Message for AlfaBlue & Any Others In The Know?

Soni

Hi AlfaBlue, you posted in another thread regarding tyres as i've been suffering too many flats.

You recommended the Specialized All Conditions Pro (here: http://www.mailordercycles.com/products ... b0s121p808)

I'm now compiling Chrimbo list and would like to know if they will definetely be compatible with my bike//wheels before i purchase? As i will be purchasing on-line.

The bike is a Trek 1.5 2009 and the tyres at present are Bontrager Select B 700/25...

The wheels are Bontrager SSR.

Also, i would like to get a pair of road shoes and clipless pedals, preferably the pedals in white to suit my bike, was looking at these:-

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... goryID=403

Would they be compatible with my bike? Do you know of any shoes around the £50.00 mark that would be compatible with those clips?

Apologies for so many questions, but i'm not really in the know of what is compatible with what as i know there are mountain bike pedals/shoes and road bike pedals/shoes, and different varietys/setups within each type :evil:

Thank you in advance.

Soni

Monty Dog

The tyres are compatible, but are a little narrower than the ones you have fitted currently - 23mm versus 25mm - they'll feel 'faster' but might not be quite a comfortable. In terms of the Time pedals, all current road shoes use a standard 3-hole cleat pattern which are compable with the likes of Time, Look, Shimano - the only real exception being speedplay which require a special adaptor plate. For info, MTB shoes have a different 2-hole cleat fixing which do not accept the majority of road pedal cleats.

duckson

Speedplay fit to the 3 hole cleat pattern, everything you need is supplied with the pedals/cleats.

Soni

Thanks for the replies guys, would you go for Road Pedals of MTB?

I've been to a shop this afternoon who recommended MTB, but my LBS is a specialist and really knows his stuff and he says a road bike should have road pedals, but the bike club i've started riding with all have MTB as they reckon they are better to get in/out and also you can walk in the shoes as opposed to the road shoes, and also you can clip in both sides of the pedals......

Which would you guys recommend?

Anonymous

Re: Tyres -
Yes, they will fit fine and should be good for 90% of riding. 23mm are all I use on my road bikes. An important thing to remember is to keep your tyres pressures high (c.100psi), this helps reduce the number of punctures immensely.

Re: Pedals -
Those Time pedals will be compatible with all major road shoe brands.
For club riding / riding in the winter you probably are better off with MTB shoes TBH. I use road pedals on my road bikes but sometimes in the wet at cafe stops and the like it can get dangerously close to an embarrassing sliding moment quite often. Furthermore, walking in the cleats, unless you have cleat protectors with you, damages the cleats very quickly. MTB shoes have a grip on them that, well, grips, as well as protecting the cleat...
Some rides we do go up steep hills that when wet and covered in leaves/mud can be unrideable. Trying to walk up with road shoes and cleats is somewhat difficult...

As a result I'm seriously thinking of getting some Shimano 540s myself for my winter bike and using my MTB shoes over this winter. In fact, I think I've just talked myself into it!

Hope this helps.

Monty Dog

Choice of pedals and cleats really depends on how much walking about you're planning - if you're going to use your bike for commuting, general riding about and regular cafe stops and the like then MTB shoes are a good idea - however, road shoes and cleats feel more positive because of the bigger cleat - you feel more attached to the bike and your foot doesn't rock so much. Many people use MTB shoes and cleats in winter because you're more likely to be stopping for punctures/mechanicals or walking into the cafe. Re tyre width - I'd recommend 25mm for training / winter use and keep the skinny ones for summer / racing.

Soni

Hi Monty Dog, just looked for some 25mm tyres, but there doesn't seem to be many about?

Most seem to be 23mm.....

Soni

NapoleonD wrote:

Re: Tyres -
Yes, they will fit fine and should be good for 90% of riding. 23mm are all I use on my road bikes. An important thing to remember is to keep your tyres pressures high (c.100psi), this helps reduce the number of punctures immensely.

Re: Pedals -
Those Time pedals will be compatible with all major road shoe brands.
For club riding / riding in the winter you probably are better off with MTB shoes TBH. I use road pedals on my road bikes but sometimes in the wet at cafe stops and the like it can get dangerously close to an embarrassing sliding moment quite often. Furthermore, walking in the cleats, unless you have cleat protectors with you, damages the cleats very quickly. MTB shoes have a grip on them that, well, grips, as well as protecting the cleat...
Some rides we do go up steep hills that when wet and covered in leaves/mud can be unrideable. Trying to walk up with road shoes and cleats is somewhat difficult...

As a result I'm seriously thinking of getting some Shimano 540s myself for my winter bike and using my MTB shoes over this winter. In fact, I think I've just talked myself into it!

Hope this helps.

Hi Napoleon,

Are these MTB pedals any good?

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... goryID=404

Also, will these shoes be compatible with the above pedals?

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... ctID=11642

Is there much difference between the pedals on this page?

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/rangeViewer ... 404&page=1

I'm not really bothered about weight, just want a decent pedal that my foot isn't going to slip on....

doyler78

Monty Dog wrote:

The tyres are compatible, but are a little narrower than the ones you have fitted currently - 23mm versus 25mm - they'll feel 'faster' but might not be quite a comfortable. In terms of the Time pedals, all current road shoes use a standard 3-hole cleat pattern which are compable with the likes of Time, Look, Shimano - the only real exception being speedplay which require a special adaptor plate. For info, MTB shoes have a different 2-hole cleat fixing which do not accept the majority of road pedal cleats.

One thing I doubt you could ever describe Armadillos as is fast. They are the worst rolling tyres I have ever had the misfortune to ride however they are extremely puncture proof so for the OP they will certainly do what he wants. I never had a puncture on them though once I rode other tyres with better rolling I just couldn't bring myself to use them again. I guess if I was stuck at the side of the road with persistent puncturing then I may change my mind again.

Soni

I've decided to opt for these:-

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/9625.html

at £9.99 each they have received rave reviews!

avoidingmyphd

they aren't armadillos...

Soni

avoidingmyphd wrote:

they aren't armadillos...

What Aren't?

avoidingmyphd

sorry soni, it was a bit short of me.

doyler78 made a point about your suggested tyres (all condition pros) but he was talking about the (slower and more puncture proof) armadillos.

(maybe because they're red in the picture you linked? tell me you're planning on getting the plain black ones?!)

Soni

avoidingmyphd wrote:

sorry soni, it was a bit short of me.

doyler78 made a point about your suggested tyres (all condition pros) but he was talking about the (slower and more puncture proof) armadillos.

(maybe because they're red in the picture you linked? tell me you're planning on getting the plain black ones?!)

Hi mate, yeah will definetely get the black ones if i was to go for them ones, don't think the red would really go with my green bike

But, i've noticed they are only 23mm, the ones i have at present are 25mm, and i've decided to stick we 25mm so have decided on the Bontrager HardCase that i linked to above plus they are only £9.99 per tyre.

Maybe you can help me on this one - how do you know what shoes are compatible with what SPD pedals, as i'm looking at these Specialized shoes:- http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... ctID=11642

And wondering whether they will be compatible with these Shimano pedals:-

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... goryID=404

??

or these Shimano shoes:- http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... ctID=12842

??

avoidingmyphd

All mountain bike shoes that specify "SPD" will be compatible with all Shimano SPD mountain bike pedals.

So both your linked shoes will fit those pedals.

You can see this for yourself:
Your suggested pedals are SPD.
The Shimano shoes are called SPD, so we know they are compatible
And the specialized ones say "2-bolt SPD-style cleat pattern" in the details, so we know they are too.

[The only trap to be wary of is mixing up shimano's MTB "SPD" pedals with their road "SPD-SL" pedals. If you avoid that, then you should be able to spot the compatibility yourself.]

Hope that helps! I can't comment on the bontrager hardcases vs the specialized ac's i'm afraid. I've only used the latter.

h14turbo

Hi, I also have a Trek 1.5, I found that the original tires were crap, I got loads of punctures. I replaced them with Bontrager Race x lite tires. Which are much better, never had a puncture with them.

Anonymous

Soni wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

Re: Tyres -
Yes, they will fit fine and should be good for 90% of riding. 23mm are all I use on my road bikes. An important thing to remember is to keep your tyres pressures high (c.100psi), this helps reduce the number of punctures immensely.

Re: Pedals -
Those Time pedals will be compatible with all major road shoe brands.
For club riding / riding in the winter you probably are better off with MTB shoes TBH. I use road pedals on my road bikes but sometimes in the wet at cafe stops and the like it can get dangerously close to an embarrassing sliding moment quite often. Furthermore, walking in the cleats, unless you have cleat protectors with you, damages the cleats very quickly. MTB shoes have a grip on them that, well, grips, as well as protecting the cleat...
Some rides we do go up steep hills that when wet and covered in leaves/mud can be unrideable. Trying to walk up with road shoes and cleats is somewhat difficult...

As a result I'm seriously thinking of getting some Shimano 540s myself for my winter bike and using my MTB shoes over this winter. In fact, I think I've just talked myself into it!

Hope this helps.

Hi Napoleon,

Are these MTB pedals any good?

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... goryID=404

Also, will these shoes be compatible with the above pedals?

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... ctID=11642

Is there much difference between the pedals on this page?

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/rangeViewer ... 404&page=1

I'm not really bothered about weight, just want a decent pedal that my foot isn't going to slip on....

Yes, those are the pedals I'd get (I have those on my mtb and they are great). Those shoes will work with those pedals. Looks like you have the pedal/shoe thing sorted then!
I would choose those first shimano pedals over all the others on the page you linked to later on the post as they give, IMO, the best compromise between function and price.

alfablue

You can find 700x25 All Conditions Pro's online, just not at such a favourable price. The Hardcases are well rated, maybe not so puncture resistant, but they are cheap. Depends on your priorities.

Soni

Thanks guys for your replies, i'll be going for the Bontrager tyres as i have a Budget of £100 and need to get the pedals, shoes, and tyres within as close to that budget as possible.

Soni

h14turbo wrote:

Hi, I also have a Trek 1.5, I found that the original tires were crap, I got loads of punctures. I replaced them with Bontrager Race x lite tires. Which are much better, never had a puncture with them.

Hi h14turbo, Is yours the 2008 or 2009 model?

doyler78

avoidingmyphd wrote:

sorry soni, it was a bit short of me.

doyler78 made a point about your suggested tyres (all condition pros) but he was talking about the (slower and more puncture proof) armadillos.

(maybe because they're red in the picture you linked? tell me you're planning on getting the plain black ones?!)

:oops: :oops: yep re-read and you are of course quite right. Never tried those spesh tyres so can't comment on them though the armadillos are extremely good puncture protection wise just so awful at rolling.