New pedals/ cycling shoes for new Enigma Etape bike

jphil

Hi folks,
Hope you can help me with this one, what type of pedals / cycling shoes would you recommend for my new bike? I've only had standard pedals in the past but heard that proper cycling shoes/ pedals give much better feel & performance.

Many thanks in advance for any thoughts!

dmch2

The main choices are SPD or SPD-SL. The former have small (tiny) double sized pedals which means the mechanism can be recessed in the shoe so in some cases you can walk on it almost like a normal shoe. This type is common on mountain bikes.

SLs have a much bigger pedal giving more comfort and stability. But they're single sided and a bit harder to clip into (after a month I've pretty much cracked it). The shoes are also not suitable for walking more than a few yards though as the cleat sticks out loads so it's like the opposite of high heels. SLs are meant for road bikes where you don't clip in/out very often but need the big platform for longer distances.

bigpikle

I prefer Speedplays and have those on my Enigma, but as with most things it really is a personal choice thing. Speedplays give me loads of float and are really easy to use but the drawback is a bigger cleat on the shoe which can be pain if you plan to walk around much in your cycling shoes...

ride_whenever

If you're not racing then I'd recommend mtb pedals and a decent pair of mtb shoes.

The feel in terms of performance is negligible and the ability to walk is often overlooked as somewhat nice!

Berk Bonebonce

I have found pedals and shoes to be a bit of a false economy because they are prone to quite high wear, and this is especially the case if you walk a bit in your shoes.

I now go for bottom of the range pedals and always spend less than about £75 on shoes. I have found bottom of the range pedals to be every bit as good as the top of the range ones, but with a slight weight penalty. And if you use Time pedals as I do, well, they revamp their range every couple of years to make people feel that their existing pedals are now somehow defunct.

ride_whenever

Unless you buy the top end sidis with the replaceable carbon sole plates and treads...

jphil

Thanks guys for your comments,today I've been down in London, trying on various models of shoe. I think I'm going to be opting for the mountain bike pedal on the Enigma Etape probably shimano pedal along with some comfortable shoes I can walk around cafes / pubs in either Northwave/Shimano/Bontrager. It does feel strange putting these shoes on your feet as for the sizing where do they get that from? Please keep posting I still haven't made a final decision!

mercurykev

I can highly recommend Time Atac carbon pedals paired with Specialized BG Carbon shoes for long distance riding. The time cleat is small like an SPD but you get much more float and the carbon shoes are nice and stiff. You can also walk in them.

scruffyduncan

plus one for ATACs and specialized shoes. If you don't want to go carbon with the shoes the plastic soled ones are still very good and a good few quid cheaper. The only downside is that they are very heavily vented, which keeps temperatures down in summer, but is very breezy in winter.

MabBee

Time pedals are rubbish. The bearings wear outgoing too quickly.

I am using speedily frogs (with the media float restriction tab removed using a Drexel). They're great, especially since you can inject fresh grease into the bearings.

FransJacques

+1 for Time ATACs and Spesh carbon soled shoes. I have 10 year old ATACs (x2) and think they're great! Got them for £30 a pair and the bearings are superb and that's with a heavy mix of MTB and commuting. What is a bit worn are the retaining bars but that's not unexpected.

Spend good money on shoes - don't believe the hype that shoes are over-rated. Been riding high-level road and off-road rigs for 25 years and your foot/pedal interface is the most important performance contact point with the bike. Stiff soled shoes transmit power well and avoid *possible* hot-spots created from the smaller 2 screw platform. I have the Spesh 3 velcro strap shoe and carbon sole - this has the same sole as the 2 shoes above it (the S-works with the fishing line laces and the next one down with 2 veclro straps and 1 rachet buckle). They were only £70 on super deal at Evans - think they are the Experts. But the Comp, Experts or Pros are all really good.

TAKE YOUR TIME with shoes, really get ones that fit well. Sadly the axion is true that you get what you pay for: Set a £100 budget on your shoes as a starting point until you find ones that are just as good for less. One prob with MTB shoes is that they can be dog heavy and negate a lot of the light feel of your bike. you've spent a lot on your bike so far, don't scrimp now! I bought my GF the bottom of the line Spesh Sonomas and they were boat anchors and she hated them. I got her some Sidi Giaus next and she loves those, so Spesh isn't suitable for everyone.

Not many Ferrari owners get their tyres from Halfords!

(no halfords customers were harmed in the making of that statement)