Pedels/Shoes - Confused newbie seeks advice.

x-no-archive: yes

Ian said:

Enough lurking.....

I've recently started cycling. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, but I'm
finding that my feet are going numb after ~15 miles.

🙂

Quoted message said:

I'm using the bog standard flat pedals that came with the bike, and
trainers. My Nikes are deteriorating rapidly. :-(

This is the bike;
Claud Butler Milano.
http://www.falconcycles.co.uk/product.php?c.id=3&s.id=1&p.id=350

What I could afford and seems good value for money to me (others will
doubtless disagree).

The spec looks ok for the price as long as it comfortable to ride why
worry about others. Claud Butler Normally provide good value.

Quoted message said:

Anyway, I suspect the lack of cycle shoes/pedals may be the problem.
I've browsed www.changing-gear.com & www.wiggle.co.uk, and am
completely confused. Mozilla doesn't seem to happy with
www.cyclexpress.co.uk, and I'm not about to use IE ever again.

Single sided/double sided, SPD SPD-R , different floats (WTF is
that?),

A bit depends on what you want. Most people agree that Double sided are
easier to use. I wend for SDP as I wanted something easy to walk in. If
your more series about road cycling SPD-R, Look or time may be a better
bet as they are more rigid but difficult to walk in.

Quoted message said:

Suggestions and recommendations would be greatly welcome. Even if it
does just narrow down my seemingly vast choices.

Oh, and by the way, I'm not a millionnaire :-( and I haven't bought a
lottery ticket in over two years, so it's unlikely to happen. Don't
recommend the latest all singing/dancing exotic alloy pedal/NASA
developed shoe, I'll probably not be able to afford it (bear in mind
the bike I've got). I'd be willing to spend ~100ukp on pedal/shoe
combo.

Should be easy
This may help
http://www.roadbikereview.com/Pedals/PLS_2503crx.aspx

Peter

Quoted message said:

Crickey, this cycling lark is expensive. I've already forked out as
much on accessories/clothing, etc as I have on the bike!

Quoted message said:

Enough lurking.....

I've recently started cycling. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, but I'm
finding that my feet are going numb after ~15 miles.

Welcome :-)

Glad you are enjoying the cycling.

A simple way to at least try to solve the numbness may be to invest in a pair
of Sorbothane inserts for your trainers (approx £10 upwards). Sorbothane is
good at shock absorbtion.

Flat pedals have been improved upon and now several different systems of
clipless pedals are available. They are called "clipless" becasue they don't
have toeclips. You do however, clip in and out of the pedal, as you have a
cleat on the sole of your shoes which clips into the pedal, thus holding your
foot securely on the pedal. This means that you don't have to push so hard to
turn the pedal as you can *pull* on the upstroke. As and when you can afford to
spend a bit more (!) you may want to think about trying out clipless pedals. I
use the Look system and I love it. The system of choice is a personal thing.
Some like spds best.

One thing about cycling shoes, cheap or expensive, is that you'll find the sole
of the shoes tend to be far more rigid than your average trainer. One of the
possible causes of numbness is your foot bending the sole of the shoe around
the pedal a bit and that can cause numbness. Stiffness is good in the case of
cycling footwear.

As a guide, my Look pedals cost under £30 and my basic Look race shoes cost a
fiver from the CTC shop. So you can spend that piffling amount or you can spend
over a hundred on the latest carbon fibre offering.

I'm sure others will chip in with friendly advice :-)

Cheers, helen s

--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
to get correct one remove fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$

--Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel is switched off--

Ian said:

I'm using the bog standard flat pedals that came with the bike, and
trainers. My Nikes are deteriorating rapidly. :-(

I recommend Look pedals if you don't need to walk much. PP357* is a
"proper" model if you can afford £38, otherwise one of the cheaper ones
will probably do for a start. It's wise to get some rubber covers for
them.

* From www.xpedia.co.uk

http://www.mwdyason.ltd.uk have good prices on shoes.

If walking is important, SPD type shoes and pedals will be your best
low-budget bet. Cyclexpress are good for those if you can visit their
site.

~PB

Ian said:

Suggestions and recommendations would be greatly welcome. Even if it
does just narrow down my seemingly vast choices.

I recommend Look Pedals.

Ian said:

I'm using the bog standard flat pedals that came with the bike, and
trainers. My Nikes are deteriorating rapidly. :-(

I reckon it's likely to be the shoes that are causing the problem rather
than the pedals. You want something with a fairly stiff sole for
cycling. (I used to ride with soft-soled trainers and had exactly the
same trouble.)

If you don't want to splash out straight away for fancy new pedals, you
could at least try a pair of proper cycling shoes - there are various
models that can be used with flat pedals but can also take cleats for
clipless pedals if you later decide you do want to go down that route,
eg Shimano M021:
<url:http://www.wiggle.co.uk/v2_product_detail.asp?ProdID=5360009734>

Quoted message said:

different floats (WTF is
that?),

Float is how much you can move your foot when it's attached to the
pedal. Zero float means your foot is completely locked in position
(until you unclip it).

Quoted message said:

Suggestions and recommendations would be greatly welcome. Even if it
does just narrow down my seemingly vast choices.

I'm not a millionaire either, but I have no regrets about splashing out
on clipless pedals and proper shoes, which came to about £80.

I got Shimano PD-R535 pedals
<url:http://www.roadbikereview.com/Pedals/Shimano/PRD_112043_2503crx.aspx>
and Shimano R073 shoes
<url:http://www.wiggle.co.uk/v2_product_detail.asp?ProdID=5300005163>
both of which I am very happy with.

d.

"davek" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm not a millionaire either, but I have no regrets about splashing out
on clipless pedals and proper shoes, which came to about £80.

Yes, if you look after them, cycling shoes last much, much longer than
normal shoes.

On 06 Sep 2004 18:47:31 GMT, [email hidden]

(dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers) said:

As a guide, my Look pedals cost under £30 and my basic Look race shoes cost a
fiver from the CTC shop. So you can spend that piffling amount or you can spend
over a hundred on the latest carbon fibre offering.

Some web links would be handy, as you can see, cycle shops are at a
bit of a premium around here;

http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&X=310500&Y=591000&width=500&height=300&gride=&gridn=&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=pc&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&inmap=&table=&ovtype=&zm=0&out.x=5&out.y=9&scale=10000

Pete Biggs said:

* From www.xpedia.co.uk

"Warning: The browser you are using may not be compatible with this
web site. If you are using an old browser, we strongly recommend that
you upgrade."

I use Mozilla 1.7.2, the best there is. Sorry folks I will not be
assimilated.

Mmm. another IE site.

Lets leave them clueless (and fund less).

Ian popped their head over the parapet saw what was going on and said

Quoted message said:

Pete Biggs said:

* From www.xpedia.co.uk

"Warning: The browser you are using may not be compatible with this
web site. If you are using an old browser, we strongly recommend that
you upgrade."

I use Mozilla 1.7.2, the best there is. Sorry folks I will not be
assimilated.

Mmm. another IE site.

Lets leave them clueless (and fund less).

I am using Mozilla 1.7 also and got straight through.

--
yours S

Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione

soup said:

I am using Mozilla 1.7 also and got straight through.

Oops, obviously I'm being too qiuick. I wonder if cookies are the
problem. Time to look at my setup/firewall....will report back.

Ian said:

Pete Biggs said:

* From www.xpedia.co.uk

"Warning: The browser you are using may not be compatible with this
web site. If you are using an old browser, we strongly recommend that
you upgrade."

I use Mozilla 1.7.2, the best there is. Sorry folks I will not be
assimilated.

Mmm. another IE site.

Lets leave them clueless (and fund less).

I doubt they're bothered because most people do use IE.

Perhaps it's not such a great idea to ask for websites if you can't use
half of them. Buy copies of Cycling Plus and Cycling Weekly magazines for
the ads. You should find special offers on Look & SPD pedals and various
shoes, from various dealers. Best of luck.

~PB

soup said:

I am using Mozilla 1.7 also and got straight through.

With Firefox 0.8, the home page is fine, but click any link within the site,
and no go:

"Sorry. certain parts of the website do not work with your browser. You are
highly recommended to upgrade."

I can accept that formatting might not be pixel-perfect across browsers
(although there's no good reason for this). But what on earth can they be
doing so wrong to display no content at all?

First off, Hi and welcome. I also got back into biking about a year ago and got a CB Milano, great bike for the price and I want to get some shoes/pedals, as the standard pedals are horrible IMO and I need something that I can keep my foot on securely so I am watching this thread with great care.

Just thought that I'd say it might be worth trying out some combo's in your local half decent cycling centres to get a feel for your new shoes/pedals and then if you find the same stuff cheaper online, you buy it there knowing what it felt like in the shop. I am doing the same with saddles at the moment, didn't realise how much of a difference between saddles there was eeek.

Ian said:

Enough lurking.....

I've recently started cycling. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, but I'm
finding that my feet are going numb after ~15 miles.

I'm using the bog standard flat pedals that came with the bike, and
trainers. My Nikes are deteriorating rapidly. :-(

Quoted message said:

Single sided/double sided, SPD SPD-R , different floats (WTF is
that?),

Float is the amount of freedom a pedal lets your foot have, to allow
for the irregular movement of the legs as you pedal your heart out. If
the pedal held the shoe/foot rigidly this would quickly lead to
damaged knees.

Tim

Tim Hall said:

Float is the amount of freedom a pedal lets your foot have, to allow
for the irregular movement of the legs as you pedal your heart out. If
the pedal held the shoe/foot rigidly this would quickly lead to
damaged knees.

Oh come off it. People have ridden float-free for decades. It _can_
cause knee problems, but only rarely, if they are set up correctly.

James
--
If I have seen further than others, it is
by treading on the toes of giants.
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/

in message <[email hidden]>, Ian

(') said:

I've recently started cycling. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, but I'm
finding that my feet are going numb after ~15 miles.

I'm using the bog standard flat pedals that came with the bike, and
trainers. My Nikes are deteriorating rapidly. :-(

This is the bike;
Claud Butler Milano.
http://www.falconcycles.co.uk/product.php?c.id=3&s.id=1&p.id=350

What I could afford and seems good value for money to me (others will
doubtless disagree).

Very reasonable bike indeed. A couple of kids on the run I did yesterday
were on those, and they seemed to be nicely put together and went well.
Even a Campag groupset.

Quoted message said:

Anyway, I suspect the lack of cycle shoes/pedals may be the problem.
I've browsed www.changing-gear.com & www.wiggle.co.uk, and am
completely confused. Mozilla doesn't seem to happy with
www.cyclexpress.co.uk, and I'm not about to use IE ever again.

Single sided/double sided,

Usually on the road people use single-sided cleats. On a mountain bike
being able to clip in and out very quickly without having to worry
about which side up the pedal is is a distinct advantage and
double-sided (or four-sided, as in Eggbeater) pedals are usual; on the
road things don't tend to be that frenetic.

However, you can get pedals which are SPD one side and plain flat pedal
the other. These do have advantages in that you can use them with
ordinary shoes if you don't have your cleated shoes on.

Quoted message said:

SPD SPD-R ,

SPD is the earlier Shimano cleat system. It's reasonably good for
mountain bikes and has the distinct advantage that you can usually walk
comfortably in SPD equipped shoes, but the cleat is very small and for
road use a larger cleat is often preferred. SPD-R is a larger cleat
system intended for road use. You can't normally walk comfortably in
shoes with SPD-R cleats. Look cleats are bigger still, much liked by
racing cyclists, and you can't comfortably walk in them either.

SPD-SL is an even newer Shimano road system, more like Look. I think it
has largely replaced SPD-R.

Quoted message said:

different floats (WTF is
that?),

'Float' is the amount your foot can move laterally WRT the pedal before
it unclips. Some people prefer very little float and claim it gives
them more power, others like lots of float because it's easier on the
knees.

Quoted message said:

Suggestions and recommendations would be greatly welcome. Even if it
does just narrow down my seemingly vast choices.

I have both SPD (on my mountain bikes and on my winter road bike) and
SPD-R (on my summer road bike). SPD is definitely good off road, not as
good as SPD-R on road. But I'm not very happy with the SPD-Rs and will
be replacing them either with Look, or with Campagnolo, soon.

However if cost is a real issue then SPD clones will be cheapest, and
will do an adequate job; Wellgo WPD823 for example should be under £20.

The Shimano A515 is quite a nice road SPD at about £30 a pair.
The cheapest current Look pedals (PP206) will set you back around £35 a
pair.

As to shoes, get ones which fit and which suit the pedal system you have
chosen. Brands don't matter. Fit matters. Don't buy shoes which feel
'just about' comfortable in the shop, because they won't feel
comfortable after fifty miles. Get shoes which are _really_
comfortable. In particular a number of brands seem to produce shoes for
very narrow feet - Shimano and Specialized, certainly, use narrower
lasts than are comfortable for most people. I wear SIDI shoes and love
them because on my (rather wide) feet they are extremely comfortable,
but they are a bit expensive.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; killing [afghan|iraqi] civilians is not 'justice'

in message <[email hidden]>, Ian

(') said:

On 06 Sep 2004 18:47:31 GMT, [email hidden]

(dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers) said:

As a guide, my Look pedals cost under £30 and my basic Look race shoes
cost a fiver from the CTC shop. So you can spend that piffling amount
or you can spend over a hundred on the latest carbon fibre offering.

Some web links would be handy, as you can see, cycle shops are at a
bit of a premium around here;

http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&X=310500&Y=591000&width=500&height=300&gride=&gridn=&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=pc&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&inmap=&table=&ovtype=&zm=0&out.x=5&out.y=9&scale=10000

Not at all! Rick of Rick's Bike Shed is now at Drumlanrig. Go and see
him. He is the nicest, friendliest guy and will sort you out with
exactly what you need. Alternatively come over this way and talk to
Marcus at Castle Douglas Cycle Centre - my LBS and a really good one.
or Grierson and Graham opposite the Academy in Dumfries (although they
are just a shop and not nearly as knowledgeable as the first two).

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; IE 3 is dead, but Netscape 4 still shambles about the earth,
;; wreaking a horrific vengeance upon the living
;; anonymous

Pete Biggs said:

Perhaps it's not such a great idea to ask for websites if you can't use
half of them.

<techno rant>
Sorry, not wanting to cause an agument, but there are Standards. the
W3C spend a lot of time dealing with this. Browsers are supposed to
follow these standards.

Just because MS is *popular by default* soley for the reason that it
is bundled with their OS, is no reason to create proprietary working
practices. The internet by definition is supposed to be open and the
whole reason the http protocol was established by Tim Bernards Lee
was to make documents readable by everyone.

This problem isn't mine, Mozilla's or the W3Cs, its is Microsoft
fcuking up again.
</techno rant>

When I was developing web sites, I had to develop sites to be
compatable with;
Netscape
Opera
IE
Safari
several other lesser browsers
and all their _versions_, this was a nightmare, but we did it.

I guess developers are just lazy now and use Frontpage or Dreamweaver,
and forget about browser versions that are >6mths old.
Or in this case one that follows the Industry recognised standards. IE
certainly does not.

Simon Brooke said:

SPD-R is a larger cleat
system intended for road use.

Yes - and you can't get combination platform/clipless SPD-R pedals, as I
have recently discovered. When you buy these things, it's worth
considering your long-term needs - I don't regret buying SPD-R pedals,
but if I'd known at the time that I was going to buy a hybrid in the
near future and would want to put combination pedals on it, I would have
gone for SPD... more bloody expense...

Quoted message said:

You can't normally walk comfortably in
shoes with SPD-R cleats.

IME, it's not too bad walking in SPD-R cleats. The little outriggers
mean you end up walking with your toes pointing in the air but at least
you don't gouge holes in the parquet.

Quoted message said:

others like lots of float because it's easier on the
knees.

I like float. It's also worth noting that what sounds like not very much
float on paper translates into what feels like quite a lot of float in
practise - in fact, when I first started using the pedals it felt a bit
like ice skating.

Quoted message said:

But I'm not very happy with the SPD-Rs

If you don't mind me asking, why is that?

d.