Q&A: New to cycling–which clipless pedals should I purchase?
Question by Rachel: New to cycling–which clipless pedals should I purchase?
I’m new to cycling and recently bought a Gary Fisher ARC Super road bike and love it. Someone told me that clipless pedals will significantly improve my riding since they’re much more efficient, so I’m beginning to look into them but have no idea what I’m looking for. What pedals/shoes are best? I’m not necessarily looking for Lance Armstrong quality, but I’m not on a budget either, so I don’t want to have to upgrade to a better set later on. For what it’s worth, I ride my bike about four miles to campus each day at a leisurely pace, then take some long, faster rides at various times during the week. Also, and excuse the newbie ignorance, but are clipless pedals difficult to use when riding with regular sneakers? I don’t want to wear geeky cycling shoes to class! Thanks for any input!
Thanks for the input, everyone! I’m glad you mentioned the SPD pedals; I think those will be an excellent solution for simple commuting vs. long, fast rides dilemma I was facing. I’m going with the Shimano PD-A530 pedals and can’t wait to get them!
Best answer:
Answer by Bob A
You need the geeky looking shoes to be able to clip in to the pedals. Most casual riders will use mountain bike pedals and shoes (SPD) because the clip are recessed and you can walk in them. You may want to try pedals with the toe straps first and see if you like it. You can get a set for around -25 and can wear any shoe you want.
http://www.caree.org/bike101cliplesspedals.htm
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there are several questions here, but i’ll try to answer them all.
clipless pedals come in 3 basic forms,
a. single sided (like Look brand, and these pedals here with clipless on one side and platform on the other:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/pedals.html#clipless
looks are for road biking, and road bike shoes are really awkward to walk in.
b. double sided like the most affordable and basic of the bunch, and they are for road bike and mountain bikes. the shimano SPD is the most common.
c. 4 sided like crank bros eggbeaters. they’re the easiest to clip into, really hard to miss.
as for shoes, you’ll find road shoes with smooth soles with rubber nubs on the toe and heel, minimal bottom for aerodynamics. this leaves a very awkward walk when you have the cleat on the sole.
mountain shoes have “cleats” or lugs around the sole which protect the pedal cleat when off the bike and make for a more comfortable walking experience.
you can find sandals like:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/pedals.html#shoes
i recently rode from san francisco to los angeles. i was looking for a shoe that would be comfortable to walk around in when i wasn’t on the bike, and i went with:
http://www.sixsixone.com/Catalog_661Bike.aspx?id=98342a29-3236-424a-bc19-80ccae7ab32c&product=8f39445a-6a88-44ff-b0ed-254eee406449
and for pedals:
http://www.google.com/products?complete=1&hl=en&q=mks+ezy+cube&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=dAtUSpzTM4TysgO8-IibDw&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4
i love those pedals because they are quick release, which allow me to move them quickly from one bike to another.
Clipless pedals encourage you to pedal more efficiently, but they aren’t more efficient if you don’t understand the principle of spinning in a circle.
True “road” pedals use a 3-bolt cleat system. The cleat is attached to the bottom of the shoe, and it projects from the sole in a manner that prevents normal walking; you kind of walk like a duck. The road shoes that are compatible with these pedals have very stiff soles and aren’t meant to be walked around on. For your needs, they’re impractical.
More and more road riders are going to 2-bolt cleat systems. These include Shimano’s popular SPD system, as well as others such as Crank Bros and Speedplay. The cleats are recessed into the sole of the shoe, so walking is very normal and easy. Two-bolt compatible shoes come in many styles, including mtb shoes, road shoes, touring shoes, sandals and some otherwise pretty normal looking shoes. Lots of choices, and the prices are better than what you’d pay for a dedicated road shoe and clipless pedal. (You can easily pay $125-250 for just the pedals).
If you think you’d like to wear normal shoes occasionally and not be confined to riding in your cycling shoes, you can get a campus or “touring” pedal. These have the cleat on one side and a nice platform on the other for those times you just want to wear your Vans, Chucks, or whatever. Shimano offers its PD-A520 & A530 as two possibilities, but there are many more. Prices run about $40-80 for a set.
I use the SPD mountain bike pedals that have clips on one side and a platform on the other. Best of both worlds. Wear your regular shoes commuting and your geeky clipless shoes for serious riding.
Get your local bike shop to advise you on this and do the fitting and installation. They should show you how to use the clipless setup and let you practice getting your feet in and out of the clips while someone holds the bike up. They also need to adjust the shoe clips to accommodate the angle your foot normally rides at on the pedals.
Practice using the clipless setup on grass ’til you get comfortable getting in and out of the clips. And expect to roll to a stop one day, forget to unclip, and fall over. Just part of the dues paying with clipless.