mentions the high-speed accidents. I wonder how the professional peloton views this because they crash all the time and still use clipless - maybe the dangers are different between road and MTB?
My wife had a life changing accident 8 years ago that resulted in a very badly broken ankle which ended up having to be fused - I am convinced the injury would not have happened if the foot had released from the pedal by 'rolling out' something that multi release cleats will do with minimal disadvantage if adjusted carefully - unfortunately she had the standard cleats fitted! I still ride clipless off and on road, because other than downhill I can pedal more efficiently, but all my shoes/pedals use recessed multi release cleats to reduce but not eliminate the residual risk. I agree with your comments about the industry not wanting to highlight or acknowledge these additional risks.
After a season of riding clipless... It's clear that I wouldn't put them on a DH bike. I don't ride that hard but during one fall while clipped in...my one foot didn't unclip and the strength in my ankle turned the bike enough not to hurt me but it's clear it's a clear risk
flat pedals provide so many advantages its almost impossible to quantify. You can literally jump off a bike in no time, using the pedals as support for the jump, in the instance of hitting a car face on or something high, with clipless that is just impossible. skidding and being able to roll off as opposed to losing your body skin to the road. Not being strapped to your bike in a crash and having the bike hurt you more than the road or anything else. I mean the examples are just endless. Plus you also have much more confort, I see myself slightly changing the position of my foot on the pedal all the time and that is just impossible with a clipless setup. I can use any shoes. Easy to mount on. Any one of my family members can ride my bike etc etc just endless advantages but of course the safety ones are the biggest.
Most folks know that I'm a fan of flat pedals and my pedal of choice is the Catalyst Pedals. I have them on all my bikes and, yeah you could pretty much call me a fan-boy. That being said, James, do you feel that the advances in clipless pedals that allow people to release their feet faster then before will change some of these stats you are discussing? I ask because I know that when some of my followers watch this video they are going to say that they can get their feet out so close to flats that they don't see this being an issue. I bring this up because your Catalyst Pedals are such a huge advancement in flat pedals that they have changed the way people ride. Will the advances in clipless pedals do the same for them and make them safer? Great video and I hope there will be more to come man!
Those are valid points, people's subjective experience has value. But that is where the science is supposed to step in by providing some objective data to discuss as well, which is really the point of this video. Specifically to those points, though, I would point out that in a wreck where it takes less than a second to hit the ground "almost as fast" equals a fraction of a second that can make the difference between getting your foot into position to help take the impact and your foot being just a bit behind and your hip taking the impact, which is what these studies seemed to be highlighting. The studies also pointed out that when you are wrecking your body can get put into a position where it is biomechanically harder to twist your foot to release and get away from the bike. Just because someone has not had this happen to them yet doesn't mean it can't happen, which again is what should be pointed out when discussing this subject, not pretending that it isn't a possibilty. Clipless pedals have not advanced that far in the last few years, one of the studies was from 2011 and one was from 2015 which makes them pretty relavent to the current crop of clipless pedals on the market. The fact that the other study was from 1995 and found the same problems says to me that clipless pedals have not gotten much safer in the last 20 years despite what the cycling industry would lead you to believe. I shot a video answering this and some other points that were raised that might help clear some things up for your readers. I appreciate the questions and hope that the info is able to help some riders make a more informed choice about their pedals: th-cam.com/video/837AnkRtD8M/w-d-xo.html
true that. I had a gnarly crash clipped in, when at the end I did get unclipped but meanwhile my ankle got brutally dislocated. So, in such situation i might have been able to avoid this injury if i used flats. But then to answer if clipless is more or less dangerous than flats u need to take into account the risks associated with slipping off flats on descent or when gettin air. I don't know what I'd fear more..
I ride MKS Lamda pedals barefoot recently. They are spikey a bit but your feet toughen up. I am also a barefoot runner and hiker, so I have full confidence and I feel 100 percent safe. I bike commute 11 miles to work in the morning with minimalist shoes and after working 8 hours in steel toe shoes my feet need to dry out. I fell into this new way of riding accidentally when my sandal broke. I see so many people bicycling in flip flops and that in my opinion is totally insane and dangerous. I like the barefoot feel. I feel like I have better control ( yes it takes practice) and I commute. I don't compete. The eleven miles takes an hour. Sometimes I pass people. Some people stare. Cars will pass and once a passenger stuck his head out like I completely lost my mind. I also don't wear a helmet. Just a hiking hat with cord. I love the fact that my feet never get hot or sweaty. They get sunshine and look nice and tan. I know it seems or sounds extreme or dangerous but if you are not barreling down a mountain trail and taking risks that could hurt you then why not enjoy a lovely and comfortable ride. My tip is to only try it if you have experience barefooting around town and can handle most surfaces without whincing. I love barefoot bicycling. I never wore clipless and I commute 10 thousand kilometers a year at least and I never had an accident. Both my stubborn uncles 🙄 are in their 70s and ride clipless and are crash a lot. I think one is giving up bicycling because he hates crashing and his wife wants him to stop. Just stop with clipless pedals.
Undoubtedly true. I switched to clipless 10 years ago and have had a number of small accidents where, due to the clipless, it was most practical for me to fall directly onto my elbow and hip. Unfortunately 8 weeks ago I had a highish speed accident (about 30mph) and ended up with 4x breaks in my left pelvic bone where I landed. My decision to now abandon clipless is what brings me to your video !
100% agree. I ride road and came off at about 30kph two years ago whilst looking over my shoulder and hitting a raised manhole cover. Time to unclip? None, I was down and on the road before I even knew what had happened. I severely bruised my hip, could not walk properly for a few months, badly bruised my ribs, [none broken fortunately] and skinned my shoulder and arm. Now I can't say I would not have a broken leg or what other injuries I would have sustained if I had flat pedals, but before watching this video I had not put down the nature of the injuries sustained to the pedals, just took them for what they were. But my injuries 100% concur with the conclusions in this video.
However, I still ride clipless because I do find them advantageous when riding a long uphill or accelerating, but at least now it is an informed decision. Most people talk about falling off when stationary due to forgetting to un-clip in the early days - no-one mentions the high-speed accidents. I wonder how the professional peloton views this because they crash all the time and still use clipless - maybe the dangers are different between road and MTB?
My wife had a life changing accident 8 years ago that resulted in a very badly broken ankle which ended up having to be fused - I am convinced the injury would not have happened if the foot had released from the pedal by 'rolling out' something that multi release cleats will do with minimal disadvantage if adjusted carefully - unfortunately she had the standard cleats fitted! I still ride clipless off and on road, because other than downhill I can pedal more efficiently, but all my shoes/pedals use recessed multi release cleats to reduce but not eliminate the residual risk. I agree with your comments about the industry not wanting to highlight or acknowledge these additional risks.
After a season of riding clipless... It's clear that I wouldn't put them on a DH bike. I don't ride that hard but during one fall while clipped in...my one foot didn't unclip and the strength in my ankle turned the bike enough not to hurt me but it's clear it's a clear risk
flat pedals provide so many advantages its almost impossible to quantify. You can literally jump off a bike in no time, using the pedals as support for the jump, in the instance of hitting a car face on or something high, with clipless that is just impossible. skidding and being able to roll off as opposed to losing your body skin to the road. Not being strapped to your bike in a crash and having the bike hurt you more than the road or anything else. I mean the examples are just endless. Plus you also have much more confort, I see myself slightly changing the position of my foot on the pedal all the time and that is just impossible with a clipless setup. I can use any shoes. Easy to mount on. Any one of my family members can ride my bike etc etc just endless advantages but of course the safety ones are the biggest.
Most folks know that I'm a fan of flat pedals and my pedal of choice is the Catalyst Pedals. I have them on all my bikes and, yeah you could pretty much call me a fan-boy. That being said, James, do you feel that the advances in clipless pedals that allow people to release their feet faster then before will change some of these stats you are discussing? I ask because I know that when some of my followers watch this video they are going to say that they can get their feet out so close to flats that they don't see this being an issue. I bring this up because your Catalyst Pedals are such a huge advancement in flat pedals that they have changed the way people ride. Will the advances in clipless pedals do the same for them and make them safer? Great video and I hope there will be more to come man!
Those are valid points, people's subjective experience has value. But that is where the science is supposed to step in by providing some objective data to discuss as well, which is really the point of this video.
Specifically to those points, though, I would point out that in a wreck where it takes less than a second to hit the ground "almost as fast" equals a fraction of a second that can make the difference between getting your foot into position to help take the impact and your foot being just a bit behind and your hip taking the impact, which is what these studies seemed to be highlighting.
The studies also pointed out that when you are wrecking your body can get put into a position where it is biomechanically harder to twist your foot to release and get away from the bike. Just because someone has not had this happen to them yet doesn't mean it can't happen, which again is what should be pointed out when discussing this subject, not pretending that it isn't a possibilty.
Clipless pedals have not advanced that far in the last few years, one of the studies was from 2011 and one was from 2015 which makes them pretty relavent to the current crop of clipless pedals on the market. The fact that the other study was from 1995 and found the same problems says to me that clipless pedals have not gotten much safer in the last 20 years despite what the cycling industry would lead you to believe.
I shot a video answering this and some other points that were raised that might help clear some things up for your readers. I appreciate the questions and hope that the info is able to help some riders make a more informed choice about their pedals:
th-cam.com/video/837AnkRtD8M/w-d-xo.html
true that. I had a gnarly crash clipped in, when at the end I did get unclipped but meanwhile my ankle got brutally dislocated. So, in such situation i might have been able to avoid this injury if i used flats. But then to answer if clipless is more or less dangerous than flats u need to take into account the risks associated with slipping off flats on descent or when gettin air. I don't know what I'd fear more..
I switched to your flats cause I was tired of falling over on technical areas of my ride and not being able to get my feet down.
I ride MKS Lamda pedals barefoot recently. They are spikey a bit but your feet toughen up. I am also a barefoot runner and hiker, so I have full confidence and I feel 100 percent safe. I bike commute 11 miles to work in the morning with minimalist shoes and after working 8 hours in steel toe shoes my feet need to dry out. I fell into this new way of riding accidentally when my sandal broke.
I see so many people bicycling in flip flops and that in my opinion is totally insane and dangerous.
I like the barefoot feel. I feel like I have better control ( yes it takes practice) and I commute. I don't compete. The eleven miles takes an hour. Sometimes I pass people. Some people stare. Cars will pass and once a passenger stuck his head out like I completely lost my mind. I also don't wear a helmet. Just a hiking hat with cord.
I love the fact that my feet never get hot or sweaty. They get sunshine and look nice and tan.
I know it seems or sounds extreme or dangerous but if you are not barreling down a mountain trail and taking risks that could hurt you then why not enjoy a lovely and comfortable ride.
My tip is to only try it if you have experience barefooting around town and can handle most surfaces without whincing.
I love barefoot bicycling.
I never wore clipless and I commute 10 thousand kilometers a year at least and I never had an accident.
Both my stubborn uncles 🙄 are in their 70s and ride clipless and are crash a lot. I think one is giving up bicycling because he hates crashing and his wife wants him to stop. Just stop with clipless pedals.
i would never use clipless on mtb. I cant believe even considering it. Riding past cliffs.. yeah ok.
Do other types of foot retention like straps or power grips fare better or worse?
Grant Petersen agrees.