Good pedals and shoes for road bike

Morf3h

Hey all,

I'm looking at the Shimano A530 pedals

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

I want pedals with clips as well as an alternate normal side for cycling around in my normal runners or whatever.

Any thoughts on pedals around the 30-50 price range?

I'm also looking for wide-fitting shoes as my feet are quite wide. They would need to be compatible with the A530s obviously!

Any advice would be great,

Thanks,

M

blorg

Specialized, Shimano and Northwave have a reputation for wide fitting shoes. (Of these I have Specialized shoes and Shimano sandals.) SIDI also make a wide-fitting variant but they are expensive, probably more than you want to spend.

Personally I find the likes of the A530 pedal annoying as you lose one of the main benefits of SPDs, their double-sidedness. With normal SPDs you can just mash your foot down without looking and engage. With the A530s you need to make sure they are oriented right first. I would only go with it if you know you will be riding the bike a fair amount in normal shoes. (You can ride a couple of km with normal shoes on SPD pedals for popping to the shops or the like, any more would be uncomfortable.)

Morf3h

Hmm you have me thinking again! What about the 105 series pedals? What's the main difference between those kind and the SPD pedals?

thanks for the advice

smacl

Using single sided SPDs at the moment, and while they're ok, you can get double sided SPDs that are also good with regular shoes, see http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-m424-spd-pedals/ Haven't tried them yet, but planning on picking up a set in the near future. Depends on the proportion of your cycling will be in normal shoes, if it's only short spins in regular shoes, double sided SPDs make more sense.

Edit: Shoes wise, I'm using DHB MTB shoes. DHB because they're relatively cheap for reasonable quality. MTB, because I like to be able to walk for a bit with them on as needed. They're comfy enough, but no so great for walking on hard surfaces, ok in an emergency.

8kvscdpglqnyr4

I highly recommend these pedals - especially if you done some of your cycling in runners. I have a flat-bar road bike for commuting - I have these pedals on it and they're brilliant.

I know what blorg is saying but after 1 week using the pedals, it will become completely second nature to clip in. I find I can flip the pedal around with my toe ... just like a ballerina:pac:

**Timbuk2**

Be careful, I think the Shimano 105 pedals are for SPD-SL cleats, which are road cleats, unlike SPDs, which are mountain bike cleats (despite being MTB pedals, they are commonly used on road bikes, especially as entry-level pedals).

SPD-SL cleats look like the cleats on the left, whereas SPD cleats are the ones on the right


There's a large difference between the two. With SPD cleats, they are small and thus can be recessed into the sole of the shoe, so when you walk, it isn't difficult as the cleat doesn't protrude. Larger road cleats (like SPD-SL, Look, etc.) protrude which can make walking a bit more tricky (and also, if the cleat is exposed, walking will wear them down faster).

Personally, I'd recommend the M520 pedals - they aren't expensive, but they are double sided, so as blorg says, getting in and out is a doddle!

If you absolutely need pedals that are comfortable to cycle in normal shoes as well as cycling shoes, then I'd recommend a pedal like this - they are double sided, but if you use them with normal shoes, your foot presses down the 'clip' which makes it like a normal pedal! I haven't used one but read a few reviews before you buy it - they work well, but they don't look that pretty!

The choice of shoe is more personal, try a few in your local bike shop! Remember, for road pedals, you need a shoe that has three holes (in a triangular fashion) on the bottom of the shoe, whereas for a mtb pedal (like SPDs) you need one that has two vertical slits on the bottom of the shoe (and preferably recessed so walking is easy, although most MTB shoes will be like this).

Sometimes you can get a shoe that supports either type of cleat, but it isn't necessary. (Note: the two vertical slits are for SPD cleats and similar, whereas the three holes are for road cleats)

Morf3h

divil in a bit wrote:

I highly recommend these pedals - especially if you done some of your cycling in runners. I have a flat-bar road bike for commuting - I have these pedals on it and they're brilliant.

What pedals are you referring to?

I think I'm gonna go for these ones:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=7808

My bike is black/white/orange so they should match ok!

Eamonnator

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=7808

I've used these pedals for years. They have great support. I think, they were intended for downhill. They are grand for use with "ordinary" shoes.
They are not the lightest pedals out there.
And most importantly, they'll match your bike.