k first off i have the original mallet c's and still use them til this day. Smeckma: you cannot honestly say it creates bad technique? as riders on flats tend to develop lazy habbits such as cornering with one foot off pedal. secondly, you cannot just flat out say they are useless, as posted many times before many DH'ers prefer clipless as it gives the rider more control, confidence and in my opinion BETTER riding habbits. so to be so ignorant just because you never took the time to learn about/how to ride with SPD's does not give you a right to bad-mouth them in any way. i have riden with both and switch between both SPD's and flats. but for the mallet's design which is DH, its safe to say most riders who take the time to understand them and learn to ride with SPD's preffered them. Uncajohn: the mallet series pedal is not a copy of shimano's design, the mallet's are a completely different pedal on their own. the brand is rider's preference really. different companies designs offer differences, although sometimes minor are still changes so to say they are all the same is ignorant.