School boy error.............maybe ( clipping in question)

OneFactHunt

Hi,

Well I have just taken delivery of my new Defy 3 and loving it however in my haste to start clipping in i may have messed up.

I bought some shimano A530 pedals for clipping in at weekends and ability to use a normal shoe for commute to work. I then bought some Shimano RO99 shoes. Spotted the error yet?

Yep cleats don't all match up. I bought the Shimano adaptor to fix this problem but it does not state my cleat is safe to use with it so what now? i have fitted it all and it seems to work but have not riden out yet.

The instructions show a rubber pontoon but my pedals and shoes did not come with one should I buy one seprately.

On a seperate not should my shoes have come with a waterproof seal for under the in sole?

Thanks in advance for any help.....or ridicule provided

alfablue

I think you need the rubber pontoons to use SPD (i.e. the 2 bolt mtb type cleats, designed to fit in the recess in treaded mtb shoe soles), they come with the SPD Road Cleats (which are the same as SPD cleats plus the pontoons). Your pedals are touring pedals so use the mtb system and I guess they presume users will have "walkable" mtb or touring shoes with treaded soles.

You may be able to get the pontoons on their own - I don't know.

Usually the pedals come with a "sticker" to apply on the inside of the sole - doesn't look like much, should be in the box, alternatively Duck tape will work just fine.

OneFactHunt

Many thanks for the reply. Will try to get pontoons as bike, shoes pedals and new computer have wiped me out. (don't tell Mrs Onefacthunt) she thinks its just a bike!!!

Will it be safe to use my cleats and shoes etc ? or do i risk a horrific accident?

fingers crossed for weather tomorrow to see if i can clip in !!!

alfablue

I think they will work fine on the bike, but will be horrendous when you set foot on the pavement! Take it easy :?

My approach was to get mtb shoes - they look pretty much like road shoes, just have a bit of rubber on the sole

rogerv78

Hi guys have just joined on here and have been reading this post, I am planning to do the london to brighton this year and was thinking of getting some clip in pedals, I like the look of those MO76 shoes which pedals can I get to go with them and are they possible to use either clipped in or not ?? I found those A530 pedals on ebay can I use those with these shoes or will I need any cleats etc as the pedals I found on ebay say they dont come with cleats ??

Any help in really appreciated !!

many thanks, Roger

alfablue

Hi Roger

Welcome!

You can use A530's with those shoes, however I recommend Shimano M520's, they are an amazing bargain at £18.49 delivered from Chainreaction. They are double sided rather than single sided of the A 530's, this in my view is better - no worries which way up the pedal is. Of course the single sided do offer a platform for using regular shoes, but on balance, I prefer double sided.

The Shimano shoes are good and cheap, also look at Specialized. The Shimano ones are about £58 at Wiggle but if you sign up for the newsletter you get a £5 off voucher (or if you are not already a customer, get someone to refer you and you also get free glasses).

wiffachip

you will also need to buy the cleats

get sh56 cleats, these are much easier to use than sh51's

both will work, but sh56's enable you to get your foot disengaged from the pedal by yanking in any direction

alfablue

The pedals come with cleats (the single release variety), tbh if you set the cleat release tension on minimum, getting out is no problem.

rogerv78

Ok many thanks for advice guys, this may sound really dumb but bear with me, as I have never used these type of pedals/shoes before how do they work exactly ? If I buy a pair of mtb shoes what do I do with the cleats ? do they attatch to the shoes and is it still possible to walk around with them on the shoes and if so I assume I can either clip the shoe onto the pedal or not as I choose ? I hope this makes sense !! I am just trying to understand everything before I go and buy them.

Many thanks again, Roger

alfablue

If you buy mtb (or touring) shoes as opposed to road shoes, they have rubber treaded soles that you can walk in, as the cleats sit in a cutout in the sole so don't stand proud. Shimano label their MTB shoes with a prefix M and road shoes with R (hence mine are M076 = mtb). They also make a variety of casual looking shoes for mtb cleats, and I even have a pair of Shimano Gore Tex walking boots that take SPD cleats, I use these when touring.

When you get the shoes there is a small rubber plate under the ball of the foot, you unscrew this and it reveals a recess with 4 holes in, and this is where you bolt the cleats. The cleats come with the pedals (that's how they are supplied by Shimano, eBay means anything can happen).

You have some scope with positioning the cleats and it takes a little trial and error to get them right - ask again when the time comes. When the cleats are in the right position, you will clip in without thinking about it - and infact, its best not to think about it, just pedal. If properly placed the cleat is above the pedal in the right position, and just pops in.

You can't really choose not to clip in as it happens automatically once the setup and your confidence is right.

People talk of "clipless moments" - falls when you lean one way and unclip the other - I never had these, just train yourself from the start, "unclip left, lean left". If you get that habit it works like a dream.

I'm sure you would, but DO get the setup sorted well before your long ride!

Just to encourage you - my g/f only started cycling in May 2008, I mentioned clipless pedals to her, she was adamant she didn't want them (but I knew differently ). In July, I bought some M520's, took her to the railway path (long traffic free route), cycled with her coaching her to use the pedals for 10 minutes, at slow speed - she's never looked back, she says they really help on hills, we have since notched up about 3000 miles together (including some multi-day camping tours abroad) and she would never give them up now - she really appreciates the efficiency.