SPD pedals and cleats Question

trad

I want to fit SPDs to my Boardman hybrid. Long time out of touch, last clipless pedals I had were Time ones.

I have a reasonable good pair of (old) road shoes with 3 point attachment for the cleats.

Are shimano spd SL pedals and cleats what I am looking for? (fathers day coming up and all that)

com1

trad wrote: »

I want to fit SPDs to my Boardman hybrid. Long time out of touch, last clipless pedals I had were Time ones.

I have a reasonable good pair of (old) road shoes with 3 point attachment for the cleats.

Are shimano spd SL pedals and cleats what I am looking for? (fathers day coming up and all that)

probably. They have the 3 point attachment

TinyExplosions

SPD SL would work, as would Look or Time, or any ''road" system

smacl

Regular SPDs are two point attachment, with smaller recessed cleats, so would probably not be suitable. SPD SLs, Look Keos etc... should be fine. That said, I use SPDs on my hybrid and road bike, as I like the convenience of being able walk comfortably in them off the bike.

kavanagh_h

Hi to be honest if you have a hybrid you probably want to be able to wear your runners the odd time if you re going for a walk and spd sl is not what you want. If you want to use the bike a training fitness bike then ok but if you want the option of having the bike as an all rounder then get the shimano mtb pedals with the cleats to match they are 2 screws if thats what you all mean by two point.

Then you can wear your runners with the pedals safely as well. Its actually what i use on my road bike as well coz i love them so much. The shoes i have are similar to the riad shoes i had with the three point cleats which i am currently selling. Too small for you coz they are female.

BohToffee

Piggy backing this thread, I'm relatively new to cycling and have gotten SPD's for my road bike, but I can't seem to get my shoes to "click" into place... Am I missing something?? What's the trick to it??
Thanks.

tacklemore

BohToffee wrote: »

Piggy backing this thread, I'm relatively new to cycling and have gotten SPD's for my road bike, but I can't seem to get my shoes to "click" into place... Am I missing something?? What's the trick to it??
Thanks.

It can take a good push to get them to click in. It may be a case that they are adjusted too tight for you or may need a touch of oil to free them out. The tightness can be adjusted using an Allen key. There should be a bolt on each pedal. hope this helps

smacl

modea wrote: »

There should be a bolt on each pedal. hope this helps

Or two bolts on each pedal, if they're double sided. I leave mine pretty loose, as accidentally unclipping on the road has never been a problem.

BohToffee

smacl wrote: »

Or two bolts on each pedal, if they're double sided. I leave mine pretty loose, as accidentally unclipping on the road has never been a problem.

I have the clips as loose as they go, my problem is actually finding the clip with the shoe...
Co-ordination wouldn't be my forte....

smacl

Are you using single or double sided SPDs with or without a platform? Double sided are obviously much easier to clip into, and I found when starting out having a platform also helps as you just pedal normally and the clip locks in once the shoe slides into the right position. Something like these are cheap and work well.

BohToffee

smacl wrote: »

Are you using single or double sided SPDs with or without a platform? Double sided are obviously much easier to clip into, and I found when starting out having a platform also helps as you just pedal normally and the clip locks in once the shoe slides into the right position. Something like these are cheap and work well.

This is almost exactly what I'm using.. I haven't taken it out on the road yet just sat on the bike at home to get used to clipping/Unclipping to prevent the inevitable damage from falling off due to forgetting to unclip!!!
Will trial a run in the underground car park later and see if it just happens... Thanks for all the replies...

bambergbike

I find it harder to click in if the cleats aren't positioned correctly (if they're too far back, say, instead of being right under the ball of my foot). I had been moving mine back a bit to try and alleviate forefoot pain, but when I went too far back it was hard to click in and pedalling didn't feel efficient.

It's also easier to click in when you are actually getting on the bike to pedal away rather than clicking in and out for practice. You tend to shift more of your weight onto the pedal when you're serious about cycling off, and that little bit of extra brute force and ignorance helps.

You'll get used to it very quickly, having the tension set correctly and the pedals lubricated helps.

Small thread hijack:
I got new SPD shoes a few weeks ago and I'm still trying to fine-tune the sideways cleat positioning (as well as the fore and aft positioning mentioned). When I ride on flat pedals, my position on the bike is really asymmetrical and I don't know why (anatomy? force of habit?). My left leg is much closer to my centre-line than my right leg (one foot rests directly against the crank arm, the other foot is centimetres away from it, one knee brushes against the crossbar and the other one never does). Having cleats has forced me into a more symmetrical position, but my knees don't seem happy about the change.