Road Cycling - Pedals

I love this site. I have found answers to problems I didn't realize that I was having.
I have a new bike and am a definate newby so please be kind. Went to a local bike shop to buy clipless pedals and shoes for my new (to me) Trek 2300. The guy sold me some mountain bike shoes but then would not sell me clipless pedals until I brought my bike in for him to adjust the shoes and the pedals so I wouldn't hurt my knees. This for an extra $40 after plunking down over $200 for the shoes and pedals plus another $50 for a seat. I was starting to feel like I had a mark on my forehead and bought the shoes and saddle and left the pedals. I went on e-Bay to price pedals and became overwhelmed at the choices. What is the difference between road and mountain bike clipless pedals, what are the differences between the different shimano pedals and is there another brand, type that is more recommended. Was the guy at the bike shop steering me in the right direction or was he paying for a lap pool in the back of his shop? Thanks for any info.

Sounds a little over the top to me. If you get clipless pedals that allow some float (i.e. allow your shoe to rotate ~6-10 degrees), getting a professional fitting is not real important.... you're fine using the standard guidelines you get in any cycling book or web page.

Since you've gotten mtn bike shoes, you'll probably want an SPD compatible pedal (or Crank Brothers... do a search, there's been some discussion here), which do typically allow ample float. In any case, he should be willing to mount pedals and cleats and do a rough fit for nothing. For $40, I would expect him to spend 1/2 an hour or more working with me getting the fit dialed. Go somewhere else, or mail order. I think that guy's trying to screw you.

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll try a search to get more info.

pedals, pedals, pedals
This is always a topic of discussion, I've been riding a long time and have have logged many, many miles, I will share my experiances with you. I started riding on a mountain bike and my first set of clipless pedals was a set of dual sided Nashbar mountain bike pedals model # NR-PDL, I rode these pedals off road for two years in the water, dirt and mud, they performed very well and clipped in and out with consistancy. I still use these pedals on a bike that is locked onto a trainer for winter, they are old and still in good condition, I then moved into Shimano model 636, a dual sided mountain bike pedal with a large platfom, these also are great pedals and have performed well for me. I started road riding, commuting and touring about 5 years ago, I tried many pedals before I found what I like and am using now on all of my road bikes. Campagnolo record pro-fit pedals, have great, smooth bearings and always fall and hang in the correct position, they are a little hard to clip into and out of but hold your foot solidly. They are a great pedal and I highly recomend them for an experianced rider, they are a bit pricey at $200.00 +. The shimano and other road pedals are stiff and don't hang well when you are not clipped in, you have to mess around at intersections to get yourself in and ready to go. All of the look and time type pedals are too big and combersum, the speedplay pedals feel like you're walking around on ice. If you are a new rider or new to the clipless pedal thing and don't ride in a performance fashion. I recommend the Nashbar pedal I talked about above, they are dual sided, durable, very easy to clip in and out of, are quite small and inexpensive ( $30.00) for a set with cleats, and the cleats are rugged and easy to walk in, also, they are not plastic, they are aluminum and come in colors.
Hope all that is of some help.
Keep on Crankin Pete

To be honest, the shop should do a cleat fit for free when you buy pedals from them -- all the more so since you bought the shoes there as well. If they don't do it for free, buy your pedals from someone who will.

The difference betwen road and MTB pedals: MTB pedals use a small cleat that fits in a recessed area of the MTB shoe sole, letting you walk like a normal human being. MTB pedlas are usualy double-sided, meaning you can colick into either side of the pedal. MTB shoes normally have soles with rubber tread patterns like sports shoes or hiking boots. Road pedals use a very large unrecessed cleat that makes walking rather difficult for any distance. Road pedals are usually single sided, meaning that you can only click into one side. Road shoes usually have slick, very stiff soles with no tread.

The advantage of road pedals is that they grip very securely and provide a very large support platform. This is important on long rodes. The disadvantage is that you can't walk around in road shoes and the pedals can be more difficult to get in or out of. Most full-time roadies aren't bothered by this, since they'll often only clip in at the beginning and clip out at the end of the ride, without letting their feet touch the ground for hours at a time.

I have road pedals [Looks] on my road bike and MTB pedals [Ritchey SPD clones] on my MTB and [Shimano SPDs] on my cyclocross bike. If you have MTB shoes, you can't use them with road pedals and, IMO anyway, if you're just starting out, you may as well start with MTB pedals.

This is a typical road pedal, a Look PP396:

http://www.nashbar.com/productimages/medium/YP-PP396T.gif

This is a typical MTB pedal, a Ritchey SPD-type:

http://www.nashbar.com/productimages/medium/YP-TRPRO.gif

Thanks for all of the info. I feel like the fog is starting to lift.

No one's mentioned Time A.T.A.C. pedals. Simple engagement mechanism, a lot of float, great for muddy conditions and easy engagement/disengagement.

Check them out!

L8R

I just have to say that a guy who is condescending enough to refuse to sell you pedals without a professional fit is morally obliged to provide that fit for free. (To me this would immediately mean heading to a different LBS and buying my pedals there and asking for help with the fit.)

That said, I am not sure how absolutely necessary a professional fit is. But, I can tell you that I have found adjusting clipless pedals to be tricky. I only found my best fit after a lot of trial and error (which included some sore knees and numb toes--both only briefly). I read the manuals carefully and read up on the best ways to fit the cleats and it still took me a while. But, whether a professional fit would have saved me some time, I cannot say.

Best of luck!

Another tip: after you get your shoes home remove the screws one at a time and put a drop of "Lock Tite" on the threads. I recently go an unpleasant surprise while trying to un-clip from a pedal and found that one of the screws fell out of the shoe. Needless to say, I couldn't get out of the pedal. Fortunately, I was near a BS and they removed the shoe from the pedal.

Good advice, capkos. I had the same thing happen in the middle of a busy highway while waiting to make a left turn across traffic, and nearly had my head taken off by a passing semi when I couldn't unclip. I now use loctite as well.

I agree with the Campy pro-fit. They cost much less than $200 if you shop around. I got tired of the noisy plastic Look pedal cleats after about 15 years of using them. All my bikes have Campy pro-fit pedals now. The Chorus version is one of the best values out there with extreme high quality and function.

Shredvet, to further overwhelm and confuse you I did a search on pedals, heres the link: ;)

http://www.bikeforums.net/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=99581&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

I've used Look, Time, and Speedplay. In my opinion, Speedplay is the only way too go!