Alright guys, I'm onto my next question
(I love it when you guys fight over my silly questions like that kashimax tt protector)

So what pedals do you guys use and to give me a general idea, how much did it cost?
So far for my new ride, I'm leaning towards the MKS track "sylvan" pedals with the NJS XL toe cage from Ben's Cycle
but being the cheapass that I am, I'm coming back to you guys for other suggestions.

my .02 cents... buy some clips and straps that are nice and cheap at first (go used on the pedals). If you find that after a couple of weeks you're not lovin em, you can start saving for some clipless. If you decide you do like them, your only out like 20 bucks and will have a back up set of pedals just in case. MEC has some wellgo SPD for 30 bucks (or go used) and you can find many a shoe in the sub 50$ range online. I'm rocking some 661 Launch shoes which look like regular skate shoes but are spd compatible, also very comfy to walk and ride in. You may disregard this if you don't really care about clipless.

My advice is to get some decent straps the rest can be used if you want (silvans are a fine pedal for the money), but decent straps for sure. Cheap straps snap and then you are really hosed. Clipless is not ideal (dangerous) if you ride on the street. Search my previous posts on the topic for more opinionated comments regarding clipless.

I agree, however, if you want the versatility and qualities of clipless, then buy a set of Look pedals from E-bay (I copped a pair for $5.00!), and pony up an extra $10.00 bucks for a pair of Winwood Insteps - toeclip and strap adapter cleats, for real world applications.

Speedplay x2's $20 off CL. I have not ridden fixed on the street yet...and when I do it will be in bike lanes with a brake, not alleycat style...

I ride the MKS pedal/clip and leather strap set-up from IRO. They're a little rough to get into with New Balance 574's on, but other shoes with more "street oriented" soles are no problem at all. I've only had them for a little while, but so far, so good.

I also have a pair of Bontrager MTB pedals with their "composite" clips and nylon straps on my converted fixie. I would say they work fairly well. They are easy to get into, but your feet slip around while in the cages.

eggbeaters, eggbeaters, and rat traps

I rock these:



MKS GR-9 (check ebay). They're pretty comfy. I use MKS steel clips and leather straps. There's a world of difference between riding fixed sans foot attachment vs. with clips + straps. I'd go clipless but I ride mainly for work / errands / alcohol. Chuck Taylors are my preferred footwear.

My only problem is that a pedal strike snapped the flip-up tab off my left pedal (an odd set of circumstances caused this: hangover, large rock, hastily trying to get up into the cage at the wrong moment) and that kinda makes it hard to get into whilst drunk / tired / stressed. I imagine the MKS Sylvan pedals would just bend or scrape in a similar situation. These are molded aluminum, hence the crackin'.

They've got a real small width, good for cornering fixed on 170mm road cranks. Though the edges of my feet know *exactly* what it feels like to kiss the ground at 20 mph.

I use the Sylvan tracks. They're quality pedals. I've decided against subjecting their more expensive offerings to street abuse.

Guess I never really answered your question. I ride the MKS Sylvan Touring pedals, nice and wide to fit my food, plus the flipside is the the same, so it provides lovely support for tricks etc. Pedal strike is not an issue with them on the Mark V pro with 165 cranks, but I can see how you might like something a tad narrower if your bb is lower or your cranks longer. Running those with MKS LL clips and toshi single straps.

i'm sporting some gipiemme sprint pedals with christophe clips and errbi
double straps. when i switched to double straps the feel was great. they
really hold your foot. i recommend double straps as opposed to clipless.

Shimano 520's with MTB shoes. Lightish, comfortable, stiff enough, and I can walk on them all day long. Black with a hint of silver. I do not think that they get any better than that.

GR-9s, man. I have a set of MKS AR-8s (nothing special road pedals) and elder Shimano 105s and a few others that don't even get names. The others are fine pedals if you have a stiff soled shoe, but if you're going with clips so you can wear street shoes get a street shoe compatible pedal too. That's the GR-9.

There are a few online options in the $25-30 range and if you ask at your commuter-oriented LBS you might be surprised to find they stock them.

The bearings can feel a bit rough until they break in, it's all in the luck of the draw. There's some controversy over whether or not they're serviceable. Some say no, Sheldon says yes. I'm inclined to think you can pop the end caps off and take them apart and service them just like anything else.

MKS ROYAL ****ING NUEVOS -- erection-causing loose bearing njs pedals
MKS RX-1 -- totally iced out cartridge bearing pedals. njs, naturally.

royal nuevos.

mks gr-9 w/ mks steel clips

I want to put the Eggbeaters from my Mtn bike onto a road bike. Is this a no-no in the road biking world? I was also going to stick with a pair of Mtn shoes. I assume that would be a huge faux pas!!!

I rock GR-9s and the Sylvans.
How big are your feet?
XL clips are pretty big.
I wear size 11-11.5 shoes and Large Clips are more than adaquate.
I'd worry a little bit about toe overlap with XL clips.

clipless. once you go there, it will all make sense to you. i use Time ATAC XS. I've never unclipped. Once, my crank arm came off the BB spindle but it was still attached to my shoe via cleat/pedal interface. I run these street and track. that's my word.

MKS Sylvan's, Soma clips, and EAI straps.

From one cheapass to another: MKS Sylvans look great for the money, but I scored some used Wellgo track pedals off ebay for like $5, and they work fine. If I were buying new I'd get the MKS Sylvan which are about the same $ as the Wellgos.

For straps, cheap leather or vinyl straps may suck, but cheap woven MTB straps are damn near indestructible. Woven straps can be frayed halfway through, and still not break. they will not fail suddenly, so you've got plenty of warning if they need replacement, and they are cheap as hell. Reinforced leather straps may look better, but for my (relatively little) money woven straps are the way to go.

Oh, and I disagree that clippless are dangerous. Mine are as easy to get out of as they are to get into. Arguably easier to get out of than clips and straps. I'd ride them everyday except that I don't want to wear bike shoes every day, so I use SPD pedals for longer rides, and clips and straps for commuting. Swapping pedals is no big deal. It takes maybe 5 minutes.

Exactly that is the problem!

You don't want easy out!
Easy out can really really suck, especially when it is unexpected!

My Ritchey SPDs have never come off unexpectedly, so I don't consider it a problem, but they are the only clippless pedals I have experience with. Most clpless pedals do have a degree of adjustability, so if you came out unexpectedly, you might want to tighten them up a bit. I have broken a steel campy clip though. I don't get the impression that clipless fail more than clips and straps.

Unless you're riding on ice or other conditions where you may need to quickly put a foot down.

Even if the clip breaks you will be fine. The strap is what is crucial.
To some degree it varies on the riding style whether or not clipless work.
The bottom line is though that clipless are designed to release when a certain angle is reached -
Clips and straps aren't. Pick what feels safer.
I have seen devout advocates of clipless unclip and it was not funny.
All of them are clip and strap riders now.