I'm ready to up my pedal game!
 

I've been commuting to work for a few months. I can finally do all the hills without walking. :thumb:

However, I want to get more efficient on my commutes. I'm ready to trash my platforms and get some new pedals, preferably clipless.

So, what are the best pedals out there for the following purposes/riding styles?

• Commuting to work (20'ish miles)
• Commuting to class (5 miles) Note: I would prefer the option to wear regular shoes when commuting to school. Or at lease walkable shoes.
• Occasional gravel and dirt trails

Is there pedals out there that would satisfy all three?

Google "SPD pedals with platform". There are a variety of options out there.

Click in with SPD (mountain-bike style recessed cleats so walking is fairly normal) for your commutes, ride in regular shoes when you're going to school, and you still have dual-sided clip in ability for off-road rides.

Shimano M324 and A530. I prefer the former, which has more grip in the wet.

I have my "big bike" with straps on the pedals, and my little folding bike with grippy platforms. They work equally well in practice. I've never tried clipless pedals. I really don't want to change shoes to bike! :)

Thanks. I like the M324s. I'm assuming these are the cleats for it and how do I know if they are recessed?

Amazon.com : Shimano SM-SH56 SPD Cleat Set : Replacement Cycling Cleats : Sports & Outdoors

Nevermind... I just noticed the shoes have to be recessed not the cleats. I think i'm going with these shoes: Amazon.com: Shimano SH-RT32 Road Bike Shoes, Black, Size 43: Sports & Outdoors

I like the 324 pedals - I can use shoes or just hop on with any shoe too. I prefer a mountain shoe like the Shimano mt 33 or my Keen arroyo pedals. Easily walked in if I stop on the way home.

I use a530 pedals with the mt33 shoes. The shoes are so comfortable that most of the time I just wear them all day at work.

Careful. Those are a road shoe which takes a 3-bolt cleat, not the 2-bolt SPD cleat.

Look at mountain bike shoes instead. Those fit the 2-bolt SPD cleats.

SPuD shoe recesses the cleat and rubber bottom on the shoe so you can walk on it.

its a scheme that shimano invented and now all sorts of companies use that 2 bolt pattern , .

Buy the pair of shoes in person , in a shop , so you get the fit right ..

Realize, though recessed the cleat still wears down after walking on it extensively ..

This comes up all the time, and let me break it down for you.

Double Sided Clipless - best clipless solution. Doesn't work great for riding with regular shoes though.

The best I've found for swapping pedals between clipless and platforms looks like it's mks ezy pedals -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1aPm-WqZsQ

Apparently you can swap between regular platforms and clipless spd pedals like these fairly easily -
Amazon.com: MKS EZY mm-Cube Clipless MTN Pedals "SPD" Style: Sports & Outdoors

One Sided Clipless -

The problem is that one of the best things about double sided clipless is that once you get used to it, you can clip in and out at stops (like intersections) without looking down. But having the clip on only 1 side makes things complicated again, regardless of which shoes you're wearing. You can't clip in if the flat side is up, you can't get a good grip with flat shoes if the clipless side is up. I used to have a pair - I found them super annoying, I was always looking down to clip in at the worst possible times - in the middle of intersections.

Double Sided Clipless with a Large Platform -

They work if you just need to cycle down the block for lunch or something, but for longer rides not great, hard to get a good grip and the clipless part often starts to dig into your foot (depending on your shoes)

Clip-On Platform (Winwood if I remember right)

It seemed like a good idea, so I bought a pair, but they're terrible. They don't stay locked on, because your clipless system is (usually) designed to have a bit of float, so it's like biking on ice skates.





So imo, the mks ezy pedals from above seem like the best solution.

However, you might also consider whether you want clipless at all. They have a lot of drawbacks - initial learning curve to using them, more expensive, obviously there's the walking-in-your-shoes issue. And what you gain is - a possible, but fairly small, increase in efficiency. Even that requires learning to pedal "right" with them, and there's a fair amount of debate whether you actually gain any noticeable speed.

There's a lot to be said for just buying a decent platform pedal -
Amazon.com: Wellgo Alloy BMX Sealed Mountain Bike Pedal, 9/16-Inch, Black: Sports & Outdoors

And a decent pair of shoes, like Chuck Taylor's or a BMX shoe, and not dealing with clipless at all. I own road clipless, mountain bike clipless, and I'm considering just going back to a regular flat pedal.

I don't know what pedals you're currently using, but if they can accommodate strapless toe clips, you might give them a try.

I installed the $5 REI Wellgo clips on both my FX 7.3 and Lexa. They're not as good as clipless, but the do keep your feet in place and at least allow you to offload from the pedal.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=378107

A wonderful member of the local bike club did let me check out clipless pedals (and shoes, of course) on my bike (both Look and SPD). I could definitely feel more power on climbs... maybe 10-15%? So I'm considering making the transition at some point. Still, for now, I'd say the strapless clips are a lot better than nothing. YMMV.

I use these: Shimano PD-M530 Trail Mountain Pedals - Mountain Bike Pedals with these: Shimano MT33 Mountain Shoes - Mountain Bike Shoes when I commute and they work great. Shoes are flexible enough to walk around work/school comfortably in (for me, at least), though the cleats do make contact when going up or down stairs. The plan is to also use the pedals on the trails this summer, though I haven't used them in that capacity yet.

EDIT: Megalowmatt beat me to it, good combo though.

Can't you pedal faster with clip less? Or is that solely a technique thing?

I'm thinking about going clip less simply because I can't pedal faster than 70-80rpm, and would like to get it faster.

...That and my bike tops out at like...85 gear inches.

Stick with platforms. There's no shame.

BTW, I had to look up your Motobecane Fantom Outlaw. Besides the rockin name it looks like a very cool bike!!

i agree with the easy to walk on them method of shoe selection. i used straps on my "family ride" bike for the longest time. when i decided to add a road/commuter bike to the garage, my LBS guy recommended mountain bike shoes and pedals since i wasn't a die hard roady and wanted to use them on my family bike as well. it's a perfect setup. i get my efficiency as well as easy walkability when we stop for ice cream.

Thanks!!

Here's the latest picture of my bike with platforms...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640.../834/p3mzl.jpg

Good catch! Thanks! I'm little bit of a newb at this as you can tell. :)

If I do I would get some better platforms. My commute doesn't have the best roads and my feet continually come off the pedals when I hit big bumps. It's really annoying...

Nice set up. I like the shoes... I just don't know how mtb shoes would look with roadbike attire (jersey, shorts, etc)...? But eh who said cycling was fashionable! lol

I do all my road biking in those shoes. For commuting I use the a530 and on my road bike I have pdm540:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...Y5HYJVQK1Y447B

Works great.

You could check out this recent thread on platform pedals -
http://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...at-pedals.html

I recommended this one -
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51KHVKxmGiL.jpg

They (like many do) have small metal pins that come out of the pedal. Talk about grip...it's practically impossible for your foot to come off the pedal if you're putting any weight on it.

If you're going to go with a platform/clipless combo pedal, there are a couple of things that really help. A few people have said that double-sided pedals are the way to go because they eliminate the possibility of the wrong side of the pedal facing up, - and as a result either trying to clip in on the platform side or trying to pedal with regular shoes sitting on top of the clipless mechanism. Of course double-sided pedals makes using regular shoes less than optimal so using the combo pedals are attractive if you can make them work well for you.

The first thing is knowing how your pedals "hang". Here's a pic of my A530's at rest:

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...psthg6fajw.jpg

They always hang that way, platform facing forward. It doesn't matter how many times I spin them. Once I figured this out, I went from feeling kind of lukewarm about these pedals to them being my favorites. Now I can clip in on the first try 9 times out of 10, if not more. I never have to look at them to clip in. I just push forward on the top of the pedal before pushing down to click in.

Last year I started riding fixed gear and was using platforms. Foot retention is really a good idea with fixies but I was nervous about trying clipless with pedals that were always in motion. Somebody on this forum sent me a set of basic double-sided clipless pedals out of the goodness of their heart. My fears turned out to be unfounded and it's true, with double-sided you never worry about which side is facing up. However, I missed being able to take a short trip on my fixed gear without having to change shoes, so I gave my A530s a shot. Again, no problem.

When I first got these pedals, the bearings were stiff and they didn't always end up this way. It only happened consistently after they were broken in. Something else that helps is using a clipless shoe with a softer sole as opposed to something stiff with a hard plastic tread. The reason I suggest that is that if you do end up on the wrong side of the pedal, it's not a big deal. Just flip when you get a chance.

i went back to flats last season after 10yrs clipless.

especially for commuting, never going back.

also: The Flat Pedal Revolution Manifesto

there's something out there making the same case for road riding, but i can't find it at the moment.