Clips or platforms
Original text from NetNews by :
Rory "Rockalot" Huber
All right i need to know if clips are a good idea, right now i'm a intermediate
and i can control my bike pretty good. I need to know if it's a good idea to go
ahead and get clips, i don't think i'm getting all the power i can get out of
my legs. like i'm not spinning enough, and i also don't have that pushing with
my back legs down real good. And alos my gates kinda suck, and i heard clips
help with all that, and also can anyone tell me a good clip to get?
I think clips are I good idea as long as you know how to use them!!
I rode clips on my MTB for 3yrs so it was easy for me to adjust on my BMX'er
but it still took me two weeks to get dialed in. When you get your clips you
should ride in the street day & night, practice balancing in one spot while
clipped in and never get in the habit of looking down to clip in. Looking down
at the pedals to clip in is a bad habit and hard to break, you need to get used
to finding them by feel!
After you have the technics I mentioned above then I would suggest some dirt
riding, small jumps and then practice out at the track... in that order.
Most everyone's dislikes of clips is from injuries and squarely bike handling
on the track so practice the techniques I have mentioned and your first
experience with clips at the track will be positive.
When I started clipping in my starts improved VERY MUCH! the rest of the season
I dominated!
With clips you will be able to pedal into jumps further since you will not have
to worry about foot placement as well as your landings, more pedal strokes
means more trophies!
Pedal purchase:
The larger platforms are easier to get into but they weigh a lot more and with
a smaller pedal you will have more ground clearance in the turns.
If you start out with the larger pedal then decide to go small you will have to
learn (without looking) where to place your foot all over again. The smaller
pedal is not the best for jumping at the local trails or in muddy conditions so
you will have to decide what's the best for you, I have clips and platforms for
my 3-piece depending on what I'm doing. You will wear out your first set of
pedals sooner than your second set due to learning how to get in and out. The
mechanism does wear with a lot of aggressive "stomping In" and
"Ripping Out" as opposed to twisting so I would recommend a Welgo
pedal which are less expensive but still trustworthy. Wellgo just happens to
make pedals for a lot of the other manufacturers who then have their name put
on them.
Last thing, about time he?
Watch out for all the negativity around clips, most folks dislike them still
and they all have great stories of how dangerous clips are but they might have
not taken the right steps before hand to insure they knew what they were doing
also... how many people crash and get hurt without clips? PLENTY, so don't let
them blame all crashes/injuries on clips because they or you were crashing
before clips too!
anymore Q's, just "E" me,
Original text from NetNews by :
Rory "Rockalot" Huber
O'Neils BMX Racing
rockalot@ix.netcom.com - BMX Non Stop!
http://Fast.to/bmxnonstop
* BMX Non Stop!