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5 Tips for Learning to Ride Flat Pedals
When learning to ride flat pedals you may suffer what is called "The Dip". This is where you suffer a
short term decrease in performance while you work on something new that will lead to substantial
increases in performance when you get it down. It is very common in sports and one of the things that
separate great performers in any category from everyone else is the desire to find better ways to do
stuff and suffer through The Dip so they can continue to improve.
With that in mind here are some tips for helping you to minimize the dip and get to where you are able
to ride flat pedals with more speed and confidence as quickly as possible.
1) Stick with them for at least 12 rides. You want to commit to riding flat pedals, and only flat pedal, for
several rides in row as this will force you to learn how to use them. This is especially important if you
have ridden clipless pedals in the past because the temptation will be to give up too soon and go back to
them or to switch back and forth between clipless and flat pedals. Use the tips in the this manual and by
your 12th ride you'll probably be riding up and down stuff you've never cleaned before thanks to the kind
of rider flats force you to become.
2) Stand up more. I am a huge fan of standing up more to pedal for several reasons, not the least of
them is because it easier to keeps your feet "heavy" on the pedals. When you sit down you un-weight
your feet and this makes it much more likely that your feet will fly off the pedals when you hit a rock or
bump in the trail. This doesn't mean that you need to stand up all the time but you should try to stand
up when descending or laying down power to the pedals, which are the two most common times that
most riders lose their feet on the pedals.
As an added bonus, standing up is much easier on the knees and lower back than being hunched over in
the seated position. It also forces a co-contraction of the hamstrings and quads at the knee joint to
stabilize it at the bottom position, which is something that doesn't happen as effectively when you are
sitting down. You should be able to go out on a 2 hour trail ride and stand up during all descents and
most powerful pedaling efforts, using the seated efforts for when you can spin it out and recover for
your next standing effort.
3) Get some shin pads. Keeping your feet planted on your pedals will require you to stand more and to
actively “ground” your feet into the pedals, two skills that will take time to develop. Another skill you
will pick up as you ride flat pedals is how to slip a pedal and get your shin out of the way. In the
meantime, just get some bright yellow shin pads and freak people out on the trail…oh wait, that’s what I
did. You don’t have to go with yellow but you will freak some people out when you blast by them on a
climb with your flats and shin pads. Eventually you will get comfortable enough to ride without them but
just be realistic about the fact that you will try to blow your shins up more than once.
4) Use running to "reset" you pedal stroke. This sounds a bit strange but one of the best drills I use at
clinics to instantly improve a rider's pedal stroke plus make it more flat pedal friendly is to get them off
their bike and run a few sprints. Several lab tests have shown that the vast majority of your power is
produced on the downstroke and that the upstroke is primarily to get the trail leg back into position to
drive down again, not to add power to the pedal stroke.
This is exactly how you run and by engaging the running mechanics you groove the lower body
movement you need to pedal more effectively, especially when standing. Try sprinting 15-20 yards,
repeating 4 times, and then jump on your bike and make your standing pedaling "feel" the same way -
just be ready for an instant increase pedaling power and foot stability.
5) Get a good pair of shoes and flat pedals. This cannot be stressed enough - most riders who say that
they don't like to ride flat pedals have never tried riding with a good pair of flat pedals and shoes made
specifically for flat pedals. You should spend about $100 on a good pair of riding shoes with a sticky
rubber sole (like those found on 5.10 brand riding shoes) and $50-$100 on a decent pair of flats. Once
you have the right equipment you’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to keep your feet planted on the
pedals.
5 Tips for Learning to Ride Flat Pedals
When learning to ride flat pedals you may suffer what is called "The Dip". This is where you suffer a
short term decrease in performance while you work on something new that will lead to substantial
increases in performance when you get it down. It is very common in sports and one of the things that
separate great performers in any category from everyone else is the desire to find better ways to do
stuff and suffer through The Dip so they can continue to improve.
With that in mind here are some tips for helping you to minimize the dip and get to where you are able
to ride flat pedals with more speed and confidence as quickly as possible.
1) Stick with them for at least 12 rides. You want to commit to riding flat pedals, and only flat pedal, for
several rides in row as this will force you to learn how to use them. This is especially important if you
have ridden clipless pedals in the past because the temptation will be to give up too soon and go back to
them or to switch back and forth between clipless and flat pedals. Use the tips in the this manual and by
your 12th ride you'll probably be riding up and down stuff you've never cleaned before thanks to the kind
of rider flats force you to become.
2) Stand up more. I am a huge fan of standing up more to pedal for several reasons, not the least of
them is because it easier to keeps your feet "heavy" on the pedals. When you sit down you un-weight
your feet and this makes it much more likely that your feet will fly off the pedals when you hit a rock or
bump in the trail. This doesn't mean that you need to stand up all the time but you should try to stand
up when descending or laying down power to the pedals, which are the two most common times that
most riders lose their feet on the pedals.
As an added bonus, standing up is much easier on the knees and lower back than being hunched over in
the seated position. It also forces a co-contraction of the hamstrings and quads at the knee joint to
stabilize it at the bottom position, which is something that doesn't happen as effectively when you are
sitting down. You should be able to go out on a 2 hour trail ride and stand up during all descents and
most powerful pedaling efforts, using the seated efforts for when you can spin it out and recover for
your next standing effort.
3) Get some shin pads. Keeping your feet planted on your pedals will require you to stand more and to
actively “ground” your feet into the pedals, two skills that will take time to develop. Another skill you
will pick up as you ride flat pedals is how to slip a pedal and get your shin out of the way. In the
meantime, just get some bright yellow shin pads and freak people out on the trail…oh wait, that’s what I
did. You don’t have to go with yellow but you will freak some people out when you blast by them on a
climb with your flats and shin pads. Eventually you will get comfortable enough to ride without them but
just be realistic about the fact that you will try to blow your shins up more than once.
4) Use running to "reset" you pedal stroke. This sounds a bit strange but one of the best drills I use at
clinics to instantly improve a rider's pedal stroke plus make it more flat pedal friendly is to get them off
their bike and run a few sprints. Several lab tests have shown that the vast majority of your power is
produced on the downstroke and that the upstroke is primarily to get the trail leg back into position to
drive down again, not to add power to the pedal stroke.
This is exactly how you run and by engaging the running mechanics you groove the lower body
movement you need to pedal more effectively, especially when standing. Try sprinting 15-20 yards,
repeating 4 times, and then jump on your bike and make your standing pedaling "feel" the same way -
just be ready for an instant increase pedaling power and foot stability.
5) Get a good pair of shoes and flat pedals. This cannot be stressed enough - most riders who say that
they don't like to ride flat pedals have never tried riding with a good pair of flat pedals and shoes made
specifically for flat pedals. You should spend about $100 on a good pair of riding shoes with a sticky
rubber sole (like those found on 5.10 brand riding shoes) and $50-$100 on a decent pair of flats. Once
you have the right equipment you’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to keep your feet planted on the
pedals.
"A flat donato non si guarda in bocca" (con riferimento ai denti "pin" dei pedali) 
