Pedal questions

rottontom

Hi

I've recently just made the move from riding a mountain bike all my life to a road bike, as my MTB was stolen and I wanted to ride a bit more seriously, and I never really off-road anymore.

I got a Boardman Road Race, and am just getting used to the change, but the pedals it came with are the toe strap kind and I'm really not comfortable with them. My feet are pretty big for starters, and it's proving really difficult to get my feet in and out of them which is a pain when riding around town, especially as the pedals keep turning upside down and I have to look at my feet to get them in, which is pretty dangerous in traffic!

I prefer to wear casual shoes, so what options do I have. Are there good pedals out there for road bikes that are more like the flat one's I'm used to on MTBs?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Sorry if this is a really stupid newbie question!

sungod

you can put mtb pedals on a road bike, so if that's what you prefer then there are plenty to choose from

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/flat-pedals/

or just take the straps off the current ones, might be ok then

Wirral_paul

If you're going to start taking cycling more seriously then worth investing in some proper cycling shoes and clipless pedals. Depending on your plans, you could get MTB clipless pedals and shoes that are easier to walk in, or get some proper road shoes that feel more secure on the roads typically.

What sort of riding do you do / plan? I guess you have never ridden clipless yet??

PhildB

I'm in a similar position to yourself, just switched to a road bike, after some consideration i'm going to go for spd-sl's, but I was gonna go for these as they've had great reviews http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pow ... s-ec005334

t.m.h.n.e.t

Most of the basic toe clip sets provided with new bikes have a screw on the underside so you can lengthen them.

Failing that, MTB SPD pedals are the way forward and the cleats are well sunk in the sole of the shoe. All the crank threads are a standard fitment so compatability isn't an issue.

phypmat97

I have just bought the same bike and was told the pedals that come with it can be used with the shoes that you clip onto the pedal (yes I am completely new to road bikes and biking in general so apologies for my lack of knowledge and use of jargon). Does any one know if this is right? Do I need to buy specific clip shoes or are all shoes generic and I'm ready to go?

Cheers in advance.

Gizmodo

phypmat97 wrote:

I have just bought the same bike and was told the pedals that come with it can be used with the shoes that you clip onto the pedal (yes I am completely new to road bikes and biking in general so apologies for my lack of knowledge and use of jargon). Does any one know if this is right? Do I need to buy specific clip shoes or are all shoes generic and I'm ready to go?

It's very unlikely, Halfords normally only fit a cheap toe clip type pedal. Does your pedal have a plastic cage that covers your youse and a strap to tighten?

A clipless pedal is one that attaches your foot to the pedal without the plastic toe clip (cage). You can tell because the pedal has a spring that is used to hold your foot in place.

If you bought second hand then either type might be fitted.

If they did fit clipless pedals they should have told you what type they were because there are several type including SPD, SPD-SL, Look Keo, Speedplay and others. I am sure that if they had fitted such a pedal, they would have tried to sell you the shoe that fits it.

rottontom

Thanks for all the responses guys. I really didn't want to go down the route of SPDs or anything like that because I really just want to ride with normal trainers on and not be clipped at all, it's just what I'm used to.

So I did some searching online and went, very unorthodoxly I know, with some chunky flat truvativ mtb pedals. They're white too which looks absolutely awesome with the rest of the bike. I do a lot of riding around busy city centres with a lot of stop and starting and it just makes sense to me.

Team515

i just run mtb v8;s on my road bike, never liked being clipped in on the mtb, plus it safes having to buy different shoes

phypmat97

Gizmodo wrote:

phypmat97 wrote:

I have just bought the same bike and was told the pedals that come with it can be used with the shoes that you clip onto the pedal (yes I am completely new to road bikes and biking in general so apologies for my lack of knowledge and use of jargon). Does any one know if this is right? Do I need to buy specific clip shoes or are all shoes generic and I'm ready to go?

It's very unlikely, Halfords normally only fit a cheap toe clip type pedal. Does your pedal have a plastic cage that covers your youse and a strap to tighten? 

A clipless pedal is one that attaches your foot to the pedal without the plastic toe clip (cage). You can tell because the pedal has a spring that is used to hold your foot in place. 

If you bought second hand then either type might be fitted. 

If they did fit clipless pedals they should have told you what type they were because there are several type including SPD, SPD-SL, Look Keo, Speedplay and others. I am sure that if they had fitted such a pedal, they would have tried to sell you the shoe that fits it.

It's brand new from Halfords. But honestly I don't know. I'm used to big square pedals and these are small pointy ones with holes in that looks like something fits in to and a metal plate at the front. 

This is Halfords own description of the pedals: "Pedals: Wellgo alloy body fitted with toe clips & straps". Apologies for my ignorance, I'm a fast learner honestly! 

Actually here's a picture of them I found!

http://www.wellgo.com.tw/p-image/LU-208.jpg

One Man And His Bike

Touring shoes may be worth a look, they can be fitted with SPD's and are a nice gateway before going for full road pedals and cleat systems.