Clipless pedals

tomsapples2000

I've never used clipless pedals before, on those long climbs I often think to myself "How much extra juice would I be getting if I went clipless" so perhaps it's time to bridge that gap.

I've only got the one bike, so I'd like pedals that could be used with normal shoes for short journeys, and if possible a pedal that would still be alright to ride on unclipped if things are getting a bit hairy, but most of my biking is over fairly manageable terrain.

I've looked at the Shimano double sided ones where one side has the binding, the other side is a rat trap style pedal, but there seemed to be a lot of complaints about always getting the wrong side.

I have however seen these:

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=produ ... egoryId=81

Where it specifically says 'can be used with normal shoes' but reviews are torn as to whether it's a good idea or not. Can anyone provide me with some more advice?

Thanks for any help!

tomsapples2000

Or these, which seem to be equivalents only resin rather than metal:

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... edals_M424

Ciaran500

tomsapples2000 wrote:

Or these, which seem to be equivalents only resin rather than metal:

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... edals_M424

Remember reading a few impressions of those on forums, most people had trouble with the cage cracking/falling off after a rock strike. If you want pedals with a cage I'd spend a bit more money.

Big Red S

With the caged-spd pedals you've got to bear in mind that they're only designed for SPDs.

You *can* ride them with normal shoes, and it is substantially easier than on 'pure' spd pedals, but it's still a pain. The binding mechanism is always protruding above the cage, and the cage itself isn't really designed for grip in the same way a normal caged pedal cage is.

GibboGT

in all honesty I think you'd be better with two sets of pedals, caged pedals will leave you feeling very unsafe and insecure when riding with trainers.

I'm getting some v12's with my new bike, and have some fairly cheap shimano m520's that i'm going to get some shoes for and give clipless a go.

tomsapples2000

I've got V8s on my bike at the moment which are fantastic, a great improvement over the rat-traps they came with. It's not that difficult to change a pedal so I'd keep the V8s as spares.

S_J_P

I use M545's which I bought because I intended to use them with both SPD shoes and trainers, but I've only ever ridden in trainers once since.

The clip mechanism sits proud of the cage, and so trainers don't actually touch the cage on all sides, and the clip-mechanism presses into the sole of the shoe. You aren't securely affixed to the pedal, and it's painful :?

I also found that once I'd experienced the security of clipless, I didn't want to go back to flats ever again 8)

The cages also tend to clag-up with dirt and mud during the winter months (along with spring and autumn )

If I were buying again, I'd go for a proper cageless pedal, as I don't think the benefits of the cage are anywhere near worth the hassles!

taliesyn

You could try Shimano PD-M324 Pedals. They've got the SPD clip on one side, but the other side is completely flat. They're more like the old style caged alloy pedals

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... ano%20M324

Splasher

If you've not used clipless pedals before, I would definitely not get the M525 or the M424 pedals. They use an older release mechanism which doesn't handle mud as well as the new open system and doesn't release as well. This translates in use to being difficult to get in and out which you do not need when new to the whole clipless lark.

I have tried M520s, M540s, M424s, M324s and M647s over the years and on various bikes. The two stars of the show are M540s and M647s which use the same release mechanism. The M647 is caged and £45 from Merlin the M540 is not caged and £25.

abbots_mike

other option is to try one of the crankbrothers eggbeater range. not spuds but still clipless.

http://www.crankbrothers.com/eggbeater.php
look at smarty, acid or mallet

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=categ ... egoryId=63
for prices

janwal

After a similar thread a couple of weeks ago I bought some Power Grips straps from
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... tOrderID=0
They are brilliant ,give you the advantages of clips but can be used with any shoes.Google them and you will find a lot of reviews.

Neil Fat man on a bike

S_J_P wrote:

I use M545's which I bought because I intended to use them with both SPD shoes and trainers, but I've only ever ridden in trainers once since.

The clip mechanism sits proud of the cage, and so trainers don't actually touch the cage on all sides, and the clip-mechanism presses into the sole of the shoe. You aren't securely affixed to the pedal, and it's painful :?

I also found that once I'd experienced the security of clipless, I didn't want to go back to flats ever again 8)

The cages also tend to clag-up with dirt and mud during the winter months (along with spring and autumn )

If I were buying again, I'd go for a proper cageless pedal, as I don't think the benefits of the cage are anywhere near worth the hassles!

I use both and I reckon the ones with the cages are better.
Sure the mechanism sticks up proud of the cage, but there still good enough for nippin down the shops wearing trainners, but when yourve got your cycling shoes on the cages also help to support the foot and are much better on long rides and are easier to get your foot up and power down on hill starts ( after opening/shutting gates etc.) ie if you dont clip in first time you still have your foot on a decent cage to get started and then clip in.
I need to get a new pair and it will be the shimano's with full cage both sides that I'll get again. I have tried the cageless ones and find them slightly more prone to slipping your foot if you fail to engage first time and a right pain for nipping out on when your wearing trainners. I did once have those platforms that clip on to spuds, but they were bloody useless and kept falling off.

Have you got any friends that ride with spuds ? give theres a try and see how you get on.

ross_mcculloch

Those power grips are an excellent idea, are the easy enough to get in and out of?

pothole seeker

I have a set of M647. these were my first set of clipless pedals. I've had them for about 3 months and I think I'd now prefer something lighter and cageless.

I don't know how much benefit you get from the cage to be honest. I learned clipless on these and I suppose at the start I ocassionally clipped out and used them as flats on tricky north shore for example. 99% of the time I was clipped in and now I never clip out. If there is the need you could always clip out of cageless pedals and just stand on them for a particular section you were unsire off.

I'm think of swapping over to crank brothers. Some Candy C ones, 308g compared to the M647 of 568g

Anyone one use these? heard they are easy to move in, I presume they clip out in the same twist manner as the SPDs. A mate has them and has used both them and SPDs and said that there wasn't a huge difference

tjm

I agree with all the comments about caged SPDs. I have some 424s (I think, resin cage, double sided).
they are very uncomfortable with normal shoes, they are more difficult to release in a hurry and don't like mud.

Needless to say I don't use them. I just keep my 540s on the bike and use them with normal shoes if I need to for short distances.

stumpyjon

I wouldn't recommend the cage one side / SPD other side pedals. I learnt on them and they make the learning curve a lot steeper. Not only have you got to master clipping in (which I've always found the most difficult part) but you also have to learn to flip the pedal as the cleat side is always hanging down. This makes getting clipped in on technical stuff very difficult.

Thermo1

janwal wrote:

After a similar thread a couple of weeks ago I bought some Power Grips straps from
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... tOrderID=0
They are brilliant ,give you the advantages of clips but can be used with any shoes.Google them and you will find a lot of reviews.

Yeah PowerGrips are quite good but in order to get a decent grip you need to constantly twist your foot into them to lock them down. I found this caused a lot of strain on my feet and they would eventually go numb.

forgotrafe

I've got M540s on my bikes. It's not only me that likes them - my mate is replacing his egg-beaters with a set.

Thermo1

You could buy a set of plain old SPDs (520s would be my choice) and get a set of Amoeba pedal adapters. They are a snap-on metal cage which you can clip into one side of the pedal. They would give you the advantages of a M324 but the option to go double-sided as your confidence increased.

E.g. http://www.rbinc-sports.com/07_bike_amoeba_acc.htm

spudulike

I've got some Crank Brothers Smartys (Smarties?) and they're certainly not much use as flats. The clip mechanism sits proud of the the plastic surround so your foot never sits properly on the pedal if you're not clipped in.

The cage really just serves to protect the mechanism from rocks.