Pedal and shoe combo

Comment

Comment by Dianne on April 9, 2012 at 1:12am

Hi all

Thanks for the feedback. I managed to get pedals (Shimano SPD) for $35 from Chain reaction cycles and shoes for $80, I thought $115 all in was a good deal. Because I thought all pedals were all the same i ordered mountain bike pedals, which isn't too bad because at least i can walk short distances in the cycling shoes. 

So far they seem ok, but haven't really gone far in them. Fell off once resulting in a few bruises and cuts, oh a few laughs from the observing audience, but all good.  

If you have knowledge of bike parts, I found 'chainreactioncycles.com' a good site. It's a Uk site with free delivery to Oz land for orders over $80.  However returning items could be expensive.  

Here's to happy cycling :)

 

Comment by Carolyn Polson on February 11, 2012 at 12:35pm

Hi Dianne,

I have been riding for a couple of years now. I started as a commuter but found I enjoyed cycling more than I expected and now ride just for the sake of riding... never thought I would say that...

I rode a mountain bike to begin with, cause it was already there from casual family riding. Then I bought a Giant CRX 2W & rode this for a while with the pedals it came with. I too wanted to ride the Brisbane to Gold Coast and my partner suggested I try clipless pedals & shoes & I resisted at first cause it seemed a bit scary, but then after several slip-offs & gouges up the back of my calf from the as-they-came spikey pedals I decided to give it a go.

I bought a pair of Shimano SPD  WM60 on sale at Anaconda for about $80 & got the pedals fitted at the local bike shop. At first I couldn't clip in, they just wouldn't go in. I practiced & practiced to no avail. Then I went back to the local bike shop & they loosened them right up & presto, I was able to clip in & out straight away. I then took my bike down to the local bike track & practiced stopping & starting, clipping & unclipping. After doing this for a while I felt comfortable about going back out onto the road & haven't looked back. I haven't fallen off, I occasionally have a bit of trouble clipping back in. It did take a bit at first to get the foot postioning right, but most times in comes naturally now.

Mine are the sort that you can twist in any direction to get them off.

Sometimes I get sore feet, but I think it has more to do with how much I tighten the shoe straps & how far I've ridden without a break. I can walk in them fine cause they are not the ones that poke right out, they just make a small, pleasant clip-cloppy noise.

I am an amateur & don't know all the right words :-)  This worked for me.

Happy Riding :-)

Comment by Paul Martin on January 26, 2012 at 2:07pm

Good advice, Gordon.

I just wish people would be honest in justifying their choices. "Because I like it" is a perfectly reasonable excuse, whereas the post-rationalising just sounds pretentious. 

Comment by Gordon on January 26, 2012 at 8:14am

I should correct my post.  It was late last night.  SPD SL cleats and pedals are generally accepted as Road Bike Style, whilst SPD are generally considered mountain bike style.

On the weight and time issue, repeatability of speed would be a tough one, as there are so many variables in an uncontrolled environment.  Although I do think my buddy is reasonably consistent.

I feel there is often an enormous amount of emphasis placed on bicycle weight that is unjustified for us mere mortals and as a consequence I like highlighting the absurdities with humour.  My carbon bike has carbon bottle cages.  The combination looks real cool and the 5 seconds I think it shortens my commute to work is well worth it.  Who wouldn't want to get to work faster? 

Dianne, to answer your question on cheap pedals, my advice is consider M324 style.  Cell bikes website gives a good overview & pricing.  Then watch prices at your local bike shop, 99 Bikes or Goldcross.  (Goldcross seem to have a good price now)

This is important:  As a beginner I'd take my bike and get them fitted at the bike shop (your local shop might even price match) and they will adjust the pressure settings and spring tensions so they remain firm but are crisp to unclip.  You may also need seat hight adjustments etc.  To do that you will need to have already purchased mountain bike shoes. (My experience is mountain bike shoes are generally cheaper)   But there will be no value in savings getting pedals mail order if you can't get them properly adjusted as you may end up with pedals that are downright dangerous to unclip from.  I also don't think it fair to buy kit mail order then expect your local shop to fit it free of charge.

Sometimes you can get a deal purchasing shoes and pedal combinations, so don't forget to ask the shop "If I buy both shoes and pedals from you, can you do me a deal please?"  Generally they'll try, but margins in cycling industry are low.

Cell Bikes M324

http://www.cellbikes.com.au/Shimano-M324-SPD-Mountain-Bike-Pedals?s...

Goldcross M324

http://www.goldcross.com.au/online-store/products/Shimano-M-324-Ped...

99 Bikes

http://99bikes.com.au/shop/accessories/pedal-shimano-m324

Comment by Paul Martin on January 26, 2012 at 6:27am

Good post, Gordon.

I wonder if time difference your friend mentioned is really statistically significant... repeatable, etc. 8 seconds over such a distance is hardly worth getting excited about and could just as much be down to the weather, tyre pressure or what he had for dinner the night before!

If he was serious about shedding weight he would go to the toilet before any hill climb! Of course, drinking your water before hand just converts that 1.5kg from unsprung to sprung weight! ;)

The other advantage of SPD shoes (with recessed cleats) over SPD-SL road shoes is when the weather is wet. Trying to walk on smooth surfaces in the wet with road shoes is like trying to walk on ice. I've seen a few people fall over while walking in them over the past few days. 

Comment by Gordon on January 25, 2012 at 9:35pm

I got both SPDL on one road bike and SPD on another. (former is mountain bike style, latter is road bike). And no, mtn bike pedals don't look weird on a road bike. First of all, no one looks, second, those that do look don't understand, finally, if they are looking at your shoes and pedals, you've got the wrong Lycra on, or you're wrong to be wearing Lycra.

SPD are far easier to use and the shoes, mtn bike style are far easier to walk in. I even have one pair that, at a glance, look like Nike running shoes. Easier to clip in and out IMHO and definitely easier to walk around in.

Downside is shoes are generally heavier and don't look as fast.

On the issue of weight, my serious hill climb buddy today advised me that 1KG weight on his bike will make 8 secs difference on the Mt Coot-tha climb at Bike Week. Said he was getting lighter carbon pedals to give him an edge. Thanked him for the good advice and told him I'd just gulp my two water bottles down at the start. At 1.5 litres (or 1.5 kg off the frame) I can expect to save 12 Seconds, thus beating him by 4 to the toilet at the top. But I digress.

Paul is correct on all counts. Any one being honest with themselves would need to admit it is more about comfort and looks and less about quantum efficiencies (word of warning, looks don't help when you fall over at traffic lights in front of a crowd 'cause shoes didn't un clip) On the limited value of the upward stroke. It may be useful to maximize every nanojoule of power when trying to win that Olympic Gold by 1/100th of a second, but last time I looked BtGC didn't even rate a visit by Guiness Book of Records.

As a beginner I'd invest in Shimano double sided pedals. By double sided I mean one side has mtn clips and the other side is flat. They allow you to clip in for longer rides or use the flat non-clip side for cruising the city streets and stopping frequently at lights. Both sides work well with SPD cleated shoes and the flat side also works with Nikes or thongs, which is something you cant do with SPDL pedals or SPDL cleated shoes

Finally, after you've become attuned to un clipping prior to stopping at lights or balancing track stand style, you can then proceed to the full up clipless or SPDL clipless if you want to save the weight. (all 150 grams, or 1.2 secs up Mt Cootha) Note comming attuned to unclipping prior to stoping at intersections is usually preceded by falling over in front of a pedestrian audience at least 3 times..

Comment by Doc Embrey on January 18, 2012 at 7:00pm

I don't know if the shoes and cleats make you faster or more efficient, but they do provide excellent support for you feet, and I find them very comfortable ... but I don't use them when I commute as I like to be able to get my foot down in a hurry if I want to.

Though, I'm pretty sure most women would find the stylishness of mountain-bike shoes embarrassing and grotesque ... 

Comment by Paul Martin on January 17, 2012 at 7:52pm

Also, if you do go with the SPD cleats, bear in mind there are two types of cleat - a silver one & a black one. One of them will allow you to unclip by pulling hard in any direction; the other requires a lateral twist to unclip and will not unclip any other way.

Comment by Paul Martin on January 17, 2012 at 7:51pm

Don't believe the hype... you are more than capable of riding from Brisbane to the Gold Coast without clipless pedals & cleats, honestly.

The only real advantage of clipless pedals (and this is going to upset some people) is that you don't have to spend any energy (& mental energy) on keeping your foot on the right spot on the pedal - which is an important reason to have them, particularly in a race or when riding hard - you don't want to 'slip off' the pedal in this case. However in terms of making you significantly more 'efficient' over long distances, that's not really the case. The power improvements by being able to 'pull up' on the pedal are quite over-rated. There is some increase but it is minimal.

The big disadvantage, particularly to those new-to-cycling, is that if you lose traction & lose balance you are much more likely to fall off and hurt yourself as you will not be able to unclip quickly enough to put a foot down - this is not a problem with a normal shoe on a flat, grippy pedal (ie. something like this). Also, many beginners forget to unclip (or how to unclip) when coming to a stop and worse, struggling to clip in when getting started, wobbling all over the place.

I'd try doing some long distance riding with some simple, but grippy (but not sharp metal) flat pedals & normal shoes first and then try changing to clipless pedals & cleats - then follow DamianM's suggestions! :-D

If you do use clipless pedals, spend some time practicing clipping in/out in a safe environment, away from traffic so that it becomes second nature. As for obtaining a 'cheap set', try eBay.

Anyway... that's just my 2c, feel free to ignore any or all of it! ;)

Comment by DamianM on January 17, 2012 at 5:43pm

If you want to be able to walk around in them you're better off with a double sided mountain bike style pedal rather than a road racing one.

I usually stick with the Shimano stuff, it's not crazy expensive and it works well. I've got the M540 on one of my bikes and the M424 in a box somewhere. 

As for shoes, there are lots of options that with with the SPD pedal system depending on budget and how much walking you want to be able to do.

Those links are some cheap places, but you're probably best going to a local shop so you can try them on and get the pedals fitted.