SPD VS wellgo

blablablacksheep

I coem to a point now where i relised i need some pedals after the anoying slipping affect from my bike when i on trails ect.

i wondering though from reading articals on this site and speaking to people what to get.

I hear lots of good things about wellgo MG1s but been told i should consider some SPDs and mountain bike shoes instead as MG1s are really better for BMX/DOWNHILL rather than XC ect.


also i rather not get some wellgos then relise they dont work enough then have to get SPDs...



Spd wise what are good? i really looking to spend no more than 45ish quid on pedals and around 60ish on shoes.


i heard these are good but no sure which ones..


http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cra ... s-ec008947

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cra ... s-ec007546

Shoe wise i have no idea though.. advise wellcome.


p.s with SPD how hard is it to get in and out of them? i know it isnt as easy ofc as flats but is it really that bad ie no chance to unclip easy if you fall ect.

i never used SPDs before:(

Si78

Hi

Ive been using spd's for a couple of weeks now. Im slowly getting used to them, and have noticed i can get a lot more power down on the pedals. For the first few rides my legs were killing me, but now i realise it was because my feet/legs must have been in the 'wrong' positions when using flats.

Ive got them set on the slackest setting, so quite easy to unclip...just have to keep telling yourself to unclip for the first few rides

Overall, im very impressed, and feel a lot more in control. Thought I would struggle cos im not very coordinated, but have not fallen over yet (touch wood).

I got shimano M520 pedals and cleats, £20 delivered from merlin.
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=produ ... egoryId=81

Specialized Sport mtb shoes, £52 delivered from cyclestore.co.uk (very comfy)
http://cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails. ... ctID=11642

Hope that helps,
Si

**EDIT: forgot to say that these were recommended to me by the good people on this forum , so thanx again)

chorscroft

I have the exact combo of the above poster, m520 pedals and specialized sport mtb shoes.

I find that although I can get much more power down on the spds, particularly climbing, I will switch over to skate shoes and my wellgo mg-1s for doing more technical stuff or things I'm less confident on.

Eventually though once I improve I'll probably switch completely to spds, but the mg-1s are always nice to have.

XxxBFGxxX

i am gona try spd's on my piont reyes till i get used to them then i will sling a set on my susser.

blablablacksheep

i wondering with the crank bros and the shimano ones i was told by a guy that the crank bros are much better as they attract less muc ect.

but i wondering you said

slackest setting

would the crank bros ones have simular thing where you can ajust them?

i might try see if i can test some SPDs out hopefully sometime.

MIchael Cummings

I moved to the Shimano 520's. Brilliant. I also got a pair of Adidas Minrett shoes. Perfect for me and what I do. And all for under £60

Never looked back either. I feel much safer clipped in than I do when not

Northwind

OTOH, I do all my riding on MG1s... natural XC, trail centres (green blue red orange and black), commuting If I had an exercise bike, it'd probably have MG1s as well :roll: The best bet is to try both, there are times I wish I was clipped in and there's times I'm glad I'm not. I think that arguably clipless is better than flats in most situations that we ride in, but more importantly whichever you're most comfortable with is the right pedal- neither is so much better or worse that it's a clear choice IMO.

MG1s are the default flat pedal recommendation as they're so damn good, but if you want to try a proper flat pedal you don't need to spend that much. Something like this:

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/865.html

Will give you a feel for what a flat should feel like, the joke pedals you get with bikes are good for nothing but hurting yourself.

blablablacksheep

tbh id rather not buy both as it quite exspencive getting both and seems a waste of cash.


i looking into getting the crank bros ones but looking for some reviews on them to see if they any good, as so far only heard the good stuff from riders around my area.

Northwind

blablablacksheep wrote:

tbh id rather not buy both as it quite exspencive getting both and seems a waste of cash.

There's a chance it's a waste of cash, but there's also a chance that only trying one means you never find the setup that's right for you. I mean, there's a chance you only buy one of the two and it turns out you're one of those people that just can't get on with SPDS (or flats, whichever it may be) and that'd also be a waste of cash

But if you can only do one, probably SPDs should be the one. A quick look around any trail centre will show you probably 4/5 people on SPDs, in my experience, maybe even more, I'm looked on like a freak And though a lot of flats fans will tell you that SPDs are hard to learn to ride in, I'm not convinced, I think riding tricky surfaces, jumps and drops is harder on flats than SPDs. Sure, some people hurt themselves falling off after failing to clip out, but then others lose their footing on flats and hurt themselves.

So, back to where we were, 2 options either of which works

blablablacksheep

atm i just looking at some reviews now and confused as the bike radar gave the crank bros pretty poor score yet gave the shimano m520 very good score.....differant from what some riders told me..

any suggestions? crank bros pedals?maybe candy or smartie.. or go with some shimano ones???

Mickey Eye

The problem with the crank brothers is that at the same price point as the shimanos you get a much lower build quality. The high end CB pedals are probably fantastic but the low end ones seem to beset by failing bearing seals etc. I had Smarties and I'd recommend that if you do go for CB pedals that you go for a model higher up the chain, the Smarties are the only ones that you can't for example strip down and service. Mine failed after about 4 months of reasonably hard use.

I can't fault the locking system at all though, it's just that for the same money as the bottom level CBs you can get mid range Shimanos that'll survive a war.

wemac

+1 for shimano m520.

I started using them at the beginning of the winter (maybe not the best time given how wet muddy & slippy it was!) and haven't looked back.

I think once you're used to them, you feel more secure going downhill, and can put down more power uphill.

If you're not sure about getting out of them, just get the multi release cleats and set the release tension low so it takes less effort to get out of them. Once you're more confident you can set them tighter

blablablacksheep

seems these m520s are the best:)

if i was to go for them got a few questions:

am i right in saying they around 20ish quid?

have much service is needed with them ie cleaning wise/lubeing ect?

Lastly shoe wise i pretty stuck on what sort of get there so many, i looking to spend no more than 60ish quid really, dont want to go hardcore SPD shoe like.

i looking at getting the stuff from evans as they nearest but not sure like i said before what shoe to get..

Si78

Hi,

Yep, M520 were £19.99 delivered from merlin...were out of stock when i checked yesterday.

Specialized Sport MTB shoes are very comfy, have good grips on them too for walking, and the cleat doesnt stick out too far. They were £52 delivered.

Links are in my last post further up.

Si

blablablacksheep

just wondering hows the velcro on them ? as i have had shoes with velcro before and found velcro goes after a few months or when get wet it gets very dirty and loses its grip.

hows do these hold up on trails?

other shoe i was looking at was

:specialized Taho MTB shoe.

:Shimano MT41 MTB shoes.

Si78

blablablacksheep wrote:

just wondering hows the velcro on them ? as i have had shoes with velcro before and found velcro goes after a few months or when get wet it gets very dirty and loses its grip.

hows do these hold up on trails?

other shoe i was looking at was

:specialized Taho MTB shoe.

:Shimano MT41 MTB shoes.

The velcro grips really well, but ive not had them long, and not got them dirty yet.
The Taho look good value, but still have a velco strap on them to secure the laces.
From what ive been told, shimano shoes are quite narrow in the toe area, thats why i got the specialized sport. ive got wide feet and they fit well.
Ive seen the Taho shoes on offer...cant remember where..., so you may get a bargain if you google search.

Si

GHill

I've got some Crank Bros Candy pedals and while I can see the benefit of not getting bounced off the pedals by rough terrain at the same time I haven't been able to get myself unclipped quickly enough to feel comfortable on the same technical terrain. I find myself unclipping before I get to a sketchy bit and trying to ride on some tiny little platform.

I now find I have good grip with some Bontrager Big Earl flat pedals, just have to watch my shins on the pegs.

blablablacksheep

i think il go with the shimano m520s then see what shoes fit me, il see how they are on the bike, though i still trying atm to find a way of test riding with SPDs as to get a feel for them before i buy.

lock1981

i was thinking about the change from flats to clips, but glad i didnt. i like to be able to put a foot down or hang a leg out if going to fast around corners.

not for me

maybe next year