JWK

Well, my wife gave it a good try with her new trucker, but after four nasty spills with the clipless shoes/pedals, I threw on an old platform pair from a junk bike and she was happy. No spills and took her first 15 mile ride with lots of hills. This is the first time she's ever gone farther than five or six miles.

So we need to get a set of MKS pedals. I'm thinking the touring or the lambda. Your thoughts on the most appropriate pedal for the inexperienced and what clips. I'm totally ignorant about traditional clips - I've never used them. I see there are all different types and lengths, strap, strapless, etc.

My wife did good and is enthusiastic about riding more, despite the bruising! Thanks for your help.

aggiegrads

What are her goals? My first suggestion to stick with what is working - platform pedals with no clips.

If she has never gone more than five or six miles, I would say that she likely has no need for rigid attachment to the pedal, whether clipless or (semi)traditional clips.

imi

MKS GR9 touring pedals with Zefal plastic toeclips and straps work fine for me.
I have size 43 running shoes and the "Large" clips fit.

Half-clips with no straps is maybe an even better alternative, as they stop your feet sliding off the pedal, but don't hinder you taking your foot off when coming to a stop.

Here's a link to both kinds:
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/zefal-toe-clips/

And the straps:
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/zefal-toe-clip-straps/

Archergal

I can speak to the MKS Lambda. I have them on my two main bikes (a Novara Randonnee and a 90's era Trek hybrid. I've ridden them for almost 2 years now, between 2k & 3k miles/year.

I like them very much. I used to ride in my Merrell Barefoot Pace Glove or Mary Jane shoes with them, and they worked fine for that. Because the pedal is long, you've got lots of support for your foot. I did switch to riding in Keen bike shoes (sandals in summer, Presidio in winter) because I have an old injury to my right foot, and I thought the stiffness of the sole would probably help. I think it does.

While the pedals are long, they're not that wide, so you don't really have issues with the pedals scraping the road unless you're going hard and fast and leaning pretty sharply.

Note: I ride almost exclusively for transportation, with lots of hills and stops on my routes. I have ridden clipless pedals in the past, but didn't want to go back to them because a) lots of stops b)knee surgery that I had about 10 years ago. With the platform pedals, I can move my feet around in ways that ease my knees. I like these pedals very much.

You can get little screws to fit in the indentations of the pedal if you feel like you need more grip. I haven't done that to date, because so far they've been plenty grippy for me.

fietsbob

How about just nicer platform pedals? .

lots now use little setscrews, you can screw them in further,
if the grip, the screw protrusion, is excessive..

I have a Pair of MKS plain Rubber block Pedals , well not completely Plain,
they Molded reflectors in the rubber blocks . " Dutch Style" (new buzzword)

as with much in Bike parts Mass Production had the grease sparingly applied .
and though the bearings were a Bit Tight, Were Easily ReAdjusted ,
as More Grease Was Applied.

MichaelW

Putting inexperienced riders on new bikes, using clipless pedals is a recipe for disaster.
Use plain platform until the rider is confident and competent enough to do a track stand.
I use plain platforms for everyday urban utility and I MKS Sylvian touring with clips and straps for touring.
You need to look at the whole system:
Use leather straps that hold their shape, with a twist inside the cage.
Never cinch them tight. Don't use old fashioned slotted cleats.
Use shoes with the optimum amount of grippiness, not too much, not too little. Aggressive knobbly soles and sticky-out mouldings will hinder swift exit. Slick soles with not grip at all. Shoes with ready made slots moulded into the sole will usually have slots in the wrong position.

seeker333

+1, no +2

Here's something kinda new:

https://www.ergon-bike.com/us/en/product/pc2

https://urbanvelo.org/ergon-pc2-pedals/

These look good to me too, seller is top notch for ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-WELLGO-...-/290878158096

Once you learn how to use clipless pedals, these are nice, I've used them for many years:

https://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.frog

Booger1

VP makes some nice pedals:https://www.vpcomponents.com/newen/categories_p.php

I have these on my everyday/touring bike:

CroMo spidle,ball bearing,aluminum platform.....they make a lightweight version,about 350 grams a pair if you need light.

About $30 from Europe,hard to find lots of VP stuff in the US.

Ran MKS touring pedals for along time,nothing wrong with them.

cplager

+1. Clipping in isn't necessary and having at least half-clips is safer than nothing at all.

Erick L

I use MKS Touring with PowerGrips

Norsman

I tried the clips and cages and other variations until I decided to go to a platform pedal and have never regretted it. I bought the MKS Lamda pedals designed by Rivendell. They give a great surface area. I also bought mountain bike shoes with extra grip to use with them. It has made riding much more fun and less dangerous. I know that I am not as efficient as before but I feel much more secure. I do long tours and found it much easier to restart on hills with the platform pedals, there is no scramble to find the cage or the clip or whatever. Most of my mishaps happened at the end of a long ride when I was too tired to think clearly or enough junk had accumulated to make unclipping more difficult

bradtx

This should confirm that your wife doesn't need nor want anything other than a platform pedal.

Brad

JWK

Thanks, everyone. I think we will go with Lambda pedals and strapless toe clips for now. Booger1, those VP look good. Can you adjust and grease those or are they sealed?

kesroberts

I've read that the Lambda won't work with toe clips - is that the case?

Jim Kukula

This happens to me with lots of operations that are easy when I am fresh. At the end of the day I was always finding myself with the chain crossed, e.g. small chainring and small sprocket. I switched to an IGH but probably there are derailleur set-ups too that are more forgiving.

Maybe a year and a half ago I took off my Time ATAC pedals and put on MKS Sylvan Touring pedals. I don't use clips or straps or anything like that. At the time I just didn't want to spring for expensive winter riding boots when I already had perfectly reasonable winter boots in the house.

Booger1

Plain ball bearing....simple.

fietsbob

choose , either that pedal, or another one that you can use toe clips and straps with..

MKS Sylvan a reasonable choice, double sided so a good grip starting off ,
before the opportunity to flip the pedal over and slip your foot in is there.

Smooth sole shoes ..

seeker333

You can attach clips to Lambda, but they won't fit the foot quite the same way as std dimension pedals. People who buy platform/bmx style pedals are rarely interested in clips.

Some don't like the Lambda, because it's not really wide, there's little shoe support in the middle, and despite their appearance they can be slippery when wet. Some users drill holes and add pins to improve the grip.

The VP-001 pedal is probably better than the Lambda in this regard:

https://www.vp-usa.com/vp-001/

https://www.ebikestop.com/vp_all_purp...ack-PD3510.php

sonatageek

I use the half clips (no straps) on my commuter bike and really like them. Easy in and out, no restriction and my foot can't slip forward off the pedal. Comfortable and elegant.