Beginners shoes/pedals on a budget

Cliveyp

I'm kinda impatient and hate using the free-issued toe clips that came with my road bike. Rather than using some flat pedals and forgetting what it feels like not to be able to move my foot around, i'm wondering if it might be time to go for a clipless set up, especially considering what i've read on here and various other places about the benefits.

Without knowing if this is going to be the right thing for me, i'd like to try it on a bit of a budget and am scouring eBay for the usual bargains that might make this a degree cheaper for me, with eyes on Sports Direct for shoes as a back up.

Question is, what type can you guys recommend for a nervous beginner? I've read/heard about Look Keo pedals, which seem to appear regularly on the bay, and can find shoes to suit at a reasonable price, but is the best way to head??

Cheers

scottarm

can't fault my look pedals my wife got shimano and had real problems when she first started

shoes on offer I think here

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=28263

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Cate ... rtBy=Price

Wrath Rob

Assuming you want road shoes and not MTB ones with recessed cleats for walking around I can recommend the dHB R1's from Wiggle. Great value and fit most of the popular pedal/cleats.

Pedals are a little more personal, but to start get somethign at the lower end of the price bracket. You can always sell then 2nd hand if you upgrade. I've got Time RXSs on the commuter and they have been great. Easy to clip in/out and still going strong after 2 years.

StorckSpeed

On a budget, I reckon you might be better to buy mountain bike pedals and shoes.
It's perhaps fuzzy logic on my part and feel free to laugh at me :?

First off you get the same feel on MTB pedals ie you can pull up on the pedals.
You get more float so less strain on your knees.
It's easier to get out of an MTB pedal, so easier to learn on.
It's easier to walk on an MTB shoe.
If you decide you like clipless then when you buy road shoes and pedals you can move the MTB stuff onto your MTB. Of course if you have to buy an MTB in order to do this then you won't save any money :?

This being the case look here
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-m1-mtb-shoes/
http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/c/q/ped ... =price-asc

If you must go road then on a budget tlook at these
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-r1-road-cycling-shoe/
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=5369

Hope this helps

Anonymous

Got my road shoes from Evans for 45 (retail at 80) the shimano r077s pricematched here: http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/21025/product ... -size.aspx

Get some shimano r540 Spd-sl pedals, they will be ideal. If you shop around you can get some bargains. I got 100 quid ultregra pedals for 60, also pricematched at evans (bikeinn.com).

I hear the look keo pedals are meant to offer something between shimano 105 and ultregra quality, so could be an ideal purchase.

kingrollo

I brought some shimano 105 sp\sl pedals for £25 - no problems never felt the need to upgrade.

LeicesterLad

Wrath Rob wrote:

Assuming you want road shoes and not MTB ones with recessed cleats for walking around I can recommend the dHB R1's from Wiggle. Great value and fit most of the popular pedal/cleats.

Pedals are a little more personal, but to start get somethign at the lower end of the price bracket. You can always sell then 2nd hand if you upgrade. I've got Time RXSs on the commuter and they have been great. Easy to clip in/out and still going strong after 2 years.

+1 For the DHB shoes, i use them with some budget SPD-SL shimano pedals, i don't have a bad word to say about them, bit on the heavy side maybe if you are a pro-cyclist and super critical, other than that, for the money, the design, comfort and look is unbeatable IMHO.

wardieboy

I converted last week. Went for the Shimano 520's and a pair of cheap shoes during the aldi offer.

I wanted an inexpensive set up as I was not 100% confident in going clipless.

Total cost was £45 (pedals £25, shoes £20).

The 520's are double sided, which was important for me being new to clipless and having one less thing to worry about.

A week later and after only one fall, I'll be staying clipless! Power transmission feels better when out of the saddle climbing a steep hill - being able to push as well as pull certainly makes a difference. Additionally cadence is increasing.

mikeyboy12345

If you're gonna run multiple bikes (e.g commuter, road, MTB, tourer) and only want one set of shoes, go with two-bolt MTB style Shimano SPDs. If your road bike is purely for long distance riding then get a road pedal/shoe system. I've been running Ritchey WCS Echelon V2 pedals and I love them! The Ritchey pedal and my new road shoe combo is a whopping 400g lighter than my previous setup (Spesh BG MTB shoes and Shimano M520 pedals).

Shoes: try before you buy. Shimano and DHB stuff I just can't get on with. Funny sizing. Sidi and Specialized seem to suit me best, but you can't tell until you try them on. The fit is ultra-important. Numb feet and hotspots really take the fun out of riding!