Need help in choosing pedals and shoes
 

Hello,

I had recently made a big decision and bought a FELT VR5. The bike will be ready for me by 5/15.

Now that I'm totally excited for it, I'm not sure what kind of pedals and shoes should I go for it.

Until now, I have used only flat pedals so I normally use my casual shoes to ride.

But with this new bike, Im planning to try out clipless pedals and cycling shoes.

Any recommendations on which type of pedals I should go for and shoes? The LBS guy was saying that I should go for the MTB type pedals instead of road type ones and mentioned that will have the same pedaling efficiency but road type make any walks uncomfortable.

Since this bike will be used mostly for commuting purposes and some weekend rides, I'm not sure which one to go for as Im totally new to this.

Thank You!

IMO, the LBS guy is correct. Pedals aren't particularly expensive, but shoes are. Buy the best shoes you can afford. They'll last a long time. Fit is everything. Different manufacturers use different lasts, so try different shoes in the same size, even visit different shops if necessary. If you have wider or narrower feet than most, some manufacturers build special shoes for those folks, too.

I use road clipless, SPD-SL for commuting, but I only walk from the street to the inside of the office, and then I change into normal shoes.

If you need to walk around, and if you can't change shoes, then MTB shoes with SPD would make more sense.

You can always get both and learn how to swap pedals.

I suggest you Shimano rp540 pedal and Shimano r078 or r090 shoes (can use with MTB/Road pedal) coz I used it. fitting is the most important. I don't walk a lot with cleat shoes.

For shoes, buy what fits you. Specialized, Shimano, Sidi, Giro all make good shoes.

For pedals, Shimano, Look and Speedplay are the three main options, and all are solid. I'm a Speedplay guy because I like the double sided entry. If you go Speedplay, buy ones with walkable cleats.

If budget is your concern, look at Shimano shoes and pedals.

Hi GaneshPammi,

I'm impressed that the "LBS guy" recommended MTB pedals! Although he's wrong about MTB having the same efficiency as Road, his advice is very good. (In truth, the Road shoes and cleats are more efficient but the difference is small.) In my opinion, most Road pedals, cleats and shoes are ONLY suitable for racing and I think its silly that the cycling public buys this stuff. They are like "tubular" tires, they are not practical to use unless you've got a team SAG car following you as you cycle. :-)

I think the perfect solution for you would be a MTB SPD system using Shimano PD-A530 pedals. These are extremely versatile pedals that are two-sided. One side is for cycling shoes and cleats. The other side is flat for street shoes. You'll have the best flexibility this way. You can use regular street shoes when you want or cycling shoes when you want. It's a win-win. Plus, at 380 g, the PD-A530 are reasonably light (for example, another choice would be Shimano's PD-M324 but they weigh 554 g w/ reflectors).

For cleats, I strongly recommend Shimano SM-SH56 because they are multi-directional and work well with the PD-A530 pedals. Since you are new to clipless pedals, having a multi-release cleat will enable you to disconnect your shoes from the pedal quicker under a wider variety of circumstances. This will be important as you develop the habit of unclipping before you come to a stop. (It's common for newbies to forget, then fall over.)

As for shoes, it is mostly a matter of personal preference. I like Pearl iZumi cycling kit and have a couple of different shoes from them. Surprisingly, I often find their older models to be better than their newer ones when it comes to shoes and I'll hunt down the older models first (many are still for sale as inventory of cycling shoes typically moves fairly slowly). My favorite are their X-Alp Drift III. But I also like their X-Alp Seek V. Both models are fairly light and breath well for hot climates. I've used both shoe models for many thousands of miles each.

Kind regards, RoadLight

I think the LBS gave you good advice. I think unless you are riding at a competitive level, the advantages of a road specific shoe/pedal system over an MTB one are very small and easily outweighed by the versatility of an MTB shoe.

Also, there is a very wide variety of MTB shoes, ranging from what are basically hiking sneakers with cleats to very stiff and lightweight racing shoes that give up little to road shoes on the bike.

As far as what to get, it's clearly going to be a lot of personal preference. I hate SPD pedals. I find Speedplay Frogs much easier to get in and out of and I like the free float a lot. However, the fact that they have never really caught on after 20 years indicates that they are clearly not for everybody.

I also tried Crank Brothers and Time Attack pedals years ago (not sure if they still even make them). While I much prefer the Frogs, I would've taken either one of these over SPDs.

However, SPD is ubiquitous, and very affordable.

The one frustrating thing about bike shoes are the European sizes. I wear a 9-1/2 or 10 in USA depending on type of shoe/boot... and I have 44 in Pearl Izumi and a 45 in Shimano mountain shoes. Both shoes are great and serve me well... but the 44 is almost too small... and the 45 is a little big, not enough to matter. I wish they had half sizes in Euro... like a 44-1/2.

I used both SPD and Crank Brothers. I like the Crank Brothers better. Crank Brothers cleats attach to shoes using the same mounting holes as SPD.

I've found the same issue. I wear a size 14 US and have both size 48 (road shoe) and size 49 (MTB shoe) cycling shoes. The 49's a just a little big but wearing thicker socks snugs them up nicely and they are plenty comfortable. The 48's only work for me when I wear actual cycling socks, I have Castelli Rosso Corsa socks that work well with the road shoes.

All are great advices. Thanks!

One question though is, since Im a newbie to clipless pedals, which one would be easier for me to get-in and get-out (intend to do this without falling from the bike:)) and are there any pedals where I can clip in on both sides of pedals, so that I dont keep aligning the pedals to lock

Crank Bros Eggbeaters.

They have entry points every 90 degrees.

Uses a clip similar to Shimano MTN, but not interchangeable.

Speedplay Frogs. I have them on my 2 road bikes and gravel bike. Frogs are double-sided and probably the easiest pedals on the market to clip in and out of.

For commuters, for light city riding, mountain pedals and shoes are great. But I find some people, lightweight people most especially sometimes miss some of the benefits of the wider SPD-SL or Look Keo pedals. It's not just that power transfer is more efficient — for most of us, that extra watt isn't a factor — but what DOES make a difference is the wider power transfer platform.

If you're wearing high-end, über-stiff shoes it may not matter much, but anything shy of that, if you're putting down major watts or major weight on the pedals, you may find that the wider platform offered by road-specific pedals affords you greater comfort, and can avoid the hotspot of soreness in the center of your foot which narrower pedals have been, at times, known to cause.

For walking around, Shimano's SPD-SL pedal covers are certainly good enough.

Oh — don't overlook the better cooling offered by road-specific shoes as well. A good pair of road shoes with road pedals is, when you're on the road, a wonderful interface to the bike.

Most mtb pedals are dual sided - you can clip in to either side (for exactly the reason you mention). There are some that have a flat pedal on one side, clipless on the other, but those are clearly advertised as such, and are less common.

In my expereince, Frogs are the absolute easiest to get in and out of any I have tried by a long-shot. But they have a very different feel to them that freak some people out (I describe it as pedaling on ice-cubes). They are not cheap ($105 - $140 depending on the model) so I would try to see if you can check some out in person if you can before buying. A good friend of mine bought them and hated them. I love them.

To be fair, most (all?) road pedals are weighted so that they're always right side up and ready.

Yeah, I was just talking about mtb pedals.