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Clipless Pedal Virgin........

Grisley PaulGrisley Paul Posts: 186
edited August 2012 in MTB beginners
Well almost....

I bought a cheap setup MANY moons ago and didn't really like them...... I feel I've got to give in and give them a fair crack and am looking at the Shimano M520's as they seems to have been around for ever and get good reviews allround....

My question is will they work with my existing old Specialized shoes I kept ? looking at the pedal design and sole/ cleat arrangement I'm guessing not, as there's no recess for the pedal to sit in ?

Cleats.jpg
Shoes.jpg

Posts

  • warpcowwarpcow Posts: 1,448
    Yes, they'll be fine. The pedal doesn't sit 'in' the sole.
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  • Grisley PaulGrisley Paul Posts: 186
    warpcow wrote:
    Yes, they'll be fine. The pedal doesn't sit 'in' the sole.

    Cheers, much appreciated.... thought I was in for another pair of shoes for a min and was gonna just stick to straps but think I'll give a pair of 520's a go for the price..... :D
  • RoostoidsRoostoids Posts: 128
    I use the 520's, theyre great for the price and you'll get spare cleats in the bargain deal as well.

    Mine have lasted a year of regular riding and have just started to creak, but not too loudly.

    You can loosen off the tension a lot too using an allen key, so clipping in and out is easier, to give you that piece of mind when you're starting out. Give it a chance though, it takes a few rides to get the motion of clipping in sorted.

    I wouldn't go back to flats now.
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  • Grisley PaulGrisley Paul Posts: 186
    Roostoids wrote:
    I use the 520's, theyre great for the price and you'll get spare cleats in the bargain deal as well.

    Mine have lasted a year of regular riding and have just started to creak, but not too loudly.

    You can loosen off the tension a lot too using an allen key, so clipping in and out is easier, to give you that piece of mind when you're starting out. Give it a chance though, it takes a few rides to get the motion of clipping in sorted.

    I wouldn't go back to flats now.


    Thanks..... just order a pair of silver 520's with cleats for £20.49 delivered...... :D

    Can't believe the price, but like your story have heard lots of good reports on these as an entry level pedal..... never ''disliked'' the previous pair I tried but wasn't crazy about them either..... will give these a fair crack and see how it goes....

    Cheers
    Paul :)
  • YeehaaMcgeeYeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    And always remember... if you don't like SPDs, that's fine, don't feel pressured into using them.
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  • paul.skibumpaul.skibum Posts: 4,068
    YeehaaMcgee wrote:
    And always remember... if you don't like SPDs, that's fine, don't feel pressured into using them.

    But dont go back to toe straps unless you want to burn in the fires of hell for all eternity.
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  • Grisley PaulGrisley Paul Posts: 186
    YeehaaMcgee wrote:
    And always remember... if you don't like SPDs, that's fine, don't feel pressured into using them.


    I like that sentiment..... I've always been happy with a pair of cheapy moulded ''half'' clips i.e. resin clips without any straps that I've had for years...... with just a pair of trainer they stop the foot going forward yet still allow total free movement as I do like to move my foot around when cornering etc....

    Still for £20 I'll give the 520's a go as I've already got the shoes knocking around so nothing to loose and if all else fails I'll go back to my trusty half clips..... 8)
  • YeehaaMcgeeYeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    Oooh, no, toe clips ARE wrong :lol:
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  • Grisley PaulGrisley Paul Posts: 186
    YeehaaMcgee wrote:
    Oooh, no, toe clips ARE wrong :lol:

    Not to me they're not....... how'd you think guys kept their feet on the pedals in the tour before Hinault won the 87 tour with clipless.....
  • YeehaaMcgeeYeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    Grisley Paul wrote:
    YeehaaMcgee wrote:
    Oooh, no, toe clips ARE wrong :lol:

    Not to me they're not....... how'd you think guys kept their feet on the pedals in the tour before Hinault won the 87 tour with clipless.....
    Please tell me you're joking.
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  • cooldadcooldad Posts: 32,601
    Grisley Paul wrote:
    YeehaaMcgee wrote:
    Oooh, no, toe clips ARE wrong :lol:

    Not to me they're not....... how'd you think guys kept their feet on the pedals in the tour before Hinault won the 87 tour with clipless.....
    I suggest a public lynching.
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  • GiraffotoGiraffoto Posts: 2,078
    Grisley Paul wrote:
    YeehaaMcgee wrote:
    Oooh, no, toe clips ARE wrong :lol:

    Not to me they're not....... how'd you think guys kept their feet on the pedals in the Tour before Hinault won the '87 tour with clipless.....

    Once you've tried SPD, you'll realize that toe clips and straps were all very well (a)when it was all that we had and (b) on road bikes, but there's something better now
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  • YeehaaMcgeeYeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    Even grippy flat pedals are better - the plastic clip thing just isn't rigid enough to put maximal power through it when pushing forwards on the pedals (and toe-clip equipped pedals are virtually never any good).
    A good flat and shoe (or particularly SPD), and you can really force that fu**er through the forwards part of the pedal stroke.
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  • always4loraalways4lora Posts: 28
    I love my SPD setup for riding, no worries of my feet falling out and now i;'ve been using them for a wile the few times i've had to bail from the pedals or bike i've never had to think about unclipping it just comes naturally. With a clipless setup you can also slightly rest your muscles when peddaling, by this i mean if your legs are knackered going up a long hill you can pull up with feet instead of pushing, kinda like you do on a x trainer.
  • YeehaaMcgeeYeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    always4lora wrote:
    With a clipless setup you can also slightly rest your muscles when peddaling, by this i mean if your legs are knackered going up a long hill you can pull up with feet instead of pushing, kinda like you do on a x trainer.
    If you have Shimano Hollowtech II style cranks, fit them so both the cranks point in the same direction. Now see if you can pedal your bike up a hill by pulling the pedals with both feet.
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  • Chunkers1980Chunkers1980 Posts: 8,035
    Square tapers at even better, 90 degrees apart, well then 270.
  • YeehaaMcgeeYeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    Chunkers1980 wrote:
    Square tapers at even better, 90 degrees apart, well then 270.
    No, the reason I suggest it is because you can set up HTII like that, meaning there is no possibly way to turn the cranks except to pull on them.
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  • njee20njee20 Posts: 9,613
    You can do the same with any BB system though - nowt to stop you putting both cranks on in the same orientation.

    Or you can spend huge amounts of money on very heavy Power Cranks and have two cranks that move independently, now that is crazy!

    Yeeha's sentiment is right though, whilst you can pedal a smoother stroke with clipless/decent flats, the muscles used to pull up are nowhere near as strong as those on the downstroke.
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