Clipin pedals and cycling shoes

monkeypants

I'm going to be buying a new bike in the next two weeks or so and it doesn't come with pedals, which appears to be standard for most models. I was toying with the idea of buying some Shimano pedals and compatible shoes to go with the rest of the Shimano groupset, but I cannot see any advantage to this. My goal is Mizen to Malin in the summer, so it seems to make more sense to me to wear regular trainers and use flat pedals with toe clips. That way I don't need to bring extra shoes with me in case I want to walk somewhere at the end of a days cycle.

Does anyone have an opposing viewpoint or is there a benefit to pedals + shoes (SPD? I'm not that clued in on the terms) that I'm unaware of?

goldencleric

There are enormous benefits to using clip-in pedals/ shoes. Try Shimano SPD pedals and a mtb shoes, which will allow you to walk in them.

The main benefit is the efficient transfer of power from your legs to the crank via the stiff soles of your shoes. The soft spongey sole of your trainers will be inefficient for this (especially on a distance like Malin-Mizen). Just be sure to get comfortable with the clipping-in/ out before you go out on the bike. It really is like second nature after a short period of time though.

kenmc

for that sort of distance defo get spd.much more energy efficient. Mtb shoes are easy to walk in off the bike and many look just like a pair merrels or similar

monkeypants

Ah, so you can walk in MTB shoes? See, I wasn't aware of that. I thought that walking in cycling shoes would be like walking in football boots. I also thought that all cycling shoes were the same. I'll look into this further.

monkeypants

Are all Shimano clipless pedals and Shimano shoes compatible? I was thinking of either 105 or Ultegra pedals, but I don't know if that limits my choice of MTB shoes.

While I'm at it, what does SL mean?

cython

monkeypants wrote: »

Are all Shimano clipless pedals and Shimano shoes compatible? I was thinking of either 105 or Ultegra pedals, but I don't know if that limits my choice of MTB shoes.

While I'm at it, what does SL mean?

Shimano make two main cleat-pedal interfaces. SPD refers to their 2 bolt MTB interface, while SPD-SL is an incompatible 3 bolt road system. Only SPD has recessed cleats. 105 and Ultegra are road product lines, so I presume the pedals you linked to are for SPD-SL rather than SPD.

monkeypants

You're right Cython, they both say SPD-SL in the description. Thanks. I guess I'll have a look at MTB pedals.