Mountain bike pedals, cleats & shoes ???

EdH51

My last bike came with toe clips and leather straps (back in the stone age). I replaced them with relatively inexpensive clipless pedals and shoes with cleats back in the mid/late '80's. I used 'em, but I hated 'em. Then in the mid/late '90's, I purchased some SpeedPlay pedals and shoes with cleats. Loved the pedals; still HATED the shoes.

I want recessed cleat shoes: shoes in which I can walk somewhat comfortably and not feel like I'm walking in ice skates with broken blades. I gather that means mountain bike pedals, shoes and cleats on a road bike. Do I go with SpeedPlay frogs? Something like the C/B eggbeaters? (I really like the double-sided / quad-sided concept.) Something else? And which shoes? I won't be trekking through muddy downhill trails; so I'm not looking for heavy boots. (The bike is to be a Kinesis GF Ti/2 with an Ultegra build. General riding -- not racing. My budget is generous but not outrageous -- maybe under 500 dollars / 300 pounds for the lot (underer would be betterer). Suggestions appreciated.

marcusjb

You don't need to spend very much.

Shimano M520s are well under £20 a pair and are practically indestructible.

If you're feeling spendy, 540s are a bit lighter and are under £30 a pair.

If you're really extravagant, a pair of 780s are £50 or so (I have 770s and can't tell the difference in use between them and 520s on my commuter). The 980s are probably worth avoiding as they have had many reports of axle failures (and I believe a new version is on it's way very soon).

520s/540s will last you forever. My 770s have done around 40000km and are starting to look pretty tired, but they still function just perfectly.

Shoes - well, there I do suggest spending some decent money. Sidi Dragons are great, I've ridden 3 seasons with them and they held up well. I am trying Bont Vaypors at the moment - very comfy, very stiff.

keef66

If walking about is a priority I'd suggest some Shimano touring shoes and pedals. They use the MTB style 2 bolt SPD cleats which are recessed into the sole of the shoe, but the styling is more road like. The Shimano touring pedals are single sided but easy to get used to. They are a bit lighter as a consequence, and look a bit more roadie. Eg:-

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-rt82-sp ... cle-shoes/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-a520-touring-pedals/

You could always pair a touring shoe with a MTB pedal if you want double sided entry. That's the combo I've happily used for years on both my road bikes.

dj58

I use Shimano XT PD-M785 trail wide platform pedals and XC30 SPD mountain bike shoes on my road bike.

I find Shimano shoes very comfortable and have used their SPD pedals for 21 years (XT 737's) never had any problems with them and required little maintenance other than re-greasing/adjusting the bearings occasionally.

getting_on_a_bit

Agree with keef66.
I've used the same MTB Shimano Touring shoes/Time Atac Alium MTB pedals for 10 years plus on both road and MTB bikes.
No maintainance at all on pedals.
Brass cleats now pretty worn but shoes still going strong which is impressive with all the soakings.

Bar Shaker

For your budget you can get Sidi Dragon 3 and Shimano XTR pedals.

There is no stiffer or more comfy shoe in which you can walk normally (if they suit your foot width) and there is no better SPD pedal.

I have been on this set up for 2 years now and with the same pedals for 4 years. My shoes and pedals are like they were new.

mercia_man

I agree with marcusjb. Shimano has a great range of SPD pedals which work brilliantly and you don't need to spend much money to get a pair to suit you.

I know you say you like mountain bike style double-sided pedals but you might want to consider single-sided SPD pedals designed for road use. The PD-A520 and the slightly lighter and better finished PD-A600 give a bigger platform around the cleat which I feel is more comfortable over long distances than the smaller platform of doubled-sided pedals. The Ultegra standard A600 pedal would be a good match with your Ultegra-equipped Kinesis GF Ti - its finish looks a bit like titanium.

As for shoes, I really like my Sidi Dragons which I use with Specialized foot beds. The stiff carbon sole is great for riding although not so good for walking. But obviously better for walking than non-recessed cleat road shoes. I've also liked Specialized mountain bike shoes. It's a compromise - stiffer soled shoes are better for cycling, more flexible shoes are better for walking. My preference is for stiffer soles. And like marcusjb says, it's worth spending a bit extra for good shoes.

Bar Shaker

If you have stiff soled shoes, the size of the pedal is irrelevant. Either the shoe will flex around the pedal connection point or it won't. Only buy shoes that won't.

Anything else around the pedal connection point is un-necessary additional weight so avoid the bigger single sided MTB pedals. These are designed to let you ride without clipping in, such as on a tricky single track path where you may want to put a foot down at short notice. For road use they are just heavy than needed and you will be faffing around trying to rotate them and clip in every time.

mercia_man

Bar Shaker wrote:

If you have stiff soled shoes, the size of the pedal is irrelevant. Either the shoe will flex around the pedal connection point or it won't. Only buy shoes that won't.

Anything else around the pedal connection point is un-necessary additional weight so avoid the bigger single sided MTB pedals. These are designed to let you ride without clipping in, such as on a tricky single track path where you may want to put a foot down at short notice. For road use they are just heavy than needed and you will be faffing around trying to rotate them and clip in every time.

I use both single-sided road SPDs and double-sided MTB ones on my road bikes, touring bike and tandem and have done so for some 20 years. I use the same very stiff Sidi Dragon 3 shoes on all. I can feel the difference between single-sided SPDs (A600 and 520) and my double-sided pedals (M520 and 540) when doing long multi-day touring trips. Even with stiff carbon soles, I noticed a lessening in under-foot pressure due to the slightly larger contact area of the single-sided ones when I did a three-week ride across France a year after doing a similar trip with double-sided pedals. The single-sided road SPDS are also lighter.

For day rides and shorter trips, I find no difference in comfort. The double-sided pedals are definitely better with the tandem as you want your cleats to engage first time every time.

Bar Shaker

I'm sorry but this is in your mind. The Dragon 3 sole is so stiff it simply will not flex with foot pressure on any pedal, even when you are out of the saddle. You can stand on a stone with one foot and not feel any flex.

If you really can feel it, your shoes are broken.

mercia_man

I don't think it is just in my mind. I'm speaking from real life experience. My Sidi Dragon shoes are fine and so were my S Works and Sidi Dominator MTB predecessors. It's slight but I do feel the difference. And it is only during multi-day tours, pushing hard on the pedals to get all my camping gear up Alpine passes.

EdH51

I'm getting the idea that no one likes "frogs" or "eggbeaters" (neither of which I've tried -- I just liked the "lollypop" pedals that came from the same stable as the "frogs." I'll try the PD-M780 and and PD-M785, for starters.

I sure liked the idea of the eggbeaters, though: seriously intriguing design.

EdH51

Okay, guys, I spent several hours at several different bike shops and made a decision that surprised me: I went for the none of the above. Eggbeaters, Candy and Frogs fell to the wayside early. To my surprise, I ended up liking Shimano's PD-T780 the best. Easy engagement and disengagement on the cleated side and a flat "old-fashioned" pedal on the reverse.

I've not yet found a shoe with which I'm happy. I have fat (wide) feet. That poses a problem for many of the bike shoe manufacturers. Depending upon manufacturer, I wear a (US-sized) 9.5 or 10 length. Some shoes marked "W" (for "wide") fit me but usually I need to find one marked "E" or "EE" (9.5E is the single most common men's shoe size in the US of A). Most of the shoes I tried (43.5 and 44 sizes) seem to be aimed at much narrower footed people. Getting a longer shoe (a 46) is not really an option as it still isn't wide in exactly the right places, plus, then my heel needs stuffing with a scrap of folded paper towel to keep from rubbing.

Apparently, there are bike shoes for wide feet out there -- at least, the internet says it's so -- however, no one told the LBSs that they should stock wide models. The bike geeks may know Campy, Shimano & Sram but they know nada about shoe fit. The search continues . . .

Edited to add: I'm trying to find a LBS with Shimano's M088 Wide Fit model but haven't found anyone with local stock. I know I can order online and return; however, I'm really trying to give the local guy some business. And, especially with a shoe, I'd really like to get the fit right before I purchase.

Edited one more time: Calls to 16 "LBS's" in a 135-mile radius and NONE of them stock any of the few designated "wide" bike shoes on the market. Does everyone except me have skinny feet? Or do many of you walk around in clown shoes, suffering in silence? Is this only a problem on my side of the pond? Are bike shops in the UK sensible and stock a reasonable variety?

I'm ordering two pair from Zappos.com -- a major online shoe (& other things) outlet -- one in each of my two potential sizes (44/E & 45/E - several reviewers claim they run small). Zappos are a little more expensive than Amazon (which didn't offer my sizes even though they did have wide models) but they have ALL the sizes in stock -- and they offer free returns.

EdH51

Both shoes & pedals have arrived. The size 44/E, which should have fit, was long enough (barely), but was just a bit too tight across the widest part of my foot. The 45/E was quite comfortable; however, had half-sizes existed, I suspect a 44.5/E would have been the perfect fit. For anyone else trying to guesstimate fit, my experience is that the Shimano M088 series runs about 2/3rds of a size small compared to other shoes I find to be comfortable. And thank heavens for the extra width!