Are Flat Pedals Actually Just As Fast As Clipless Pedals?

Summary by Krater

Two presenters from GCN test clipless pedals against flat pedals and specific mountain bike flat shoes across a hill climb and two flat rides, concluding that while clipless pedals offer an advantage in maximum sprint power, flat pedals and stiff flat shoes perform surprisingly close in time and average power.

From the video

Answers: Are clipless pedals actually faster than flat pedals?

• Clipless vs flat pedals
• Cycling pedal efficiency
• Hill climb cycling test
• Cycling power output comparison
• Flat pedals with stiff shoes

What it concludes

• Clipless pedals allowed a faster hill climb time of 3 minutes 9 seconds compared to 3 minutes 7 seconds on flat pedals.
• Average power was slightly higher on clipless pedals at 429w compared to 415w on flat pedals during the hill climb.
• On the 5 km flat test, flat pedals recorded a faster time of 9 minutes 22 seconds compared to 9 minutes 20 seconds on clipless pedals.
• Maximum sprint power over 3 seconds reached 1189w on clipless pedals compared to 908w on flat pedals.