roadgator

ive been enjoying my first non-hooptie road bike (cannondale r600) for the past few weeks. now im ready to throw out the platform pedals i scavenged off my old MTB to get it on the road and get a good set of clipless pedals and shoes.

i figure i have no choice but to use the LBS to make sure i get a pair of shoes that fits and works for me, but i need some advice on pedals.

i'm leaning toward an spd style pedal/cleat if for no other reason than they seem to be the most common and i havent seen many complaints about them from reading a few threads.

my bigest issue is finding a pedal that has enough of a platform that they could be used reasonably with regular shoes in a pinch (the r600 is my back up and only other form of transportation when my commuter/beater bike breaks--and it does......)

i dont plan on walking much in the shoes, but i would like ones ( i guess this is a cleat issue?) that arent completly unreasonable if i did need to walk a block or two in them.

so, which style cleat/pedal should i go with; and from there, which models have a nice platform that would make it possible to use with regular shoes in a pinch?

budget is less than $80, any sugestions on shoes are welcome too.

thanks.

-andy

roadgator

$80 was just for the pedals, then about that much for the shoes, but cheaper is always better

legitimate user

Shimano's 105 pedal, I think it's actually called the PD-R540
https://bike.shimano.com/Footwear_Ped...dals/index.asp

charlesw

https://bike.shimano.com/Footwear_Ped...number=PD-R540

That is the one he mentioned. Looks nice and big.

I'm thinking about getting this one:
https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

I don't really race that much and the pedals really are only $25 bucks, no biggie to replace if I wanna race.

Does anyone know how the Keywin pedals work?

flyingscotsman

Nashbar Rodeo Pedal Dual Sided

This is an MTB pedal, but suits you needs & budget perfectly, it is a standard cage on oneside & clipless on the other.

bsyptak

I have the Performance brand of trap/spd pedal as shown above. It's called the Campus pedal:

https://www.performancebike.com/shop/....cfm?SKU=2275#

I also have the Performance Traverse II shoe that I use for commuting as well as MTB. The cleat is recessed so you can walk around anywhere:

https://www.performancebike.com/shop/...tegory_ID=2120

The combination works fine for me in either application. By the way, a size 9 is really a size 9. I generally don't like to buy shoes without trying them on, but these fit like they should. I bought the combination for $65 last summer, so the pedal needs to come down another $5-10. It will.

A02

I just bought the SPD R540s... they are sick. A little heavier than the R600s that everyone seems to rave about, but the platform itself is the same - and it rocks. I never had clipless pedals before and I was amazed at how easy it was for me to clip in - and pop out when needed with a trusty flick of the heel.

The downside is that I would never want to walk as much as you mentioned in them...

They are also about $10 over your budget.

Grasschopper

$10 over his budget for the R540? I just got the R600 (NIB) for $85 shipped only $5 over his budget. Gotta love eBay and closeouts.

That said I wouldn't want to walk around on the cleats either.

chitownbiker

One word of advice - if you ever want to use your shoes on a spinning bike, make sure the pedals that you select have standard cleats. I bought the Performance Forte Classic Mg/Ti Road Pedals, which aren't bad pedals, but the cleats are slightly bigger than standard Look cleats. So I can't use them on the spin bikes in my gym (and living in Chicago, that's most of my training till the snow melts). Not sure if SPD cleats have different sizes, but I would ask the salesperson (assuming you go to a bike shop) just to be safe.

TheKillerPenguin

I have these, and they work really well for me. If $80 is your budget, I reccomend them.

phantomcow2

THe best pedals i have found are the the ones in the link. I got them from this place shipped for 70
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...129320824&rd=1
I can't say enough about them

phantomcow2

Although they are not the most friendly, with shoes. It can work, i do it often but it takes a bit of getting used to. Try the Mallet if your concerned

A02

Grass: Yup, $90 due to the wonderful world of LBS MSRP.... but they seem to be the same price on Performance/Nashbar too. I'm one of those people whom refuses to use ebay... my loss I guess!

formulaben

After using Look-compatible cleats for 2 seasons, I turned to Speedplay X2 pedals for some knee relief. Although there was enough float in the Look pedals, my issue was the damage I was doing when I was kicking out of them; the twisting motion was putting bad torsional pressure on the knee. Speedplays kick out easily, but I didn't have accidental kick-outs like I did with the old cleats.

Avalanche325

If you want to do ANY walking. You should consider using MTB shoes and pedals. If the shoes are for cross country racing, they are as stiff as road shoes.

I think my shins started to bleed by just looking at these.

roadgator

thanks for all the replies guys!!

this one looks perfect for me:

https://www.performancebike.com/shop...e.cfm?SKU=2275#

i think im gona order them up right now

as for shoes, im most likely going to go with a road shoe but ill have to wait to try a few on and walk a bit before i rule out going with a MTB shoe. if/when the bike is going to be used for transportation it would only be over a few miles and id just wear regualr shoes then.

thanks again.

-andy

foe hammer

Nashbar.com has jus put a pair of adidas road shoes on sale for $89.99 plus shipping. They were regularly 189.99. I bought a pair and they seem very comfortable, but as they are my first pair of shoes, I am not an expert. If anybody knows if those are a good shoe, let me and roadgator know.

https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

Brett 12

I'm suprised no one mentioned the egg beaters or the Candy SL version of the egg beaters.

Grasschopper

foe - those shoes look hot. How do they fit compared to size? How is the width?

foe hammer

Like I said, this is my first pair of cycling shoes, but I did try on several other kinds and these felt very nice and comfortable. I normally wear a size 12 walking shoe and i bought 11.5 in the adidas, and they fit very well. For the price it seemed like a great deal and one of the better looking shoes I had seen. Width isn't bad, I wouldn't call them wide but you have plenty of toe room.

A02

Nashbar and Performance has had those badboys and the Frosco's on mega-sale since late-December. That said, I'm returning the Frosco's I got - there is a manufacturing defect where the tongue was stictched on one shoe. I check them at the LBS and they also randomly had the same issue. I ended up getting a pair of Nikes and they fit me much better and have a full carbon sole versus the insert.

I really like the look of the shoes you got, but I decided againt them because I'm new to the scene and they match my bike TOO well - I'd look like a complete poseur out there - plus, I wasn't sure I would like having to unzip the shoe to adjust the fit while riding.