Introductions - novice on the road

I was just given a 2002 Diamondback Master.... and I am starting to train for an Ironman, but very much a novice to cycling.

I have been told to get Speedplay X-2 pedals by a friend, and Look 247 pedals by another... I weigh 150lbs... the knees are fine... what are some other considerations, and what do you guys suggest?

Thanks

Welcome from another "Hotlantan".
My recommendation: ride :)

I was just given a 2002 Diamondback Master.... and I am starting to train for an Ironman, but very much a novice to cycling.

I have been told to get Speedplay X-2 pedals by a friend, and Look 247 pedals by another... I weigh 150lbs... the knees are fine... what are some other considerations, and what do you guys suggest?

Thanks

Welcome to the sport of cycling and to our forums here "rookie" :D

Pedal choice is a hard one. I've used both Looks and Speedplays. I prefer Speedplays. I have both X2's and X3's, by far the X2's are better. X1's are expensive, but you save "some weight".

When I used Looks, I constantly fought for proper adjustment in order to acheive proper knee comfort. No sooner would I reach knee enlightenment, when my plastic (Look) cleats would wear out and break and I had to start adjustments all over again with new ones. Cleat covers helped extend the wear period of Look cleats.

Speedplays allow me a bunch more "float" and with X1 through X3's there is no adjustments required or available. With covers, I have over 10K miles on these cleats. (better get good mileage, because they are more expensive than Look cleats by far.)

I have a friend who (must be doing something wrong) has the new Speedplay "Zeros". With these there is some float adjustment available. However, he says he's going through cleats in less than a 1,000 miles, but only on the foot he clips in /out of while negociating normal traffic requirements (stops and go's).
Good luck and Happy riding!

Thanks alot for the info... and encouragement. I'm headed out tomorrow to get the pedals and a trainer. I'm sure soreness will follow. :p

Have a great holiday. I look forward to talking to you again soon.

Fairkid