SPD pedals for Duathlon??

Ah_go_on

First Duathlon this weekend (Fingal) and don't know whether its a good idea to use clipless pedals or not as it may cause delays during transition. Distances are quite short (2.5k run, 20k cycle, 2.5k run) so is there much benefit using spds??

woody1

interested in the reply to this i have a duathlon in 2 weeks ish took me ages to get the old pedals off and the spds on cant be arsed taking off and putting on again i know from a duathlon ten days ago ( i didnt do it ) that most people had the spd pedals on distances were similar to what youve mentioned i suppose if your good enough on the bike youd more than make back the time spend changing runners and into bike shoes

nomadic

If your efficient at the change over it'd be well worth the spd's. I'd say it should take maybe 10 seconds longer. I'd imagine the time difference between spd's and runners over 20k would be 2 mins easily.

christeb

Yes go for SPDs, 20k is a decent cycle and you will really feel the benefit. It shouldn't take you too much longer in transition if you've practiced the changeover a bit.

shotgunmcos

nomadic wrote: »

If your efficient at the change over it'd be well worth the spd's. I'd say it should take maybe 10 seconds longer. I'd imagine the time difference between spd's and runners over 20k would be 2 mins easily.

Thats it exactly, the power transfer to the pedal you lose with runners is minutes

Ah_go_on

Thanks Lads, I better start practicing speedy lace ups

nomadic

Ah_go_on wrote: »

Thanks Lads, I better start practicing speedy lace ups

Get some lock laces. No messing with laces involved.

pgibbo

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Thats it exactly, the power transfer to the pedal you lose with runners is minutes

I always thought that too until last summer. We have a TT league that visits 3 locations twice. One of the lads wore SPD shoes for the first and toe clip with runners for the second as he wanted to tear in to a run straight after. I was surprised when checking the results to see that he went faster with the toe clips. Mind you, he is a seasoned cyclist but I still would have thought he would have been slower with the toe clips.

woody1

went for a quick blast over the weekend with the new clip in pedals only the second time but they were so handy to get in and out of the first time i thought i knew it all as i was pulling away on the bike a car pulled into the car park we were leaving from clean forgot i had them on and went to put my foot down on the ground to stand needless to say but meself and the bike landed in a heap not quite in front of the car but close enough to give the driver a heart attack

went for a 20k blast after that and found them quite good was able to keep up with a guy that normally pulls away from me quite easily ( or maybe he wasnt trying i dunno ) id like to think its the pedals to justify the expenditure

but yeah pedals quite good it probably is worth using them for the duathlon but do be careful with them or youl end up looking like an eejit at best or doing yourself an injury at worst

kennyb3

pgibbo wrote: »

I always thought that too until last summer. We have a TT league that visits 3 locations twice. One of the lads wore SPD shoes for the first and toe clip with runners for the second as he wanted to tear in to a run straight after. I was surprised when checking the results to see that he went faster with the toe clips. Mind you, he is a seasoned cyclist but I still would have thought he would have been slower with the toe clips.

As said above SPD is defo the way to go. The stiffer the sole in cycling shoes the better hence a carbon fibre sole is desireable.I remember going from toe clips to spd and id say i gained 1.5km/ph.

Id say that guy was pacing himself and holding back early on then let it rip.

The other thing to note is that not all duathlons are same lenght and make up - some have 2 or even 3 cycles and in that case where its run-cycle-run-cycle-run or whatever toe clips can be useful.

Good article in the winter cycling fitness comparing entry level shoes - showed what i already new that my shimano one's are rubbish - the sole flexes when you walk. Literally got my hands on a new pair of specialized pro road shoes this morning. Cant wait to try them out.

pgibbo

kennyb3 wrote: »

As said above SPD is defo the way to go. The stiffer the sole in cycling shoes the better hence a carbon fibre sole is desireable.I remember going from toe clips to spd and id say i gained 1.5km/ph.

Id say that guy was pacing himself and holding back early on then let it rip.

The other thing to note is that not all duathlons are same lenght and make up - some have 2 or even 3 cycles and in that case where its run-cycle-run-cycle-run or whatever toe clips can be useful.

Good article in the winter cycling fitness comparing entry level shoes - showed what i already new that my shimano one's are rubbish - the sole flexes when you walk. Literally got my hands on a new pair of specialized pro road shoes this morning. Cant wait to try them out.

I hear you and I thought the same. However, it was TT over the same course not a duathlon. It was his home patch and he wanted to win on both occasions. Maybe he dug deeper the day he had the toe clips as he won that day. The day with SPD he was beaten in to second and was not happy. I guess where he was in his training would make a difference too. The events were 5 weeks apart. I understand the science, etc but this example really threw me. That's why I highlighted it.

kennyb3

Ah right, with you now. Could be anything from a massive headwind V tailwind to fitness level as you say