Pedals, What are the Options?

Thargor

Hi, somebody told me clips/cleats make a huge difference to a ride but I dont want to have to go wearing special shoes when I take my hybrid out and I dont like the idea of strapping my feet in place either, are there any pedals I could buy that give the effect without any of what I just mentioned? Im thinking of normal flat pedal like I have now but with something that my toe pushes against for a bit of extra force without holding my foot in place in an accident, does anything like that exist?

Beasty

Clipless is definitely your best (and probably only) option if you want something better than simple flat pedals. Shmano SPD's like these give you cleats on one side and flat on the other. You do need special shoes (and the cleats), but the advantage of this type of pedal is the cleat is recessed into the sole of the show, so you can walk around "normally" in them - again there is quite a selection here - you just need to make sure they are SPD compatible

IM0

what your looking for is toe clips, they have a ploastic toe part on the front to push against and you can set the clips/straps to as loose as you want best of both worlds, something more powerfull than the flat pedals, and not as 'locked in' as clip in pedals.

Heck you could not put the straps on at all and just use the plastic part to cover your toes and have *a little* resistance to help keep your feet on the flat bed pedals like these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/KF_Toe_Clip_And_Strap/5220000017/

toomuchdetail

A quick question for the exp cyclist , I only got into Tri's this year and got cleats and shoes, do see an advantage but have the confidence issue which I am working thru , can you tell me if its possible to adjust the cleat tension to allow quicker release on the shoes , if I do this is there trade off on the functionality on the shoe/ pedal ? thanks in advance.

Beasty

toomuchdetail wrote: »

A quick question for the exp cyclist , I only got into Tri's this year and got cleats and shoes, do see an advantage but have the confidence issue which I am working thru , can you tell me if its possible to adjust the cleat tension to allow quicker release on the shoes , if I do this is there trade off on the functionality on the shoe/ pedal ? thanks in advance.

Yes, they have adjusters on them - normally a small turn with an allen key (on the pedal) does it.

penexpers

Beasty wrote: »

Yes, they have adjusters on them - normally a small turn with an allen key (on the pedal) does it.

This also depends on the pedal - some of the cheaper Look Keo ones don't have adjustment, for example.

penexpers

Beasty wrote: »

Clipless is definitely your best (and probably only) option if you want something better than simple flat pedals. Shmano SPD's like these give you cleats on one side and flat on the other. You do need special shoes (and the cleats), but the advantage of this type of pedal is the cleat is recessed into the sole of the show, so you can walk around "normally" in them - again there is quite a selection here - you just need to make sure they are SPD compatible

I wouldn't say clipless is the only option. I use some DMR V8 pedals with Five Ten shoes and I get a lot of grip out of it. As an added bonus, I wear the Five Ten shoes all the time so don't have to worry about breaking out the special shoes everytime I want to go on the bike.

IM0

penexpers wrote: »

This also depends on the pedal - some of the cheaper Look Keo ones don't have adjustment, for example.

my Keo classics do, and they were the cheapest Keo's at the time and I just checked the latest ones and they still do, so Im not sure where you go that from

Thargor

me@ucd wrote: »

what your looking for is toe clips, they have a ploastic toe part on the front to push against and you can set the clips/straps to as loose as you want best of both worlds, something more powerfull than the flat pedals, and not as 'locked in' as clip in pedals.

Heck you could not put the straps on at all and just use the plastic part to cover your toes and have *a little* resistance to help keep your feet on the flat bed pedals like these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/KF_Toe_Clip_And_Strap/5220000017/

Those look like exactly what Im asking for but they're out of stock, thanks, can you see anything similar on http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ or anywhere else though? I dont see anything, dont see much on Ebay either.

penexpers

me@ucd wrote: »

my Keo classics do, and they were the cheapest Keo's at the time and I just checked the latest ones and they still do, so Im not sure where you go that from

Look Keo Easy.

Thargor

Im going to go with these I think:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1PR-VP-MINI-TOE-CLIPS-FOR-PEDALS-danscycleworkshop_W0QQitemZ200418401192QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR?hash=item2ea9de1ba8

Anyone see anything majorly wrong with them? I have to emphasize I dont want to be locked to the pedal in any way at all through a strap and especially not cleats, I dont know how anyone braves the road with their feet welded in place like that :eek:

IM0

Thargor wrote: »

Im going to go with these I think:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1PR-VP-MINI-TOE-CLIPS-FOR-PEDALS-danscycleworkshop_W0QQitemZ200418401192QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR?hash=item2ea9de1ba8

Anyone see anything majorly wrong with them? I have to emphasize I dont want to be locked to the pedal in any way at all through a strap and especially not cleats, I dont know how anyone braves the road with their feet welded in place like that :eek:

They look like the exact thing you want and I was trying to expalin above as an option (didnt realise they actually did them with no holes for staps like that though) you just need to make sure as it says to have two holes in the front of the pedal to mount them to.

and because we feel like it

Thargor

I dont know if there are 2 holes on my pedals or not, there are 2 screws holding in the small reflectors on the front and rear edges of the pedal and the screw goes all the way through to a nut on the other side in the hollow part of the pedal if you know what I mean, dont know if thats what they're talking about?

blorg

Toe clips are significantly more difficult to get out of in an emergency situation, I would not go near them. Get a clipless system, if you are starting out SPD is best. Bit of practice and you will come out easily enough. I have crashed several times on SPDs and always came out automatically. Crashed once with toe clips recently (I have them on my hack bike so I can use normal shoes) and stayed firmly attached to bike skidding across the road. Not nice.

Toe clips without straps are less likely to cause this problem but are still more difficult to get out of than SPDs with only a bit of practice. Also without straps the benefit provided to pedalling is nowhere near SPDs, all they will do basically is stop your foot slipping forward which won't happen in any case with a good grippy pedal (like a DMR V8 MTB pedal.)

blorg

If you are completely cleat phobic this may also be of interest, would be safer than toeclips certainly:

http://www.ezridesystem.com/en/
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/pedals/product/ez-ride-evolve-35104

But ultimately you should just get SPDs. How can you know it won't work for you until you give it a try. A couple of weeks and it is second nature. Telling would be how you don't get a lot of people who try clipless and then decide to move back to flats.

loyatemu

anyone any opinion on these. Eventually I plan to get clipless of some sort, but I'm flat broke post-xmas and my bike still has the sh!tty plastic pedals that wiggle threw in with it (which won't even take clips).

blorg

loyatemu wrote: »

anyone any opinion on these. Eventually I plan to get clipless of some sort, but I'm flat broke post-xmas and my bike still has the sh!tty plastic pedals that wiggle threw in with it (which won't even take clips).

You can get SPDs for basically the same price. Of course you would have to get shoes as well in that case.

Alternatively I have two pairs of these which I am looking to shift for €25ono. They have quite a light release, which is arguably good for beginners...

They are also at 300g much lighter than most SPDs but I am need to go for something that I can crank the tension up so I am sure it will hold my foot, I have unclipped out of these when sprinting which I don't want.

papac

I dont know how anyone braves the road with their feet welded in place like that

+1 for Clipless pedals. You are not welded in place. A slight twist of the foot releases the clip. They are imo the best and safest option.

@Blorg
Is that 25 for both pairs of pedals or each. Would you post 'em at my expense??

blorg

papac wrote: »

@Blorg
Is that 25 for both pairs of pedals or each. Would you post 'em at my expense??

€25 for each pair, €42 new from CRC at the moment. No problem posting if you are paying!

Thargor

I bought a pair of these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280444098519&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

And they came today and they're exactly what I wanted but for the life of me I cant fit them, there were no instructions included.

Ive popped off the reflectors on the pedal and the screwholes do line up but no matter what way I try to fit them they dont seem to be right. Does anyone know what the 2 metal rectangles in the picture are for or fit clips like those before?

Ryaner

Thargor wrote: »

I bought a pair of these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280444098519&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

And they came today and they're exactly what I wanted but for the life of me I cant fit them, there were no instructions included.

Ive popped off the reflectors on the pedal and the screwholes do line up but no matter what way I try to fit them they dont seem to be right. Does anyone know what the 2 metal rectangles in the picture are for or fit clips like those before?

They look like standard toe clips. Remove the reflectors on the front of the pedals and bolt them on. Metal rectangles are most likely converter plates for pedals which don't line up exactly.

Chartsengrafs

Sorry to hijack, but is there much of a difference between SPDs and SPD SLS? I know the former are more for MTBs but are they considerably easier to 'unclick'? And is there any significant downside for road use compared to SPD SLs?

Thargor

They just dont sit though, and the nut and bolt that comes with them dont seem long enough. I know Im probably just being a moron about something simple but Ive been at them for 3 hours. Im going in to a bikeshop about them tomorrow to get it sorted, have to walk there and back though with the way the roads are here, dammit.

-K2-

I bought a set of these for my Giant:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=28050

Regular shoes one side, SPD cleats the other. They work well on both counts.

Getting used to clipping in/out took about 10 minutes cycling around the park (on soft grass, just in case).

blorg

Basster wrote: »

Sorry to hijack, but is there much of a difference between SPDs and SPD SLS? I know the former are more for MTBs but are they considerably easier to 'unclick'? And is there any significant downside for road use compared to SPD SLs?

Basically the SPD-SLs will provide significantly better foot retention which is important if you are racing and don't want to clip out in a sprint, no matter how you are thrashing about. The "feel" of the connection is also more solid feeling although whether this actually makes any difference to power transfer I am not so sure. I am basing this on SPD-SL being the same as other road systems as I haven't used them (I use Time RXS) - but I am pretty sure they are. The downsides are: more difficult to clip in to and you can't walk any distance in the shoes.

If you are not racing SPDs are almost always a better bet, double sided, walkable shoes, easier to clip into if you are stopping and starting, etc. I use SPDs on all except my racing bikes.

Chartsengrafs

OK great, thanks for that Blorg.I got SPD SLs last year for my first road bike, they feel grand, but I'm just pretty nervous on them in town and stuff..can't seem to get used to them.