Commuting pedals

turnerc99

Hi,

Can anyone recommend some commuting pedals for a mate of mine? He started commuting about six months ago and is getting quite into it. He likes the idea of clipless, but he’s not sure that he’d want to be clipped in all the time. I’ve seen some Shimano ones (I think they were M324s) which have got a cleat on one side and a platform on the other. Does anyone here use them, and if so are they any good? Are there any other alternatives that I point him at? I’ve always used Look, so I can’t really advise him.

Now all I need to do is get this posted in the right section of the forum…

Cheers,
Chris

Gasman

I use a cheap and cheerful version from Aldi (along with their cheap and cheerful shoes) and think they're great.

ChrisLS

...Decathlon(if there's one near you) have their own make, SPD one side, and flat pedals without clips the other side. I think they were about £15. I use them on my commute with SPD shoes and just trainers sometimes...

The BIG GT

I used to have the Decathlon pedals mentioned above on my commuter. They worked OK but were not as smooth to clip in/out as the M520s I had on my off-roader and they did not last as long as my previous commuter SPDs (Wellgo).

When replacing them, I went for another pair of the 520s with a set of clip-in platforms that convert one side into flat pedals for use with normally-soled shoes. They seem to work well but I became more aware of how often Il ride in SPD shoes as I rarely use them nowadays.

I prefer the 520s on the commuter as I found that, with the single-sided SPDs, I often had to flip the pedal over to insert as the extra weight of the clip-in side mean that the flat side usually ended up being the available side.

Also, the Decathlon pedals were £17 and I got the 520s plus platforms for only about £22. Well worth it for the extra quallity and ease of cleaning, especially in the winter.

I hope that this helps!

dazzawazza

I have the £10 Lidl Monza pedals on my commuter, which work well for the commute.
It took a bit of getting used to flipping the pedal to SPD side, but I've mastered the technique now.
I have double sided M540 SPD on my road bike, which are so much better. However the single sided pedals come in very useful for short rides down to the shops or when I can't be bothered to change shoes.

mazcp

I used to have shimano M545 pedals that combined flat-pedal and SPD cleat on both sides, so you can wear normal or cleated shoes. They cost about £45, so not cheap IMO.
I use SPD pedals all the time and had the same initial reservations about going clipless...you very quickly get used to them, even if you have to stop in a hurry.

BentMikey

Just go full clipless, double sided, right from the start. They're so good you (or rather your mate) won't want to cycle without them any more. There's no reason to be afraid of them either, far too many cyclists make a huge fuss about clipless when it's an easy and logical thing to do. Just do it IMO, and expect a couple of falls whilst learning.

turnerc99

I agree - I'd go straight to clipless and be done with it, but I can see the logic if he's going to use his bike for just nipping to the shop for example. I'll pass on the comments and see what he says. Keep the suggestions coming though - I'm sure he'll find them useful.

Aidocp

Clipless is definately the way to go, especially if he is doing any mileage. I started of with M424's, a cage and clips on both sides.

BentMikey

I quite regularly use trainers on my SP pedals, but it's usually better to put my MTB shoes on, especially with the hefty hill I have on the way to/from the shops, much easier to get up it.

belgiangoth

I don't rate double sided pedals. It's sod's law that if you want to clip in they turn flat side up, and if you don't you get the clip.

Try the BMX/freeride shimano SPDs, which have double-sided clip ins with wide cage for support and normal shoe compatibility.

Greenbank

I guess you meant single-sided SPDs for that first bit.

I moved to double-sided SPDs from single-sided about a year ago and I'll never go back to single-sided. So much easier to clip in as you don't have to care about the orientation of the pedal, just press down, click, and you're set.

mazcp

Thinking about it...Toe clips must be a real pain, naturally going 'turn-turtle' when your foot's out (never used them, though, so can't be sure).

RufusA

mazcp wrote:

Thinking about it...Toe clips must be a real pain, naturally going 'turn-turtle' when your foot's out.

It's not much of a pain as it's very predictable - one foot stays clipped in, and then from the lights you do one revolution upside-down, then a simple and smooth flip and slide in foot, once the traffic is moving a bit you can tighten the strap a little if desired.

I've seen plenty of people in London with the one-sided clipless, and when paniced by a big bus always try and clip on the wrong side, cycle one legged, flip the pedal, then muck up the clip as they've over flicked, panic, cycle one legged, flip, panic freewheel, panic then clip. Watching people struggle put me off single sided!

I love the reliability of doubled-sided (Shimano M540's), and haven't had a bad clip yet. It is possible to use them with "normal" shoes but I wouldn't recommend it particularly in the wet!

HTH - Rufus.

Greenbank

I usually cycle back 3 miles from playing 5-a-side football in my astroturf boots on M540 pedals (on fixed to boot). Wouldn't want to my 8 mile commute in normal shoes on those pedals but shorter distances are fine.

llanberispass

Am I the only one riding on road pedals?

I use Look Keo with Spez Carbon Comp road shoes. Use cleat protectors when i get to work.

Hairy Jock

My Norco came with single sided clipless pedals (don't know who made them), which was using with ordinary shoes for the first couple of years. Finally started going clipless earlier this year and found it a great improvement, but like the fact I can still ride without being clipped in when things get a bit stop start in traffic.

I would recommend something along the lines of the Shimano M324 or the Wellgo Trekking Single Sided SPD for commuting.

Slim Middleton

Hi

Love the basic Shimano double sided SPD. Can't go too far wrong with that and I have tried loads of other pedals over the years.

Something that doesn't seem to get mentioned very often however is "Powergrips". Basically a strap that fits diagonally across most standard flat pedals. You insert your foot at an angle and place your foot flat on the pedal and the strap tightens up around your foot. Ridiculously simple. You can wear normal shoes so you can use your bike easily for running errands and I think they would be pretty good if you wanted to do a long bicycle tour. There are some people who swear by them and use them for competition too although I still think I would prefer clipless for more sport oriented riding. Time will tell, I only fitted my set yesterday.