Hybrid Bicycles - I have a flat bar road bike with shimano m505 pedals. I need upgrade suggestions.

Hey there. I have a Giant Rapid flat bar road bike. I want to upgrade my M505 pedals for some higher end pedals that are maybe lighter and easier to snap into. Can you guys recommend some. Thanks.

I normally use these Shimano PD-A520 SPD Sport Pedals on some of my bikes...
Or something like this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Wellgo-W-44-Road-Bicycle-Bike-Clipless-Alloy-Pedals-9-16-White-/370537388195?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5645bfd8a3#ht_691wt_945

I ride something like this on my cannondale road bike.

I love my A-530's ... just don't expect to do technical stuff on the platforms, especially when wet.

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_512515_-1___

Clip in & out very easily; doesn't matter which side of the pedal is facing you, press down and you will hear a quick snap. Very light pedal and cleat. A lot of float, maybe 15-20 degrees.

Plus they're cheap.

I too have had great results with the Shimano M520's. I combined them with Pearl Izumi X-Alp Enduro-2's and it is indeed a nice combination.

Look Quartz - per weight weenies, 260 grams vs. 450 on M505.. have used them for better than a year. They work great, very positive clip in, no issues clipping out, double sided with a nice platform size. Good size platform that takes a horsing well. No tension adjustments, float is controlled by which of two cleats you install. Only down side I have with them is that the cleat is not compatible with anything else that I have found.

Looks site says 318 grams with cleats, but I have no confirmation of that or the weight weenies numbers.

This was based on the assumption that you wanted MTB pedals.

I do Look and VJ´s. The VJ´s really small & light and accomedates SPD cleats.

OP: certainly worth replacing the m505 pedals. You simply need to decide if you want a dedicated 'road' pedal/shoe, or something more 'walkable' which typically means an mtb(-style) pedal/shoe.
I use Shimano XT pedals with Specialized 'touring' road shoes; the latter have a very stiff sole and look 'roadie' (i.e. they don't have the large tread lugs typical of mtb shoes), but are walkable with recessed spd cleats. Dual-sided (which I like), and light.
As others have said, lots of options.

Can't decide between the 2? Any opionions would be great. Thanks.

Can't decide between the 2? Any opionions would be great. Thanks.

Go mtb if you want:
1. Walkable (i.e. if you tend to walk around when stopped during a longer ride, or use your bike frequently for errands, etc etc);
2. If you tend to prefer dual-sided entry (though some road pedals, e.g. Speedplay I think (?) are dual-sided);
3. If you are not currently currently bothered by 'hot spots' on your feet during longer rides (road pedals/cleats typically 'spread the load' over a wider area, and the shoes tend to have stiffer [sometimes carbon] soles).

Go road if:
1. You don't care about your cycling shoes being easily 'walkable'
2. You don't care about single-sided vs. dual-sided entry (but see above re. Speedplay)
3. You are experiencing 'hot spots'/pressure points during longer rides.

Those are the kinds of things I'd think about. I'm squarely in the 'mtb-style' camp, but (as with saddles) it's a matter of personal preference ultimately.

Oh, and btw ... riding your Giant Rapid on the road with mtb-style pedals/shoes will 'mark' you as a Fred (like me); no getting around it. If that matters, then go road, though you'll also have to ditch the flat-bars ... :D

I agree strongly with Badger1, but did want to point out that if you have hot spots you can get some very stiff MTB shoes that help quite a bit, and you can also get a BIG downhill pedal that uses a 2-hole cleat such as the Crankbrothers Mallet.

I think your first shoes should be MTB and then decide later if you want/need to add road to that.