Beginners guide to SPD pedals?

Chunkin

Living in Yorkshire – well known for being flat – my commute to work is a doddle; 7km with a nice gentle 250m drop according to memory map. Mostly on road, but 1km is along a muddy bridle path. I’m doing it in 18 minutes, compared to the 13-15 minutes that it takes me in the car along a less direct road route.

The obvious drawback of that gentle drop is that the ride home again is a right pain, being uphill all the way and taking me twice as long.

I’ve read some things about SPD pedals, and it looks as if they would benefit me as I would use different muscles to help pull up on the pedals as well as pushing down. At an ebay shop I see new “Shimano PD-M520 SPD Clipless Pedals” complete with cleats and fixings for £18. These pedals get 4 stars in the review on this site. Looks a good place to start.

Problem is, I don’t know if I’ve got hold of the right end of the stick. Is there a beginners guide to these pedals on this site (I’ve tried to search and can’t find one)?

I presume that I won’t be able to use my scabby old trainers with those pedal and need to buy some Shimano (or some other brand, but the same brand as the pedals seems a safe bet for compatibility) ones. I thought about “Shimano MT70 MTB Shoes” at £50 from Evans. Do I need to buy anything else? Do the shoes clip straight into the pedals? And how do they clip on and off? I’ve read various comedy stories about people falling over when they have stopped and still been clipped in.

What do you think? Would these pedals help? I presume that they’ll fit my month old Avalanche 1.0.

Thanks in advance

andrewjoseph

you can get any mtb clipless shoe to work with the pedals. best bet is to go to your local shop and try them on. cycle shoes are not built the same as trainers, you may need a bigger size. Specialized are good comfortable shoes too, other makes are sidi, northwave, etc.

once you have your shoes, pedals and cleats, you need to make sure you adjust the cleats to suit your foot's natural angle. Check you feet as you ride on you old pedals and take note of the angle they point. try to replicate that angle with your cleat placement.

the cleat needs to be around the ball of the big toe area, slightly behind is preferred to in front.

For shimano you can buy multi release cleats that make it easier to get out of the pedals, the single release is one way only.

to release the foot you twist out from the ankle, (imagine stepping on a cigarette butt), this is easier at the bottom of the stroke. unclip you favoured foot first, then the other as you are slowing to a stop.

Don't pull up too hard on the backstroke at first, you can damage ankle ligaments that are not used to the effort.

Tailend Charlie

They are just pedals, so they will swap with the original fittings on your avalanche with no problem. See here http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=83 if you haven't changed pedals before.

In terms of helping your pedalling, clipping your feet to the pedal and using a stiffer soled shoe as you are proposing will certainly improve your efficiency. You can adjust spring tension to make them easier to clip out of, thus reducing the liklihood of a "spud moment"

TBH the biggest hassle is fitting the cleats to the shoes, because you need to locate and align them properly, or your knees may suffer. Its not too difficult if you take your time, but remember to tighten the cleat before you try it in the pedal or the shoe can be difficult to get off again.

There are a few other systems out there worth thinking abput, but spd work fine.

handful

Hi chunkin. I'm new to this as well having bought an Avavanche a month ago. I fitted 520's in a bid to help on the hills and I reckon it gives me something like 20% efficiency. Merlin do some good shoe + pedal deals, I paid £49.99 for mine. I am now fairly used to using them after a couple of forgetful moments :oops: . No actual falls though so that's good....not out of the woods yet though.

I didn't bother with multi release cleats but have left the standard ones in the default setting which is a little slack and allows for a bit of float and also allows a bit for a panicked release whilst still not unclipping I don't want them to.

I certainly won't be going back to flats

redvee

When you do go the clipless route, a worthwhile purchase will be some of these They are needed in the first weeks/months of SPDs.

littleandy0410

Or these: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Push_Universal_Stabilisers_For_12-20_Inch_Wheels/5360027955/

Pedals a bit cheaper here: http://merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=product&productId=720&categoryId=81

I use specialized shoes, they're good,but I found I needed a size bigger than normal.

singlespeedexplosif

I presume that I won’t be able to use my scabby old trainers with those pedal and need to buy some Shimano (or some other brand, but the same brand as the pedals seems a safe bet for compatibility) ones.

you'll need some proper shoes, yep. No real compatability issues, nearly all MTB shoes will work with shimano cleats

I thought about “Shimano MT70 MTB Shoes” at £50 from Evans.

decent shoes

Do I need to buy anything else?

no. cleats come with pedals. attach to shoes, ride.

Do the shoes clip straight into the pedals?

you attach a cleat to the sole and the cleat engages with the pedal. Bit like ski boots/bindings.

And how do they clip on and off?

quick twist of the ankle outwards. dead easy. You can change the resistance levels so when you start it's really easy to unclip

I’ve read various comedy stories about people falling over when they have stopped and still been clipped in.

rites of passage. everyone does it - but you only do it once or twice. Best if you just get out to a field and just ride around and deliberately try to fall off your bike. you get the hang of unclipping really easily.

jayson

As above, the benefits of spuds far outweigh any negatives u may encounter whilst u get used to them.

Its a rite of passage where ur not truly a fully fledged mtb'er until you've expeienced a few slow motion comedy falls whilst beng clipped in, usually infront of a big crowd of people too :oops:

Chunkin

Thanks everybody. It's much clearer now.

Hadn't come across Merlin before. And my cat is called merlin too

I'll wrap myself up in cotton wool and go and sort some out.

Should make the trip home easier. I use a rowing machine at home (a lot...), which has foot plates that my feet are secured too. On the return stroke (when my arse is heading back to the front of the rower) I pull with my legs as much as with my arms so those are the muscles I think I'll be using with the SPD's. If this does turn out to be the case I should be well sorted as those muscles are now pretty strong.

I'll pass on the armour and stabilisers, but I think I understand what you're saying! :P

redvee

Chunkin wrote:

I'll pass on the armour and stabilisers, but I think I understand what you're saying! :P

Don't come running to us when you've broken your knees looking for sympathy

spid

Anyone got a view on these - http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... uctID=6429

Could do with the choice of normal shoes when larking around with the kids.

handful

Hi spid. I looked at these and also the 545's (I think from memory) My research told me that the general concensus is that they are the worst of both worlds rather than the best. The ones in your link especially are fragile apparantly and the dual purpose ones generally tend to get clogged with mud easily compared to full on spd's. I am more than satisfied with my 520's and at the price I got them for from Merlin are a bargain imo.

omegas

The M424 pedal in the link are fine for general off road use, they do have the old type closed mechanism .

As for using with normal shoes I would say they are ok for short trip round the park but the mechanism will be pressing in to the bottom of a normal shoe and in the wet your feet will have problems staying on the cage.

spid

Thanks for the replies.

What's the answer then? Are there any better ones or do I accept that I will have to change the pedals each time?

I suppose the other option is I keep an old bike for rides round the park!

handful

I had a similar dilemma but took the view that if I really want to go for a ride around the park it only takes 30 seconds to put me spd shoes on so I chose a pair that look just like a pair of casual shoes so don't stand out as being OTT for such casual use. 8)

With a casual pair of jeans or shorts nobody would ever know I was wearlng them apart from maybe the tell tale "clack" when I click in.

Like I mentioned before, I got my 520s in a pedal + shoe deal from Merlin and think they are very good value.

Ste-9n2

ive just got myself a set of 520`s and some Specialised shoes for my bike and i cant work out for the life of me how to clip them in! help

craker

Ste-9n2 wrote:

ive just got myself a set of 520`s and some Specialised shoes for my bike and i cant work out for the life of me how to clip them in! help

they require a heck of a lot of force to clip in - body weight - are your pedals on your bike yet? I guess the only way you might have a problem is if the pedals are on the wrong way round (is this possible) or the cleats back to front on your shoes. The front of the cleat engages with the front of the pedal, then lever the shoe down at the back.

LBS will be able to help otherwise.

Stewwmb

Just a testiment for the M520s I've had mine for about 2 years now and never had a problem with them, sometimes they clog with mud a bit but a few kicks usually clears it.

They even withstood a pretty hefty knock from a rock when I was travelling pretty fast. knocked my foot out of the pedal but they still work fine and I cant find any damage.

Get some you will never look back.

gnarly-ass-rider

yep deffo a good move
prepare for allot of spd moments lol

Ste-9n2

mr_si wrote:

Ste-9n2 wrote:

ive just got myself a set of 520`s and some Specialised shoes for my bike and i cant work out for the life of me how to clip them in! help

they require a heck of a lot of force to clip in - body weight - are your pedals on your bike yet? I guess the only way you might have a problem is if the pedals are on the wrong way round (is this possible) or the cleats back to front on your shoes. The front of the cleat engages with the front of the pedal, then lever the shoe down at the back.

LBS will be able to help otherwise.

Thanks yea there fitted and ive managed to get them to fit now there tight thou and i think i need a lot of practice with these! but im sure il get the nack of it

Nik_B

Well what ever you do don't buy the one sided clipless pedals!