Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

Newbie Pedals

Old 06-03-07, 10:47 AM
  #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
bikegummo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 101
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Newbie Pedals

Hi everyone,

Great forum! I'm returning to cycling after about 10 years away, and I recently purchased a Diamondback Century (basically an entry-level aluminum road bike with straight handlebars--used to ride a mountain bike, and wanted the familiarity). Anyhow, I'm really, really loving the bike and riding about 20 miles per day.

The only thing I want to change soon is the pedals. Currently, I've got fairly low-end pedals with toe clips. I want to move to pedals with cleats, and I can't seem to get a handle on the various cleat patterns. Also, any advice on a decent, fairly inexpensive pedal and a fairly inexpensive shoe I should look into?

Thanks for any and all help!
bikegummo is offline  
Old 06-03-07, 11:00 AM
  #2  
Senior Member
 
Nermal's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Farmington, NM
Posts: 2,308

Bikes: Giant Cypress SX

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 79 Post(s)
Liked 10 Times in 6 Posts
Sorry. I've only one pair of shoes that work on two sets of pedals, so can't make a comparison. You are going to love the clipless though - once you get used to them. My only regret is that on my hybrid, I got platform on one side and clipless on the other. For me, clipless on both sides would have been a better choice, and that's what I have on the newer touring bike.
__________________
Some people are like a Slinky ... not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.
Nermal is offline  
Old 06-04-07, 01:27 PM
  #3  
Diamondback rider
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 33

Bikes: Diamondback Century, Response; GT Karakorum

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Century

How do you like the Century? I've been considering moving up from a Diamondback comfort bike to the Century for better road performance on my commute to work. Tiagra derailers sound good for the price. My only concern is the aluminum fork. A lot of vibration?
Porten2 is offline  
Old 06-04-07, 01:52 PM
  #4  
Time for a change.
 
stapfam's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: 6 miles inland from the coast of Sussex, in the South East of England
Posts: 19,913

Bikes: Dale MT2000. Bianchi FS920 Kona Explosif. Giant TCR C. Boreas Ignis. Pinarello Fp Uno.

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 4 Posts
Cant tell you about the Road specific clipless- but MTBs mainly use SPD compatable pedals. SPD's are shimano and the cheap one is at an economic price. That is waht I have fitted and the SPD cleats have worked with Wellgo- Ritchey and Onza's.

The Shimano 520 pedal is cheap and I have them of all my bikes- Road- MTB and Tandem. I changed to them 8 years ago when My Onza's packed up and still use the Onza cleats on one of my pairs of shoes. As to cheap shoes- Go to any Large Bike shop and shoes can start off fairly cheap. Best I have found for reliability and cost were the Shimano ones again.
__________________
How long was I in the army? Five foot seven.


Spike Milligan
stapfam is offline  
Old 06-04-07, 06:55 PM
  #5  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
bikegummo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 101
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Century

Originally Posted by Porten2
How do you like the Century? I've been considering moving up from a Diamondback comfort bike to the Century for better road performance on my commute to work. Tiagra derailers sound good for the price. My only concern is the aluminum fork. A lot of vibration?
I really, really am satisfied with the Century. I rode the Specialized Sirrus, a couple of Gary Fishers, a few Konas, and some others around the same price range before I ended up getting the Century. I feel like I really did my homework, speaking to people at local shops, talking to people who ride, and, more than anything, taking some good test rides on a lot of bikes. After a lot of time (and a lot of rides), it turned out that the Century felt the best and was the perfect fit. I'm loving it more and more every time I ride.

As for the aluminum forks, vibration honestly isn't an issue. I live in New York City, so I ride the hell out of the bike on graded pavement, over (and through) chips and small holes in roads, and I have no complaints at all. And when I ride in Central Park or on the river (where it's mostly very smooth), it's excellent. If you're really small, you might think twice about the aluminum forks, but in this average-sized guy's opinion, the bike's excellent.

Thanks for the pedal info, everyone! I'm still investigating, so any additional info is great!
bikegummo is offline  
Old 06-04-07, 09:51 PM
  #6  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,941
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by bikegummo
Hi everyone,

Great forum! I'm returning to cycling after about 10 years away, and I recently purchased a Diamondback Century (basically an entry-level aluminum road bike with straight handlebars--used to ride a mountain bike, and wanted the familiarity). Anyhow, I'm really, really loving the bike and riding about 20 miles per day.

The only thing I want to change soon is the pedals. Currently, I've got fairly low-end pedals with toe clips. I want to move to pedals with cleats, and I can't seem to get a handle on the various cleat patterns. Also, any advice on a decent, fairly inexpensive pedal and a fairly inexpensive shoe I should look into?

Thanks for any and all help!
Depends on what's important to you.

Broadly, there are walkable systems that are designed for mountain biking. They have a cleat that is recessed into the sole, so you can walk on them normally - well, as normally as you can on a shoe where the sole doesn't bend. Lots of people use these on road bikes as well. Shimano SPD is one of these systems.

Then, there are the road systems. On these systems the shoes just have a flat plate on the bottom, and the cleat is mounted so that it sticks out underneath. None of these are great to walk in, but the SPD-SLs are somewhat walkable, while the looks are fairly slippery. Then there are speedplays, and several other systems.

The chief advantage of the road systems is that the shoes are a bit lighter, and the pedal is bigger which gives you a broader area over which to spread the force. Some people have problems on the mountain-style systems because of the smaller area.

You need shoes that are compatible with the cleats that match the pedals you buy. Generally, shoes fit either road or mountain cleats, but some fit both.
__________________
Eric

2005 Trek 5.2 Madone, Red with Yellow Flames (Beauty)
199x Lemond Tourmalet, Yellow with fenders (Beast)

Read my cycling blog at https://riderx.info/blogs/riderx
Like climbing? Goto https://www.bicycleclimbs.com
ericgu is offline  
Old 06-05-07, 11:33 AM
  #7  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 998
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
You can do two solutions:

First is to get some pedals such as Mallets or M324s that work just as well in flats as clipless. As another alternative, Performance has the Forte Campus pedal, which can use clipless cleats, as well as support flats or toe clips.

Second is to go for a walkable mountain bike shoe. Lake shoes are good, Nike has some SPD compatible as well.
mlts22 is offline  
Old 06-05-07, 08:09 PM
  #8  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
bikegummo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 101
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Thanks to both mlts22 and ericgu! Sounds like I need to sort the pedal thing out before the shoe. I was told by a guy at work (I don't know him well, but he rides quite a lot) to get the entry-level Speedplay pedals, because of the float they offer. He mentioned that any other clipless could be rough on the knees.

I think I'm more into the larger surface road pedal (and I don't care about walking much) that's lighter. Sounds like a great combination.

Is my coworker right about float? I'm searching and reading all I can, but I'm not grasping the float thing.

Thanks again...
bikegummo is offline  
Old 06-05-07, 10:46 PM
  #9  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,941
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by bikegummo
Thanks to both mlts22 and ericgu! Sounds like I need to sort the pedal thing out before the shoe. I was told by a guy at work (I don't know him well, but he rides quite a lot) to get the entry-level Speedplay pedals, because of the float they offer. He mentioned that any other clipless could be rough on the knees.

I think I'm more into the larger surface road pedal (and I don't care about walking much) that's lighter. Sounds like a great combination.

Is my coworker right about float? I'm searching and reading all I can, but I'm not grasping the float thing.

Thanks again...
Well, float lets your feet pivot in and out a bit as you pedal, and speedplays do have a fair bit of float. SPD-SLs also have a fair bit with the stock cleats.

Float also lets you ride without perfect cleat alignment.
__________________
Eric

2005 Trek 5.2 Madone, Red with Yellow Flames (Beauty)
199x Lemond Tourmalet, Yellow with fenders (Beast)

Read my cycling blog at https://riderx.info/blogs/riderx
Like climbing? Goto https://www.bicycleclimbs.com
ericgu is offline  
Old 06-06-07, 01:01 PM
  #10  
Senior Member
 
landshark1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: West Des Moines, IA
Posts: 140
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I'd start with SPD's - Shimano 520 pedals and Shimano RT-50 shoes(recessed cleats & 3 velcro straps). There are a lot of viable options out there, but I think you'd be happy with these.
landshark1 is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.