New stuff assistance please:

dcomp

Hi all,

I am trying to make some decisions on what new stuff to buy and, so far, have made the following decisions based on things that I've read and advice in these rooms.

Bear in mind I'm that I'm a newbie so I don't need to save 3 grams on pedals and 6 grams on glasses: I'm carrying extra pounds so grams aren't making a massive difference to me just yet....plus I'm not riding a carbon bike or anything close!!!

So:

Pedals - Keo Easy
Shoes - dhb R2.0 Carbon
Sunglasses - Kuota 5 Lense OR dhb Pro Triple Lense
Cage - BBB BBC-31

Questions:
1- do the pedals give any float? I've been watching my riding and i need a little 'twist 'room for the way my legs seem to move
2- is it worth spending the extra and getting the carbon shoes? If not, I'll get the R1.0. Not sure war the difference is here.
3- when I buy shoes/pedals, do I have to buy cleats seperately? Excuse te ignorance
4- do cages really matter? Are they just personal choice?
5- has anyone tried either of the glasses or have a better suggestion?


Final question for now, I came in at relative entry level road bike: Marin Argenta. I have my reasons for choosing this. Anyway, if I was to start upgrading bits of it, where is a good place to start??

Help always appreciated.

Dom

carrock

1. yes plenty of float
2. Carbon shoes usually stiffer but more awkward to walk in
3.cleats come with pedals not with shoes
4. cage is a cage is a cage
5. no and no

dcomp

carrock wrote:

1. yes plenty of float
2. Carbon shoes usually stiffer but more awkward to walk in
3.cleats come with pedals not with shoes
4. cage is a cage is a cage
5. no and no

1- thanks
2- hoping to cycle not walk so stiff might be good!
3- thanks
4- thought so
5- thanks

Any suggestions on glasses??

Crimmey

I find the keo easys terrible. There is no spring adjustment and even though at first they were too easy to clip in and out, when there is a bit of 'wear' later it's a lot worse, my foot moves all over the show and doesn't grip the cleat. Really shows when out of the saddle and have unclipped unintentionally numerous times as well. The Exustar cheapos are fab, with spring adjustment and cleat bolts much better than the stupid keos as they use a much bigger allen key head.

In fact if you buy the Exustar, which are £23 ish I will give you a set of keo easys pedals for free to show you how rubbish they are (mine are)

rolf_f

I used Easys for a while - they were fine. The springs are to adjust release strength - not take up slack due to wear.

Carbon soles aren't really any stiffer from the perspective of walking in and really they won't make any noticeable difference to your performance. Road shoes are crap to walk in whatever the sole is made of.

Cages can be good or crap. Some don't fit some bottles, some happily throw bottles out at every bump, some are awkward to get the bottle in, some awkward to get it out and many scratch the bottle to hell.

BBB usually make good stuff. I've just replaced some Chinese carbon cages with Elite Custom race cages which you can get for about £7 in lots of colours. Made of resin and apparently the most used cage in Pro Cycle racing. So probably pretty good!

dcomp

Rolf and Crimmey, as you both have slightly different opinions on the Easys I'd be interested to get your thoughts on a good entry ish level pedal: I'm allowing a budget of £120 to £150 for shoes and pedals so if carbon soles aren't a major advantage in use I'd go with the £45 dhb R1's and then have £70 to £80 to spend on the pedal...

Alternatively, if Crimmey wants t donate the Easy's, I'll spend more on the shoes or still get the R1s and save some cash!!!

Thanks for cage pointers Rolf.

carrock

Any suggestions on glasses??[/quote]

I use specialized glasses but dont think you can get them from retailers anymore.

However I bought specialized helix adaptalite off ebay from a guy who bought up old stock and they are staggeringly good- might be worth contacting him


http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/2802cj/m.html ... ksid=p3686

Crimmey

Yeah, there is no tension screw, so the spring loses tension over time and I keep unclipping amongst other things which could be unrelated to the spring. Just from experience. I've had keo sprint, keo 2's, classics and the Exustars and had no real problems with these.

On another note do you really want to spend more on the shoes if I donte the easys I have expensive sidis and decathlon cheapos and I love them both. Actually those R1's look like my Decathlon ones. Save the dosh for something else in the future, maybe? Pm me your address and Ill send them. Trust me, the Exustar pedals and cleats are great. I don't have spare cleats at the minute though as I go through quite a lot.

Please dont get the actual Keo cleats :P just because of the bolts!

dcomp

Crimmey, I'll pm my address on the condition that if I try them and don't like them, you have them back and if I do like them, we organise some form of payment?

I can sort cleats out easy enough ( no pun intended) but would appreciate assistance on which ones to get.

Really appreciate this.

revvers

I've just put mountain bike spd's on my Ribble carbon to replace Keo's.Bought Shimano Mtb shoes. Just liked the look of them and like the idea of a double edge to clip in,also the shoes are easy to walk in. Got both, from CRC for £40. If I get on with the spd, I can put on my mountain bike and spare bike and use the same shoes

Crimmey

I wouldnt want them back. If you don't like them just give them away. Im not forcing you to take some free pedals. Up to you :-) .....Awaiting PM:-D