Mountain Biking - Please help

Hello everyone,

I am new to the boards, but I have been lurking for quite some time. It seems that most of you are pretty knowledgeable about mtn biking. I am new to the sport. I just bought an '04 GF Tassajara. I love it so far. I think I have gotten bitten by the bug. Now I all I want to do is upgrade and make it better. I was going to upgrade the seat and in fact I bought an Azonic Love Seat, but I think I am going send it back because it seems almost too big (plus it won't fit on my stock seat post) and I am getting used to the stock seat now that I have given it some time. So now I am going to upgrade the pedals to clipless. I have found a few deals and have gotten some suggestions from other riders and I would like to know what you think or any recommendations you might have. So far I have found these:

Crank Bros. Mallet C w/ shoes - $100
ATAC Z w/ shoes - $105
ATAC Alium w/shoes - $95
SPD 545s - $70
Ritchey Logic Pro - $40
Time Z Platform/Clipless - $65

What do you guys think is the best deal? The shoes that come in the package deal are 661s (Launch or Expert I think). Are the shoe fit that much different than regular shoes? I have never had any trouble with shoes not fitting right. I think I have pretty average feet.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Andy

I haven't gotten any yet myself but I am gonna get the mallet c's when I can afford it.

If you are really looking for a deal


I would go with these pedals

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=16204&srccode=2047

With these shoes

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=19385&subcategory_ID=2120 :eek:

You really can't go wrong with those in my opinion. ;)

But really, I am partial to Crank brothers Eggbeater type designs although I have never used theMallet C.

The ATAC and Mallet c w/ shoes both look like decent deals.

When it comes to clipless, I'm partial to Time pedals. So, I vote the A.T.A.C's. Shoes are a personal thing, like saddles, shorts and gloves so what works for me might be horrible for you.

The way I would rate pedals:

Time
Crank Bros.
Shimano.
All others.

After doing some more research it seems that Time would probably be best for my type of riding and my skill level. Do you think there is a big difference between the Aliums and the ATAC Zs?

All their pedals have the identical mechanical design. Just the pedal body changes, and the material in which they are made.

If you're strictly going to ride XC, I'd go with the Aliums.

I have Time ATAC Aliums. They are 5 years old now. They still work like they did on day one. Couldn't say that for the Shimano or Scott pedals I have owned.

Mallet Cs all the way.

Well I finally made my decision. I went with the Time ATAC Aluims with the shoes combo. I ended up getting Diadora (sp?) Geckos. They look like really nice shoes. Thanks for your help guys, I really appreciate it.

Andy

Mallet of course!

Well even though he made his choice. I'm throwing in my 2 cents. Time ATAC all day any day My Control X's have been nothing but great for me and I won't hesitate to suggest Time products.