Looking for advice on pedals

AGC

Hi,

Just looking for some advice on pedals. Have been cycling in and out of work for the last 7 months on and off and a cycle the odd Saturday. Got some decent all weather gear in the lead up to christmas so can continue through the winter.

I have your bog standard peddals on the bike and wear runners, when wet my feet constantly slip. Is it worthwhile going getting peadals with correct cycling shoes(with cleats?)

I would know very little about bikes but just looking to progress on a bit!

Thanks in advance

AGC

Sorry mods wrong section!

Beasty

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TheBlaaMan

Definitely worth (necessary !) to get clip in pedals and proper cycling shoes if you are taking on even moderate distances. There's a stat. somewhere that suggests something in the order of 30% greater efficiency for your pedalling effort with clip in pedals, as you are also applying some power to the up-stroke .....

petethedrummer

I commute to work in MTB shoes and Shimano SPD pedals cos they're easy to walk in and it's a long walk to the shower from the bike rack.

But I prefer to go on long spins in Road Shoes and SPD-SLs. But they're a pain to walk in.

monkey 456

If your starting with a club do you need cycling shoes pedals and clets?...

kincsem

Look Specialized shoes (about €75)

Oops, I meant Specialized shoes.

I meant Look Keo Easy pedals (~€60), Look Delta cleats (~€16), Specialized shoes (~€75.)

Mycroft H

Try toe clips to see how you like them? Its worth noting that toe clips take a bit of getting used to with stop start traffic whereas toe clips are easier

marketty

I have the mountain bike type SPD pedals and shoes, they make such a difference you'll never want to ride a bike with regular pedals again! Your feet don't slip so you can get a nice even power stroke all the way round, so much more efficient and your legs just feel like pistons pumping up and down! And because the cleat is sort of recessed you can walk pretty much normally. I've never tried the road style bigger cleats, look keos etc. not sure of the advantage of these really, does the bigger contact area of the cleat/pedal give a better power transfer?
O and my ones are dual sided so if the pedal spins around while unclipped it doesn't matter. Some road types are single sided

seven stars

Agree with the above - get pedals and shoes.

I got pedals that have clips on one side and a 'normal' pedal surface on the other. I thought this was a decent compromise when I'd sometimes be using the bike for nipping to shops or football training or whatever.

I went for some Shimano touring shoes, which look a bit like race shoes but have an indented cleat, so you can still wlak in them. Got them on ebay for less than €20 delivered. Shimano shoe sizing is fecked up though, so you need to do a bit of research before ordering online.

Lumen

marketty wrote: »

I've never tried the road style bigger cleats, look keos etc. not sure of the advantage of these really, does the bigger contact area of the cleat/pedal give a better power transfer?

Road cleats & shoes feel better. It's a qualitative improvement.

seamus

monkey 456 wrote: »

If your starting with a club do you need cycling shoes pedals and clets?...

No, but they're strongly recommended. For the shorter distance of less than 50k, you'll be OK on normal pedals, but you'll find your feet getting tired and sore, whereas the guys with the clipless pedals don't.

You can easily get an entry-level setup of SPDs and shoes for €60 or less. Shimano PD-M520 are the basic SPD pedals and do the job perfectly. You'll get a pair of shoes on clearance or an ebay for €30.
You don't need road pedals (SPD-SL) when going out with a club, lots of people use SPDs because they're preferable for commuting.

smacl

I wouldn't say cleats are necessary, I've done many 100k+ spins without them and got on just fine. If you're already commuting without them, you don't need them for your commute but they might save you a bit of time. Once you get used to cleats however, they do give you a bit of extra power, and personally I find being clipped in way more comfortable than not being clipped in, particularly on down hills. Cleats with adjustable tension, e.g. most SPDs, are great starting out as you can set them very loose as you get used to them and then tighten as required.