I have been looking at some crank bros. pedals on nashbar/performance, and a few questions have come up, hopefully you fine folks can give me some insight. I have done some looking and this road combo or these pedals with these shoes . But I of course have some questions...

-If i get quatros is the platform enough to get me down the street without having to put on the proper shoes?

-Will I totally regret getting road shoes? Should I go with the inferior mountain shoes?

-I weigh 230, I assume with the SLs I should be glorious in the non breaking department.

-Should I go to my lbs and try on shoes, or will I most likely be ok buying them blind?

And because I am asking a bunch of pedal questions. I would like to replace the clip that broke on my stock KHS pedals. The clips mount on the underside of the pedals (not on the front, as most do). My lbs, nashbar and performance have turned up no results. Does anyone know where I could find them?

My 2 cents.

Unless you are gonna be doing lots of long road rides, get "mountain" shoes. They make more sense for all around usage.

- quattros have platforms, but the eggbeatery bits will always stick out, so they'll never be flat. Good enough to get around the block, but don't count on being solid or being able to ride brakeless
- if you ever plan on walking more than 100 feet then you'll regret the road shoes. You likely have to do some modificatin' to the sole of the MTB shoes to get them to work with the quattros, but it would be fairly minor.
- should be fine at your weight. THe SLs don't have a weight limit.
- all shoes fit differently I always try them on first (I also have a hard time finding shoes). I'd only buy them online if I knew they were the right size (ie. i've owned them before). Then again Nashbar has a pretty good return policy.

I'd add, too, if you are able, invest in good shoes, like Sidi. They well last you years and years and can be very versatile

i don't know why everyone always ha a problem with road shoes. i never have. plus i think they look rad.

I have never tried clipless, so I don't want to make the investment in Sidi's quite yet. But I will check them at the LBS and see what happens. I was planing on using some of my refund check to get myself into Sugino 75s too, so I dont want to drop too too much on pedals and shoes.

depends how much you're gonna be walking, like ****, sidi's are amazing amazing shoes, but walking on them in and out of buildings, it kills the soles, and you end up walking on your cleats.

And if you're riding brakeless, walking on your cleat all the time sucks.

and when you get new cleats, it sticks out further than the sole, so you end up walking just on the cleat.


I suggest you getting cheap mountain shoes, but not too cheap, like specialized shoes that ratchet shut.



I get like the 60 dollar shoes from whoever, and destroy them.

I am looking at the quatros because they are SL and are a good $50 less than candies. But what type of modification would it be, just cutting off some nobs? Why?

They suck to walk in? Some mtn shoes (sidi dominator) look much like road shoes, you know, rad...but easier to walk in. Plus, you can mtn bike in them too. Or commute. Rad.


I just started riding clipless and brakeless. I did have a few instances, skidding, where I came unclipped. I tightened that tension right quick.

Speaking of looks... If I buy ugly shoes will I hate them as much as I think I will?

cutting off knobs so the sole doesn't interfere with the platform.

Or you can get candy SLs on Ebay for < $70 shipped
https://cgi.ebay.com/CRANK-BROTHERS-C...QQcmdZViewItem
(ha! bikesdirect!)

+1 on the specialized shoes. One of the only shoes that I found to fit that were comfortable, and affordable. The sports are only, like $80 (they're clearing out last year's stuff on their website - comps for $50 if they have your size)

Going with mountian shoes and road shoes when using crank bros pedals is just preference because eventually you'll have to buy new cleats and then you can swing for the ones that have the plastic runners along the side of the cleat so that you walk on those instead of the cleat. If you picked a road shoe with a decent heal scuff plate (sidi's have a replaceable one) they would be fine for walking in (shorter distances than the mountain shoes though). As long as you aren't like running around, you could do the walking cleats on road shoes and still be highly satisfied.

Time cleats are low profile to the point it takes quite a lot of wear on the shoe to find yourself hearing the cleats. Even then the cleats aren't damaged by it.

The eggbeaters I've never used but seem to be similar, maybe go with the "tougher" ones and pass on the soft brass model, that just seems like a way to sell more cleats, making them soft & squishy.

i'd recommend times pedals and mtb shoes the most durable dependable combo from what i've read...

but i must say 2 things:

1. never rode the crnkborthers just heard horror stories

2. compared to the oldstyle spd cleat the time cleats don't last long at all (but apparently better than the crankbros).

on my commuter and general beater i am back to spd's and rock the times on my weekend mtb rides (cause they do work better but they aren't as durable in the cleats as my good old spd's).

road bike shoes will KILL YOU if you ever use the shoes to walk around in. and mostly the mtb shoes are just the roadie ones with a sole for walking glued on anyway...

I have found Sidi Dominators are very stiff and comfortable on long rides. They are basically the same body as one of the higher end Sidi road models, but they are easier to walk in because they have cleats/treads in front and back, i.e. they are a "mountain bike" shoe. I bought them for my road bike though. Even on sale they were like $150 for me. I bought them online knowing that it was a bit of a crapshoot and I might have to return them, but they fit well on the first try and I love them.They are much better for walking around in than road shoes, but they are still the kind of shoes I would change out of when I get to where I am going.

I have a great pair of Pearl Izumis that look just like regular casual street shoes. They are comfortable to ride and walk in, and I can leave them on my feet at my destination; no clicking when I walk and noone would even know they are cycling shoes. They only cost like $60.

I have had at least 5 years of great experience with eggbeaters now (mountain and road mostly - less than a year on a fixie with them - with front brake.) I like them because they are great for multiple bikes, whether road or mountain. The Candys and the quattros don't really seem useful as platforms to ride without clipless shoes. I have never tried them because I can't imagine wanting to ride more than 2 city blocks on then if I only had street shoes; and if you have a decent shoe then the additional platform area seems like it would be unecessary. I would be very curious and pleased to hear from anybody who has immediate experience with improvements or benefits of going to Candys from regular eggbeaters.

If I didn't have such a great relationship with eggbeaters I would try Time ATACs I think.

I rock clips & straps on my fixie, but have the candy's on my geared bike. The pedals themselves are fine, never had problems clipping in or out, etc. They definitely suck, however, to ride on without cleats. Even with the platforms, the clip sticks out, so it's pretty pointless. Ok I suppose if you're going 2 blocks, but, if you're doing any sort of actual riding, you'll need to change your shoes.

It looks mighty uncomfortable. But as long as I am not going to break my foot (as I imagine I would on regular eggbeaters (by my foot slipping off), I think I could deal with it.

I flaked one day and wore some very soft-soled hipster shoes one day instead of my bke shoes. Commuting to and from work in squishy shoes on eggbeaters was an exercise in pain.

Glad I'm not brakeless!