I am looking for the shoes and the pedals. I went to my LBS and tried on a couple pair, there was a Specialized shoe for around $120, I think he said the Specialized SPD. There were some Speed Play pedals for $110, I think they were Light Play.

I was wondering if those are ones I should stray away from. I know that Speed Play is a pretty popular brand and have heard positive things with the exception of one person who shared their negative customer service experience on here and every other road bike forum.

I would like to stay <=300 but would be willing to spend up to $350 if I could really benefit from it!

I just wanted to ask if anyone had any feedback!

Thanks!!!

I would get cheaper pedals and nicer shoes. I think Shimano pedals give you a lot more for your money.

Shimano 105

I really dig speedplay pedals. i've been using the light action for a year now and they're great to ride on. they get pricey though, and you have to maintain them well. the float you get from the speedplays made a huge difference for me, but if you get the 'light action' you might want to try them on your bike on a trainer before you head out. theres no float limiter on the light actions and it's possible to have too much float and you could potentially hit the chainstay win your heel. it depends on your foot size, cleat position and your bike frame. the 'zero' lineup has a float limiter where this is not a problem.

OR you could just get Look pedals or spd-sl and not have to worry about essentially any of that, but you get about half the degrees of float.


I'm not all that knowledgable on shoes, all I've owned are shimano shoes and they're .... decent. DMT makes a Speedplay specific shoe where you don't have to use the cleat adapter, but they're $$$. I've heard good things from friends about Sidi shoes... but I've never used them.

I have an $80 pair of Shimano R086 shoes i picked up from nashbar about a year ago and $50 Shimano 105 spd-sl pedals from pbk. Both are great and serve my needs. I haven't used Sidi's or a better pedal so i can't say how much better they would be but what i have is perfectly adequate. If anything i'd maybe swap my pedals for a lighter set as i recently became a weight weenie.

get the best shoes you can afford, or else you'll be doing it all over again.

as far as pedal: it's a personal perference, I like speedplay and shimano

I suggest you order a pair of Keo Classic pedals ($73 at probikekit.com) and spend the rest of the money on the shoes that fit the best, whatever the cost up to your budget limit. $300 is plenty to get a nice setup.

+1 on this advice. I've used the old style Look clipless systems (with the Delta cleats) and currently have Keo Classics, but I've gone through more pairs of shoes - Lake, Northwave, Pearl Izumi. I finally gave in and ordered a pair of Sidi Genius 5 Megas, which should be arriving tomorrow. I have a feeling a better fit for my wide feet will make more of a difference than switching pedals to Keo 2 Max or Speedplays.

I have used SPD-SL, SPD, Look Keo and Speedplay Light Action Pedals. I started out with SPD-SL pedals and hated them, I couldn't get in or out easily and went down four or five times before I sold them on Ebay and bought the Light Action pedals. I have been using Speedplay pedals for the past five years and love them. Easy to get in and out. Maintenance consists of lubing them 3 or 4 times per year.

I used Look in my spin classes. They have a very secure feeling and do a good job of distributing the pressure across the shoe but I find them hard to get out. It is really a problem on a spin bike but may different on a road bike.

I have also used SPDs which were easy to get out of but because I have cheap nylon shoes I could feel a lot of pressure when I was standing on the pedals. So, I replaced them for Look cleats.

As for shoes, I think Specialized or Shimano are a good deal for the money. Get the stiffest shoes you can afford which will be full carbon soles.