Road Cycling - Thrifty shopping

Just got a friend interested in the joys of cycling. He ended up buying a bike on ebay for about $350 and it looks all fine and well. However, He’s gotten tired of f the toe clips that came with it and is looking to upgrade to clipless. He’s much more of a recreational rider than I am, and doesn’t really want to drop $200 on shoes and pedals. However, I haven’t really seen too many deals on the more popular brands (Look, Shimano, Speedplay) that would fit his budget. Is there any range of clipless pedals that can be had for a reasonable price yet still work effectively? Thanks in advance.

Specialized has closeouts on shoes at times, mgith want to check their.. or you can pickup some lake shoes fairly cheap $20-50.. As for pedals.. you can look at the lower end looks like the FQV for around $50.

I recommend mountain bike shoes (even for road bikes). The stiffest most expensive he can afford.

Then get a good inexpensive set of SPD (mountain bike style<double sided>) pedals. Nashbar or performance make pedals around $30.

I find the mountain bike shoes give better walkin in the store comfort and startin out from the light stability than road shoes... Hey if I were Lance I'd wear road shoes cause the roads are always closed for me... But I like to be able to walk at rest stops and with carbon sole shoes for ATB now avail you can get same comfort from atb shoes as road shoes. No need for dealing with look or others. Speedplay maybe if your buddy has knee problems... However if that is the case use egg-beater pedals which work with mountain bike shoes. That is what I'm using, not for my kneeds but because they are very light, give 4-sided entry and I do like the extra float.

I figure if I'm on my bike I'm on it to ride, not to walk a few out for a hike or a walk so I wear road shoes :)

I picked up a pair of Lake CX125 a bit ago, came free with tires from pricepoint they actualy have a raised part in the front so walking is not bad for walking in. I basicaly use them as rainy day shoes. Pricepoint has them for $25 right now. I won't say they are the best and most comfortable shoes but for the price they are not bad.
http://pricepoint.com/product627.html

Depends. If you have roads with no stop lights then that works. If you break the law and run lights and signs then I guess that works too.

For me I'm half in the city and half out. When I ride to work I wear comfort mountain bike shoes (Cannondales) so I can walk in them at the office all day too.

When I'm on the road I'm on the road to ride but I do have to put down my foot at lights (when I can't track stand). I carry 4 bottles and all the food I need to do 130 miles and I try to do it without stopping.

However when I have to stop, lights, more water (when it gets real hot in Fla 4 bottles isnt always enough) or changing a flat, or when nature calls, I want to be able to walk, albeit the garnes are too stiff to walk a lot, they grip the road or more importantly the restroom floor...
:)

Hmmm... Thought I said what shoes I use... Garnes Kings. Simmilar to SIDI Dominators.

The lakes... Those are the ones with the funky heels so they look like they got 4 landing pods touching the ground? I'm not much on the looks but they are probably good touring shoes. They try to do what the mountain shoes do but look more like road shoes. Although I bet it is hard to tell SIDI mountain shoes from SIDI road shoes.

Hmmm... Thought I said what shoes I use... Garnes Kings. Simmilar to SIDI Dominators.

The lakes... Those are the ones with the funky heels so they look like they got 4 landing pods touching the ground? I'm not much on the looks but they are probably good touring shoes. They try to do what the mountain shoes do but look more like road shoes. Although I bet it is hard to tell SIDI mountain shoes from SIDI road shoes.

You make a good point PrestonJB. Your experience shows. The writer did say that this was primarily more of a recreational type rider. I have found it to be true that when on long social rides, MS150's or our club centuries, my Shimano touring type shoes make a lot more sense than my pure road shoes. A touring shoe might be a good choice. They are typically less radical than a MTB shoe, they have the recessed cleat and a rubber sole. Ritchey makes a couple of relatively inexpensive double sided SPD pedals.

Preston I think you are over exagerating just a bit :) Road shoes are not detrimental at stop lights when you have to put a foot down. They are not comfortable to walk in for any real distance, but to walk to the bathroom they do fine. In the end it is down to personal preference, tell you're friend to go to a LBS try on many different shoes see what he likes the best I think we can all agree on that.

check out nashbar.com, they make knockoffs of the looks and spds that are cheap.

A really stiff pair of racing shoes are most advantageous if you lay down a lot of power. For less athletic riders, a more flexible/walkable shoes is probably more suitable.
Do make sure your friend can do a half-decent track stand before he fits his clipless pedals. Failure-to-unclip will result in a fall if you are unbalanced, and its quite a common event for newbie riders using what is really racing kit.

Performance makes knockoffs, too, and they're usually pretty well spoken of. Plus, shoe/pedal combos.

A really stiff pair of racing shoes are most advantageous if you lay down a lot of power. For less athletic riders, a more flexible/walkable shoes is probably more suitable.
Do make sure your friend can do a half-decent track stand before he fits his clipless pedals. Failure-to-unclip will result in a fall if you are unbalanced, and its quite a common event for newbie riders using what is really racing kit.

Michael, I agree that track stands are a helpful skill, but the lack of that skill should not exclude someone enjoying clipless pedals...as someone comes to a stoplight or stop sign they will need to clip out early and shift in a good gear to start.

Do make sure your friend can do a half-decent track stand before he fits his clipless pedals. Failure-to-unclip will result in a fall if you are unbalanced, and its quite a common event for newbie riders using what is really racing kit.
Er,

I've been using clip and then clipless pedals since about 1982 or 1984. As a newbie I fell once getting used to clips, have yet to fall with clipless. Unfortunately, no-one other than you has ever told me I needed to know how to track stand to use them. And to think all these years i've been running rekcless not knowing that essential skill.

Guess this post can be motivation for me to get cracking, heh.

take care,

Jester

Kev,

I wont argue personal preference... I can't.

I can tell my story of how I find that I tend to push off a bit more than I should and my carbon sole podiums are just too slippery when I do that. I almost took a bite out of my handle bar one day when I pushed off and found myself sliding backwards on the slight incline.

Also being an engineer I think about this stuff so I convinced myself something with a tread would give me more traction than something that doesnt.

Having said that I now remember a friend with a brand new set of SIDI Dominators and he showed me how he could skate/slide on new asphault as if he were on a skate board. YIKES. Fortunatly, after roughing the tread up walking in a gravel parking lot the tread is rough enough it does not slide on new roads.

Good point preston it is personal preference, we can agree we each have different presonal preference when it comes to shoes and pedals.

Have him go to a LBS check out as many shoes in his price range as he can find is best opiton.

I can tell my story of how I find that I tend to push off a bit more than I should and my carbon sole podiums are just too slippery when I do that. I almost took a bite out of my handle bar one day when I pushed off and found myself sliding backwards on the slight incline.

A buddy of mine put dots of shoegoo on his soles to give him some traction. It seems to workout well.