Clipless pedal suggestion
 

I'm not sure which pedals to get because I'm new to clipless. I ride a hardtail mountain bike and ride mostly on pavement and light XC at most. I'm concerned about budget because I don't have a lot of money to spend on it and also it doesn't make sense to spend a lot of money on a 500 dollar bike.

Anyway, I'm looking for pedals that can be used as platform (with regular shoes) and can be used with cleats. I was looking at these http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1265904314877 but it seems that from reviews the side that takes the cleats in are always facing down because of the way it's weighted.

I saw that crank brothers have these "candy" pedals but they seem pretty expensive and they don't have glowing reviews either.

Any ideas?

I should also mention that I live in Toronto, Canada.

Since you're in Toronto have you checked out Mountain Equipment Co-op? Ebay?
I'd say Ebay, just because it's easy to browse and see what set up you're looking for. It sounds like you're more focused on price, down playing the work you intend to do with these tools? Would reviews really matter?
Even check into your LBS to see if someone upgraded theirs and you could buy the used ones. www.pinkbike.com may have something too.

SPD style pedals tend to be fairly affordable.

If BikeIsland ships to Canada you can get a pair for about $25 (USD)

Crank Brother's Candy Cs have platforms. and you can sometimes find them on sale for 30 bucks.

I was thinking about the Candy C's, They can be found at MEC for $94 which isn't too bad. I was reading that the tension on them is non adjustable. What does that mean? Is it something I should care about?

Also I was reading about float and I'm not sure what I'd need for that either.

I think I may just get these and not worry about not having a platform to ride my bike with if I'm not wearing cycling shoes... maybe they're big enough to be able to ride around the block with regular shoes. I'll have to go into the store and look at them http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1265921839164

There are various brands that are SPD cleats on one side, platform on the other. Not very many people are fond of them, and indeed, I didn't like the ones I tried. My analysis is that while you think you want to ride both clipless and in regular shoes, once you ride clipless much, you'll change your mind. And as you have deduced, these half-way pedals are kind of a pain. Usable, but a bit more difficult to clip into each time, and a big clunky platform side you eventually never use much. Unless you actually mean "dress shoes", you might instead consider some of the cycling shoes that are designed to be walkable.

Candy Cs are lovely pedals which I enjoy and recommend. They have a bit of platform to them, so you can ride them in regular shoes, but they're not very great for that if you truly want to make a habit of it. The cleat part sticks up in the middle, and will be uncomfortable if your soles aren't very stiff.

Spring tension:
With SPD (and some other) pedal designs, you can adjust spring tension. More tension means it will take more force to pull out of the pedal without twisting your foot (i.e. when you don't want to pull out), but be harder to clip in, and possibly harder to twist your foot enough to get out. So you want to start with the tension low, and once you get used to the pedals, increase it for better security.
Crank Brothers pedals will not pull out without twisting your foot. So the pro-Crank-Brothers way of looking at it is that their spring tension is not adjustable, because their superior design does not trade ease of use versus security. This is my opinion; no doubt others disagree. In any case, non-adjustable spring tension is not a missing feature.

Float: is the amount your foot can rotate while clipped in, and how freely. How much float you want and how much you care are matters of personal preference. Again I like the Crank Brothers, which are about medium float (of the pedals I've tried). I also liked the uber-king-of-float SpeedPlays, but they're only suitable for a road bike (no walking or getting muddy), and I didn't care enough not to switch to Crank Brothers Quattros so my various bikes and shoes would be compatible.

The first clipless I used, and first real advice about clipless, was to start with an inexpensive SPD system with double sided pedals. I was also fitted to the pedals at a shop on a trainer, as the cleats need to be custom fitted to each individual. I later switched to single sided LOOK pedals with a larger cleat.

Oh you need to get the cleats fitted at a bike store? I was just going to install the pedals myself and get some shoes.

These Exustars look neat.

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1265994363974

Would it fit a typical 2-bolt SPD cleat?

No you can do it yourself, It may take a little bit of playing wiht to get it where you want it but not that much.


Everyone one has their own idea of what they like in a pedal system, and they tend to think that their opinion is the only right one out there. It takes time to figure out what you like. For example I ran spd's on everthing I owned for years be it road, mtb or cross. After a couple of good muddy cross courses and not being able to clip in or out I knew the SPD's had to go. Ended up switching to forgs off road. Found out i could hit a frog in the corner on the road. Didnt like that switched to speadplay road pedals.

It just takes time buy some tyr them if you dont like them sell them and try someting else.

You can install cleats yourself. If you do it wrong you can injure yourself.

Allow me to be the first dissenting voice. I got single side SPD and use the heck out of both sides. It's really nice to be able to hop on the bike for a quick run to the store without having to find your bike shoes, and it's nice to not be confined to platform only pedals when I want to go for a serious ride. I commute on the bike and use the clips for the run in and the run home. If I'm going to pick up something at lunch I'll just hop on with my dress shoes and blast off.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I find it a handy feature.

Personally, I don't like the half / half pedals. You'll like them when you're wanting the side that stays facing up (usually the platform), live with them when you're wanting the side that doesn't stay facing up, and be better off without them when you're needing the side that doesn't stay facing up (i.e. when you have clipless, and you're mountain biking)

Although the alternatives aren't much better. You either need to commit to one kind of pedal or the other to get the respective full experience, you can also use a true clipless pedal and something like winwood decksters, but products like those adapters aren't for much more than casual cycling.

I have a pair that are similar to the ones that you showed but they are from Performance bike are called the "campus pedal" and they are on sale for $35 right now. mine tend to rest sideways so you flip it to the side you want

Have you checked out the Crank Brotheres 'Mallet' or 'Acid' pedals? Surely those have a more usable/comforatable platform if you intend to occasionally use regular footwear to pedal your bike.

I'm quite surprised nobody has suggested them as an alternative to the 'Candy' pedals which have a quite minimal platform in comparison and dont look to offer the surface area or comfort level one might expect if they believe they will need a 'regular platform' at least part time. The Candy's strike me as the type of platform you will use on infrequent occasions for very short stints.

I have the Mallets on a bike I've just put together and although I can feel the clips through my regular soled sneakers, the generous platform doesnt make it at all uncomfortable.

Price point might be an issue, I have the lower priced model (Mallet 1) with the ss kick plates. I'm not 'hard core' so the price for the higher models I simply couldn't justify, rather spendy pedals in general but superb quality.

+1


I stuck with platform pedals for years but finally decided to try single sided SPD petals (Shimano SPD PD-A530) and love them for the same reasons outlined above.

Don't worry about the tension being non-adjustable. Other systems need it because the spring is what ultimately keeps the cleat attached even when pulling straight up, but I don't think you'll be able to pull straight out of a CB pedal.

Float is good. Saves your knees.

And +1 to the Mallets that Moozh mentioned. They're practically as handy as a BMX pedal when you're using regular shoes.

I'm still deciding between the Candy, Acid, and Mallet. I can get the Candy X for 60 bucks at MEC. The Acid is 135 and I'm not sure where to get the Mallet in Toronto. I guess I"m going to go to the store and look to see how big the platform for Candy is and see if its worth almost double the price for the platforms.

For the Candy models I'm not sure I understand the differences between them. Is it just the more expensive the more durable the parts are?

Is the Acid or Mallet better?

You can get these two for around 35-40% off the retail if you look around

http://www.realcyclist.com/roadbike/.../SHI0092M.html
http://www.realcyclist.com/roadbike/.../SHI0099M.html

Thanks everyone. I think I'm going to go with the Candy X's for $60 bucks at MEC here in Toronto. It's easy for me to get because it's local and I thought about the SL model which is $135 that is supposed to be more resistant to corrosion but I don't really ride in the rain much if at all so I'm not really all that worried. If the X's don't stand up and break or something I can return them at MEC because they have a rock solid guarentee or something.

Anyone tried these cheap Wellgo?

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1266123216364

$28!

Candys are really quite small-feeling when it comes to riding with regular shoes. They're doable, but I would never stand up to pedal on them, nor would I ride them very far, unless I'm wearing cleated shoes.

That said, I can use any kind of cycling shoe with them (anything from superlight road shoes with a Quattro 3-hole cleat to cycling sandals with the standard CB cleat), so it's not like my shoe choice is limited.

Also, check Jensen USA for Shimano 324's. I think they can be had for about $50, and are good, high quality, dual side pedals.