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I believe that most of the estimates are BS, because the ability to measure accurately would be questionable at best. Ride the same climb 5 different times with the same bike, same pedals and get 5 different measurements. None of this is scientific. Ride what you like.

I'll continue to say: whatever pedal/ wheel size/ drivetrain/ handlebar width/ suspension/ brakes/ etc give each individual riser the most subjectively observed confidence will be the fastest, most efficient, and safest option. There is no "best" option that benefits every rider equally. Not everyone is racing or gives a shit if they can ride a stretch of trails 1/2 second faster than the other Freds. AfterI decade of riding Shimano SPD, I got some good, sticky sneakers and some spikey pedals. My confidence went through the frickin roof and I have more confidence and therefore more fun. I probably ride faster, but I'm not racing so IDGAF.

Big Bend Nationa Park.

After a decade running on Time clips, I tried flats a few times and it freaked me out. I am more comfortable being clipped in because I am not the world's most coordinated person and clips allow me to not worry about my feet coming off the pedals. Everyone is different. I know I could just switch to flats and be forced to get used to it. But that is like saying I know you prefer IPA, but if you just drink Miller Lite for a year eventually you will like it. Maybe I will, but life is too short.

Only if it's from Blockbuster Video. You don't want to let those rewind fees add up!

They claim in the video that you'll save 15-30% of your energy going uphill on clipless vs flats, but I thought that claim had been debunked years ago. I rode clipless last time I was in Colorado and rode flats when I recently rode in California. Both rides covered an awful lot of climbing and I certainly didn't feel disadvantaged at all riding flats. I've ridden the Lake Georgetown Loop on both clipless and flats, and my fastest lap by a wide margin came on flats. I'm not trying to say flats make you faster - just challenging the notion that clipless truly save measurable energy or even result in a more efficient pedal stroke.

I used this a few times for singlespeed but the oval has a loose-tight pattern that does not work well. Should work fine with a derailleur. For RaceFace direct mount. Has an offset but not sure what chainline will result on your cranks. (Oval rings should work fine on a singlespeed without a tight spot. Also does not look oval because of the photo angle.) 15 bucks or bring me six-pack of something stout and strong.

What I really want to know is whether flats or clipless pedals are better for ebikes...

But was the dude in the ATV clipped in?

Think how much faster he could be!

Somebody should let this guy know that clipless are faster than flats.

Technically, most "flat" pedals are concave.

In the minds of 99.9% of riders, "clipping in" has nothing to do with toe clips. Asking someone to "clip in" with toe clips in mind is like asking them to rewind their Blue Ray disc before returning it to Blockbuster. It's just an anachronism now.

Yep. Ouch! I'll remember that one. It's not like we're not talking about opposite words. Clips and clipless are the opposite. So how pedantic is that really?

I've actually made it up some tech climbs on flats that I was never able to make with clipless, I figure this was due to concentrating on good technique instead of just sloppily powering through with clipless.

Same result as if someone's electronic shifter has tech issues. You are left with a bike that you can still pedal but with a stiff penalty. What could be worse? How about if a non-tech component like a wheel blows up and the bike is completely un-ridable. Charging on a multi-day tour is a good question.

I tried to convert my family to using the metric system, 24 hr military time, and Celsius for temperatures. Even when I could set all the electronics up that way, it failed miserably. Too much momentum I guess....even with the kids. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I remember the toe clips well, they seemed so high tech to me in the early 90's, I was all about bear traps, skate shoes and no skin on my legs. I was trying so hard to look like Shaun Palmer on the dual slalom tracks!

I just got visions of a post-apocalyptic dystopia where the robots cannibalize their e-bike brethren to reach the last remaining humans who are camped out in remote areas of Utah with their traditional pedal bikes.

That could be interesting. Half of the riders might have to eat the other half to keep going, rather than lug around e-bikes with dead batteries.

I find that Fox is pretty responsive to emails or calls. phone them up and give them that four-letter code. that should clear it up. it's possible that you can use the same oil, but my fork has a different damper.

My "gravel" bike. Back in the day, these were dubbed "monstercross". Cyclocross but with bigger tires. Handles singletrack like you wouldn't believe.

Man I hate ground level stumps, and I'm surprised how many there are locally. When IMBA visited us in the northeast, they taught us to cut in-trail trees at chest height, and then pole dance with them back and forth until you can loosen up the roots enough to pull/cut them out of the ground. Yeah, you dig a hole, but holes are easy to fill, and I never pedal smack a hole in the ground. And with no rock, we had far deeper roots in the northeast than does CenTX.

Hooray, we get to argue again.