kyledr

Yeah, and yet another yet another thread. But I tried searching too long and couldn't find enough info.

I'm going to be racing track and maybe road. So I need a pedal that's light enough (I don't care that much, it's college, not the TDF). One important thing is I need to be able to sprint hard (which means pulling up hard) without pulling the foot out of the pedal vertically. However, I would like it to be able to clip in and out when I want to easily for safety reasons.

Also, being new to this, I have no idea what pedal float is. I understand it helps the knees, but how? Does it hurt performance? If there is no float, is it as hard on the knees as regular (just flat ones, no clips) pedals?

I really don't see why really expensive pedals are good. I'm sure they're better, but if there's a nice pedal that does those things, why not get that?

And then the next question is shoes. It's confusing which pedals work with which shoes. Like for instance, I can't figure out if say a sidi shoe would work with a crank brother pedal.

I think it would be cool to walk a bit in them if I want. Say for instance I want to visit a bike shop or someone's house while out on a ride... I'd prefer road shoes if possible though because if I'm going to spend money on this stuff, it might as well perform as well as it can.

As far as cost, I guess something good but reasonable. I would splurge on sidi shoes if it's worth it, but I would never go for their top of the line model. I know fit is the most important, so if you have multiple suggestions, I can go to a LBS and try them out.

Not sure about price because I don't know how much it matters. I could spend a decent bit if it really matters, and I am quite tempted to go sidi because they look damn cool. The downside of sidi is I know they look terrible for walking in, but again, that's not absolutely necessary, it would just be cool. I hear shimanos you can walk in, but how do they perform?

Thanks and sorry again about repeating the same ol dame ol.

55/Rad

Ok, one at a time....

Any good pedal will allow you to pull up hard without pulling out as well as unclip when you need to.

Float is the lateral (side to side) movement of the foot/shoe within the pedal. Most people naturally have some foot swing within their full pedal stroke - this allows for that. In the early days of clipless, pedals had no float and knee injuries were quite common as the knee would try to compensate for what the foot wouldn't allow. For most people, float is good.

Pedals come in a lot of styles and price ranges, They are one of the more personal items of a bike - like a saddle though not as much. Good ones can be found in all ranges - get what you feel is right for you.

Most big name shoes work with most big name pedal cleats - the screw hole patterns vary by type of pedal but most shoes have several options built into them

Road shoes have slick soles that make them somewhat difficult to walk on. But it is the pedal cleat that makes the most difference. Each type of pedal has a unique cleat that attaches to the shoe - and some are small and thin and others are big and bulky.

Decent shoes can be had on sale for $100 or less but good fit is worth every penny you are willing to pay. Go to a store and try them on.

Like we say with bikes - I'd rather have a $100 garage sale bike that fits my body right than a $10K one that doesn't. Go try them on and find what's right for you. As for walking, Sidi and Shimano are pretty much the same - as stated earlier, it's the cleat that will affect your ability to walk.

Good luck.

55/Rad

spearce

somebody make this a sticky already

roadwarrior

Within Look's Keo line, the pedal tension increases with the pedal quality. So, for example the Classic, designed for recreational riding has less tension than the injected carbon pedals, which start and finish with greater tension. They are designed for racing. Put a black cleat in them and you are locked down.
The HM carbon pedals have the same tension, but are lighter.

Both sets of (injected and HM) carbon pedals come with a chro-moly and titanium spindle. And a price difference to boot...

biker7

Hi Roadwarrior,
And FWIW, I run my new KEO Carbon pedals with CrMoly spindles...which are great...on about the medium tension level with grey cleats. The shoes are pretty much welded to the pedal on this setting...ingress is easy and egress is not hard at all...just right.
George