Clipless pedals?

KakenBetaal said:

I recently bought a Specialized Sirrus Elite and have been using ordinary trainers with the pedals. Not ideal I know. What difference can I expect to get with clipless pedals and is getting some shoes and pedals a worthwhile option?

I do around 10 hours of riding a week, mostly training but some transport trips as well. This makes me think I should get a dual pedal so I can use normal shoes too, but that's a bit of a compromise isn't it? Of course what I'd really like is to get a dedicated road bike as well, but that's not happening right now.

I just started using clipless myself. I noticed that clipless really help you get the "most" out of each stroke. You can really feel the difference on hills and exceleration when you're lifting on the upstroke.

KakenBetaal said:

I recently bought a Specialized Sirrus Elite and have been using ordinary trainers with the pedals. Not ideal I know. What difference can I expect to get with clipless pedals and is getting some shoes and pedals a worthwhile option?

I do around 10 hours of riding a week, mostly training but some transport trips as well. This makes me think I should get a dual pedal so I can use normal shoes too, but that's a bit of a compromise isn't it? Of course what I'd really like is to get a dedicated road bike as well, but that's not happening right now.

there are three main types of clipless pedals; look, SPD and time.

most mountain bikes use SPD as their clipless. SPD pedals are small and light and often (esp. with MTBs) are two sided - i.e. you don't have to have the pedal turned the right way to click in.

my friend is a keen mountain biker and uses SPDs with shoes that can be worn as normal or with the pedal- they have a cleat underneath which doesn't obstruct walking.

look and time pedal sets are more used by road bikes as the cleats are quite big and would be difficult to incorporate in to a "normal" shoe.

you can get some more specialised MTB shoes which have soccer studs at the front but these are not ideal to walk in.

you can also get SPD sandals if you are an open-toed type of person.

Yes, I saw those SPD sandals on Sheldon Brown's site, they quite appeal to me for casual use.

Is there any issue with using SPDs on road bikes?

further to what i said, clipless pedals make riding easier. you feet are in the right place all the time and you can pull up with you legs as well as pushing down.

being clipped onto a bike sounds dangerous but i have only ever fallen off once because of them and that was at about 1 mph when a driver turned in on me as i was slowing down at traffic lights.

most clipless pedals are very easy to get out of, just one turn of the foot and your free. i use Look and they can be set to allow you either one direction to remove your foot or three.

KakenBetaal said:

Yes, I saw those SPD sandals on Sheldon Brown's site, they quite appeal to me for casual use.

Is there any issue with using SPDs on road bikes?

nope - shimano manufacture road pedals excelsports.comnew.aspOpen ↗

and SPDs are so small you could really use any style - my MTB friend uses standard MTB SPDs on his road bikes so i don't think there is any real prob.

here's another site yo may find useful

shimano.com.aushoes and pedals.htmlOpen ↗

KakenBetaal said:

Yes, I saw those SPD sandals on Sheldon Brown's site, they quite appeal to me for casual use.

Is there any issue with using SPDs on road bikes?

Not really. SPD uses a very small cleat on the shoe. On the downside, it doesn't feel as steady as a dedicated road platform. On the upside, you can walk around in the MTB shoes with no problem - the cleat is recessed into the shoe and doesn't interfere with walking. I use Campy Pro-Fit on my road bike, pretty much a copy of a Look pedal. They use a massive cleat on the shoe, which makes walking very weird.

I ended up putting double sided SPD pedals on my tandem, they're a lot quicker to get into and that's an issue if you start off with the 'stoker mounted' technique.

<bump> any others' opinions?

I very much like SPD pedals on my cyclocross bike, but going clipless will cost you substantial money. Clipless shoes tend to be overpriced and they do not come with extra cleats. Extra cleats usually run $20 which is a rip-off.

You might also want to check out Speedplay pedals, either their X or Zero models. They have a lot more "float" so they seem to be a little more forgiving on your knees on longer rides.

But if you're interested in SPDs, Specialized makes a shoe with a recessed area for the cleat, so the shoes are more comfortable for normal walking.

I've used clipless pedals for about a year now and haven't had any problems so far (knock on wood). I started out with SPDs, and had a little trouble getting the cleats aligned. The first few times I rode with them, my knees bothered me afterwards. A neighbor had been using the Speedplay X series and recommended them highly. I switched over to the Speedplay Zero series a few months ago, and like them very much.

My wife hasn't been so lucky. She has a Specialized Sequoia Elite, and tried the SPDs when she got the bike. In the first few weeks, she fell several times -- always at low speeds. One day she fell while waiting to turn at a traffic light and realized if a car had been coming she could have been hit. At that point, she gave up and went back to platform pedals. I recommended that she should get familiar with her bike first, then try the pedals, but what can you do, right?

My bike came with clipless pedals, and I too was initially scared of using cleats for fear of falling "with my bike".
At first I used the reverse side of the pedal - much like open pedals. Didn't seem to bother me. Then I tried using cleats after several months and did notice an improvement on my strokes (more power on sprints and climbs).
The downside though is that it took me about two weeks to get used to clicking-in. The first time I fell almost got me run over by a car, the second time I fell off the road (thankfully) onto some loose soil. Got my pedals scratched real good (and my ego too).

My tips on trying clipless pedals:
- Practice clicking-in with the bike stationary. Prop yourself on a wall or doorframe, or have a friend hold the bike steady while you do it.
- Next, practice riding slowly on grass - if ever you fall it would be a soft landing. Your bike and legs would thank you for it.
- On the road, be alert. I look about 100m (30ft) ahead and disengage the cleats whenever the traffic slows down. It's easier to click-out than get run over.

Happy riding!

Cheers!

e_guevara

Cheers for all the advice. I ended up getting specialized MTB shoes since they fit the best out of all the shoes at my LBS, and SPD M540 pedals. I'm very pleased - they work great and there's a noticeable difference in pedalling feel.

I haven't fallen over yet though I've had the occasional moment during a track stand.

KakenBetaal said:

Yes, I saw those SPD sandals on Sheldon Brown's site, they quite appeal to me for casual use.

Is there any issue with using SPDs on road bikes?

Firstly clipless pedals make a lot of difference, at the moment your only getting your power from pushing down on the pedal which is 50% of the pedal cycle. With clipless pedals you get the power benefit from being able to pull the pedal through the other 50% of the pedal cycle. Ideally this pushing pulling should be a smooth 360 degree action as opposed to an up/down motion.

Secondly, I don't see why you can't use SPD pedals on a road bike, the pedals certainly screw on in the same way. Granted most people would not use SPD's on a road bike but it depends on how you need to use your bike. I work in London and notice all the cycle couriers that use road bikes use SPD's as they are constantly on/off the bike and walking in/out of buildings. I have a set of Look pedals and walking in cycle shoes with Look cleats is very awkward at best.