Sammyboy

At the 3rd attempt to get a cheap pair of Look compatible shoes (in the end, I spent nearly as much as I would to get the cheapest new ones online - oh well, the ones I ended up with were NIB, so it makes no odds), I finally tried clipless today.

I had a pair of Campy Chorus pedals, which I put on my Gazelle roadie, and rode about a mile. My initial impressions on the road where that I like it, but not as much as some seem to. I felt connected, for sure, I could pull, perhaps more than with clips and straps, but not amazingly more. My bike felt perfectly fitted with quills, clips and straps. With these, I feel like I need to raise the saddle. Wierd! I did feel as though hot-spotting would be reduced over using sneakers and clips and straps, but also, I didn't quite get set right. I have kinda outward pointing Charlie Chaplin/duck feet, and it may take some fiddling to get the cleats positioned right, even with the red, floating ones.

Off the bike - I hated them. I'd thought of throwing a messenger bag on, and doing my errands on the roadie to test them properly. After walking from the house round to the garage in my shoes - no chance. It's liking overbalancing backwards on ice! These pedals will only go on bikes which I use purely for riding - if there's any chance of stopping somewhere and walking more than 50 yards, I want clips and straps. I might at some point also try SPD's and MTB shoes, which are supposed to be better for walking, but ultimately, nothing beats just jumping on the bike in whatever shoes I've got on. I'm off on my tourer now, with my sneakers and my Shimano 600 pedals, with no regrets!

cudak888 

Glad you've convinced me not to try clipless

-Kurt

HillRider

Which is what you should have done the first time. Look and other pure road pedals are just that, intended for all riding and no walking.

Get a pair of double sided MTB pedals like Shimano M520, or even Nashbar's house brand and a pair of compatible shoes. You opinion of clipless pedals will change dramatically.

I started riding with clips and straps in the mid-'80's and my first clipless pedals were also Looks in 1992. I loved the connected feeling but hated the single-side entry and dismally uncomfortable walking, even with rubber cleat covers. My next pedals were the first generation Speedplay's that later became Frogs and the difference was huge. Two-sided entry and no problems walking on the cleats made a permanant believer of me. BTW, my feet also turn out a lot so Speedplay's free and wide range float suits me very well.

USAZorro

Sam,

I have some SPD-R pedals I'll never use. They are very used and worn, but I believe they still work. They came as a throw-in on a crankset I bought a couple years ago. I don't understand the difference between regular SPD and SPD-R, so maybe someone else can help there. I'm fully committed to Looks and clips (for just out and about riding). Let me know if you want them, and I'll just toss them in the next time a package heads out your way.

Z

barba

The change in fit is something I have found as well. I think different pedals have a different height (especially when you throw in the large road cleat). You will not really be able to walk in road shoes- and the older Look cleats were the worst in my experience. They are great on long rides, though. Like others, I would recommend that you go with an SPD style pedal for around town rides. My "mountain" shoes are as comfortable as most shoes I own and I am considering making the investment in some SPD sandals for the summer.

Sammyboy

Well, I had 3 sets of Look pedals that I'd inherited during the course of my bike trading, so it made sense to try with those, particularly when it looked like my total money in shoes and cleats was gonna be £10. To be honest, the double sided fellas - with the platforms on one side and the SPD on the other look like a better bet to me, the M324's? Even with the cheapest pedals though, and the cheapest shoes, I'm looking at £70 all in. Between all that I spent on trying Look, I only ran to about £30.

well biked

Here's a link to some inexpensive Wellgo "road" SPD's that I like a lot.

https://www.pricepoint.com/detail/128...oad-Pedals.htm

They have a road pedal shape about them, but use the same SPD cleat as the common Shimano SH-51 SPD cleat used for mtb pedals. I use SPD's on three different bikes (road and mountain), and am able to use the same shoes/cleats on all of them. And yeah, get some fairly "normal" looking mtb shoes, SPD pedals/cleats, and walking around isn't bad at all-

John E

I tried Frogs snap-in ("clipless") pedals on a training stand and likewise did not perceive enough benefit over a good set of clips, straps, and shoes to entice me to make the change. My biggest single hangup is that I want a clips and street shoes option on at least a few of my bikes, and I don't trust myself to be able to detach safely if I have strap-ins on some bikes and snap-ins on others.

MajorA

+1 on going with SPD pedals, and shoes you can actually walk in. I have some, and having done a repeated A/B comparison between them and traditional quills with toeclips on my usual training course, my times are 6% to 10% faster with clipless, for the same level of exertion. And while I wouldn't want to spend a day walking around in the things, the shoes are pretty functional off the bike.

nlerner

My favorite SPD shoes at the moment are Nashbar knockoffs of the Shimano SPD sandal. Three broad straps to allow for my extra-wide feet, perfectly fine for walking around in off of the bike, and good traction on non-SPD pedals. Dump those LOOKs, Sammy.

Neal

Sammyboy

I think the Looks make sense for the bike they're on - I only use it for fast road riding. It's got no mudguards, no rack, nothing but a bottle cage, and now I've got the shoes, I might as well leave the only piece of Campagnolo kit the bike's got on there.

markk900

+1 as well on the SPDs. You will not even notice the cleat. As to comparisons with toe clips etc, haven't gone back since I switched (admittedly switched on an MTB first). But I still have my original pair of Adidas Eddy Merckx shoes with aluminum cleats - talk about hard to walk in. I also find a lot of comfort knowing how quickly I can clip and unclip (from MTB experience!). So IMO even if clipless offer "just as good" actual performance they have advantages over toe clips.

BTW - Wellgo makes some nice pedals that look like MKS but feature SPD compatible clips on one side so you don't have to look too modern.

Mark

bigbossman 

FWIW, not enough time to evaluate properly, IMO. Try doing some long rides, and especially climbing. The benefits that were not immediately apparent on a training stand become readily apparent after you've ridden them for a bit. At least, that's how it was for me.

I first switched from clips/straps to SPD's in spin class. After a few classes I noticed a Big Difference - They were smoother and more efficient. Moved it over to my mtb's - much nicer there, as well, and improved my climbing and control. Migrated over to the road bike, and never looked back.

I've since swapped out the SPD's for Looks on the road bike. I found that after 80-100 miles the SPD's tended to give hot-spots, and the wider platform of the Looks tended to mitigate that a great deal. I don't do a lot of walking in the shoes when I'm ouot for a long ride, so that's a non-issue for me.

That being said, I'm not sure I'd clip in if my riding was predominately urban. In that case two sided SPD/platform pedals might be just the thing, paired with a nice set of mtb shoes that had the SPD cleat nestled in between the rubber cleats on the shoe sole to take care of the walking bit.

repechage

Around here, its clips and straps (sometimes double) at the Velodrome unless one has the Kewin pedals with the "track latch option" Which makes them quite hard to get out of.

I have seen guys pull out, not pretty.

Spd's I used on mtbs, good for casual stuff too.

I have used clips and straps for so long, I find them no problem. Counting... 35 years! I still reach down to unstrap when I use clipless pedals and come to a stop or light.

When the clipless pedals came out, I thought, not a bad idea, now the shoes have to adapt, as the upper sections were not designed to take pedal stress without straps. I still think that the shoes could be better engineered for this. Sidi comes close.

Walter

I bid farewell to clips quite some time ago and can't claim to misds them. I've kept them on a fixie as I don't trust myself on that bike quite enough yet and an old Moto I ride around with my kids. Otherwise Look clipless only.

Rubber covers (about 10$US) help alot but agree that Looks are best on bikes that are "sporty" not commutetrs. However, for the proper applications Looks are SO much better than regular SPDs it's not even a conversation. There's a reason DuraAce pedals use a cleat tha looks more than a bit "Lookish."

Sammyboy

I'm definitely reserving big judgements for when I've ridden some longer rides on them. The funny thing is, I don't as a rule even tighten the straps on my clips and straps pedals - I ride them so I can just get in, getting out is easy, and pulling up is easy. I was really expecting that to be the big difference with the clipless, but it wasn't really that pronounced. I've never previously owned any cycle-specific shoes, it's always been sneakers in the clips and straps, and the stiffness of the sole was, I'll admit, quite nice.

I can see where double sided clipless/platform could work for bikes like my Raleigh 20, or even more so for the 3 speed tandem I just got (can't see my girl ever going for toe-clips, but clipless, perhaps). For everyday riding, though, nothing beats just jumping on in whatever shoes are on your feet that moment. I don't see myself getting away from that any time soon.

cyclotoine

The rubber covers are a bargain in my opinion. I will never be without them again. I wore down my first set of campy cleats and bought new ones and the guy convinced me that the look cleat covers fit well enough. He was right, I love them, they make life so much easier and I love clips. My pedals have tones of float and I noticed that since my leg operation I have developed a right duck foot somehow. Even with my slotted cleats cranked all the way to compensate I still couldn't get my right foot comfortable. I am sad I may not be able to use slotted clears... I may try filing the holes to add some more range of adjustment though. Clipless pedals were are a bigger performance enhancer than brifters in my opinion.

sykerocker 

I went the SPD route because I only wanted one type of clips to mess with, the Raleigh has mountain bike pedals on it to start, and mountain bike shoes ARE nice for a days ride when you think you'll actually walk around for more than 20 feet at a time. So far, I've been quite happy, and while the Tour de France is clips and straps full time (French thread), the Magneet has one pair of each pedals allotted to it, and I'm using the SPD's on any serious afternoon's travel no matter how incongrous they look with all the late 60's equipment on it.

The Rossin and Fuji (modern) are SPD full time anymore.

Having heard all the stories about mandatory falls, etc., I spent the winter breaking myself in on them by using them on the trainer - hey, if you have trouble disengaging, you can't fall over. It worked quite well, as I was faint hearted as all get out since my wrist is still healing from last summer's accident. I did go down once after I got out on the road, when a dog got under my usually excellent radar and hit me from behind and from the left - otherwise, clicking out seems to work very well and I'm almost comfortable with them.

badfishgood

Bikes don't seem right unless I am wearing clipless. Actually... That statement doesn't apply to my beach cruiser. =)

I rock SPD with mountain shoes. On my commuter road bike and mtb bike.

grolby

I went clipless last summer with a pair of old SPD pedals that I purchased for a song from a BF member and new pair of entry-level Shimano shoes. The shoes need better footbeds, but other than that it was a great decision. The pedals are now on my 80's Univega road bike, and I have a lot of fun with them. I have Wellgo double-sided pedals on my commuter, with clips on one side and a plain ol' pedal platform on the other. I've found that I prefer both clipless and riding on just plain pedals to clips and straps and I don't particularly want to wear my clipless shoes all day, so I do a lot of riding these days without my feet attached to the pedals. But when I want to get attached, clipless is a wonderful thing.

GCRyder

I will never go back to toe clips and straps. I commute (28mi RT) with SPDs amd Cannondale Roam shoes, which look and feel like low hiking shoes. The soles are too stiff for running, but very comfy for walking. Easily among the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned, of any kind, not just cycling shoes.

Toe clips and straps were a lot more hassle and produced a lot more falls. I did take the inevitable one fall during my first week with clipless, but that was 1994, and I haven't fallen since from not unclipping. Even without the cleats, I must have taken five or six falls a year from being unable to release from toe clips. IMO, most who are using toe clips and not falling with some frequency are probably not using them they way they were meant to be used. Most I see using them never tighten the straps, so all they accomplish is keeping the foot from going off the front of the pedal. If that's all you want or need, the little plastice mini-clips will work just fine without the hassle of straps and ratchets.

pastorbobnlnh 

Send all your SPD pedals to NH and I will bless them so that you never fall while using them. I never have, even when bombing out with the granny-big on a 20% grade. SPDs reside on all my bikes, except the Collegiate.

Sammyboy

You can pull up plenty on clips and straps without them being tightened down. Y'all may choose not to believe me, but I've been doing it for 20 years now, so I will respectfully choose to differ.

vpiuva

Clipless is the only way to go. SPD-SL's, and no, walking is not the easiest, but it certainly makes riding better. In my younger days I hated trying to get size 12's into clips and straps. The length of free strap wiould invariably take on some odd shape that blocked my entrance. And the big clips dragged and scraped the ground even if you wanted to go only 20 feet. Never again.

HillRider

I believe you and rode 10,000+ miles using the same arrangement. However, clipless pedals are MUCH better in any regard you care to name. They are simultaneously more secure and easier to release from. Get the type that uses recessed cleats and walkable shoes and give them a fair trial.

Well, I could argue that you wasted £30 instead of spending £70 and having a satisfactory experience.