Never been clipped into a bike but am willing to do so to improve efficiency cadence etc on a tour this summer. Any recommendations would be cool...total budget ~150$

I've used shimano spd, time atac, and many different crank brothers pedals. I recommend getting the stainless steel crank brothers Candy. The crank brothers pedals are the easiest to get in and out of, but I never clip out unintentionally. The cleat is the smallest of the three, and least likely to scrape the ground when you walk. The small platform on the candies make them a little more stable than the plain eggbeaters.

Shimano M520's on ebay... around $40 delivered. leaves you with $110 for shoes. My favorite are Sidi but.. plenty of good stuff from shimano and others that will fit into that left over money.

The M520's are simple... easy to clip and last a long time.

I'll second the recommendation for Shimano M520 SPD pedals. You should be able to find them on sale for $35-40/set. If you've never used clipless pedals before these are the pedal to start with! Relatively easy to clip-in, adjustable release tension, and the SH-56 multi-release cleat if you need an even easier time with release.

I use either Specialized or Shimano shoes. Love many of the Sidi shoe designs, but they just don't fit my foot as well as Shimano and Specialized. Really love the Specialized BG Comp MTB shoes I've been using. Not the most comfortable for walking, but they're great on the bike!

One idea I got from this forum when I bought my first set of clipless pedals/shoes was to adjust the spring tension on the pedals almost all the way out (at first, anyway). You will still be able to get the efficiency you want and be able to get your foot out of the clips quick.

I've since tightened the spring a little but it sure helped in the beginning having it loose. Just my .02.

Jerry H

that's interesting to hear, I end up shoo going an extra 1/8" of tread around the cleat on my shimano cleated shoes so they don't crunch crunch on the sidewalk

I used to use Crank Brothers pedals, but ditched them when I started riding off-road. Fell over too often trying to unclip, a problem I don't have with SPD.

The 15- or 20-degree release angle on the Crank Bros pedals gives you lots of float, but it also means you have to move your heel further before the pedals release. SPDs have less float but release with less heel movement, so they're easier to unclip. They also have adjustable release tension, unlike Crank Brothers pedals, so they're better for someone who has never used clipless.

Clipless really come in handy on climbs. If your touring, go clipless.

These discussons are always fun. My experiences using the same pedal types on and offroad led me to choose Crank Brothers over SPD. I didn't enjoy the 'skating on glass' feel of the SPD's and never had any problem getting out of CB's. Funny how different people are.

+1. I use a variety of stuff, but I would say for my learning experience and on my touring bike still, I use a set of Wellgo Hybrid SPD/Flat pedals. One one side you can clip in and the other you can use a regular shoe with. The nice thing about this was, if you knew you were only pedaling a short distance to a store or something, you could do it in your sandals and ope right off.
Also, I completely agree with the notion of using the tension screw as a newbie to clipless. Setting it to unclip as easy as possible is a good way to learn, and then tighten it as you get more comfortable.

In Regards to the shoes, for touring I always use MTB spd compatible shoes. The Lake IOs I have were very inexpensive, look well enough to just walk around the stores in, and the clips are embedded up, so your not walking on the wetal clips the whole time. I believe I paid 40 down from 80 on the shoes, and around 65 dollars for the pedals.

Ha, yeah. The shoe that you combine the pedal with has a huge effect too, so that is always influencing our opinions.

I am as uncoordinated an oaf as there ever was and I had no problem learning how to clip in and out of Crank Bros Candy pedals. Put em on, went for a spin around the block. I found them very easy to clip in and out of. Halfway around the block, I fell in love with them. Once I returned home, I forgot to unclip and fell into shrubbery.

TIMBERRRRRRRRRRRRR

Since then, everything's been great though. I haven't tried anything else, but I haven't felt the need to either...

Pubb

I like Shimano M076 shoes and for pedals either the M324 or the slightly more stylish A520 as both give have a SPD clip one side and a platform on the other.

https://wheelsofchance.org/2009/08/05...-shimano-mo76/