Clipless Pedals and Shoes and Cleats…help.

[DaveK]

@Tim Kelley 42313 wrote:

FYI–I picked up a pair of SPDs and mountain bike shoes this weekend as well. DaveK, Blacknell and I went out to play in Fort Dupont in the snow. Pedals were fine, although I had to knock out the snow and leaf buildup from the cleats every time we stopped, and I didn’t even wipe out as badly as DaveK!

Bunny hops are so much easier, as is going over logs.

That was an ongoing environmental soil sampling program using my face.

[JimF22003]

@Subby 42310 wrote:

Went out for a test ride last night in the muck and this whole clipless pedal thing is, like, 100% easier and simpler than I had made it in my mind all those years. Seriously – it could not be easier clipping in or out. I wish I had taken the plunge sooner.

Congrats. Actual riding with clips at first isn’t hard. What usually happens at first is that you forget you are clipped in, and do a slow-speed tipover when you come to a stop.

[vvill]

@Subby 42310 wrote:

After a little time looking at the bike with the mechanic and the shop owner, I found myself agreeing to replace the entire drive chain (hey – it’s cheaper than a car drive train! said the shop owner) because it was not in great shape after a year of commuting as a bike noob. In the end, it probably cost me more than it should have, but parts + labor was just slightly north of $100 so it wasn’t devastatingly awful either.

That’s not bad at all for a new drivetrain! I hope they made sure to put some grease on the pedal threads this time.

[mstone]

@mstone 40923 wrote:

SPDs are good for being able to walk. For a commuter I’d definitely recommend combo pedals–sometimes you just don’t want to clip in (or need to wear a different pair of shoes). Shimano has them in a couple of styles (M324, A530, T780).

To follow up on my own post…I picked up a pair of PD-T780s since I wrote the above, and I think Shimano hit this one out of the park. It’s about the same weight as the A530, but it has a reflector, and it has a much larger/more comfortable platform when you’re not wearing bike shoes. The lack of a reflector was the one thing that always bothered me about the A530s (I know when I’m driving a car, that bobbing yellow light is a very distinctive attention-getter, and something that you can’t forget/not charge once it’s attached to the bike.) It also looks decent on a road bike, as opposed to the M324, which is a bit too mountainy (and which is also 100+g heavier). Disclaimer: in theory, there’s a reflector available as an add-on for the A530, but I’ve never seen it in North America, and it seems fairly hard to get outside of Japan. The T780 is also really hard to find here, and doesn’t even seem to be listed on Shimano NA’s site. I don’t know why companies do that. (Part of it is because there’s a legal requirement to have the reflector in much of Europe, but WTF won’t they just sell it here even if it isn’t required by law?) I ended up getting it from a place in Colorado, which was one of the few domestic companies that had it. I didn’t see it anywhere local.

Side note: I like a lot of what Shimano is doing with their “Trekking” line–I think of them as their “bikes for normal people” parts. Except for that whole “in North America we’ll sell you a racing bike or a mountain bike” thing, which seems to limit availability.

[JorgeGortex]

@vvill 42389 wrote:

I hope they made sure to put some grease on the pedal threads this time.

= never seize is your friend.

[PeteD]

Are the differences between an SPD / SPD-SL / Look / Speedplay / Crankbros from a performance/functionality standpoint really all that different? Conventional wisdom has SPD / Crankbro for MTB/Hybrids, SPD-SL/Look/Speedplay for road bikes, something about size of contact and ability to transfer power… I’m just looking at cost and ability to re-use if I wanted to get a set of PD-T780s for my hybrid… Since shoes and pedals are so damn expensive…

[mstone]

@PeteD 43627 wrote:

Are the differences between an SPD / SPD-SL / Look / Speedplay / Crankbros from a performance/functionality standpoint really all that different? Conventional wisdom has SPD / Crankbro for MTB/Hybrids, SPD-SL/Look/Speedplay for road bikes, something about size of contact and ability to transfer power… I’m just looking at cost and ability to re-use if I wanted to get a set of PD-T780s for my hybrid… Since shoes and pedals are so damn expensive…

Nobody is paying me to ride my bike (or paying for my bike) so SPD is efficient enough. I favor flexibility, and SPD seems to cover the most bases. On the road-pedal side, I think there’s less than 50 grams between shimano’s dura-ace SPD-SL pedals and the A600 SPD. The most significant factor is going to be the shoes. You will find more high-end road shoe options with three-hole systems, but if you can find two-hole shoes that are “good enough” for you, it doesn’t matter.

[americancyclo]

I was able to find a pair of road shoes that had a two hole SPD pattern and a three hole pattern so I could use my existing SPD pedals with an option to upgrade to the Look/Speedplay pedal if I wanted.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2

[vvill]

Yeah if I ever get road shoes they’ll have both 2 and 3 bolt compatibility.

@PeteD 43627 wrote:

Are the differences between an SPD / SPD-SL / Look / Speedplay / Crankbros from a performance/functionality standpoint really all that different? Conventional wisdom has SPD / Crankbro for MTB/Hybrids, SPD-SL/Look/Speedplay for road bikes, something about size of contact and ability to transfer power… I’m just looking at cost and ability to re-use if I wanted to get a set of PD-T780s for my hybrid… Since shoes and pedals are so damn expensive…

I’ve often wondered the same thing, since you can get quite stiff soled MTB shoes. But I’ve never actually tried road bike pedals.

[GuyContinental]

@vvill 43659 wrote:

Yeah if I ever get road shoes they’ll have both 2 and 3 bolt compatibility.

I’ve often wondered the same thing, since you can get quite stiff soled MTB shoes. But I’ve never actually tried road bike pedals.

Hozn and I were just chatting about this this morning- about 6K miles ago (after 20+ years of MTB riding/racing) I bought my first pair of road pedals/shoes and switched my road bike from basic Eggbeaters and stiff-as-you-can-get Specialized Carbon MTB shoes to Speedplay X2’s matched with Specialized Pro carbon road shoes (same shoe as the MTB with a 3 hole mount and no lugs). Switch was easily $300. Know what? In my sample of one (well 2, Hozn agreed) I don’t think that the road combo made more than the tiniest of difference to my power application. Worse, now I’m constantly fussing with and lubing my pedals, the interior free float (should have bought the Zeros) is killing my swanky carbon cranks and I have to walk like a duck. Only appreciable benefit is that shoe covers are super easy to put on without lugs (which is basically meaningless since on really nasty days I’m riding my Eggbeater-equipped CX with fenders).

I can’t speak to rigid Look-type one sided pedals (my knees are allergic to them) but given the racing community’s acceptance of Speedplays, I can’t imagine that I’m losing too much performance. However, if I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t. That said, a super stiff MTB shoe makes all the difference (I love my Specialized Carbon Pros enough that I have a standing ebay search in place in my size and snap up pairs if they are a good deal)

There is a racing argument for a low profile pedal (in a crit I’d lose meaningful clearance to the extra 2cm on the eggbeater) and (ahem) drag (yeah, drag, on 2cm of extra pedal…) BUT I don’t crit and pedal drag is… well, a ridiculous thing to worry about unless you are a TT freak.

**I’ll admit that I bought the roadie pedals in part because I was getting lightly hazed on the Espresso rides for all of my MTB gear and if you are going to ride an expensive carbon bike it seems like you *need* proper pedals. Also Clovis (the legendary bike fitter) was upset at my pedal choice. I still say “meh”

[TwoWheelsDC]

@vvill 43659 wrote:

Yeah if I ever get road shoes they’ll have both 2 and 3 bolt compatibility.

I’ve often wondered the same thing, since you can get quite stiff soled MTB shoes. But I’ve never actually tried road bike pedals.

If SPD-SLs were practical for commuting, I’d switch out my SPDs in a heartbeat. I find that road pedals (although my experience is limited to SPD-SLs) feel a lot more solid than SPDs and the pedals feel more like an extension of my foot. I think it’s a combination of a more rigid sole with much larger contact patches between the pedal, cleat, and base of the shoe. I also find that the float feels smoother and more natural…with SPD, the float feels less like float, and more just like play where two small, metal contacts meet. But with SPD-SLs, the float is much smoother and more natural, if that makes sense.

[vvill]

@GuyContinental 43661 wrote:

I can’t speak to rigid Look-type one sided pedals (my knees are allergic to them) but given the racing community’s acceptance of Speedplays, I can’t imagine that I’m losing too much performance. However, if I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t. That said, a super stiff MTB shoe makes all the difference (I love my Specialized Carbon Pros enough that I have a standing ebay search in place in my size and snap up pairs if they are a good deal)

My knees are bad too which is one reason I appreciate all the float offered by Crank Bros. And I also own Specialized MTB shoes which are much stiffer than my Shimano commuter shoes. I had the inverse experience with a casual MTBer friend of mine years ago where he said they were so stiff they seemed more like roadie shoes! Oh no!

@TwoWheelsDC 43671 wrote:

If SPD-SLs were practical for commuting, I’d switch out my SPDs in a heartbeat. I find that road pedals (although my experience is limited to SPD-SLs) feel a lot more solid than SPDs and the pedals feel more like an extension of my foot. I think it’s a combination of a more rigid sole with much larger contact patches between the pedal, cleat, and base of the shoe. I also find that the float feels smoother and more natural…with SPD, the float feels less like float, and more just like play where two small, metal contacts meet. But with SPD-SLs, the float is much smoother and more natural, if that makes sense.

Yeah the practically is one reason I doubt I’ll ever make the switch. Even in my MTB shoes I tend to slip on polished office floors, especially when pulling heavy doors. Also, I have 5 or 6 sets of Crank Bros pedals, which is enough spare cleats to last quite some time.

[ShawnoftheDread]

My new Crank Brothers Mallet pedals arrived at the office today. I was all set to ride home clipless for the first time, but I brought a 15mm open-end wrench and not an 8mm hex wrench to install them. Stupid fancy pedals.

[vvill]

Are you saying you don’t carry a multi-tool with you everywhere?

/ELITE

[mstone]

@vvill 44308 wrote:

Are you saying you don’t carry a multi-tool with you everywhere?

/ELITE

An ELITE rider would stand on the road waiting for the tool to show up. An ELITE rider would not carry extra weight unless trying to hit the UCI minimum.

[Author]

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