been riding about 9 months (including winter which i was on a trainer) and spring is here, and im ready to get some clipless pedals and shoes if money allows. i was into the LBS today and the guy showed me some shimano mountain bike entry level clipless pedals and some montain bike shimano shoes. not sure of the exact model of each one, but they wanted $56 for the pedals and $76 for the shoes. a couple questions:

im not a racer, i ride about 15/20 miles per trip now, with hopes of doing a century by summers end.....money is tight, but i hear rave reviews of going clipless and the benefits. are these two options good? especially for an entry level rider on a Trek 1.2?

#2 if these are a good option, is it a "bad" deal compared to online?

#3 are there better brand options for the same/less money that i should look into?

thanks in advance

The Shimano M520 pedals are the cheapest in the Shimano range but it is possible to buy cheaper in other makes.

But I got my first set of M520's at least 10 years ago (They were M515's then) Still have them and they have never been serviced. They are pretty reliable.

Shoes and there are cheaper than shimano but try before you buy.

Try as many makes and models of shoes as you can a buy whatever is comfortable. Save your money on pedals as there is little difference in the real world, It is also easier to pedal in light stiff shoes

I just bought a pair of Shimano M520 yesterday, love em. For shoes I got the Shimano M076. $100 but I got 20% off with REI's member sale, plus I used my $20 dividend.

My first foray into clipless and I'm super stoked. Rode 16mi today and had 0 issues.

FYI the M520's can be gotten for dang cheap online. I spotted them at Dick's online yesterday for just $25 (although they're totally gone there now for some reason). For shoes it obviously pays to try them on, as the others have said. The M076's fit me great though.

Consider the "egg beater" style of pedal, they have more "float" than shimano SPD.
Float is the range of motion your ankle/foot can make and still be clipped on. Many
find this to be easier on their knees. Entry level pedals usually cost $50-60, shoes
probably $60-70. When you get pedals, make sure they include the cleat to connect
shoe to pedal, these are $15-20. You can often find sales with a lower price, for
example a while back I got a pair of size 50 shoes at the Louis Garneau outlet store,
they were $10. I wear a 49 or 50 shoe, really hard to find. If your first clip in set,
a good investment to have your LBS help with the set up.

You could also use the tried and true tennis shoes on rat traps. If money is tight why waste it on something like special shoes and pedals?

Well, I ride road pedals and shoes. I stay at the cheap end for my shoes.

However, on multiday tours, I ride mountain bike shoes and inexpensive mountain bike pedals. They work just fine. The mountain bike shoes are much easier to walk in. In facts, in mine, I can even do a short hike with no problem. Road shoes are a real pain in the rear to walk in. Even inexpensive mountain bike pedals work just fine.

I think for your purposes, the combo will work well. Also I would recommend buying from the LBS. The most important thing about shoes is the fit. They don't let you try to fit shoes on the web. Also you don't have to pay shipping. You might end up paying a little bit more but then again at a good LBS, you get support and service. You don't get that on the web.

I suspect you don't yet need to go clipless, unless there's something really bugging you about plain pedals and sneakers. You get faster and ride farther... but it's a percentage.

That being said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the mountain bike SPD pedal system. It's doublesided, simple, fairly reliable, fairly lightweight, and inexpensive. The cleat is usually recessed enough that you can go for a walk without falling on your butt. And even fairly low-end pedals will work OK.

OTOH, do not scrimp on shoes. They can and will last you for years before they fall apart. And if you want to ride a century or longer, it's going to be critically important that they be the pinnacle of comfort. I splurged on some fairly fancy sidi shoes and haven't regretted it.

The pedals and shoes you are looking at will do pretty much what you want them to do. Egg beaters and Time Attack will work as well. By the time you are ready for your century the shoes and pedals will be second nature to you. They are more comfortable than tennis shoes because the stiff sole provides the platform for your foot to push on and your toes will not get jammed in the toe box of a rat trap. The shoes you have selected are a good price point and it is almost always better to work through LBS so you can try before you buy. Just don’t get the shoes too tight. Once you know what you like then you can try ordering on line. I could get pedals and cleats online but I like to slip a shoe on my foot before I buy it. That is just me however and it isn’t a hard and fast rule. Like someone else mentioned shoes can often last for years.

I ride with and recommend the look pedals. Supposedly a larger surface area helps you have more power for the up pull and down push and it reduces likelihood of "hot foot". They are a little tricky to get into at first but you get better eventually, but you never completely get the hang of them.

As far as shoes consider breathe ability and comfort. I like to have a little more room in my shoes because the widths are narrow, the extra toe space also widens the toe box making them a little more comfortable, I haven't noticed an issue as long as i velcro them. Buy cycling socks also, don't wear cotton, you need to stay dry and comfortable. Also, when considering shoes I wouldn't go all out, most likely they will get rained on and you might want to replace them.

Really look shoes aren't hard to walk in at all, you walk normal and they make a loud noise like ladies in high heels. That's it. One other thing, now that you're getting clips, learn how to use them they work wonders for hills!

Replace them when they get rained on? Take them off stuff them with newspaper, dry them out and wear them the next day.

The fact that my sidis are still in awesome nearly-flaweless shape after all the rain riding I've done with them tends to disprove the idea that a little bit of rain is going to kill your shoes.

It wasn't me that sugested that shoes fall apart in the rain, Im sitting here looking at 3 different pair of sidi's (mtb,, road, and winter) that have all seen there share of rain.

It's been my experience that they don't fall apart in the rain, but if you're not able to dry them out quickly they can get kind of "funky" and it comes down to personal preference if you want to keep the shoes or get a new pair.

sorry to drag up my old thread, but still looking (or more ready to buy) and came across this deal, looks good, is it?:

https://www.bikeman.com/PKG-PEARL520.html

I rode a solo century last weekend using metal touring pedals, Power Grips, and a pair of New Balance cross-trainers. At the end of the day, my feet were the most comfortable parts of my body. I have weirdly shaped feet, though, and I have never found cycling-specific shoes to be very comfortable.

Nashbar pedals are SPD style clipless (made my wellgo) and they've been made for made for a few years with very good reviews, you can buy them new for about $45. And if you search hard enough for good shoes online (look for reviews on all of them) you will find some at or less than $40. As much as I love my LBS's, switching to clipless wouldn't have been possible for me if I wasn't introduced to Nashbar.

I've been using the Shimano M520 pedals on my old Raleigh for a little over a year now with lots of miles and no problems. I found the Shimano RT80 spd road "touring" shoes for a good price over the winter and really like them after a several long rides this spring. I think these are generally lighter an stiffer than the MTB shoes and still have the recessed cleat placement without the lugged soles. I did a quick Internet search, but don't find a reasonable price for them now (list at about $120). The RT50 or RT51 are similar shoes, but with different uppers. You can frequently find them on specila online, just none at the moment.