Hi folks.

Years ago, at the behest of a fellow cyclist I got clipless pedals for my bike. The LBS did all the work and I also picked up a pair of shoes to boot. Things were fine, for the most part.

Years later I have another bike, and I'm sick of having to take my foot in and out of the straps at the multiple lights I encounter (urban biking). So I think I want clipless pedals for this bike too. I'd like to use the same shoes, rather than get a new pair. The LBS I went to is gone *sniff*, but I'd rather learn about htis myself. I looked for a FAQ on the matter, but couldn't find one. My books seem to think that clipless does not exist. Hmmph.

My clipless pedals on the old bike seem to be Shimano. But when I look at the Performance catalog I see lots and lots of clipless pedals (several from Shimano) and they all seem different. Are there actually set standards for these things? One or two types that are disguised by other features? I am confused.

Also, are there such things as covers for the bits on my shoes? I'm tired of the crunching sound when I walk on the shoes.

Thanks!

There are several standards for the cleats. Can you tell us what the pedals are called? Or maybe pictures of the cleats themselves? They may be Shimano SPDs (very common), but might also be an older design.

Hmmmm….. if you “have clipless and are tired of taking your foot out of the straps”…….I don’t think you have clipless

Currently do you have something on the pedal that comes up over your toe and then you tighten a strap? If you do, then you have toe clips.

Clipless means to get rid of the toe clip (no clips = clipless) and clipless just attaches to the bottom of the shoe with a cleat.

Cheers,
Dusk

Errr.

My fault, my old bike has clipless. My newer bike has straps. Sorry for not being clearer about that.

Pretty much all of the pedals you find labelled as SPD compatible will interchangable with the same shoe set. There are some minor exceptions(ritchey comes to mind) where they modifed the cleat a hair, but they always detail that in the description.

Hmm, the clips only say Shimano / Taiwan on one side, the other says "PDM515"

Unless you edited your original post, you were pretty clear. The other poster just misread.

From what I've found through google, those are spd compatible pedals, which I think means you can get other spd pedals and your shoes/cleats will work with them.

MTB SPD pedal. Performance, Nashbar and others as well as shimano pedal peddles that are fully compatible and use the same cleat,and shoe drilling. Beware of look alike 'spd type'.

Cool! Thanks everyone!

Both Nashbar and Performance sell a pedal with a traditional MTB cage on one side, and a SPD contraption on the other....would work quite nicely perhaps.

You might not be able to use your old cleats (which are Shimano SPD, btw) with your new pedals, however, any SPD compatible pedal will work... new pedals come with the proper cleats. Look for any pedal that says "SPD compatible" and you will be set. You can pick up some lower end Shimano pedals pretty cheap, or sometimes if you go to your nearest bike shop, they will have a box of clipless pedals from bikes where the owner either upgraded right away, or decided they didn't want clipless. We usually sell these off for $15 or 20 at our shop, and I know some other shops do the same.

What they mean by SPD compatible (this is confusing for a lot of folks), is that the cleat, which may be entirely different than an SPD cleat, will work in the same holes on the shoe an SPD cleat would.

If you have been using "cages," rather than "clipless" pedals--the terminology is confusing, isn't it?--consider just taking the straps out. At no additional expense, that option will make it easier to take your foot out at multiple lights and other occasions, and you don't need to worry about clipless. I know a number of very good, strong road cyclists who continue to use cages.

There are numerous clipless pedal-cleat systems, generally not interchangeable. The shoe you wear and the pedal-cleat system you choose must be compatible, as seely mentions. There are systems for MTBs and for road bikes, and some allow easy walking but others are not so good for walking. Some require one-sided entry, others allow for two- or even four-sided, for convenience.

There are "cleat covers" for most road cleats like Look and Speedplay to allow greater ease in walking. Do you have knee pain issues? If so, you should pay attention to the amount of "float" the pedal-cleat interface allows so your knees can assume a normal, comfortable position. There can be a wide variation of experience in the ease of clipping in and out of pedals, which can result from improperly set tension.

There's a fair amount of inormation necessary to answer your questions, and it's hard to summarize. Sheldon Brown is always a good place to find useful information: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_ca-m.html. Scroll down to "cage" and "cleat" and "clipless pedal."

A LBS person should be able to show you a lot of different pedals and explain their virtues and shortcomings. I don't know if I've helped answer your questions, but I'm sure talking a lot!