Reelin

Have been reading about clipless pedals and shows here in the forums and it got my curiosity. I was wondering which could be a good set to use on my bike. I currently use a 2001 Gary fisher marlin although 99% of the time it's on the road. Can I use road bike pedals?

B8888S

You can use whatever type of pedals you want. Just decide what type of pedals you would like to use. If the bike ever goes off road, I would not suggest the SPD-SL style due to not being able to walk up hills or over obstacles with the needed shoes. I actually had road style pedals on my old mountain bike for a while before I bought my road bike. I bought them knowing that I was going to get a road bike in the next few weeks and wanted to start practicing with clipless pedals.

On my road bike I use Shimano 105 SPD-SL peadals. For shoes, I use Sidi Pro Carbon 5. The shoes are pricy but the come in Mega or wide withs to fit my Flintstone feet. I love them.
https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-PD-570...ords=105+pedal
https://www.westernbikeworks.com/prod...mega-road-shoe

On my mountain bike I use Shimano PD-A530 spd pedals. These are platform on one side and clipless on the other. This is so that I can just hop on ride to the store without having to put on my cycling shoes. On my mountain bike I use Specialized Tahoe shoes. These are felixable enough to walk around in and don't look too much like dedicated cycling shoes.
https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-PD-A53...ds=shimano+spd
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/ftr...ss-shoes/tahoe

Cychologist

I don't do real mountain biking, as my cychocross bike is used mainly for riding crushed rock trails. And I don't tend to walk up hills. So I have Ultegra SPD-SL pedals on all my bikes, with Sidi 6 carbon sole shoes. Like them very much.

JohnJ80

I'm on speedplay zeros with Sidi 6 Carbon soled shoes too - mega width.

For people that are not built like a TdF racer, they often need a wider q-factor (distance from pedal center to pedal center) to match wider hips. For me, I figured this out after years of fooling around, when I got serious about getting rid of the pain on the outside of my left foot. I wound up with a longer spindle than standard on my left side, and a slightly longer than standard spindle on my right side. Pain is gone.

The pedal manufacturers that address this the best are speedplay (far and away better at addressing this) and Shimano to a lesser degree.


J.

copswithguns

I use Shimano 105's, very happy with them. I don't see any reason you can't use something like that on your bike.

fietsbob

Just easier to do hike-a-bikes if the cleat is recessed..

I own some Time ATAC pedals , the Alloy body ones .


Rubber boots and Platform pedals for 3/4 of the year , beginning yesterday.

The monsoon season has began in the NW.

StephenH

How I selected my pedals was to walk into a bike store and say "Duh...I need pedals". And after using Shimano SPD road pedals for several years now, I still don't know what the advantages or disadvantages of them are, relative to other brands.

Took me a second to decipher "shows" = "shoes".
So first, thing, decide whether you want "mountain" or "road" pedals. If ALL you're doing is riding, get road pedals. If you're riding to the store, then walking around, and stuff like that, get mountain pedals. The advantage of road pedals (I think) is that the shoes can be made stiffer. Disadvantage is you go clip-clopping around in the shoes, so if you're planning to spend a lot of time off the bike on the shoes, you choose accordingly.
Having decided that, head off to a well-stocked bike shop and see what you find. The shoes are sold in metric sizes, and larger (and I assume wider) shoes can be hard to locate. I don't know of a brand preference. I'm due to replace mine, and will try to just get identical ones if I can.

Shimano makes SPD road and mountain pedals, two different things, so don't get confused there. The road shoes generally have 3-screw holes, the mountain shoes, 2-screw holes. Either can be used with a road bike. The Shimano SPD pedals come with cleats in the package, you don't need an additional set of cleats until you wear them out. On the different grades of SPD road pedals, the more expensive ones are lighter, and the cheapest ones don't have some replaceable parts that the more expensive ones have.

Nashbar will commonly have pedals considerably cheaper than regular bike stores.

sstorkel

Here's what I said in the last clipless pedal thread:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...1#post16110387

squirtdad

I use the spd on with tow way pedals (platform one side/spd other) for my utility commuter. The spd gives good walkablity.

I use the spd-sl (105) on my road bike. I tried the speed play and did not like them. for me they were not easier then the spd-sl and were a lot fussier with the big platfoms and having to put covers on, needing to lubricate every ride (per instructions) ymmv

kingsqueak

I just got out today for the first time clipless. I have Shimano PD-M530s for pedals, MTB with MTB shoes. I have size 15 feet and wanted a bit broader pedal to support my foot and also so that it's easier to mash on if I'm not clipped in to get rolling. Happy with the choice so far.

The MTB shoes make it so the cleat isn't prominent and sticking out so it's easier to walk around.

My initial impression is they are WAY easier to deal with than the old cleat and straps I used to use where you would have to reach down and un-cinch the strap in order to get your foot out at a stop. These clipless, you just twist your foot and you are out...way easier. I found it less fatiguing to pedal today, the little bit of added connection is nice and standing and sprinting feels a lot more solid clipped in.

Aside from having to use the shoes now to ride, I am very happy with the experiment.

Podagrower

Another endorsement for dual sided pedals and mountain shoes. I tried road shoes first, but I can't walk in them (allegedly easier with SPD SL due to their width, but I don't know), and there is too much non pavement to clip in for the first 1/4 mile when leaving the house.

Black wallnut 

Things to consider: how long are your rides now and how long will they be in the future. MTB pedals are great for short duration but for the longer stuff not so good in the support department. If you are doing cross training i.e. walking MTB pedals are much better and easier to walk on as well as will last longer if you do. They can cost less as well. If you have a wide stance the adjustability of Speedplay Zeros can't be beat. look KEO are popular as well. Of the 4 I've used I like Speedplay the best. Great float, (side to side free movement) zero up and down movement, nice large base on the shoe, metal cleats so they last longer. On my cyclocross bike I have Crank Bros eggbeaters and they work fine for that type of riding.

indyfabz

Pfft. I have done loaded tours of hundreds of miles averaging some 60 miles/day for seven or more days in a row using MTB shoes and MTB pedals with recessed SPD cleats. Many years ago I did multi-month tours using MTB shoes and pedals. No problemo. In fact, my current MTB shoes (Shimano MT33-L) are quite sturdy and offer terrific support as do the pedals. The stiffness of the shoe and the recessed cleats make them great for walking.

Reelin

Thanks for the information. I will with the shimano PD-M520 and some mtb shoes. I went to my local bike shop, but alas they didn't have my number, need to come back next week.

BaseGuy

FWIW, I just went clipless about a year ago. I got LOOK Keo Plus pedals, on the recommendation of the guy at the bike shop, as a good "first clipless" pedal. They're great, easy in, easy out, and I HAVE NOT FALLEN ONCE.

I like them so much I bought a second set for my backup bike, cause it just feels so good to ride clipped in.

IBOHUNT

There ya went and done it. I fully expect a "I fell" thread within a month.

ill.clyde

BaseGuy

Okay, I guess I temped the fates a bit! But no, I'm not afraid.

These pedals work great. I had been riding with clips and straps for a couple of years, so I'd gotten well used to getting a foot out before stopping.