Another question about SPD Pedals and Shoes

richard36

Hi

I've just read another thread abouts spd pedals and shoes, and would appreciate some advice.

I've not used spd pedals before but wonder what their benefits are. Are there any problems with having this type of pedal?

I ride a mtb which I use off road (mainly forest tracks) and on the road. Someone has recommended in another thread the Shimano M520 pedals which Parker International are selling for £15.95. I assume this is a good price and they seem to be a reasonable pedal.

Also is the Shimano MT41 a good shoe? Parkers are selling them for £36.95. Is there another shoe that is better quality for a similar price?

Thanks for your help.

Richard

Tregolwyn

SPDs allow you to give more consistent drive throughout the pedal cycle (i.e. up as well as down). Generally a huge improvement and I would not revert to platform pedals or toe clips now I have used them.

I bought the M520s from Parker for that price for my mountain bike, really good price and quick delivery, opinions of this pedal seem pretty high for the money. Can't comment on the shoes sorry.

Downsides, yes, they take a while (not too long) to get used to and when you fall off the bike is still attached.

Lagavulin

No experience with the shoes but I've had M520s on both my road bike and MTB, M540s on my road bike and have bought a set of XTR M970s for my new road bike.

Really nice series of pedals. I'm yet to try the world of road pedals but haven't felt the need to so far. I don’t race/compete so don’t feel I’m missing out greatly in the power transfer department and they’re more practical than SPD-SL’s – you can actually walk in these!

I didn't have the learning curve a lot of people seem to experience (the lad in the bike ship told me "you will fall off, but persevere” but other than a slight moment in the house when I first mounted them I’ve been fine.

CrookedCucumber

Well, I have the M250s, and 15.95 seems a bargain. I paid £25 and I thought that was a bargain

Despite what people say, there are certainly pros and cons to clipless pedals. They aren't a magic solution to all cycling problems. The pros are pretty well documented. As for the cons, I would say they include

- Can be tricky to unclip in a tricky situation.
- M520 and similar cannot easily be used with ordinary shoes
- They don't work well when muddy
- They require some maintenance

Setting up the cleats and the release tension can be fiddly too, but that's not (in my view) a major consideration as you only have to do it occasionally.

For me, it's a finely-balanced matter, whether clipless pedals are better than straps or, indeed, nothing at all. I am using clipless at the moment, but I have the good fortune to have a `spare' bike for shopping and such-like, with ordinary straps. That means I don't have to carry a spare set of shoes to the shops, or clatter around in my cleaties.

doyler78

I switched to spd's this year. Unlike most people I do not find that my times have significantly increased however the fact your foot are attached to the pedal for me has the most benefits in the rain as there is no chance of foot slippage and that's the reason why I have continued to use them ie safety.

I have the spesh mtb sport comp shoes however these are a bit more expensive than you are looking at paying however at that price point you could have these:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... M1%20Shoes

These dhbs are widely rated as being the best value shoe on the market and they seem to get very good user feedback. I got a pair of these for a friend of my bros and he loves them though he is running time atac however I doubt that makes any difference to the comfort of the shoe itself.

Just another option.

gkerr4

Lagavulin wrote:

No experience with the shoes but I've had M520s on both my road bike and MTB, M540s on my road bike and have bought a set of XTR M970s for my new road bike.

Really nice series of pedals. I'm yet to try the world of road pedals but haven't felt the need to so far. I don’t race/compete so don’t feel I’m missing out greatly in the power transfer department and they’re more practical than SPD-SL’s – you can actually walk in these!

I didn't have the learning curve a lot of people seem to experience (the lad in the bike ship told me "you will fall off, but persevere” but other than a slight moment in the house when I first mounted them I’ve been fine.

sorry for the thread hijack - but what do you think of the 970's - are they worth the money? - fancy a set for my fixed gear but keep resisiting actually ordering them givenhow cheap the 520's can be had for,

nice though!

richard36

Many thanks to those who have replied - much appreciated

Richard

Lagavulin

gkerr4 wrote:

... but what do you think of the 970's - are they worth the money? - fancy a set for my fixed gear but keep resisiting actually ordering them givenhow cheap the 520's can be had for

nice though!

Too early to tell really. Also while I've had the 520s and 540s on both my Hardtail and Allez, I've only just mounted these on my new bike and it's a bit of a rocketship compared to what I've been used to.

I managed to get the XTRs cheap from Wiggle (OEM but in original box, instructions and cleats) but while I suspect they'll be quite a bit better the 520s are just a steal.

doyler78

gkerr4 wrote:

Lagavulin wrote:

No experience with the shoes but I've had M520s on both my road bike and MTB, M540s on my road bike and have bought a set of XTR M970s for my new road bike.

Really nice series of pedals. I'm yet to try the world of road pedals but haven't felt the need to so far. I don’t race/compete so don’t feel I’m missing out greatly in the power transfer department and they’re more practical than SPD-SL’s – you can actually walk in these!

I didn't have the learning curve a lot of people seem to experience (the lad in the bike ship told me "you will fall off, but persevere” but other than a slight moment in the house when I first mounted them I’ve been fine.

sorry for the thread hijack - but what do you think of the 970's - are they worth the money? - fancy a set for my fixed gear but keep resisiting actually ordering them givenhow cheap the 520's can be had for,

nice though!

Now here's a really nice looking pedal.

http://xpedo.com/pedals/rf.htm (the ti/ti RF-S1A @ bottom the page)

SPD but with a roadie look and very, very light @ 164gm not the 205gm quoted on their own website. I confirmed this with them. Still dithering over whether to buy them myself.