Shoes/pedal advice

andy81

I bought my first road bike in October, being a Carrera Valour on the cycle to work scheme, and have since been really getting into it.

I'm now getting to the stage where I'm keen to get some proper shoes and clipless pedals, but not knowing what to look for, I'm a bit unsure where to start. I've been looking on the forum and know that the SPD SLs and Look pedals get good reviews, but other than that am a bit clueless.

As you may guess from my choice of bike, as a beginner I'm keen not to spend a fortune on this, and was looking at the DHB range on Wiggle.com (I've been pretty happy with DHB purchased so far), but not sure how good these shoes are compared to the rest of the market.

Any advice on what pedals/shoes to go for, sizing advice etc would be very welcome!

Thanks

Andy

huggy

I had this same problem just last week - go on to ebay and type in R540 SPD SL
They are probably the cheapest you're going to find pedals and most on there come with float cleats. As for shoes, well I bought a pair that were reduced from £129.99 to £49.99:

http://shop.devercycles.co.uk/product/2 ... oggio_Shoe

http://shop.devercycles.co.uk/index.htm ... ksearch=86

Just have a look on that site, they're pretty cheap if they have your size. Also, ebay sell Shimano road shoes for £20-£30 - try typing in SHIMANO SH-RO61

One thing to be sure of is the compatibility - if you want SPD SL make sure there are 3 holes in a triangle on the sole!

Huggy

wilkies80

I would be wary of buying shoes on flea bay.( unless you've bought similar ones before and know they'll fit ) Shoes are something that you need to try on first because of different fits in the same size. I use Sidi shoes and had to buy a size bigger as they are a small fit. Get yourself to your LBS and see what they've got and what advice they give you as you'll be spending a few hours at a time in the shoes. Enjoy !!

thenumber8

as per the last post, you really need to try shoes on. different brands tend to suit different widths (sidi are known for being narrow, specialized are good for wide feet). better to spend a bit extra and get the right pair rather than take a punt on a pair on ebay and find out they don't really fit too well.

andy81

Thanks for the advice, I'll have a look over the weekend. I live in the Reading area, does anyone know of any decent cycle shops in the area? I've had a look in AW Cycles and Action bikes, but wasn't overly impressed with either of them.

sloboy

Other ones to try would be Pedalon in Tadley, Mountain High in Pangborne

daniel_b

Not exactly in the area as such, but Banjo Cycles in Newbury is an awesome store, run by enthusiasts for enthusiasts.

http://www.banjocycles.com/

I'm not 100% sure what stock of shoes and pedals they have though, so I would suggest that if you are going to visit you call them first.

Pedalon i have heard of, but haven't made it to yet.

Cheers

Dan

skims

best advice i was given when buying my first set of shoes and pedals was go to a good LBS and find someone in there who rides or races and knows what hes talking about.tell him your buget and what your mainly going to use them for

andy81

Popped along to a few LBSs over the weekend, and think I'm sorted with shoes. On the pedals side of things, I'm torn between the Look Keo classics and Shimano R540 SPD SLs. The impression I've got is that there's not a lot between them, though has anyone got any pointers?

McBain_v1

I ride Shimano pedals (Dura Ace and Ultegra SPD SL's) on all my bikes and have not really encountered any problems. The plastic cleats do tend to wear quite fast if you end up having to walk a bit (e.g. inbetween bike and cafe front door) but other than that I haven't had any "unable to unclip falls" for ages.