Question about road shoes

ad_snow

Hi everyone,

I've recently just bought my first 'proper' bike - a Bianchi Alu Hydro Via Nirone 7 (need to learn to shorten that name...) off of eBay for a very reasonable (I think) £530. It comes with SPD pedals and my question is.... are all road shoes the same as in, will they all fit with these pedals or will I need certain ones?

The second beginner question is what are cleats? Are they seperate to the pedals and the shoes? And if so, where can I buy them?

The follow up question would be can anyone recommend some good road shoes (on a budget!)?

Sorry for all the questions - thanks for your help!

snoopsmydogg

the pedals will take a certain cleat so worth finding out if they are spd or spd-sl. some shoes will only take spd, some will take spd-sl and some will take both. sl are fitted using 3 bolts in a triangular pattern where spd are fitted with 2 bolts through two parallel elongated holes in the sole of the shoe.

cleats are fitted to the bottom of the shoe so that you can clip your feet to the pedal but you will need the right cleat for the pedals you have.

cant really recommend shoes, I have shimano mtb and specialized road and both are available for under £50 iirc but you are better off trying some on as fitting differs between manufacturers. Only advice I can give is dont be swayed by muddy fox from a well known sports store as there are many reports on here how poor they seem to be.

mikeabanks

I have the Shimano RT82 SPD shoe.
Try here
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _SPD_Shoes
(I got mine from Cycle Surgery and they price matched Winstanlys)

keef66

The cleats usually come supplied with new pedals, but they are also available separately for when you wear them out or buy a second hand bike. As above, you need to determine whether you've got pedals that take SPD cleats (2 hole fixing, MTB) or SPD-SL (3 hole fixing, road). Some shoes take both types but many are SPD only or SPD-SL only

keef66

DHB road shoes from Wiggle seem to get pretty good reviews for a budget shoe. I prefer to try footwear on in a proper shop though.

I have some Nike touring shoes which work with SPD's and allow me to walk about safely

iantw1962

If your near a decathlon store they do a variety of shoes and cleats that don't cost a fortune, ideal as first purchase tos ee how you get on with them. - it worked for me!

ad_snow

There's a couple within an hour of me - I think Decathlon might be the way to go!

ad_snow

Right, I picked up the bike last night & the pedals are Look Keo Easy's.

These are the 3 hole type cleats yes?

CiB

Yep. The cleats should be part of the package with the pedals.

When you fit them to your shoes take an Allen key with you on the first few rides to allow a bit of tweaking. Your feet will be fixed to the pedal and if the alignment is a bit out your knees will let you know. A good start point is to put your kit on (including the shoes) and sit on the edge of a table with your legs dangling. Note the angle that your feet naturally fall to - they probably won't be pointing directly forwards. Whatever that angle is, that's the angle you want them to be when you're clipped in. Your cleats need to be fitted to achieve that angle, at least as a start point. Take an Allen key on the first few rides to allow minor adjustments until it feels right; give your knees time to settle down and get used to it though - a few miles, not 200 yards.

ad_snow

Pedals came with a 2nd hand bike so looks like I'm going to be buying cleats separately. eBay have some around the £12 mark for Look ones... then just gotta find a pair of shoes.

Thanks for your help!

BelgianBeerGeek

For a couple of years Bianchi sold these bikes with the Look pedals you describe. I know because I bought one! The cleats need to be bought separately. Check the cleats carefully as they come in different colours which relate to the "float" of the shoe in the pedal. This is basically the amount of movement the pedal allows from none to quite a bit. The grey ones are in between, can't remember the other colour codes off the top of my head. You may find the ones with zero movement very difficult to begin with.
I would echo the comments above. Shoes and cleat float/tension is a very personal thing. I use Specialized shoes and get on with them fine. You really are best off trying on different one before you take the plunge and buy some.
Nice bike by the way!

CiB

The grey cleats are the 'standard', the ones supplied with pedals. I bought the pedals with cleats last year, just bought some new cleats separately this week fwiw. OP - be aware that cleats are a consumable item, like chains, tyres, tubes, cassettes, rings, bar tape, cables, brake blocks...

jonomc4

ad_snow wrote:

Right, I picked up the bike last night & the pedals are Look Keo Easy's.

These are the 3 hole type cleats yes?

Yes it is the 3 hole cleats.

They come in Red - 9% movement
Grey - 4% movement
Black - 0% movement

I use the Black because I have had a professional bike fit and can be certain they are placed right.

If I were you - given you will need time to get your fit right and you are new to cleats - I would start with the Red. Don't worry they are as strong as coloured margarine and will wear out quickly so you can then try the other ones!

ad_snow

Yep, did some research and I'm going to go with Red ones - found them for about £11.50 on eBay.

Then next step getting some shoes.. cor this cycling marlarky gets expensive