Road shoe and SPD advice

daniel_b

Hello there,

myself and my gf have recently acquired some new roadbikes, and neither are fitted with SPD pedals.

Any recommendations on what variety of pedals to go for, I'm assuming Shimano is a safe bet?

And also what type/make of shoe to go for, Shimano again?

Are ratchet far superior to velcro only??

Any good websites apart from CRC and Wiggle?

Cheers

Dan

McBain_v1

Lots of questions there!

There are loads of pedal systems out there, Shimano being just one. I like (but haven't got yet) Speedplay pedals, you can also go for Look, Time, CrankBros etc. etc.

There are even more shoe types out there, currently I ride Shimano and Diadora ALU.

I've never had a ratchet on my shoes, velcro fastenings have always proven adequate so far.

As for websites - good grief man, there are hundreds!

piedwagtail91

if you want to ride and then walk around somewhere istick with shimano or another type thats recessed into the sole.
i had look when i had a road bike but they wre too slippery to walk in , i've seen riders end up on their backside walking from cafe to bike.they are good if you don't need to stop.
i haven't found much differance between ratchet and velcro, i have both.(diadora)
i bought them from merlin http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/acatalog/Shoes.html but i live nearby and could try them on.
i use shimano 959 double sided spd pedals, but they've now brought out an upgrade. 970 i think.
the 540 are the same design as the 959's but differnt materials.i've found them to be a good reliable pedal. http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/acatalog/Pedals.html

ColinJ

Hi Daniel. Just a warning if you try buying Shimano shoes by mail order - they are very small for their nominal size. SIDI size 45 is about right for my UK size 10 feet, but size 45 Shimanos are much too tight for me. I had to buy a pair in size 46 to get them to fit.

OnTow

Well I wanted to stick with SPD pedals because they're supposed to be easier for beginners - easier to release from, and I bought shoes I can walk in - SPD-SL and the other cleat types are larger.

I went for Shimano PDA-520 pedals - they're single sided platforms that are very light, well priced, and available from Wiggle etc.
They have a reasonably good "float" too, to reduce knee problems - though the other types of cleat generally have pedals with good float.

I'd recommend getting your shoes fitted at a decent store - I found I was getting "hot foot" after ramping up the mileage on my very old generation-1 Shimano SPD touring shoes.

I've found my Specialized BG "MTB" shoes to be superb - They instantly felt superb when I put them on - See the Spez. website for details on their "body geometry" technology - They tend to be quite small - I think I went up 2 sizes.
They are entirely velcro strapped.
You can walk in them too.
Main advantage is the metatarsal button.

If they don't instantly feel superb, then you may find Sidi a good brand.

I'd say that good fitting shoes is really high on priority list, having suffered from painful feet - there's nothing worse than not being able to get out there and ride / walk.

If you're in London, Condor's a great place to go - or Cyclefit.
Sigma Sport Kingston have a good stock of shoes too.

pipeman

if you have a Decathlon store near you have a look at what they have,,i got double sided for MTB,and single sided for tourer,from them,both include cleats for a lot less than Shimano,,,and so far they've been good!!!

Gambatte

I've got the decathlon (Wellgo) SPDs on the roadie and proper shimanos on the MTB. Reason is I do find the Shimanos are easier to clip both in and out. As theres more likelihood of wanting to do either very quickly on an MTB ......

Got to say Decathlon are always worth a check, infinitely better to go in than look online.

For shoes I'd say go try some. I got some 'Lakes' from JE James. I didn't buy the size I would have ordered online, 3rd or 4th pair I tried. Definitely feels strange the first time you try walking, due to the soles being much stiffer

Loads of other websites, just google for the part you're after and they'll turn up. I've used JE James, pedalon, Evans, Just make sure they have free delivery!

simon_e

I picked up some Shimano MT40 shoes and M520 SPDs from Merlin for less than the shoes alone elsewhere. They are a bargain at that price, both work fine and the shoes fit very well.

I would also recommend trying shoes on if you can - both for fit and for walking in (if you anticipate spending even a little time off the bike). Otherwise if buying Shimano go for one Euro size larger than usual - I bought 43 when in other shoes 42 would normally fit me perfectly.