Classic & Vintage - Recommend a good inexpensive SPD pedal?

At last count, the stable had about 15 bikes (maybe 8-10 ridable at any given time). These have all manner of pedals on them, and I've kind of settled on a favorite pair of SPD shoes. I have some with traditional strap in toe cages, and that's fine for the non-racy bikes. However, I'm pretty sold on clip-less SPD's for my conditioning rides.

Question is, what is a good inexpensive, relatively light, SPD pedal that I could get maybe 5-6 pairs of for a couple hundred bucks? I'd really like to be able to get ready to go, then grab whatever bike suits my mood (instead of the other way round).

Thanks for replies...

I have some of these and I like them. http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_175099_-1_202669_10000_202530

I have some Shimano 520s, which are usually in the 35-40 range.
Edit:Just saw them on Amazon for 33.60, and it's eligible for Amazon prime.
Also Forte has some SPDs in the same range.

+1 on the shimano 520s

Another for the Shimano m520. Great little pedal for the price

+1 on the 520's

Check out Wellgo, they make pedals that get rebadged under more expensive names, but the Wellgo pedals are on eBay. Some of the road pedals are pretty light and cheap, like 260 grams range and $30 (MG-8 w/o Ti spindle).

I also have some Ritchey road SPD pedals that are nice. The Ritchey Pro Micro Road at 210 grams was one of the lightest SPD type pedals, they get mixed reviews, I haven't tried using those yet.

There can reportedly be some incompatibility between different SPD-like systems. Ritchey sometimes used a Shimano SPD cleat, sometimes its own cleat that looked similar but was a bit thinner.

Wellgo w41 are my favorite - light, cheap, minimalist, durable

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wellgo-Road-Bike-Pedals-Shimano-SPD-Compatible-Cleats-/270891358512?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f12621930

Be careful with non Shimano SPD look alike pedals. Most do not accept the Shimano SPD cleat. The Nashbar pedals are not SPD compatible.

The Shimano A520 is my favorite.

http://media.nashbar.com/images/nashbar/products/medium/SH-PDA520-NCL-ANGLE.jpg

The Shimano PDM324 is my second choice. All my bikes have these two pedals.

http://media.nashbar.com/images/nashbar/products/medium/SH-PDM324-NCL-ANGLE.jpg

I'm with Bob. I like the A520. They have a larger area and you are less likely to get a hot spot when riding. More expensive than the "plain" 520s, but I think it is worth it.

$48 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YB31II

Be careful with non Shimano SPD look alike pedals. Most do not accept the Shimano SPD cleat. The Nashbar pedals are not SPD compatible.

The Shimano A520 is my favorite.

http://media.nashbar.com/images/nashbar/products/medium/SH-PDA520-NCL-ANGLE.jpg

The Shimano PDM324 is my second choice. All my bikes have these two pedals.

http://media.nashbar.com/images/nashbar/products/medium/SH-PDM324-NCL-ANGLE.jpg


+1

I use both of these pedals, and they seem bombproof.

Even in winter riding conditions in Minnesota.

...and Chrome Molly, get out there and ride today. It's beautiful over here in St. Paul. :)

Be careful with non Shimano SPD look alike pedals. Most do not accept the Shimano SPD cleat. The Nashbar pedals are not SPD compatible.





Huhh?

You sure?
I have 3 sets of Performance Forte Campus peddles (http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1033468_-1_1589016_1586500_400048) on my DD bikes and I thought they were the same as the Nashbar just different branding.
I also have 3 sets of Real deal Shimano SPD peddles of various models.

I know one pair of my shoes has a Shimano cleat and one has a Forte cleat.

Never had any problems going from one to the other with the same shoes and cleats.

Thanks for all the replies. I asked prior to heading to the local Y for an indoor cycling class, and have so many responses to read when I'm back. Very nice.

The A520 is top on my list, but at $50 a pop I think I may opt for a mix of m520's and a520's. I assume the cleats are compatible among all Shimano SPD products, so it may be the safe bet.

I was looking at the wellgo's but the cheap price on ebay didn't offer much off on combined shipping. I've also heard that the cleats aren't compatible with shimano, but don't know that first hand.

Gomango, it does look like a beautiful day for a ride. Plan on heading out on my MTB/commuter rig this afternoon (it crashes more gently and inexpensively than my road bike).:D

I've put the polished Wellgo's on a couple of bikes.
Careful searching found them for under $20 before shipping.
The guy who uses them really likes the longer spindles.

I've used all sorts of SP-D pedals over the years. I think Wellgo's are great and are great values.

I also use M520's and am completely satisfied with them , I like the fact that they are dual sided. FWIW, I picked up a few extra pairs on Craigslist on the cheap, to use on other bikes .
In my experience , if the pedal looks like an SPD, it will fit your cleats.

The Forte spd's are my preference, they are lighter and cheaper than the Shimano's. Both pairs of shoes I have are using Shimano cleats one normal one multi release and they work excellent on both Shimano and Forte' (Wellgo) pedals.

Wellgo w41 are my favorite - light, cheap, minimalist, durable

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wellgo-Road-Bike-Pedals-Shimano-SPD-Compatible-Cleats-/270891358512?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f12621930

i would try these if i were putting spd on a road bike

I could very well be wrong about the different pedals and non Shimano SPD cleats. I've not tried the non-Shimanos. I've just noted that some pedal descriptions say "SPD compatible."

I run these guys on my around town errand runner. I can use SPD or regular shoes and I like the option for my work bike (http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpeeds_1/Feature_Bicycles/Feature_Bicycles_USA/SPECIALIZED_ALLEZ_Junker/SPEC_JUNKER_1_Start.htm)...

http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpeeds_1/Bicycles_Table/USA_Bicycles/Specialized_Bicycles/Specialized_Allez_Junk/Spec_Bullhorns/Spec_Bullhorns_Pedal_2.jpg

http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpeeds_1/Bicycles_Table/USA_Bicycles/Specialized_Bicycles/Specialized_Allez_Junk/Spec_Bullhorns/Spec_Bullhorns_Pedal_1.jpg

+1 for Shimano PDM324

Bob's right. Not all SPD-like pedals are compatible. ie. early Ritchey versions. To get around the patents, similar to the road pedals that were LOOK Delta like... There are small changes to the cleat and/or pedal so that the Shimano SPD won't fit or hold properly.
Things seem to have relaxed, and if they are SPD compatible, they usually list it as such.

As others have stated, Wellgo is a huge OEM of pedals. Nashbar, Forte, Ritchey, Tioga, Exulstar, and others are all Wellgo. And their quality is very good.

I have a variety of M520 and M515 double sided, a set of Tioga, and a set of Ritchey MTB v.2(not SPD compatible). I prefer the double-sided models for quick entry.

Thanks for all the responses. I think I'll give the wellgo W41's a try and see if they work out. Hopefully, they will hang properly/consistently to get into from a standing stop.