MTB Pedal Fitting advice.

[UnluckyTimmeh]

Afternoon all.

Well following being given a load of proper bike clothing I want to do it justice and get out on my bike more.

I have a GT Aggressor XC2. I know it's not the best but its what I could afford and it does everything if want it to. I want to get some MTB shoes and therefore looking for the appropriate pedals to lock into.

I've bought some Shimano M162 shoes that are SPD??? These were from a friend who find them a bit too big. Now I obviously want to get pedals that will affix to them correctly but is there a chance of difference fixing and threads to my chainset? Ie threads? What I had thought to do is walk into my local bike shop with my new shoes and original pedal and go with "wish.to.replace.to.make.work.help.please" and then watch them laugh at my lack of knelowledge.

So any advice would be greatly recieved as to what I should be looking for/at.

Cheers all,

A hopelessly out of my depth Timmeh.

[HardWorkers]

Pedal threads are pretty much all standard 9/16" so you won't have a problem. Just choose the SPD compatible pedals you like and you're away.

[WeirdNeville]

Nope, they are completely standard and any pedals will fit. You can get a bog standard set of Shimano SPD pedals for £17 online and tbh they're very good! However, a set of "clip in cage" pedals is highly recommended, because you can then jump on the bike and ride it in any shoes you please. You can get shimano ones with a cage one side and a clip the other for about £40 IIRC, or proper bear trap pedals with a double sided clip in the centre.

Just remember, one is reverse threaded, and you really do need a dedicated 15mm pedal wrench to get the pedals off and one again. Ask the shop to fit them for you, saves embarassment.

Nothing will save you from the embarassment of your first clipped in slo mo fall over sideways pratfall though. You will do this precisely twice, then you will learn to swing your heel out, not pull it up, and you'll be laughing.

[Justin S]

With a newbie, I always back off the pedal spring to minimum and give the pedals clip a good lube before using. Remember to check you can clip in and out easily 'before' trying to ride. Lean against a wall and test you can. Shimano spd's are bargains now to buy like here:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...

or as above with small cages for a bit more confidence here:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...

[UnluckyTimmeh]

Thanks guys. My plan is to go out tomorrow so I can fall off on my own where no one will see me.

Appreciate your advice. So hopefully as long as they are SPD pedals they should fit my shoes?

[BliarOut]

Top tip, make sure the cleat screws are good and tight, if the cleats rotate you won't be able to clip out!

I practised clipping in and out leaning against a wall before I ventured out, it was time well spent

[bakerstreet]

I recommend the Shimano 520s. I had these on my road bike up till last week. Really easy to clip in and out of and a great way to start with clipped pedals.

I would go out on the road and just practice clipping in and out at junctions. I wouldn't go straight on a trail with clipped pedals for the first time.

The 520s are also pretty robust too.

[Mr E]

520s are cheap and bombproof.
540s are slightly more expensive and bombproof

[gazza285]

I've got the M520 pedals on four of my bikes, including the cyclocross bike, they work so well I can't see the point in spending money on anything else, unless you wanted a platform option like the M424.

[FarQue]

Yep, Shimano M520 & you shouldn't be paying over £20.00 Got them on two mountain bikes and have never had a problem. I also use a multi-angle release type cleat on my left shoe, but that's just to make unclipping a bit easier 'cause that's the false leg side! Standard cleat on my right shoe.

[UnluckyTimmeh]

The 520's were £29.99 in my local shop so I left them there.

Is there a particular online shop you guys use for this sort of thing?

[rhinochopig]

WeirdNeville said:

Nope, they are completely standard and any pedals will fit. You can get a bog standard set of Shimano SPD pedals for £17 online and tbh they're very good! However, a set of "clip in cage" pedals is highly recommended, because you can then jump on the bike and ride it in any shoes you please. You can get shimano ones with a cage one side and a clip the other for about £40 IIRC, or proper bear trap pedals with a double sided clip in the centre.

Just remember, one is reverse threaded, and you really do need a dedicated 15mm pedal wrench to get the pedals off and one again. Ask the shop to fit them for you, saves embarassment.

Nothing will save you from the embarassment of your first clipped in slo mo fall over sideways pratfall though. You will do this precisely twice, then you will learn to swing your heel out, not pull it up, and you'll be laughing.

Not strictly true, most pedals can be fitted with an Allen key.

[WeirdNeville]

No, most pedals can have their allen key socket rounded out with an allen key, or you can have "7mm" imprinted on your palm with an allen key, or you can bend your allen key with an allen key....

A decent long narrow jawed 15mm pedal wrench makes the job a cinch.

[rhinochopig]

WeirdNeville said:

No, most pedals can have their allen key socket rounded out with an allen key, or you can have "7mm" imprinted on your palm with an allen key, or you can bend your allen key with an allen key....

A decent long narrow jawed 15mm pedal wrench makes the job a cinch.

Well in 20 years of building bikes and fitting pedals I've never used a special pedal spanner and for the most part have simply used a good quality Allen key. In fact, come to think of it, some pedals don't even have spanner flats.

And from Bike Radar:

"All Shimano SPDs use 6mm or 8mm Allen keys to screw the axles in and out of the crank arms."

[FarQue]

UnluckyTimmeh said:

The 520's were £29.99 in my local shop so I left them there.

Is there a particular online shop you guys use for this sort of thing?

Chain Reaction Cycles appear to be punting 520's out at £17:49.

[Watchman]

I just had a set of 530s for Christmas, chiefly because they are only £20 from here:

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/PESHM530/shima...

[FarQue]

I only use an Allen key on pedals. Just have to remember the left hand thread on the left crank...

[XG332]

My shimano spd sl pedals specifically say to be done up with a spanner

[rhinochopig]

XG332 said:

My shimano spd sl pedals specifically say to be done up with a spanner

You sure? The manual says you can use either - and specifically shows an Allen key in the diagram.

http://techdocs.shimano.com/media/techdocs/content...

[XG332]

rhinochopig said:

You sure? The manual says you can use either - and specifically shows an Allen key in the diagram.

http://techdocs.shimano.com/media/techdocs/content...

Positive. As it made me question why they went to the trouble of adding the socket if they don't want you to use it.