I am fairly new to road biking. I just ride in the weekend. I have an old road bike currently, but will be purchasing a newer one within a few months.
I have a question on pedals / shoes though. If I am looking to purchase these shoes:
https://www.sierratradingpost.com/adventure/1091K_p-diadora-ergo-road-cycling-shoes-universal-for-men/

what pedals do I need? I am not sure if I understand the clip/clipless pedal difference. Do I need a clipless pedal for those? What shoes requires what pedal basically? xD

thank you all so much!

Those are road shoes so you'll need a clipless road pedal such as a Look Keo, Shimano Ultegra or Speedplay Zero. Go to Performancebike.com and look up "road pedals".

If your existing pedals have toeclips, these shoes will work with them as well. You do not absolutely need clipless pedals to benefit from cycling shoes but you do need something to keep them from slipping off the pedals - either clipless pedals or toe clips.

this is a horrible advice, and its consequences are quite dangerous to boot.

the only reason to get these new cycling shoes is that you can use them with clipless pedals such that you get more efficient power transfer. not to mention that the soles of these new shoes are very slick and could easily slide off the platform of a clip pedal. the only reason why you can use old cycling shoes with clip pedals is because there's a plate at the bottom of the shoes to secure the shoe on top of the platform.

as for the op, look up (no pun intended) LOOK Delta pedals. they were the first mainstream clipless pedals (named because the toeclip is no longer present, but you still need to clip your cleat into the pedal, confusing terminology) & nowadays LOOK no longer makes them, but you can get one made by third parties for a very low price & you can get the requisite LOOK Delta cleats quite cheaply, too.

other options, as GP mentioned, are Speedplays and their corresponding cleats, LOOK Keos and their corresponding cleats, and Shimanos and their cleats. none of the cleats are interchangeable with the other.

Are you really a size 38 (5 1/2)?
Thats all STP has left, which is why they are so cheap.

Visit Bike Nashbar for some good shoe deals too, and they have Diadora's on great sale (but you just missed the bonus extra 20% off).

As said, any road pedal will be compatible with any shoe. All actual road pedals, as opposed to MTB or recreation, use the 3-hole mounting standard and ALL road shoes have this hole pattern. Then you can pick your road pedal of choice and it will work.

As said above, no you do not want to revert back to the slotted cleat and toe clips we all last used in 1985.

what if I buy these shoes?

https://www.sierratradingpost.com/Pro...Processed=truehttps://www.sierratradingpost.com/Pro...Processed=true

what is the difference between this one and the one I previously posted? This one is missing the 2 lines between the 3 holes, does that matter?

I am a teenager I am just riding for fun

Strangely enough, people rode with toeclips and cycling shoes for decades before the advent of the clipless pedal. I use them on my rain bike - it lets me use street shoes for around town and cycling shoes for longer rides. The slotted cleats are still readily available, easy to use and cheap.

no one is arguing with that

that would be incorrect. a pair of LOOK Delta cleats is $12 from probikekit; on the otherhand, you'd need to look really hard to find the slotted cleats, not to mention that they are more expensive. you suggested to the OP that he could use modern road shoes (read, three hole on bottom and not compatible with slotted cleats) with clip pedals with no mention to the fact that you need slotted cleats. what is inferred from your statement is that you can just stick a modern cycling shoe into the clip, strap it down, and you are ready to go, which in reality is a dangerous proposition as it is just asking for the shoe to slid off the platform when wet.

sorry to make this seem like a pissing match, but i don't like cavalier attitudes when making recommendations, especially if it concerns safety of the rider. i would know: one of my sneakers was too wet and slipped off of the clip pedal on my beater bike. i lost control and hit pavement.

Sorry for the all the confusion in this thread Antonio... I believe the lines that you are talking about are just for measuring cleat placement.


This link looks like a good general explanation of pedal options
https://bicycleworldandfitness.com/bu...dals-pg189.htm

Cycling shoes and cleats are quite comfortable, although a bit awkward at first. Don't be disheartened if you tip over once or twice; it happens to most of us

A recommendation that I would pass on from my bike shop is to get a pedal called speedplays. They are double sided, meaning it is much easier to clip into. Most other pedals (shimano, look) are single sided and take a bit more concentration to clip into. Nether type is better than the other, its all up to your preference.

Some other advice I'll throw in is to look into a pair or two of cycling socks. They tend to be thinner and more comfortable on the bike than regular or running socks. However, if you're trying to save $$ cycling socks are not absolutely necessary.

I have a fairly cheap shoe/pedal set up.
These are my pedals - https://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=NP07533
These are my shoes - https://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=F0076
--> They took a bit to get used to (comfort) but now they feel just fine.

One last thing to consider is that you may want to look into a mountain bike shoe/pedal set up. MTB shoes and the cleats that go on them are much easier to walk in. Personally I'd stick with the road set up out of the vanity of being a roadie

Thats no problem, its where most of us started too. I got my first clipless pedals at age 15 in 1987. Before that I was using the traditional toe clips and slotted cleats.
Back then we had limited choices, and mail order was truly mail order. I just gave my original LOOK pedals from 1987 to my neighbor as he is beginning road riding this year. Thats right, 23 year old pedals that still work perfect, have silky smooth bearings, and you can walk into any bike shop or REI and get replacement cleats for. The only reason Look changed the design is because it couldn't be made as light as the new LOOK Keo design.

You do not want to use toe clips and slotted cleats as explained. Again, they are an antiquated system that in fact are more expensive than clipless pedals now. You have to reach down on both sides to release the strap each time you come to a stop, and then again tighten them down as as you start off. On the other hand, if you were looking to use sneakers to ride in then yes, your choice is flat pedals or using toe clips.

You are appropriately looking for inexpensive road shoes right now, and there are some deals to be had for the $40 price point. That Pearl Izumi shoe you linked to would be a fine choice for your first shoe. For the pedal, everyone here will give you different advise, and maybe you have something in mind. But you DO need a clipless pedal with road shoes otherwise they will slip right off any pedal.

Speedplay pedals were mentioned, and I have no problem there. But just being two sided doesn't mean easier to get into. Two sided pedals are oriented in any direction so it still takes feel to level the pedals and line up the cleat. LOOK and Shimano SPD-SL pedals are heavier on one end, so they hang at the same angle all the time. That way the clip-in movement is the same every time. Basically there is not one best pedal and they all have their advantages, but all are quick to learn on and easy to use.

Clipless pedals are simply one of the best single things you can do for a road bike.
STP is simply one of the best internet shopping sites, so go ahead and get those shoes if you want and do some research on pedals. You actually don't have to spend anymore than $40 for brand new pedals as well.

Oh, and for the cycling socks mentioned - go to Target. Get the 6 pack of ankle high, USA Made, Hanes HP-Dry, which are a little thicker but a more synthetic material, or Hanes HP-Fit, which are a thinner contoured sock. I use both for different weather conditions. These are excellent athletic socks I like better than my cycling specific socks at 1/6 the cost.

They are not so hard to find (i bought my last set from world class for $9 - today they are $14 there) and they are certainly available for 3 hole mounts. My original point was just that if the op already had pedals with toeclips he did not have to throw them out and get clipless.

Sorry you fell off your bike but that does not mean the only safe way to ride is clipless.

I actually have those shoes. They're pretty decent, comfy, relatively light if you're not obsessed with weight and inexpensive (got mine at Performance, I think). I use them with Look Keo Classics, but they can use a few different types of pedals. I'm not sure what the point of getting them and using toeclips would be though.

Thank you all for your help and advice! I bought a pair of shoes, now I will get a new road bike within a few months. Thank you all again!

Antonio,

I don't think one of your questions was ever really answered. You asked why the shoes you showed in your original post had both the three holes for road cleats, plus what you referred to as two "lines" between the three holes. The answer is that the three holes in a triangle is the standard cleat-mounting holes for most road pedals, compatible with Shimano SPD-SL series pedals, Look pedals, and others. But the two "lines" are actually two slots, each of which has a screw mount inside. These provide an alternate mounting for SPD type pedals, whose cleats only have two mounting screws. The reason for the slots is to provide some fore-and-aft adjustment (With the three-screw road cleats, the adjustment is actually in the cleat itself, not in the screw holes in the shoe.)

The two-hole SPD-type pedals are more usually associated with mountain bikes, but some road cyclists still use them - those Diadora shoes you pointed out take either pedal type. Mountain bike shoes will usually just have the SPD type two-screw mounting holes, and a lot of road shoes only have the three-screw mounting holes. Those Diadoras are just more "universal", in being able to use either type of pedal.

But for road use, the advice given above to get some pedals that use the three-hole cleat is good advice. (The main reason to use SPD type pedals is if you actually wanted to buy mountain bike shoes - which tend to be a bit easier to walk around in, since the cleat is sort of recessed into the sole. But since you are getting regular road shoes, it makes sense to get 3-hole pedals.)

Thanks for clearing that up! I bought a different pair, however.