https://www.amazon.com/VP-Clipless-Ro...701992&sr=1-12

https://www.amazon.com/Wellgo-WAM-Roa...0701992&sr=1-3

My professor at school was looking for some clipless but doesn't want to spend the big bucks. I found these and they looked like a pretty darn good deal.


He asked my opinion but being that I am a noob I wanted to ask you guys, the pros!

Either of those look fine. Wellgo is a name I'm familiar with (and trust), I've never heard of the other one (but that does not mean anything ).

Both of these are "road" pedals, which means that the shoes/cleats will be "road" style as well. What this means is that the cleat will protrude from the bottom of the shoe, making walking and standing at lights a little more awkward than with a Mountain bike style pedal (which uses recessed cleats).

Something like this might be a better choice, because the recessed cleat makes walking less awkward, and the pedal has a nice platform for tooling around without clipping in.

Here's another pair that has a smaller platform, but is double sided, if that is what he's after. https://www.pricepoint.com/detail/130...717-Pedals.htm

Personally I'm wary of Wellgo clipless pedals, they're not terrible, but I've had one pair break on me and another that squeeks without regular lubrication (both issues after about 1500 miles of use) but I've got the Shimano pedals that those were based on and those are going strong with more than 3000 miles (probably much more than that, I'm not good about counting) on them. I'd say it's definitely worth spending a little extra for pedals that will last longer.

I would type the model number of the pedals you're curious about in your browser search window followed by the work "review" and see what comes up. There's a roadbikereview.com site that's pretty good and an equivalent site for mountain bike equipment whose name escapes me.

I tend to trust those reviews more than the ones you see on amazon.

Not much comes up for those two pedals. For that reason (and the bargain basement price) I would stay away. Canyoneagle makes a good point too in that those are road pedals and probably not the best choice for commuting, - at least for most people.

There's nothing wrong with telling your professor that clipless pedals aren't your area of expertise.

It's hard to tell from looking at them. I prefer to have them in my hand and turn the axle. I often find that the cheaper ones are not smooth at all and have also determined that no amount of adjusting/lubrication helps. Therefore, I buy Shimano and ride with them for many years.

You're only saving $20-30 over a pair of 105s. I'd spend the extra money, they work well and are reliable.

These are my preferred commuting pedals because I clip in for longer rides and use the large platform side with my Vibram Five Fingers.

https://www.rei.com/product/764688/sh...rt-road-pedals


I also use these pedals on my converted MTB commuter:
https://www.rei.com/product/668198/sh...324-spd-pedals

I never had good experience with off brand pedals. The float, and durability is not on par with what they are based on. Hence saving a couple of bucks. They are in essence cheap copies of a proprietary system that was originally designed by someone else.

Float can cause knee issues among other things (its happened to me!).
Durability can cause your pedal to not work anymore in the middle of the ride (its happened to me!).

My GF got Shimano pedals from the start and has never had problems. I now have Shimano too, but I had to spend the extra money on the off brand stuff to learn my lesson

If he can spare a few bucks more, get a decent pair of brand name pedals (Look, Shimano SPD-R, Speedplay, etc).

Also if commuting, consider mtb style; SPD (Shimano) or EggBeater (Crank Brothers).

I had some Welgo SPD clones once... they worked fine until they broke but I got my money's worth out of them.

But the old Delta type doesn't sound like a good choice for commuting... also - they all squeak.

I've had the opposite experience with 2 different house-brand pedals: Nashbar and Performance (Forte) SPD pedals which I've used on my commuter/distance bike for quite some time. I paid under $30 for each pair, and they've lasted me an admirable amount of miles. My Nashbar SPDs went over 5 years before one of the front retention clips broke. Not bad for a big guy on a singlespeed, pulling hard on the pedals over lots of hills.
I replaced them with a Performance Forte SPD pedal, and they have been working quite well after I made an adjustment to the retension setting. They were initially set *really* light, and I pulled my cleat out just trying to climb a slight incline. I cranked them down tighter, and these pedals are working fine now.
YMMV.

I believe he plans to ride 10 miles so he wants to be clipped in.

I informed him about the shimanos but he wants to stay at the low cost end of the spectrum. I fear he'll get so-so quality but I don't want to force him into shimanos where he'll regret spending a lot of money later.

I may just email him this link and let him decide?

this.

i got mine for $48 on nashbar and theyre only slightly less amazing than the ultegra ones

[h=1]If price is the biggest concern, check these out at a great price. Very decent, versatile commuter pedal.

https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...37_-1___000000

Forté Boulevard Pedals[/h]

Thank you everyone!

I just relayed the message to him about the 105s...hopefully he takes that path.