increse performance with new pedals and shoes?
 

hi guys,

Yesterday i was talking to a great cyclist, his my inspiration right now. And i was telling him about my first 100km ride and how the last 15 were so hard MENTALY. He spoke about the "Parts that turn in your bike" like the crank/pedal/shoe/gear/wheel combo, how an upgrade on this would increse my performance enormously, specially on that last 15 miles were the 1g has been multiplied by thousands of pedal cycles..

He was all pumpped up about me getting a nice light and rigid shoe to start.

So this may change my choice of new bike...instead of getting a 2011 i could get and upgraded 2010 and nice wheels...then purchase some nice ass shoes and pedals...

not sure if im making any sense :o

if you intend to buy a 2010 model instead of a 2011 to save money for the upgrade and shoes/pedal, that is a good decision. because you wouldnt want to end up with the expensive 2011 model and find out you dont have money left for the pedal and shoes which you have no choice but to buy sooner or later.

1gram of weight loss making a difference over thousands of pedal cycles, I've never heard this one before.
If anything the performance increase would come from a good stiff shoe, and the more efficient power transfer between the shoe and pedal.
I still think a good shoe is one of the best upgrades you can make.

It's the shoes; it's got to be the shoes.

Going with biking specific shoes and clipless pedals will help
I'm just not sure you'll see an"enormous" performance gain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhHONpmlxPc

OK - a little more seriously - a tremendous difference? probably not. If your feet are hurting at the end of the ride, if they are slipping off your pedals or something else is obviously wrong, then yes it will help a lot. Otherwise I would think good shoes/pedals fall in the category of small incremental improvements that help but may not really be measurable.

JB

no you are not making any sense. "nice ass" shoes and pedals are the least of your worries.

I upgraded to a pair of high end Garneau heat mold-able full carbon sole shoes and speed play zero pedals instead of cheapo mtb shoes and speed play frogs

so the feel nicer... yes...

do they flex less....yes..

Am I suddenly destroying anyone who grabs my wheel and leaving them begging for mercy... no

I'm sure they do make some difference but I don;t think they're gong to make you exceptionally better

if your not riding clipless I'd certainly try it but buying super high end gear with out an engine isn't gonna make u a super rider

I've been into athletics my whole life and have seen it time and time again where someone or sum teams shows up in lesser equipment and puts a spanking on someone or a team of people with all the high end gear

I used to paly allot of soccer remember this one team communion form a small town showing up to a tournament in sneakers and cut off jean shorts... lots of snickers from elitist types and they handed allot of teams their ass

If long time/distance on the bike are your goals then comfort should be high on your list. So yes, good shoes can make a difference in how you feel at the end of a long ride. Which in turn will make you more efficient overall. It won't be due to any weight savings or grams per revolution.

i figured the ratio's like a 60% rider and 40% machine... im not particularly snob about gear, yet...as a newb im already using mtb clipless and like it a lot. But ive notices how this MTB shoes are flexy like a normal tennis shoe.

my current ride is a 1986 Tommaso (Alan bonded frame), i like how it looks, but would like to use this bike for less demanding rides.

My budget being 2500 for a new bike should include the 300 a nice pair of shoe and clip would require.....substracting from my bike budget! MAD@!

the key saving energy, lightweight. saving rotating weight is like saving twice the weight...so lighter shoes and pedals will help. but the most important thing is fit. because cleats lock your feet into the pedals, they better fit right. I need to use cleat shims...http://www.bikefit.com/products.php

as others had said, stiff is important, most shoes go with carbon to get stiff and lightweight together.

the other thing is lightweight wheels. entry wheels come in around 2000grams. a mavic ksyrium sl is about 1550, pretty much bulletproof. but the pros go with carbon tubulars in the 1200 and under range. if you don't thing lightweight helps, try running in heavy shoes, then try it with light shoes...

so stiffer shoe = better shoe? Just for the added power transfer, or it there another reason too? I am getting new shoes/pedals as well

Sorry, I don't wear shoes on my ass.

If the last 15km/miles were especially hard on you 'mentally', not physically, then I don't understand why a bunch of new crap is going to help with that? I mean, I know it's always fun to buy more bike stuff, but I just don't see how that's going to help your mental state.

Going from MTB shoes to road shoes is going to be a very marginal change. Some MTB shoes are a bit less stiff than some road shoes, to make them more walkable.

But realize many MTB shoes are made on the sam last as the comparable road shoe from the same manufacturer.

Also, past a certain point, stiffness in shoes is a bit overrated.

And while the weight of the shoe/pedla should theoretically make a difference, in my experience its hardly noticeable.

I have Rocket 7's, custom made carbon shoes, that weigh 180 grams used with speedplays. You are not going to find any lighter shoe/pedal combination, and they are about as stiff as any shoe made.

I also have a $99 pair of Shimano tri shoes with plastic soles. Other than the fact that the custom fit of the Rocket 7's is much nicer, I can't see any performance difference between the $100 shoe, and the $850 shoe.

So if money's tight, given that you already have serviceable shoes and pedals, I'd get the bike I wanted, and forgo, or at least wait on new pedals and shoes.

Weight, even if it's rotational, has less of an effect than most people think.

Pedals don't matter as much as stiff shoes in my opinion. I'd rather run cheap pedals with a nice fitting stiff-soled shoe than have nice speedplays and cheap plastic shoes.

100 km is like 63 miles. While this isn't exactly short, it isn't that long either. How hilly was it?

You need to ride more.

This is a lot of BS.

As long as what you are using isn't junk, it's more like 95% rider.

You might like stiffer shoes and there are MTB bike shoes that are fairly stiff.

==========

If he is trying to be competitive with racers who are also using superlight wheels, then, maybe, he should get superlight wheels. If he isn't, it isn't going to matter much.

But he isn't running. Unlike runners, bicyclists are not lifting their feet. The way bicycling works, it radically reduces the effect of weight compared to running/walking.

The amount that reduced weight "helps" is small and will not "increase performance enormously".

http://www.noping.net/english/

THANX GUYS! really appreciate your input on this matter...

im gonna follow merlinextralight's comment on buying a better bike and wait to save for new pedals and shoes.

njkayaker, i started rolling as a commuter 14 miles every day for 5 days and 2 months ago i started "distance riding". A friend and i ride around 70km on saturdays or sundays, but since last weekend it was descided we were going to up it a knotch to 100km. So, yeah i need to ride a lot more, specially when next year i plan to participate on a 3 day 600km race, were the first day i need to pump 160 miles!

Yes, you aren't riding enough!

Is that really a race or something else (a randonee or organized long distance event)?

A friend of mine does randonees routinely and he isn't using an especially light bike (he's a strong rider). Many long distance riders choose equipment that is more comfortable and reliable (eg, wider tires) over "high performance".

The key is not to expect "enormous performance increases" from equipment. Bicycling is hard and equipment doesn't really change that (it can only help a bit).

The cheapest (free) way to go faster with the same amount of effort is to use the drops to be in a more aerodynamic position.

well im not sure how to call it for myself, "La vuleta de los 9 Faros" is the biggest road cycling event on Puerto Rico....its a race for a group of hard core racers, but im not into cycling for the fast riding, yet, im on it for the distance, i do want to go faster than right now. But i trust this weekend rides + my commute will help on the speed department.

Right now i roll steadily at around 17 mph, my partner is much more athletic and rides much faster! rolling at 22 steady and some sprints he does for fun...right now his my goal, being able to catch the bastard is my race. =-)

PS "La Vuelta" is divided in groups, theres a group without pace (free ride fast) a 20 mph group and a 15mph group

Interesting.

So, it's a race for some people and not for others (including you).

The requirements for racing (ie, being competitive in a race) is different than other sorts of riding.

If you are asking for advice and you are not racing, make sure you don't say things in a way that makes people think you are racing!

Note that some good long distance riders are not especially fast. They are just stubborn!