Which pedals? Confused.

Thingstodotoday

Hi

I'm new to mountain biking. I have a Diamondback Sync 2.0.

For Christmas my partner bought me these shoes...

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-womens-wm52-spd-mountain-bike-shoes/

Do I need special pedals to go with them? I don't want to have to clip in or anything but was struggling with grip with just trainers which is why he bought me these.

Any help would be great. This is a whole new world to me!!!

mattham

Hi, your shoes need clipless pedals where a metal cleat you fix to the bottom of the shoe clips into the pedal. You are then clipped onto the pedal and can unclip by twisting or pulling in a particular way. It only takes a short while to get used to though.

These are all you need, you may find cheaper at Chain Reaction or Merlin etc, they are often available for about £15.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-m520-pedals/

Matt

The Rookie

Those are specifically for using clipped in (known as clipless) pedals, that's the SPD bit, if you want to ride flat pedals they are the wrong shoes and you probably need better pedals as the weakness is usually in the pedals not the shoes.

JGTR

It does get confusing and there are a few different options, it's all down to personal choice. If you don't want to ride clipped in then you need a flat pedal and a flat soled shoe, flat pedals have pins which grip the flat bottom of the shoe - shoes with big chunky grips will not work on flat pedals. Options are:

1. Get a new set of flat pedals, you'll need flat soled shoes - you can use skateboard type shoes or to be honest any shoe with a reasonably flat sole but ideally you want mountain bike specific shoes as they have stiffened and grippy soles. Pedals are reasonably cheap, MTB flat shoes aren't.
Pedals - both approx £40, Superstar have a sale on now with extra discount
Superstar Nano X
http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/nano-x-pedals.htm
Shimano Saint
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shimano/saint-mx80-flat-pedals-oe--ec054687?country=GB&currency=GBP&esvt=850-GOUKE325472&esvq=&esvadt=999999-0-35384-1&esvcrea=61233482576&esvplace=&esvd=m&esvaid=50080&gclid=CJLuksa-_MkCFZadGwod4yILfw

Shoes - Specialized 2FO £90, FiveTen Impact £55, Shimano AM41 £50, Shimano Gravity AM7 £65 - make sure you get flat shoes as some come in flat and SPD variants.

2. But a set of SPD pedals as mentioned above. They are generally thought of as the best ones available.

Personally I ride clipped in (SPD) as I come from a road background and I find it much better, takes some getting used to and you will fall off at first but stick with it and it gets better. If you are planning to do a lot of long XC rides I'd definitely go for clips, if you are doing tight & twisty stiff maybe look at flats???. I also find riding flats in muddy conditions a pain in the *** as whenever I put my foot down I slide about!

There is a third option (which is what I do) that it to buy a pair of SPD pedals with a cage, it means you clip in but if you need to you can unclip for the tricky bits and still be able to pedal

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/shimano-m424-clipless-spd-mtb-pedals/rp-prod7808?gs=1&gclid=CIK0q5TB_MkCFUHnwgodxvgLSQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thingstodotoday

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to reply and for listing so many options. I really appreciate it!

buddy_club

If you go for the Nanos, enter code SANTA21 at checkout and they go down to only £31.99 for the steel axled ones which is a crazy bargain.

rockmonkeysc

Get a pair of cheap spd pedals. They only take one or two rides to get used to but after that you won't want to go back.
I hate riding on flats now, I just occasionally use them for freeride sessions. Even for downhill I can't stand flats.

davidradar

I have to agree with the majority here. Buy some SPD pedals, you will be blown away on your first ride with them. So much control especially if you have a strong core. It will also fix your problems with slipping off. Good luck and have fun riding

Thingstodotoday

Thanks so mich everyone. Just off to drop bike in for its first service so will check out what they have.

Thewaylander

I'm opposite to monkey boy cant stand riding SPD's but I encourage all riders to try both and see which they get on with the most.

poah

for spd's get a set of time atac from bike-discount.de much cheaper than the UK. SPD shoes and flat pedals are like walking on ice.

The Rookie

€40 plus P&P is more than the £16 (delivered) you can get M520's for.....

poah

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19770474#p19770474]The Rookie[/url] wrote:

€40 plus P&P is more than the £16 (delivered) you can get M520's for.....

not relevant, but thanks for the input

The Rookie

In responce to 'much cheaper'....which they aren't!

StinkinHippy

Is entirely relevant if the less than half the cost pedals are decent. Which I assume they would be.