Pedals and shoes

felixj500

As I’m sure you all know, when looking to buy new pedals for my new bike, there is a massive range of what I can buy. What should I be looking for?

I am planning to be biking 120 miles a day and have been told I need the clip in pedals and shoes. I have been looking around and pedals vary from £25 to £125, and they all look the same, what are the differences? Does any one have any good examples of what to get?

Also do all shoes fit all pedals? What shoes should I be looking for?

I am on a tight budget and would like to spend as little as possible, but want value for my money.

Many thanks,

danowat

I had the same dilemma, it seems that the more you spend, the lighter stuff you get, so if saving grams isn't a big issue, then a low(er) mid range product will suffice.

I went for Look KEO pedals, and some DHB R1 shoes, both pedals and shoes came in at under £100, and to me, they are a great combination.

When buying shoes you need to ensure that they have the required fitment for the pedal system you buy (LOOK, SPD etc etc)

WraithWarrior23

Im not 100% sure as have only recently bought myself a pair of clipless pedals and shoes but I was told that as long as the shoes are road shoes (with 3 holes or clips on the bottom) then they will fit your pedals as the cleats that attach your shoes to your pedals come with the pedal and not the shoe

pbt150

There are pretty much two standards - SPD, and SPD-SL. The latter is the three hole 'road' setup, and most, if not all road pedals (I don't know about Speedplay pedals) come with cleats that fit this bolt pattern.

120 miles a day is a LONG way though, care to elaborate?

Lillywhite

Sidi shoes and Look Keo pedals.

A proper road set up.

felixj500

I am doing Lands End to John O'groats....hoping to do it in seven days which means about 120 miles each day. Do you think this is improbable?

Thaks for the info,

WraithWarrior23

I would imagine its very possible and probable yes, but dont think about getting the new pedals and shoes and riding it straight away if you've never ridden with clipless pedals before as they do take a while to get used to.

Good luck

Aapje

felixj500 wrote:

I am doing Lands End to John O'groats....hoping to do it in seven days which means about 120 miles each day. Do you think this is improbable?

Not improbable, but quite ambitious (the record is less than 2 days, but most riders take 10 or more days). It is very tough to do it so quickly and requires a lot of training (+ a well-fitted bike). Have you done a single 130 mile ride? Have you done four 100 mile rides in a row? An ambitious schedule also makes it hard to deal with bad luck.

Also, you need to figure out your gear very well. Proper clothing for different temperatures and to deal with rain. A good food supply on the bike, so you have enough energy. Equipment to fix your bike. Maps or a GPS to make sure you don't ride extra miles. A proper plan to make sure you can get food + a bed every evening.

Here is a interesting read:

http://www.tridantri.co.uk/LEJOG.htm

He took a longer, tourist route instead of a more direct route on busy roads. I would seriously consider doing the same if you want to enjoy yourself a lot more on the bike.

MikeWW

Pedals
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/road-bike-pedals/shimano-r-540-spd-sl.html

Shoes(if they have your size)
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/road-cycling-shoes/shimano-r160-shoes.html

Porta105

danowat wrote:

I went for Look KEO pedals, and some DHB R1 shoes, both pedals and shoes came in at under £100, and to me, they are a great combination.

What he said!

Bobbinogs

I guess the other question felixj500 is when are you planning to do the ride? Not sure of your current weekly mileage/time in the saddle but shoes may be not be the only thing to be considering at this moment in time; keeping motivated/on target might be your biggest challenge.

I know you haven't said what your cycling experience is but if you haven't got into clipless yet then this implies you haven't got a load of miles in the bag. Why not set yourself an achievable/enjoyable target of finishing a 100 mile sportive this year and worry about decent (expensive) shoes/pedals for LEJOG distances when you are close to it (you may even find yourself to be an expert by that time anyway ).

Getting some decent/basic/VFM kit until you get up to speed is probably more appropriate, IMHO. By the way, my vote is for SPDs because at least you get to avoid walking like a duck, but don't tell the others

Erudin

I use Shimano PD A520 SPD Clipless Pedals for touring type rides they are only one-sided but you soon get used to that and they support the foot well, SPD shoes and cleats are comfortable to wear all day and you can walk in them comfortably too without wearing the cleats out. SPD cleats are metal and are tough and long lasting.

SPD-SL type shoes/pedals are stiffer for better power transfer but not nice to walk on as the big plastic cleats are not recessed into the sole, great if your riding hard and fast and not needing to walk about. I found the cleat set-up took a bit longer to get right than spd's.

Make sure whatever system you go for to angle your feet in their natural position on the pedal or you risk injury, I tried Campag pro-fit pedals but could not angle my feet right with them which gave knee pain so stopped using them.

http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/bike-reviews/shimano-pd-a-520-pedal/2525.html

http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/cleats.html

"Lastly, if you're an ultra-distance rider you may want to push the cleats all the way back. This type of riding often causes numbness and hot foot. A great solution discovered by long-distance champ Lon Haldeman is moving the cleats fully to the backs of the slots, which relieves pressure on the feet and has no negative side effects for this type of riding, apart from a slight increase in the possibility of toe overlap with the front wheel if you're riding a bicycle with aggressive front-end geometry."

http://www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk/

janwal

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=28933
Try these power grips straps.I hated clips but have used these 2 years now.First on MTB now on road bike.They give you just the same as clips do and you don't have to think about getting out of them. Plus you can wear what shoes you want.I'm size 7 and the ordinary ones fit fine with loads of spare strap to adjust.XL must be for monster feet!
They are also a hell of a lot cheaper for the same effect!! and if you don't like them they won't break the bank. Friend of mine did LEJOG using them no probs.