Shoes and pedal advice please

Gouldy-89

So I'm a couple of months in and have decided to make the leap to some proper shoes and pedals, though no idea what I am looking for. The only thing that had made sense is I need a bit of float for my first pair, 7ish degrees?

Had a look around decathlon today and tried a few pairs on - 700s were really comfortable but I didn't know if £80 is good value or not - the rest felt solid but very uncomfortable. Love some feedback on btwin or any other places where I can try before I buy.

Pedals, no idea what the difference between all the variants were, some said "clipless" but still looked like you had to clip into them anyway...?

Thanks

wongataa

Gouldy-89 wrote:

Pedals, no idea what the difference between all the variants were, some said "clipless" but still looked like you had to clip into them anyway...?

You clip into clipless pedals confusingly. A cleat is screwed to the shoe which clips into the pedal. Clipless systems include Shimano SPD, Shimano SPD-SL, Look Keo.

The clipless name comes from the fact that the system does not use toe clips - cages and straps on the pedal to hold the shoe in place.

Gouldy-89

Now I get it. Thanks.

Secteur

SPD-SL system

Yellow cleats

Shimano shoes

All of the above can be had relatively cheaply, and are all very good (nay excellent!)

myideal

Must say I like SPD on my road bike as find its easier to walk in (should you need to) and more simple to clip in.

However what you choose is your choice. There are some nice touring peddles- one side is SPD and one flat for nor.al shoes. Seem to be popular pedals for many.

Secteur

For the OP (who by their own admission is clueless) please note that SPD and SPD-SL are entirely different things. Don't assume the former is simply short hand for the latter!

Gouldy-89

Thanks, didn't think there was. What is the difference?

myideal

I would say look on the GCN YouTube channel as they have a cracking video on it, which explains probably better than I could even try to.

Just search clipless pedals

vysie

A few things I've noticed from a newbie perspective
Spd pedals and shoes great to walk in and easy in out and if you go both sided peds easy if you miss the clip, I found these harder to set up regarding the cleat position as it gave me a real bad knee, like I say I got away wearing the shoes at work
Spd sl harder to get clipped in on first try but I'm new to it so expect this once in the amount of movement means my knee no longer hurts walking wise I look strange and due to clip on show can't get away with them at work,
I do feel I have better feel with the spd sl over spd
There plenty of choice depends on what your comfy in,
And also as said you can buy spd one side and flats the other just in case you wanna nip the shop you don't need to get kitted out

myideal

There is also something called speed play. Never used them personally but cycling friends seem to love them. You can get more float (angle) should you have issues with your knees.

I followed a guide to set up the SPD and did need a little tweaking after a ride or so, but clipping in and out is great for a newbie. However many will ride on SPD SL and will tell you they are excellent and I'm sure they are. I think it's very much personal preference for the casual cyclist.

SME

I put 'commuter' pedals on my bike,SPD on one side and flat on the other. Then when I bought the Trek last year I put A520 SPD pedals on that.

But the A520's look like a road bike pedals - it has a metal frame around the clip which, for me made clipping in more difficult than, say, a double side SPD.

Last week I was probably brave or foolish, but I put SPD-SL's on the Trek 2 days before a 120 mile ride... and I love them. For me I had better power transfer and they were easier to clip into.

Halfords are doing a set of SPD-SL wiith yellow cleats for about £24

Gouldy-89

Thanks, think I will go with the spd sl 540/550, depending on the deal I can get where.

Where do people get their shoes from? Only two I can think of are decathlon and go outdoors (apart form LBS, but they don't have anything under £100 - bit too much for first time)

wongataa

Gouldy-89 wrote:

Thanks, think I will go with the spd sl 540/550, depending on the deal I can get where.

Where do people get their shoes from? Only two I can think of are decathlon and go outdoors (apart form LBS, but they don't have anything under £100 - bit too much for first time)

Wiggle, Merlin, Evans etc.

Order a couple of sizes and send back the ones that don't fit.

Jerry185

Maybe going down the wrong route here, as its not said what sort of mileage or bike you're using, but I've generally seen that SPD's are usually associated with heavier (MTB type) shoes. You can also get 'normal' road bike shoes that weigh considerably more than ones for another £30-40.

If you plan on doing some serious mileage on a racer, its worth investing in a lighter pair of shoes; I did after a year and was amazed how good they felt (= performance was much better).

One other thing is to expect that, at some point, you'll come to a stop whilst wearing the shoes and you'll have forgotten to unclip. Its a horrible realisation that you're going to fall and its going to hurt

Gouldy-89

I'm not big on the ordering loads offline in case I don't get the right fit, after what shops out there do them so I can try them on first.

Quite a lot of mileage, looking to do the south Wales velothon next year part of the dragon ride maybe (200kish one) among others.

Also, for a road bike (forme longcliffe 1.0), hence the road bike section

g00se

Also worth clarifying, SPD and SPD-SL are only the Shimano pedal systems. SPD mountain bike pedals are quite ubiquitous in the 'two-hole' mountain bike / cyclocross world (Shimano invented them) and SPD is used to refer to these types of pedals and cleats, but there are other two-hole systems. Time ATAC, Crank Bros Egg-beaters etc. They all fit the two-hole fittings on the bottom of mountain bike shoes (you can also get road and touring shoes with two hole fittings.

On the road/racing side, you get the three-hole systems (I think Look invented these from their Ski-shoe background). Here Shimano is just one player. Probably the biggest is Look with the Keo system, Time has Expresso, etc. These three hole systems are usually one-sided and stand proud of the shoe.

You can also get Speedplay road pedals - which are different in that they are double-sided, use four-holes (but most use adaptor shims to fit them to three hole shoes) and most of the mechanism is built into the cleat rather than the pedal.

Gouldy-89

Did like the look of the speedplays, but way out of my price range sadly

svetty

wongataa wrote:

Gouldy-89 wrote:

Thanks, think I will go with the spd sl 540/550, depending on the deal I can get where.

Where do people get their shoes from? Only two I can think of are decathlon and go outdoors (apart form LBS, but they don't have anything under £100 - bit too much for first time)

Wiggle, Merlin, Evans etc.

Order a couple of sizes and send back the ones that don't fit.

Very much against this advice. For your first pair of road shoes I'd go to an independent local bike shop that knows what they are doing and can advise you based on your feet/bike/needs. Sure you can shop online when you have been around a while and know what's what but for a new-to-cleats cyclist this isn't a good idea IMO

hsiaolc

Gouldy-89 wrote:

Did like the look of the speedplays, but way out of my price range sadly

don't think about price.

I've had experience with SPDs SPD SLs.

SPDs not really for the road.

Was advised with SPD SLs. Half year in still felt dangerous and uncomfortable.

One day I tried speedplays purely I saw Wiggins was using them. I wish someone told me sooner. They are perfect. You can choose to have any angle of float or no float and you can clip in from both sides and they are super easy to clip in and out.

Take the plunge. IF you buy SPD Sls and you can't get use to them and then later spend buying on Speedplays then you might as well get them now.

As for the shoe I highly recommend shimano RP5s. Best value for money and it is much better shoe than Rapha, Sidi, Mavic (I have them all). Shimano have made their shoe that much better now. Make sure it is carbon sole though so not to get hot spots while riding.

Four years of commuting and thousands of pounds spend on so many things (probably 10s of thousands) and years of pain and trial and I can say those advice are better than those experts at the shops.

mac9091

There was a pro recently that won wearing a pair of the Decathlon 700s and their was a small piece on it (basically about value and good shoes), although i dont remember where or when.

Was probably 3 years ago+

navrig2

I'd strongly also recommend buying your first pair from a shop and NOT online. There are loads of different widths out there and you need to get a pair which fit. Having sore feet 40 miles from home is no fun and you wont be able to send them back when you do get home.

Give yourself loads of time, go to a decent LBS and try several makes and models.

Anonymous

Secteur wrote:

SPD-SL system

Yellow cleats

Shimano shoes

All of the above can be had relatively cheaply, and are all very good (nay excellent!)

Why Shimano shoes?

Gouldy-89

Went round the local bike shops in Bristol trying all the different makes, model, etc. Ended up going for the Specialized Elite that i got price matched online - got £30 off! (Cycle surgery for those in the area)

Made the leap for the Shimano 550's as they were reduced to the standard cost of the 540's and went for my first ride last night and cannot believe the difference - knocked a few mins of my best time on the same loop even with the poor weather!

Thanks for the advice

ZMC888

Go with Shimano. Either way buy SPD mountain bike pedals and shoes if want to walk around and look normal. If you aren't bothered about looking weird a Shimano road shoe and yellow cleat with any one of their road SPD pedals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTviU17GmQs