I think im ready to try SPD's Which ones ??

Philgr

I think im ready to give SPD peddles a go,

im pretty confident on my local route and would it give them a go if they can improve my riding

budget up to say £60, what a good set to start out on ???

Thanks in advance

Phil G

gezzza

Shimano 520's are solid and cheap

Mickey Eye

Does your budget include the shoes?

Philgr

Budget does not include shoes

Si78

Hi,

I got Shimano M520's
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=produ ... egoryId=81
Really pleased with them. Bargain!

I also got Specialized BG Sport MTB shoes to go with them
http://cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails. ... ctID=11642
Very comfortable, and look good too. Good grips on them as well.

Ive got the pedals set on the loosest setting at the moment. Feel really well 'connected', but still very easy to un-clip.
Got the cleat positioned in the 'middle' position on the shoes. Very comfortable and can still get lots of power down.

Hope that helps!
Si

xand_xand

go for the m520s about 20 pounds at the mo' and u can pick up som dhb r1 shoes for 30 pounds . grt to start wiv

deffler

+1000,000,000 for the Shimano M520'S. Bought them for my first SPD'S and never had any bad issues with them, really easy to use (Im a complete noob). I got mine for £18 of ebay plus picked up some Scott shoes for £25, bargain.
My new Genesis core20 comes with the M520's so chuffed about that,

cullen_bay

xt spds.

alfablue

M520's are excellent for £20. I have these, XT's and XTR's, no way are the latter models really worth 3 or 4 times more for what you get, fine as they are.

MIchael Cummings

+1 one for the 520's.

My first step into SPD's and love them. Haven't tried any others though, but had no need to. Ans they were cheal too.

mea00csf

Yep, another 2 votes for the 520's. I use them and the boyfriend also uses them. He bought his bike from a guy who used to ride track for England and they were what came on the bike.

Save your moeny on the pedals and put the extra towards comfy shoes, you'll notice way more difference in them (particularly if you want stiff soled shoes)

Philgr

Ok job done

Ordered up M520's

and some DHB M1 Shoes
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/dhb_M1_Cycling_Shoes/5360033176/

Let the falling off commence !!!

zicopower09

Can anyone tell me the diference in the lower priced cleats to the higher priced ones.

Also, what suggestions for a first temer.

Mickey Eye

The pedals will come with cleats, however the expensive cleats are probably just a harder wearing material or heat treated. I know that the Crank Brothers "Premium" cleats are just a harder grade of brass which annoys me a bit given how cheap brass manufacturing is that the standards cleats wear so poorly.

wilfus

I should recieve my M520's from Merlin today.

Cant wait to try them with my DHB M1's.

As has already been said, let the falling off commence.

Graydawg

Well - everyone's already said M520's - got mine from Merlin Cycles a couple of weeks ago - well impressed and only 20 notes!! so even better compared to CRC or Evans!

Got myself some Shimano M076 shoes which have a good solid feel and great grips too.

still no big spills from being clipped in yet - though a couple of close calls on the trail lol!!!

R_T_A

Best tip is to initially keep them a little bit looser on one side - the one that naturally drops to the floor when you stop. That way you'll give yourself a bit less resistance when you stop quickly.

Not that it's foolproof....

wilfus

Got mine today and got them fitted. I've been practicing clipping in and out around the back garden and not had any problems so far. I've got them on the lowest setting to start with and they still feel pretty secure and like they won't unclip until I want them to.

Can't wait to get out and about and try them properly

zicopower09

I got a set of 520's on the back of this thread, only needed cleats but the pedals were only a few quid extra, got evans to price match merlins as they are just down the road.

Jas

wilfus

Well I had my first XC ride yesterday since fitting the M520's and I've got to say it was the best £19.99 I have ever spent.

The whole ride felt so much better in so many areas. I wasn't constantly repositioning my feet going over the bumpy stuff where they usually either slip or move slightly.

I was able to go faster throughout the whole ride due to not having to concentrate on repositioning my feet and fearing that I was going to slip off.

Climbing was so much easier due to being able to pull up on the pedals as well as pushing down.

Clipping in and out went pretty well too. At one point the soles of my shoes were caked with mud after having to walk up a pretty steep hill due to not having any traction whatsoever and they still clipped straight in.

As for clipping out, I found that as long as you know you're going to be stopping, clipping out is easy as long as you do it early, but as soon as you stop unexpectedly its alot more difficult.

I did have 1 mishap where I was turning around at walking speed on a narrow country road and my front wheel caught on a slightly raised grass verge and I lost my balance. Because I wasn't expecting it I couldn't clip out quick enough and ended up on my back (much to the amusement of my brother in law ) Luckily my £4.97 Tesco hydropack cushioned my fall and I was fine.

All in all I'm so pleased I changed to SPD's. Wish I'd done it sooner actually.

KulaBen

This thread really made me chuckle- i'm glad it isn't me that keeps falling off! Whilst I realise SPDs have now been bought, for anyone else reading I can recommend the one sided SPD pedals Shimano do for any other newbies. These allow you to unclip and put a foot down when it is rough, and then flip over and clip in when you are back on smooth ground. I started on these and have now moved them onto my hybrid, and they are really good.

BTW Alfablue, are we to assume you have a blue Alfa? I used to, I miss that car, though not the bills when it broke!

hanneyp

Thanks for all the tips in this thread people. I've just got back from Evans with my new 520's and specialized bg shoes.... will be trying them out over this weekend.

For anyone with big flappy feet like me, I'd recommend trying shoes in a shop. Several brands (Shimano included) seem to be designed for people with freakishly narrow feet and I had to return ones I'd bought off the net.

Not looking forward to the falling off. Haven't done that since I was getting used to toeclips 18 years ago!

Pete

Philgr

Thought i would update my own thread

Had a bit of a delay on recieving my kit, shoes landed next day but my peddles had a bit of a mishap in the ordering process between paypal and merlin cycle, the boys at merlin sorted it very quickly and i recieved the peddles the following day - cheers guys 8)

Only had one very short trip out - not really long enough to get comfortable, clipping out didnt seem to be an issue if it was pre-meditated, only had one near miss when i got home, clipped out on my right hand side and nearly fell off to the Left :oops: only just managed to not fall over.

Will report back when i get a long run in hopefully later today or tomorrow

Phil G

Philgr

Well, i went out last night with i have to admit a little bit of nerves, i completed my local loop from my house which is 9 miles and a 50/50 mix of roads and off road.

on the road it felt like i was peddling smoother and on the off road i felt more connected to the bike, but the big difference was in my time, i took 3 mins off my best ever time and my average heart rate was the lowest it has been on this loop.

I think i have some adjustments to make to one of the shoes as i was getting cramp down the outside of my foot, and clipping in is still a bit hit and miss, i didn't have and real moments with clipping out

I think its going to take some time getting use to, but overall im well pleased i gave them a go.

Zeroman_IR

Likewise. I made the switch recently myself, and while I was very nervous to begin with, I'm now happier clipped in than out. Got CB Mallets so I had the option of either but not really needed in hindsight. Did the 35k loop in Ballyhoura yesterday, found them great on the climbs and so much better when carving. Could throw the bike around a lot easier.

Biggleswade Blue

hanneyp wrote:

Thanks for all the tips in this thread people. I've just got back from Evans with my new 520's and specialized bg shoes.... will be trying them out over this weekend.

For anyone with big flappy feet like me, I'd recommend trying shoes in a shop. Several brands (Shimano included) seem to be designed for people with freakishly narrow feet and I had to return ones I'd bought off the net.

Not looking forward to the falling off. Haven't done that since I was getting used to toeclips 18 years ago!

Pete

I;ve just done this too, after a day out with "Get Mountain Biking" where I was able to try out SPDs. Fell off plenty of times. Always with a grin!

I've goine for the 520s, and the Specialized Shoes. Like Pete, I tried the Shimano Shoes and found them too narrow. The Specialized fitted really well

allthegearnoidea

Dobnt worry about the Unclip Right leg fall over Left side, it happens every now and again and is normally Very amusing! my last couplo eof efforts have been on off camber trail, unclip right leg, fall to the left but on the edge of the trailand no way to stop = big funny tumble with that doofus feeling!
the best one i did was on a section i dont normally bvother with, decided why not, rolled around the end of a fallen tree, front wheel washed out and left me laying on the floor with my unclipped leg waving around in the air in full view of the golf course players! much hilarity from that and its damn tricky to get up when your still attatched to your bike hahaha!

i've had my pedals over a year now and dont remember what its like to ride on flats, love the connected feeling! (crank brothers candy's)