Hey everybody,

Having never used clipless pedals before, I'm wanting to get some and a pair of shoes to use with them so I can learn how to use them before I purchase a new road bike.

My question is this: if I put the pedals on my current bike, can they just be transferred to my new bike when I get it? I don't want to spend money on pedals and shoes right now unless I will be able to transfer them over. Are there any issues that would prevent pedals from working with a new bike if I get them to work with my current one?

Thanks,

Tom

They'll transfer to your new bike without any problems. The threading on modern crank arms and pedals on any decent bike are all standard. (Unless you have a solid one piece crank on your current bike, in which case, you can't get clipless pedals to fit it anyway).

Just make sure to put a fair amount of grease on the pedal threads when you screw the pedals on, so they'll come off easily when you want to move them over to the new bike.

Awesome! That's what I wanted to hear. Thanks for being kind enough to answer my stupid question

Remember that they screw on the same way you pedal them. One to the left, one to the right.

Very important to remember that.

I cheat I use campus pedals, clip on one side and platform on the other, comes in handy for me.

Do all your clipless pedal falling off now, so you don't scratch up your new bike.

Practice a lot with the pedals. I don't just mean in your driveway, I mean doing a lot of riding on lightly traveled streets, stopping, starting, clipping in and out on hills, etc. It's not the routine unclipping that will get you, but the unexpected, e.g., someone stops short in front of you, you try to take a foot going up a hill but can't unclip before your momentum runs out, etc. Those things can be tricky at first.

Yeah...be assured that you will fall over at least once. I didn't think I would and I did it at the first stop sign I came to. It was embarrassing yet very funny as well. One thing I learned after the fact was that for the pedals/shoes I have, the red cleats give more float/range of motion and are much easier for quickly getting out of my Looks clipless pedals. I started out with the black ones and ended up sitting on my backside wondering what had just happened. BUT...I'd never trade back to platforms or toe clips for anything.

Haha, yeah. That's why I'm wanting them now, so I don't bang up my new bike I'll be sure to get plenty of practice with them. This might help me stave off getting my new bike for another month or so if I have a goal that I'm setting that I need to accomplish before I get the new bike (the goal being to where I have become decent at clipless pedals... hehe)

I'll remember to put them on the correct way too. Thanks for the tip, guys.

Do you all think it would be a better idea to go to my LBS to get my first pair of shoes and pedals rather than blindly buy them off the Internet?

Second this

I fell a lot in my first 3 weeks, and now happily, i have stopped falling off. One of the most embarassing was at a busy intersection right during rush hour traffic. I was actually directing my cycling buddy to take the pedestrain crossing as he went into the side road. In so directing him, I forgot I was slowing down to a stop and still clipped on (if my ex read this, she would use this as another example that men cannot multitask, haha), and so when I did stopped, my foot tried to lift off from the pedal, and tumbled over I did, bike and all. Was stucked on the road like a bug on a hot sidewalk for a long 20 over seconds - i could feel the eyes of every motorist there on me, and I bet they all had a good laugh. My buddy shared with his wife what happened to me and they too had a good laugh.

OP - I'd at least stop by your LBS and see what they have. It's not unusual to find a stack of boxes of shoes on sale - if you're lucky, you'll get a good price AND be able to try them on before you buy.

+1 - believe it or not, but I have found the best deals I have ever gotten on shoes in an LBS as opposed to online.

You have to be careful though....I have seen more bad prices than good.

In other words, the right pedal goes clockwise to tighten, counter-clockwise to loosen, like almost everything else in the world, but the left pedal is the opposite, clockwise to loosen. You'll need a strong, long 15 mm wrench

Yes, as in there is a left and right pedal. I nearly threaded the screw on mine by being a dick. Not for not knowing, but for not stopping when it just wasn't working and giving it more welly. The other option is that you have pedals which have an allen key on the inside of the pedal spindle, in which case you'll need a multi tool to hand.

I've only fallen twice, but after hundreds of miles on each bike with each set of pedals. One time showing off and once just like cordia75, by forgetting I was clipped in while coming to an abrupt stop behind a friend.

I'd suck in a pelloton.

I rode my new to me road bike for the first time yesterday, I've never ridden a road bike before, well my boss picked it up for me and used it in a tri before it got back to me and he put his clipless shimano pedals on it, and hadnt gotten around to taking them off. I ran and bought the little things for the bottom of my shoes and rode clipless immediately and had no problems, went on about a 10 mile ride and had to stop a few times and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be, needless to say I'm just gonna buy his pedals from him!

I salute you. You are a rare breed indeed

Thanks for the advice everybody!

I think I'll head to my LBS sometime today and see what kind of a deal I can get on some pedals and shoes.

I got my shoes on Ebay for like 40 bucks, they suit me just fine

Blah. The cheapest clips the LBS sells are $80 and the cheapest shoes are $80 as well.

Can you guys tell me what clips and shoes you ride in and I'll try and see if I can find a better deal elsewhere? Spending $160 on shoes and clips isn't exactly what I had in mind right now, but maybe I'm just being tight with my money... hehe.

You could check pricepoint, nashbar, and performance. They all usually have some good prices on pedals and shoes.

Check ebay

Ok, I'll check those places. However, do any of you have any recommendations on pedals and/or shoes I might like?

That is a very vague question do you by chance ride a mtb as well?

You tell us what your are thinking and then we can get a better idea to help.

I'm using lower-end stuff. For pedals, using the Shimano PD-A520 road touring pedals. For shoes, Shimano SH-M121B, basically a MTB-type shoe. Got them from my LBS who recommended this pairing based on my preference for being able to walk around properly when dismounted and my budget.

Trolling Ebay will get you good bargains I am positive about this. It will require a little patience and time too. I've bought certain bike parts that were absolute bargains off Ebay

I only ride a road bike. Well, it's not a full road bike (Specialized Sirrus), but I will be upgrading to a "real" road bike in the near future.

I'm looking for pedals and shoes that are fairly cheap but will still be good.

Thanks! I'll look at those pedals and see if I can find them in my price range.