Hi all, I've never used clipless pedals before, but I am certainly starting to see they can have advantages on longer rides. I'm kind of adverse to the idea of rat-traps or cages, they just seem hard to get out of. Of course there are all manner of clipless pedal systems out there now, so as someone who's never used them before, what should I look for?

Here are my criteria:
-Good system for a newbie to learn with
-comfortable/safe for long rides
-reasonable price ($75 or under preferably, not including shoes of course)

I'm not terribly concerned about weight, I'm not a racer, nor are these going on a race bike, I ride more for exercise, fun or transportation. Also, these pedals would be going on the nice "weekend ride" bike not the every day commuter, so I'm not terribly interested in dual purpose platform/clipless systems, unless anyone thinks they are great (in which case, please say so).

pedals that seem to be popular at a reasonable price:
shimano spd system
crank brothers egg beaters
spd-sl (larger platforms, well these style: https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-PD-570...7615664&sr=1-4 )

if anyone could comment on these systems, or have other suggestions, I would be glad to here them! What do you use? Do you like them? Where do you go? How do you ride? ect. Thanks for the advice!

SPD-SL. First clipless pedal owned and learned from. Bought them at nashbar for $60+ I think.

BTW if its you're first time at clipless rest assured that you're gonna fall

For the types of rides you do (fun, exercise, transportation, and "weekend rides"), how important is walking around, not being on the bike, before you finish your ride?

SPD and Crank Brothers both use "recessed" cleats, eg they're kind of buried in a hole in the bottom of the shoe, while SPD-SL and all the road systems put the cleat under the bottom of the shoe, and they protrude downward:





The recessed cleats are much, much easier to walk in. But road pedals can be (but aren't necessarily) bigger and wider, and the shoes can be (but aren't necessarily) stiffer in the sole. Both of those attributes can make a clipless system more comfortable on long rides.

For your budget, Shimano A-520 pedals would be a good choice in the SPD system. I've got them on one of my bikes, and like them very much. That platform-like thing around the part that engages the cleat, means the force is distributed over a larger area of the foot, which helps them avoid "hot spots," or small areas of foot pain.

OP, btw I have started a thread a few months ago re: clipless. It may be on another subforum but the info is more or less the same:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ost?highlight=

Crank Brothers Egg Beaters were the first clipless pedals I tried, and Crank Brothers of various descriptions are still the only pedals I've used. They're very easy to get in and out of. Given that you don't care about weight, I think MTB shoes make sense because you can walk in them. I'm currently using Pearl Izumi All Road shoes with Crank Brothers cleats and a variety of CB pedals.

The very low end Crank Brothers pedals that you can get from Nashbar/Performance for under $35 aren't something I'd recommend. They are essentially disposable and after about 2000 miles they start squealing miserably. I like the Egg Beater 2 and Egg Beater 3 very much, but since you're only interested in good weather riding, the Egg Beater 1 is probably OK. For longer rides you might want to look at the Candy line to get more of a platform under your foot. Don't get Smarties.

Regardless of what pedals you get, you should resign yourself now to the fact that at least once you're going to come to a stop and fall over because you forgot to unclip. It's embarrasing, but usually harmless.

One more thing: Forget this "first pair" stuff.

You're going to have to choose between a cleat system with 2 and 3 holes to begin with, and get shoes that match. If you go Crank Brothers and decide you want Look in the future, you'll need new pedals, new cleats, and new shoes. That's all doable, but for most people (if it ain't broke, don't fix it) there isn't much reason to spend all that money twice. One system vs the other won't make you faster.

I have the exact pedals you reference above (the SPD-SL 105's). They were my first pair of clipless and were easy for me to learn to get into and out of of. You can can also easily adjust the tension on them to control how much force is required to get into and out of them. I am a pretty big guy and have about 1500 miles on mine with no squeaks or issues. I can't speak for any of the others but as of yet I have no reason to change or upgrade these. They even make two styles of cleats, one with a a fair amount of float and one with very little. For the price I think these represent a great value.

Thanks everybody for your advice! I'll take this all into consideration before I make a purchase. Any other opinions will be welcomed too.

SPD:

Not necessarily. I never had trouble getting out of them. Anytime I've fallen it's been for something other than the pedals.

I have standard SPD pedals & cleats, such as shown earlier in the thread. For road riding I have a pair of MTB shoes that are pretty much just road shoes with a little extra tread on the bottom. More elegant than duck walking. I also have a pair that are more like walking shoes, but with a stiffer sole, recessed cleat, and lots of deep tread for walking. I consider them touring shoes, but I don't think manufacturers use that term anymore.

If you're not planning to walk around much and cost is a consideration, I vote for the Shimano R540 SPD-SL pedals and then get cycling shoes with the required 3 hole pattern. Even if you decide to switch to another road pedal like Look or Time, you could still use the same shoes just with the different cleats required.

The R540 is usually easy to find at a good price. Nashbar has them for $38.99 right now, and one guy on eBay has them new in the box from a store for $39.95 w/free shipping. Even if you buy them at retail from the LBS, it's not a bad deal. If you want more bling, the Shimano 105 pedals can be had around $55-65 shipped too. The platform on those are a little bigger, and I like the metal top cover on them. The bearings are probably higher quality versus R540, tho not sure?

Look Keo Plus are another option around $80 on sale maybe.

I just replaced my R540's with the 105's you linked to. They seem to be a nice pedal. I liked the 540's but I am a little uptight about having everything match and since my bike is all 105 anyway the pedals had to match. I used the 540's for over a year and they were easy to get used to and worked great. The cleat setup is a little awkward to walk with but I did not buy a bike to walk around any way. I like the float built in to the cleat and there is a zero float cleat available as well.

Look. https://www.lookcycle.com/en/us/route/pedales.html

been on mine for well over 15 years.

whatever you choose, stay away from crank bros. seriously.

...because four-sided entry is just way too convenient. Or did you have another reason?

Keo classic would be my choice.

Actually, if you're using cages and straps, you can wear the straps only semi-snug, and they're very easy to get out of. However, you won't pedal as efficiently in them when they're loose. And with loose straps, your feet can still wedge out to the side.

The thing about SPD-SL pedals is that they're pretty much idiot proof. Very low maintenance. They still work when they're dirty or have a little gunk in them. And the cleats have plastic "pontoons" so they're easier to walk in, and won't scratch up floors if you walk into a convenience store for something to eat mid-ride. And the R-540 pedals are under $50 online.

I started out on, and still own, Keos. They work well, different cleats can be purchased to adjust the movement you have while clipped in, and they're affordable.

I've seen a lot of broken ones...dunno if that is what he was referring to.

My preference is for Look/SPD-SL. Time ATAC for mtb and CX, but the SPDs work well too - I commute on them. Only reason I don't use them otherwise is that they seem more likely to pack up with mud and stuff, where the Times are immune. Probably not a concern for the OP.

main reason is they break and have crappy bearings.

+1 on the Keo Classic. I think they are around $70 on PBK

I started with SPD-SL pedals and used them for a month before selling them on Ebay. They didn't work at all for me. I moved to Speedplay and will most likely never use another pedal system. They are very easy to clip in and out. You do not need to look down to clip in just stop and go.

I can see that. There's definitely a learning curve. Even now I don't get it right every time.

The bearings get better with the more expensive models. I know a lot of people don't like them for mountain biking because of the breakage. Cyclocross people seem to love them. I've never heard of one breaking in road use.

I started out on 105 SPD-SL pedals and i'm still using them today. 5,000+ miles on them and no issues. I haven't tried any other form of pedals so i can't say one is better than the other but i'm happy with the 105 pedals.

Spd - sl +1