Clipless pedals and shoes - recommendations for a newbie

[Matt230]

Hi all

Newbie cyclist here - i have a Specialized Allez road bike which i will be using for fitness and also pleasure rides of around 50+ miles. Currently have caged pedals which i hate and looking to upgrade to Clipless pedals and shoes.

I have read a few posts on here and trawled the internet and have become confused.

What pedals / Shoes would you recommend for a reasonable budget please?

Matt

[itsnotarace]

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Par...
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-r1-road-cycling-shoe/

[Mr Will]

How long is your typical ride? Do you ride in mostly in town or countryside? How important is being able to walk easily in the shoes?

[Matt230]

I mostly ride in countryside, however some of the pleasure rides will have some quietish towns to cycle through.

I guess being able to walk easily in the shoes would be better for any lunch / pub stops

Matt

[Rob_T]

i bought cheapest i could find - RO76 (£35) shoes and the cheapest Shimano SPD SL 540 (£25) Cycled about 1000 miles with them through sunshine and rain and no problem whatsoever.

[Mr Will]

Matt230 said:

I mostly ride in countryside, however some of the pleasure rides will have some quietish towns to cycle through.

I guess being able to walk easily in the shoes would be better for any lunch / pub stops

In that case I'd recommend going the whole hog and getting proper road shoes and pedals (SPD-SL or similar)

If you were in town or traffic a lot then I'd suggest going for the less hardcore traditional SPDs, possibly with half/half pedals, but for the type of riding you do SPD-SLs should be lighter and more comfortable.

[Pupp]

Mr Will said:

In that case I'd recommend going the whole hog and getting proper road shoes and pedals (SPD-SL or similar)

If you were in town or traffic a lot then I'd suggest going for the less hardcore traditional SPDs, possibly with half/half pedals, but for the type of riding you do SPD-SLs should be lighter and more comfortable.

And completely hopeless for any sort of walking around.

There's nothing 'less hardcore' about original SPD; they're perfectly functional and it's a mystery to many why they were dropped out of Shimanos road-race gruppos - I'd personally pay very good money for another set (preferrably two) of Dura Ace SPDs. And with decent shoes, there is no discernible difference in comfort/support/feel over bigger platform systems before anyone starts

[porka944s]

itsnotarace said:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Par...
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-r1-road-cycling-shoe/

This came up in a thread the other week and i took this mans advice and bought the above. I've only ever ridden with normal pedals on an MTB before but after getting my new Defy 3 the other day i wanted to try them. I can say im very please! its a bit unerving at first as there is a bit of float with the cleats, but i can walk fine in them. £75 well spent. Im still trying to get used to pulling up when pedalling, its most noicable when you get out of the saddle and climb.

[BliarOut]

porka944s said:

itsnotarace said:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Par...
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-r1-road-cycling-shoe/

This came up in a thread the other week and i took this mans advice and bought the above. I've only ever ridden with normal pedals on an MTB before but after getting my new Defy 3 the other day i wanted to try them. I can say im very please! its a bit unerving at first as there is a bit of float with the cleats, but i can walk fine in them. £75 well spent. Im still trying to get used to pulling up when pedalling, its most noicable when you get out of the saddle and climb.

I just went for these

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...

With a set of Specialized MTB shoes. Wish I'd done it ages ago

[Mr Will]

Pupp said:

And completely hopeless for any sort of walking around.

There's nothing 'less hardcore' about original SPD; they're perfectly functional and it's a mystery to many why they were dropped out of Shimanos road-race gruppos - I'd personally pay very good money for another set (preferrably two) of Dura Ace SPDs. And with decent shoes, there is no discernible difference in comfort/support/feel over bigger platform systems before anyone starts

I use SPDs myself and am very happy with them but the decision was swayed by the fact that I need to be able to walk in and out of the office, spend most of my time commuting in traffic and wanted to be able to ride without cycling shoes from time to time (I have these pedals: Shimano A530)

If the bike was purely for leisure/training riding then I would have gone the other way and got "proper" road pedals and shoes, despite the downsides of less walk-ability and being trickier to clip in and out. I have to confess though, I've never tried SPD-SLs, so can't say for certain they are worth the sacrifices.

[Slaav]

This is also now my dilemma...

Starting to do some longer rides and have a 30 mile ride planned for the weekend (no booze is helping)

So as a kid used toe clips - balance good and want to go straight from no toe clips to clip ons.

Rather big chap at 18St and fairly strong legs so need (I guess) a robust shoe and pedal combo...

Will get used to the clip ins out of town and on wide open roads so not to scared or need a half way house etc. STraight in with some decent ROAD orientated combo?

HAve looked at some of the suggestions above and look good but do my specific requirements lead to any obvious answers or different suggestions?

Dont wish to hijack thread but need to get the combo on for this weekend I feel and didnt feel starting a new topic would be appropriate.

Thanks as always for any advice.

[Mr Will]

What is your typical ride like? Do you use the bike for getting about at all, or just fitness? How often do you wear Lycra while you are riding?

Also, if you want to get used to them, a quiet town/city with traffic lights and the like is the place to do it. A non-stop 30 mile ride will involve clipping in at the start and out at the end which is hardly any practice at all.

[BliarOut]

I set mine up in the kitchen. Back the tension off then practice clipping in and out one foot at a time before you hit the road (sic).

Only took a couple of goes and feels totally natural.

Make sure your cleats are tight unless you want to be able to unclip at the lights

[Slaav]

Mr Will said:

What is your typical ride like? Do you use the bike for getting about at all, or just fitness? How often do you wear Lycra while you are riding?

Also, if you want to get used to them, a quiet town/city with traffic lights and the like is the place to do it. A non-stop 30 mile ride will involve clipping in at the start and out at the end which is hardly any practice at all.

Building to a long 3 day ride in May.

Training is now getting 'fun' and must say I am looking forward to the weekend etc etc.

So typical ride is out of my village then 15 mins into town, ride through town and practise clipping in and out or take the 'bypass' then choice of routes, again via towns and occasional stop start or stay out of villages/town and stay on 'main road'. SO can pretty much mix it up as much as I want.

Plenty of opportunity to practise and get used to them. Long rides will now need to involve a bh of a hill so will get used to clip ins before attacking that bu66er. (As in heading the other way out of town)

[croyde]

I got my first SPDs last summer and have got on with them fine although I don't tend to use them for commuting, so on my Langster I have those Shimano SPD on one side and flats on the other pedals along with some Specialized SPD shoes that look like trainers.

You can walk in them but I find the crunching sound of the cleats on gravel or pavement unnerving so I still do that duck like waddle that the boys in the proper shoes do.

A couple of times I have un-clipped when approaching junctions/lights and then rested my left foot on the pedal only to find that I have clipped in again so momentary panic ensues.

[SamHH]

Mr Will said:

I use SPDs myself and am very happy with them but the decision was swayed by the fact that I need to be able to walk in and out of the office, spend most of my time commuting in traffic and wanted to be able to ride without cycling shoes from time to time (I have these pedals: Shimano A530)

If the bike was purely for leisure/training riding then I would have gone the other way and got "proper" road pedals and shoes, despite the downsides of less walk-ability and being trickier to clip in and out. I have to confess though, I've never tried SPD-SLs, so can't say for certain they are worth the sacrifices.

What is meant to be better about SPD-SL?

[Mr Will]

SamHH said:

What is meant to be better about SPD-SL?

The larger platform is supposed to make them more comfortable on long rides and they are more secure when you are really putting the power down. I think they are also slightly lighter, but that's probably not worth worrying about for most of us!

They also make you look like a proper roadie, in the same way as wearing branded Lycra and shaving your legs

[Mr Will]

Slaav said:

Building to a long 3 day ride in May.

Training is now getting 'fun' and must say I am looking forward to the weekend etc etc.

So typical ride is out of my village then 15 mins into town, ride through town and practise clipping in and out or take the 'bypass' then choice of routes, again via towns and occasional stop start or stay out of villages/town and stay on 'main road'. SO can pretty much mix it up as much as I want.

Plenty of opportunity to practise and get used to them. Long rides will now need to involve a bh of a hill so will get used to clip ins before attacking that bu66er. (As in heading the other way out of town)

I'm not an expert, but I'd say the decision will come down to how often you want to be able to walk in them. SPD-SLs will probably be a bit better for your 3 day ride, but standard SPDs are easier to clip in and out of and walk about in.

[anonymous-user]

My 1st SPDs were the Shimano ones with clip on one side & normal pedal on the other. They are Ok but it takes more concentration to clip in. I now have the usual ones with clips both sides & find it far easier, no looking down or faffing around is needed, at the loss of pedal convenience if you want to wear normal trainers etc for any reason. Be prepared for some comedy moments! My 1st SPD related off (I didnt even try to unclip when stopping, went down like a felled tree!) was of course witnessed by a bemused dog walker.