Road Cycling - what road pedals should I get

I just started road cycling in January, but am still using toe straps. I've rode 1200 miles on my new bike including one century. Its past time to move up to road pedals but I am clueless on what to get.

Can anyone give me some advice?

I'm not the one to give road-pedal advice, but I thought I'd peek in and say "Welcome" and assure you you came to the right place! Advice will be forthcoming momentarily, I'm certain. :D

(Meanwhile: clips and straps are still honorable in the hearts of traditionalists. Think of the astonishing accomplishments made in clips and straps--probably wouldn't have been that much more impressive with clipless. It's the rider, not the linkage.) :thumbup:

Superiorcat,
First of all, welcome. So you have finally made the decision to go clipless - great. I can't tell you what to buy - I don't know your budget, etc., but I can tell you this - any clipless will be better than toe straps. I started out with SPD cleats on a MTB shoe and pedal, then realized it wasn't a "road" shoe. So then I got "road" shoes,and now, because I had an ACL reconstruction a while back, am using speedplay pedals, because they "float," i.e. allow my foot some side-to-side action without unclipping. I love them, but you may not like them. Best bet is to find a LBS that will let you try out the various models, Look, Time, SPD, Speedplay, etc., then make up your mind.
Once again, welcome and enjoy those pedals once you get them.
BCBoy

Welcome to BF.
I have only tried a few clipless pedals and here is what I like.
On my road bike I have Look PP247 pedals. It comes with the red cleats, but I use the black cleats because I don't like a lot a float.
On my commuter (road) bike I have Shimano M535 pedals. I used these as my first clipless pedals when I "graduated" from toe clips and straps. They are great for the first time clipless user because they are two sided.
The Look PP247 pedals and PP206 pedals (Look's entry level pedals) are both on sale at http://www.sierratradingpost.com.

I'd advise practice clipping in and out on a trainer or in a "soft" grassy area. It can take some getting used to. And falling because you forgot to unclip at a stop light can be a little embarrassing :blush: and painful and dangerous if there is any traffic.

Originally posted by RonH

I'd advise practice clipping in and out on a trainer or in a "soft" grassy area. It can take some getting used to. And falling because you forgot to unclip at a stop light can be a little embarrassing :blush: and painful and dangerous if there is any traffic.
Good advice.

But don't get all psyched up that it's incredibly hard or dangerous to get used to clipless. It isn't. It's just something else new to learn, and that's all. Play it safe, but don't feel like it's a major project like learning a new programming language or something. :D

I put SPD's on my mountain bike at the office and rode home in them that evening on my regular route and had no trouble at all, except for ALMOST falling over the very first time I stopped.

I used toe straps years ago but now use clipless (Look PP247 on my roadbike and Time ATAC Alium on my MTB) because they are more effective in delivering power from your spin. Yes, you have to wear cleat-specific shoes but it really is worth it because once you get used to clipless pedals (a short learning curve, BTW) riding is not the same without them. Clipless pedals are to bicyclists what fins are to scuba divers - it's all about maximizing propulsion.

If you want to research user opinions on a variety of different models of pedals try:
http://www.roadbikereview.com/reviews/pedal/

Originally posted by bentrox!
Clipless pedals are to bicyclists what fins are to scuba divers - it's all about maximizing propulsion.
It's been so humid lately, I've been considering wearing fins, too.

I like Look pedals. They are easy to get in and out of and provide the feel of a big platform. Like RonH I started off with the standard red cleats and have switched to the black. You need to start with the reds as they allow more float so you don't feel "clamped" down. With them you will get the feel for clipless and get an idea where your feet like to be. Later, if they feel too loosey goosey you can switch to the black cleats if you want to.
Regards,
Raymond

I appreciate all of the input and opinions. This has saved me hours of uneducated research.

I suppose my first mission is to check the LBS for the type of pedal and shoe size etc.. Look pedals do intrigue me the most though.

I wear sandals a lot and have seen people wearing clipless sandals on the Bike Across Kansas. Do they only come in SPD?

Again, thanks for the information.

I do not know much, but I can tell you that the Shimano PD-5500 is pretty hard to get out of! Don't know about the PD-6600 or PD-7700 though.

Originally posted by Superiorcat
I appreciate all of the input and opinions. This has saved me hours of uneducated research.
Sorry I don't know the answer on those sandals...

Glad to see you here, Superiorcat, and I hope you'll stick around and tell us about some of your cycling experiences, etc. This is a great place not only for information at all levels, but for some sidesplitting asides and general hilarity. Some CRAZY people here! :dance:

Hmmm. Haven't seen any clipless sandals. I am a little hinky about exposing my toes while riding. I would probably wind up losing toenails. If they do exist, my guess would be that they would be SPD format rather than Look. SPD allows a flat sole on the shoe as opposed the big Look cleat that makes us walk like penguins. I still prefer Look. I like that great big target when I am clipping in.

By the way, I just discovered a website that has very limited inventory but what they have is very inexpensive -

chucksbikes.com

They have some Look-compatible Exus pedals for $30. I don't think they come with cleats as Looks do. If you need a pair of red cleats let me know and I will send you some. I have extras that came with pedals. Sierratradingpost.com has just reduced some Looks to $40, and they come with cleats. They have some excellent prices on Shimano and Northwave shoes - $40-$62 - if they have your size.
Regards,
Raymond

Thanks for the info Rainman. Sandals probably aren't the best idea anyway. I live in my Nike sandals from March until the snow flies, but the visual picture I have of losing toe nails may be enough to point me toward more practical choices. Look appears to be my choice (at least as my first road pedals) due to ease of getting out and price.

Rainman,
FYI: Here is the scoop on the sandals.
Shimano (http://www.shimanocycling.com/Footwear_Pedals/Footwear/sh-sd60.asp)

I agree with you. The thought of riding in sandals is more than scary.

Interesting. I guess they might be fun for casual rides to the park or beach. But, let me tell ya somethin' (as Fire Marshall Bill would say). The first day I commuted on my brand new bike it was drizzling when I left work, the first time it had rained since I had started commuting. Crossing some street car track, which were, I now know, grease-slick with a little water on them, my bike slid out from under me and I went sliding in a beautiful split, much to the amusement of a bunch of high school kids waiting for a bus nearby. Anyway, sliding about 10 feet, the concrete wore through the leather tennis shoes I was wearing and took off about 2-3 mm of flesh from the side of the ball of my foot. You know, that wide part right behind your big toe. So I probably won't be trying any of Shimano's sandals. Wrong pedal anyway. :D

I note that they say, in bold print,
Not recommended for off-road use.

+$0.02...

Whatever kind of clipless you get, make sure they allow at least some float. Getting cleats adjusted on pedals without float is an arduous process, and many people have to have float, and experience knee problems with fixed pedals.

Give some thought to shoes. Not all shoes support all pedals. Look and SPD are probably the most common. (By Look and SPD, I'm also referring to Look and SPD compatibles.) SPD probably has the widest variety of shoes that are easy to walk in off the bike. Speedplays are among the worst in that regard (they sell a cleat cover that isn't as slippery and protects the cleat, but the covers don't stay on.)

The size of the pedal platform is something to consider. SPDs have a small platform, which causes some people to experience "hot-spots"... irritation where their foot contacts the pedal. Larger pedals, like Looks spread the pressure over a larger area. A larger platform is also more stable, resisting the tendency to roll your foot outward or inward (another potential source of knee pain).

Altwegg mentioned that PD-5500s are hard to get out of. I can vouch for the fact that is true of the entire SPD-R line (which also includes PD-6600s and PD-7700s). They're also harder than many to clip into. But they work nicely while you're riding, and the cleats have little pontoons that make walking in them easy.

Everybody I know that has Speedplay pedals love them, but say they take some getting used to, because they have so much float. And every once in a while you hear about somebody that can't stand them for just that reason.

Confused? I should hope so. I guess my recommendation for best all-around, all-purpose pedal would be an SPD compatible. They probably have the best availability of parts, service, shoes, etc.

Clipless pedals (with float) are probably one of the best innovations that's come to cycling in the last 20 or so years. Whatever you get, give yourself a little time to get used to them. You'll be glad you made the upgrade.

Superiorcat,
Roadbuzz's post reminded me. If you go with Look, you can get soft rubber cleat covers called, embarassingly enough, "Kool Kovers", from Performancebike.com and probably other places. They cost about $10. They slip over the cleats and make it much easier to walk on smooth surface floors. I got a pair because I have to walk a couple of hundred feet on marble and terrazzo floors every morning and evening at my office. Makes for surer footing and protects both floor and cleats from scratches/damage.
Regards,
Raymond

Roadbuzz has it spot on, Look pedals offer a larger platform, if you have large feet, like my self, size 12, you will find a Shimano pedal feels like it offers no support to the foot, regardless off the shoe you use. If your feet are smaller, Look may feel like you are on a skate board, if you can try before you buy.

FWIW, Look cleats are the lightest, cheapest, easiest to install, easiest to adjust, easiest to engage, and the pedals are light, reliable, and used by tons of riders.

I'm going to throw in a vote for Speedplays. Like a lot of folks, I started with SPD pedals, which worked fine. But I have one wrecked knee that requires me to keep my right foot turned out somewhat more than the left. Since I switched to the Speedplays I haven't had any pain. They're not hard to get in and out of, but the "slipperyness" does take some getting used to. If you have knee problems you may want to consider them.

This is my first post (I think) on this forum, so hello!

I have recently started cycling, at the age of 60 - in Holland, everyone does, so I started in self defense when we moved here. I fell in love with it, and am now awaiting my new bike from Vittorio of North Holland. [BTW - my wife is too.]

The new bike is custom fitted, with essentiallya steel racing frame that has been "softened" for general road use and day touring. It will have a Campy Daytona (or possibly Centaur by the end of October when I finally get it) gruppo. But I opted for VP pedals - small, two-sided, and SPD compatible.

To learn the ropes for using the SPD setup on the new bikes, we got some Shimano sandals, and equipped our city bikes with Shimano 324 pedals - they have one platform side and one SPD side.

The short story is that they are great! As someone else said - just something else, not really a big issue to learn. And while we had our issues early on regarding simply remembering to unclip, neither of us has lost any skin or other body parts after several months on the roads and bike paths.

The feeling of additional security, and the ability to get constant power to the wheel, is fantastic! I was, and am, afraid of the idea of toe clips, though they were a part of the history.

Lots of great info here - thanks all.

I've used SPDs, Looks, and Time. I'm now on Speedplays. I liked all of them but am most happy with the Speedplays. Double sided, easy no-look clip-in, lightest weight, foot closer to pedal for better ergo and power transfer, best cornering clearance. The "ice cube" slippery float folks talk about was not a prob for me, not as much as hyped up. It actually disappears soon after a few rides. Awesome float, no knee stress. Yes they look different and I had to get over that a bit.

I am new to clipless myself, so I could give you my opinion as a beginner. My bike came with Shimano and I got Diodora MTB shoes ($79). These pedals give you a bit of side to side play, and release easy..

My good friend (Olympic Champ, and a Pro for some years) told me that there are 2 ways to learn how to ride clipless:

1) start riding, and after you fall 2 times, your brains will "get it", it will become a reflex, and you are going to be fine..


2) get a trainer, or just lean against the garage wall, and clip in, spin a couple, and then clip out. right foot, and then the same for the left foot. Do it 10 - 20 times, rest, and then do it again.. Then go out and ride, and after you fall twice, you'll brains will "get it", it will become a reflex and then you'll be fine :) :)

Now that I am used to clipless, I will never go back. I can't see how anyone can spin over 100 rpm without clipless..
The reason I chose MTB shoes is because you can use them for walking, and the are much much cheaper.. as I get better, I may look at road shoes for those special runs...


A.

Bebop... I use them on my road bike and my MTB now. Great pedal.

One other thing about SPDs. There are three models of the cleat - 51, 52, and 55.

The 51 is supposed to be easier to get into, but the 55s (ours) are not exactly what I would call difficult. The worst part on the 324 pedals is that there is only one SPD side, so you do have to make sure it is rotated properly.

The 55s are the "multi-release" version, which allows more flexibility in release direction.

And being able to walk on the ground without destroying the cleat is the main reason we went SPD. It seems to be a very big plus. And since we ride city bikes at the moment, we don't look complete dweebs by wearing civvies and spiffy road racing shoes. :o