steve_cay

I have been riding bikes for 30 years, and believe it or not have never owned or tried a clip or clip-less pedal. My foot has never slipped off the stock platform pedals, and I know how to place the ball of my foot properly on the pedal with no pains. No problems. so why do I need to spend $200 on a fix?

However in a case of “I don’t know what I have been missing” I am breaking down and looking into it. I have a “Dual Sport” hybrid, and ride reasonable trails as well as road, sometimes on my own going full out, sometimes with the 8 year old where I am stopping all the time waiting for her to catch up. Nothing hard core.

So, opinions from like minded cyclers?

Anybody want to talk me out of it? Anybody tried and went back to platform pedals?

I am debating between “dual platform/SPD” vs “two sided SPD/SPD”. Once you have SPD, would you ever use normal shoes? For the dual ones, is flipping to the correct side a big annoyance?

Any opinions on the gentler Shimano click’R system, vs regular SPD? Some say it is the next revolution, other say it is for wusses and you will upgrade sooner or later. Are the click’R branded shoes much more comfortable or low performance?

Is there a big difference between the cheapest SPD pedals, and better ones for moderate use?

Any other advise?

Thanks!

Cdtf

You want to ride you bike out of town, for pleasure and fitness? Go Clipless.

This will be a grocery bike, a bike you lock in the street when in a shop or at a friend's place? Keep flat pedals.


Standard SPDs are the best. Click'R is useless.

ColonelSanders

Have you tried toe clips?

MRT2

$200? You can get SPD pedals for less than $50 online. Shoes might cost a few bucks, but they don't have to cost any more than any other type of athletic shoe. I use 2 sided pedals, but if you think you might ride with regular shoes sometimes, get a set of SPD with platforms on the other side.

Here is a pair of 2 sided pedals for less than $30.Shimano PD-M530 Trail Mountain Pedals

And here is a set of 1 sided pedals with platform on the other side for $42https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_502000_-1___204720

I currently use the M540 dual sided, and they work very well. Before that, I used the M324, and they also worked very well. Even the Wellgo SPD knockoffs I used 8 years ago still work and are currently on my mountain bike.

Wanderer

You can buy Shimano, double sided, pedals for less than $50, and have the best of both worlds. Either the PDM324 , or A530 are my choices, and I have both. Shimano A530 Sport/Touring Road Pedals

You can also buy Shimano MTB shoes for around $50.

Soooo, if you are interested, start watching the sales, and get in for less than $100.

No kidding!

steve_cay

Unfortunately I am in Canada, 20% exchange rate, 15% taxes, duties and shipping from these cheap US online stores and I am getting up there ... Realistically I can do C$170 (all in) locally for the type of equipment you are suggesting with shoes I can actually try on at the store for fit. But more about if "it is worth it", and what type of equipment to really go for so I don't regret it.

swoodjr1

I made the move to Shimano A530 pedals which are
SPD clip on one side and platform on the other. I use the SPD side most of the time but when all I want/need to do is ride around the block or up the street it sure is nice having that platform side. I also like not having to worry about getting clipped in right from the start which is especially important when starting off on an incline. I start off with my right foot clicked in and don't worry about which side of the pedal comes up for the other foot until I have gotten a few strokes of the pedal in ( although the clip side usually comes up on top)

steve_cay

So you guys don't find the A530 type of dual pedals annoying "having to look at pedal and flipping around fro the right side", like some articles state?

Cdtf

Yes, especially in trafic or at a stop light.

Augustus101

I've never tried them, something on my to do list for a while. I quite like the sound of those double sided ones mentioned.

Wanderer

Nope, you don't have to look - you can feel which side is up, though you can pedal on either side.

1nterceptor

I've used Shimano SPD 520(540?) for a few years and liked them a lot;
commuting, club rides, 100 mile charity rides, etc.:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFyX...IoDLA&index=53

Got dragged to the weight weenie side and switched to single sided 170 gm. Xpedo R-Force(the cleats are SPD compatible):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh5V...6zPoymgKaIoDLA

ColonelSanders

Shimano A530 Clipless Road Pedals | Chain Reaction Cycles

$46.49 Canadian Dollars and Shipping is $9.99, but free if your order is in excess of $99.

So if you also buy some shoes, then . . .

steve_cay

Could you elaborate? From personal experience, or something you read?

Guy at the store (who could sell me anything), stated that if my routine involves stop and go, cick'R makes things much more pleasant and may be the way to go.

steve_cay

Wow Wanderer, your advice deserved more credit! I was looking at various web sites for pedals and shoes, when my wife asked what I was looking for and then said there was a "$50 off $150 purchase coupon at Sports Experts for the next 2 days" in the flyer.

Ran over to Sports Experts: Louis Garneau Shoes for $95. No name M324 pedal copies (dual platform/SPD) $50. Had to stuff the bill a few dollars to $150, and minus coupon left at C$95 ... or US$75 for shoes and pedals! At that price I figure it is a no brainer ... the shoes are surprisingly walkable, and highly rated on Amazon (only negative reviews are that mail order size did not fit). And if the dual Platform/SPD pedals get annoying, can alway upgrade to better SPD/SPD ones with not much money lost.

Cant wait to do the mandatory 1h practice in the garage, go for a ride tomorrow, and see if I feel the incredible difference (or fall off bound in and break some bones) so many articles speak of!

Trek800Antelope

i just got a pair of click'rs just last week and i like them alot being in NYC - i also ride a hybrid. i like them alot and i have not unintentionally clipped out. i also bought a pair of clickr shoes that was on sale on REI for 45 bucks. the click'rs were from amazon at 47 dollars.. i think it has gone up to 56 or so with different resellers... whether they are wuss clipless or not i don't care what anyone thinks - and it's pretty much zero learning curve. this my first clipless - i always rode regular pedals.

Cyclosaurus

On my commuter I've got SPDs with the tension turned way down, and SH-56 (multi-release) cleats. It makes it very easy to unclip in stop-and-go traffic. Never used click'r stuff but I feel like my setup gives me room to adjust (I've got SH-51 cleats on another pair of shoes) to how tight I want the pedals to click in.

yashinon

"I am debating between “dual platform/SPD” vs “two sided SPD/SPD”. Once you have SPD, would you ever use normal shoes? For the dual ones, is flipping to the correct side a big annoyance?"

Dual sided are great and inexpensive. I love mine. Picked up Shimano mtb shoes for $50.

Easy to learn how to clip in and out. If you are near a border why not hop over to the USA and buy.

Wanderer

Another bit of advice, but first the facts. You will fall down, and more than once!

That, and adjust those pedals all the way slack, and then just turn the screw in 1/4 turn to get a bit of tension on it! That's all! A light touch of very light oil will also make it easier to get out of them. Better yet, spray the clipless bits with a little silicone spray, for the same reason. Once you get comfortable with them, just use a very light touch of oil on the pivots and springs.

Practice snapping your heels out sideways to see how easy it can be, and it becomes second nature after that. In an emergency, you can pull them out with brute force, even straight up, but I imagine that is pretty hard on shoes and pedal workings.

Good choice on the 324 clones, probably by Wellgo, as they look like regular pedals, and are pretty easy to pedal on, even with the wrong side up. They will serve you well. I also predict that they will start creaking/squeeking after awhile, where the Shimano ones won't. That's still OK, because you got in cheap, and when they start to be a problem, which may be a long time, watch the sales for really good prices on the Shimano.

Practice, practice, practice - and you will enjoy them a lot!

MRT2

They are probably Wellgo pedals. Those were my first clipless, and I used them up until last spring, when I finally switched to M540s. My only beef with that design is that I smacked my shins a couple of times over the years when trying to clip in quickly. It usually happened at the end of a long ride when I was tired.

CliffordK

Also look at some of the UK stores.

Don't forget the snowball effect.
If you have more than one bike... you need pedals for every bike.
And summer shoes, winter shoes, snowshoes, spare shoes.

One could easily spend over $500

steve_cay

Thanks for the advice everybody!


Initial impressions (so people venturing into SPD's know what to expect):


Installation: Trivial enough to install pedals and cleats into shoes and all ... but I am also mechanically inclined.


Then onto the garage practice: Balanced against the wall and tried to clip shoes in … WTF, not obvious at all where to place foot to snap in at first. After some practice went from 1 min down to a few seconds of fumbling to get in. Also having to turn the pedal to the correct side up each time seamed like a PITA. Unclipping however was surprisingly easy at the minimum tension, I just had to think about twisting my feet out and I was unclipped. Then I went on to try riding across the garage, and get out before I hit the wall and topple over. Had that mental panic the first time realizing my feet where bound in, but no problems getting out. Repeated a few times ... and went to bed excited about going on my first ride with them, but worried about this flipping the pedal to the correct side every time.


My first "full out ride": Got up early this morning and headed out excited. A bit of fiddling clicking in, no issues clicking out whenever I wanted to however. And then started peddling hard, WOW, I am going to be liking this!!! The guy at the store told me "When you use these, condition your mind to think of doing circular motions with your feet ... so far you were peddling like a piston - only able to push down, now you will be able to push/pull each foot around an entire 360: up,down,and laterally." When I was thinking about these circles as I peddled, the heralded advantage became so clear: I was "at one" with the pedal and able to turn them around a circle! I felt all kinds of muscles working that I never felt before!!! I am sure this will be very well worth the US$75 I paid for everything!!!


Second ride out plodding around the park with the family: If you are just casually riding, I did not see any advantage. These do nothing while coasting, and if you are not peddling hard it still feels like just pumping down on the pedal.


Third ride of the day: Did my afternoon ride, and all felt second nature! Can flip pedals and click-in in a second or two (still needed to look). Clicking out well before a stop never failed, and the shoes felt like a had worn them all my life! Very happy I spent <$100 for such a good experience, and never fell over even once


Equipment:
Shoes: Louis Garneau Multi-Lite. These are an Urban/training-machine type shoe. Very light and comfortable with a sole like a regular walking shoe (albeit stiff) with the cleat indent. I figured I did not need the exaggerated sole knobs and ratchet straps of an MTB shoe. So comfortable while biking, I hardly felt them at all! Very walkable, but when I installed the cleat and walk on cement I hear/feel the metal crunching on the grit (since it it flush with the rubber and makes contact), a bit distressing since it sounds like you are damaging the cleat but will have to get used to it. I guess that is normal.


Pedals: "VP Components" VPX-92 (copy of the M324). Yes the two sided thing seems like a slight annoyance. It turns up platform side up 75% of the time (since the mechanism is heavier than nothing on the other side). but after three rides was getting more used it, I hope it should eventually become automatic . For now I can take off with 0 delay by just putting my foot on and pedal (regardless of what side comes up), and then when underway look down and clip it in. I assume it will be worth the fact that I can wear any shoes, and if I am paranoid in traffic or on a narrow bridge, can pedal on the platform side until things feel safe to clip in again. Also on this type of pedal the platform side is a proper spiky cage pedal, unlike the a530 style which many complain is too smooth and slippery for proper platform use. As for clicking out, surprisingly effortless at minimum tension yet still held firmly in place while riding. I cannot possibly think how the click'R system can be simpler to snap out of than this (at minimum tension)! And I guess I can dial these much stiffer than the click'R if I want to do extreme stuff like rear wheel bunny hops (which I probably won't!).


Question:
- There are some very technical articles on how to perfectly adjust the cleat position for your foot, bike geometry, and riding style, and then further fine tuning per taste (and if you get it wrong, long term injuries can result). I just put it roughly in the centre of the indent, and what appear straight - ended up under the ball of my foot. Do most people obsess much further over this?

Trek800Antelope

Question:
- There are some very technical articles on how to perfectly adjust the cleat position for your foot, bike geometry, and riding style, and then further fine tuning per taste (and if you get it wrong, long term injuries can result). I just put it roughly in the centre of the indent, and what appear straight - ended up under the ball of my foot. Do most people obsess much further over this?

[/QUOTE]

good question - as a newbie to clipless i would like to know too - i hadnt' really given it much thought.

anyone?

simplybao

I went clipless last year and haven't looked back. I've had one zero mph fall. I was turning around on a bike path and someone came up behind me. I couldn't get unclipped and fell over. I only had 30 miles on my new bike too, didn't do any damage other than to my ego and my beautiful brake handles, but oh well.

I concur that if you are just going to go out to the store and run around and stop often, flat pedals are better. For most of my riding for fitness and maybe 1 stop for coffee/beer, the clipless is better IMO. I find that I climbing is easier. I'm sure it's all in my head though. I do like being able to pull up on my pedals when my legs are burning. If I concentrate on my pedal stroke, I go faster and my legs don't get as tired.

I ride platform on my MTB though. I'd rather be able to bail out on the trails than be clipped in.

steve_cay

As for this annoyance of the M324 type dual sided pedals of "having to look down to see what side is up, and flipping them", I did some research and found this gem:

They perform poorly as SPD's (The flat side is always up when you want to clip) and poorly as flats (the SPD side is always up) when you have non-SPD's shoes on - '.. they know....' .

But jokes aside, I found some comments stating to use the reflector mounting holes on the pedal - to attach a reflector or counter weight to just one side. Since one side along the horizontal will be heavier, the pedal will always line up vertically with the clip side facing the back of the bike, and the platform side facing the front. Then you just need to slide your foot towards the pedal from the rear when you have biking shoes, or slide your foot towards the pedal from the front when wearing regular shoes.

I did not have a pedal mountable reflector to experiment with, so I used a bolt, nut, and washers in each of the two reflector mounting holes on one side per pedal. I experimented with the weight by adding washers, and at 22g (per pedal), I could rotate the crank and the pedal would always stay vertical with clip facing back. Went for a test ride, and BINGO! 100% of the time I could click in by putting my foot on the pedal from back to forwards. While 100% of the time I would be on the platform side by putting my foot from forwards to back. No need to look down, no twisting the pedal around!

Now to find some stainless steel hardware to make it look discrete vs a bolt going through a bunch of washers, that will probably rust! And to pray to the weight weenie gods for forgiveness over adding 40g of dead weight to my bike (and to a rotating component to add insult to injury!) BTW, I doubt the reflector on just one side would work, since Amazon lists the weight at 20g for a package of 4 ... I need 22g each.