shoes and pedals

Fraggle wrote: ...........

Quoted message said:

Is there any point in NOT getting the shimano M515 pedals (seen em for £20 or so on the interweb)
I quite fancy the smoothness of the A515 single sided road pedal, but as a clipless noob I see the
benefit of a clip on each side 🙂

I tried single-sided road SPDs. Put it this way, I stayed a noob! I never did master the dreadful
things despite sticking with them for over a year.

Quoted message said:

Can someone suggest a source of cheapish road shoes? I could spend £50, but if I could get away
with last years style for £30 I would be happy For buying shoes I would prefer to go to a LBS
suggestions for a Newcastle shop with a good range would be good.

I wont be walking anyway on the shoes, so the increased stiffness of 'proper' road shoes, over MTB
shoes, seems sensible (or am I wrong?)

That's right, although some of the MTB shoes also have stiff soles. But proper roadie shoes don't
have recesses for the cleats - which defeats a main advantage of the SPD system - so also consider
Look pedals. I prefer these to SPD. They have larger cleats, a more positive clip-in action and more
float (free rotation). They feel so much more powerful, secure and comfortable. They are ok in urban
traffic once used to them. You can walk in them if necessary, although not comfortably. Rubber cleat
covers help with safety and prevent wear.

Quoted message said:

Any advantage of different fasteners? expensive ones all seem to have 2 or 3 pull over ?Velcro?
fasteners, where as very cheap ones seem to have laces. thoughts?

Unlike velcro, laces can get caught in the chain and can't be adjusted on the move. Velcro can
eventually wear out though (loose its stickiness) and is difficult to replace. Ratchet mechanisms
might be the best solution (I haven't tried them yet).

~PB

<snip pedals and shoe advise>

so if i was to give LOOK a try what should i look for?

They appear to make a range of pedals, all outwardly identical, ranging in price from £20 to £150
and possibly more!

I like to have some idea where I am on the price/performance curve, the m515 sound like they
are robust enough to stand up to a couple of years use, how about the low end LOOK pedals? Eg
LOOK PP 337

does anyone have anything good bad or indifferent to say about xpedia.co.ukxpedia.co.ukOpen ↗

thanks

Fragg

Quoted message said:

so also consider Look pedals. I prefer these to SPD. They have larger cleats, a more positive
clip-in action and more float (free rotation).

Must admit, I'm a Look pedal fan myself. I've even mastered the quick clipping in and out needed for
cycling in traffic (Paris traffic - *yawn*) and have decided that if I can cycle safely in them in
the Parisian rush hour, I should be able to manage more places than I previously thought I'd be
comfortable in.

Nathan has Look pedals too and he took to them like a duck to water. Vernon uses SPDs and doesn't
seem to *quite get the hang of them* to look comfortable.

But I guess it's an individual thing.

Cheers, helen s

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Fraggle <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Is there any point in NOT getting the shimano M515 pedals (seen em for œ20 or so on the interweb)
I quite fancy the smoothness of the A515 single sided road pedal, but as a clipless noob I see the
benefit of a clip on each side 🙂

IMO double-sided are excellent for commuting. I've been using these for a couple of years. One hint:
get the Shimano silver multi-release cleats (SH55) if you are new to clipless. And practice before
going out in traffic.

Toby

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In "]news:[email hidden], Fraggle <[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

<snip pedals and shoe advise>

so if i was to give LOOK a try what should i look for?

Just consider LOOKs very carefully. If you want a shoe that you can get off the bike and walk around
normally don't get LOOKs, get SPDs. If you don't mind awkard walking until you have changed your
shoes, consider them.

Tony

--
"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not
dying." Woody Allen

Fraggle said:

so if i was to give LOOK a try what should i look for?

I think some of the very low end ones don't have adjustable release tension, which is a
Nice To Have.

Quoted message said:

They appear to make a range of pedals, all outwardly identical, ranging in price from £20 to £150
and possibly more!

Quoted message said:

I like to have some idea where I am on the price/performance curve, the m515 sound like they
are robust enough to stand up to a couple of years use, how about the low end LOOK pedals? Eg
LOOK PP 337

I've recently put a set of these on the #1 Dark Side machine, and so far so good. The resin-bodied
PP206's seem to be rather more expensive now than they were a year or two ago, when they had the
twin advantages of light weight *and* low price; mine lasted about 11,000 km before becoming
unacceptably sloppy. The metal ones should last a lot longer.

I've been a Look user since 1990, and have seen no reason to change. I did try SPD's once (borrowed
bike) and did not like them at all - I found them much harder to clip into though this would, I'm
sure, improve with practice.

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

Exactly! I have SPDs with Shimano shoes on the mountain bike, and they're as good as any other
stiff-soled trainer for walking On the Bianchi, I have Look pedals and Specialised shoes, and they
are awkward for walking more than a few hundred metres

Quoted message said:

Just consider LOOKs very carefully. If you want a shoe that you can get

off

Quoted message said:

the bike and walk around normally don't get LOOKs, get SPDs. If you don't mind awkard walking
until you have changed your shoes, consider them.

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

Quoted message said:

Is there any point in NOT getting the shimano M515 pedals (seen em for £20 or so on the interweb)
I quite fancy the smoothness of the A515 single sided road pedal, but as a clipless noob I see the
benefit of a clip on each side 🙂

Over the years I've owned a variety (and still do) of double sided Shimano mtb SPDs so clearly I
like 'em. BUT last year I put some A515s on my new road bike for the sake of appearances, these are
not at all easy to get into <1> and while ok for open road riding there is no way whatsover I'd use
'em for commuting. In fact when/if they wear out they will be replaced with double-sided. You have
been warned!

<1> I used to use Looks on my road bike and had no problems with entry and exit.

Quoted message said:

I wont be walking anyway on the shoes, so the increased stiffness of 'proper' road shoes, over MTB
shoes, seems sensible (or am I wrong?)

"Racier" types of mtb shoes have quite stiff soles.

Quoted message said:

Any advantage of different fasteners? expensive ones all seem to have 2 or 3 pull over ?Velcro?
fasteners, where as very cheap ones seem to have laces. thoughts?

Only for proper off-road use where the Velcro fasteners and flap is better for muddy conditions than
laces would be I imagine.

Pete

Tony Raven said:

Just consider LOOKs very carefully. If you want a shoe that you can get off the bike and walk
around normally don't get LOOKs, get SPDs.

That's right except when SPDs are used with "road" shoes with no cleat recesses (many shoes are both
Look and SPD compatible) - when it will also be impossible to walk /normally/ with the SPD cleat
sticking out. I've tried that combination and it was hardly any more comfortable than Looks and in
fact more slippery. (I don't know if there are rubber covers for SPD cleats?).

~PB

Fraggle said:

so if i was to give LOOK a try what should i look for?

They appear to make a range of pedals, all outwardly identical, ranging in price from £20 to £150
and possibly more!

All the usual-type ones use the same basic mechanism design so they will feel about the same. A
major difference is the retension force. The cheaper ones tend to be easier to get in and out of -
although this is not much of an issue anyway once used to them.

PP357 is a good quality mid-range model which is being heavily discounted by some dealers* as new
models are introduced. I suggest either going for that or any of the cheaper models that take your
fancy, or possibly PP396.

The models with adjustable float offer up to 9 degrees but I think this much is available with all
Looks anyway when the standard red cleats are used**.

The PP296 is just a newer slimmer version of the PP396. The 396 has higher tension at minimum
setting than the 357 at min.

Be prepared to replace Look cleats frequently for best and safe performance. The frequency will
depend on how often you put foot down or how much you walk on them rather than mileage. I get
through several cleats per year and left wears faster than right for me, but other users get more
than a year from each pair. Lowest prices are £3 to £4 per pair (Wiggle, SJS or eBay).

* eg. www.parker-international.co.uk/components.htm

Quoted message said:

I like to have some idea where I am on the price/performance curve, the m515 sound like they
are robust enough to stand up to a couple of years use, how about the low end LOOK pedals? Eg
LOOK PP 337

Sorry I don't really know those two models. There are so many! But the 337 looks like a brand new
one so won't be such good value for money simply because older better models have lowered in price.

See www.lookcycle.com/english/catalogue/2003/pedales.htm for some of the current and new ones.

Quoted message said:

does anyone have anything good bad or indifferent to say about xpedia.co.ukxpedia.co.ukOpen ↗

I've used them a few times - ok service. They are charging separately for cleats. That's naughty as
they're normally supplied as standard with all Look pedals. Other dealers have similar prices but
with cleats included. Check ads in Cycling Weekly mag for special offers.

** It's interesting Xpedia claim red cleats offer 5 degrees of float. I thought it was 9 degrees (as
some other sources clearly state). I'm not 100% sure now :-( If I'm wrong on this, then I recommend
an adjustable float model. I've got 396's and the 9 degree setting feels so much more comfortable
than less (but can always be turned to 6, 3 or 0 degrees if you prefer less).

~PB

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

<snip> lots of great stuff

Thanks for the comprehensive responses! I have decided that I will go and look at some LOOK stuff at
my LBS (though I am not too sure where that is!) If they don't have the stuff I will gamble on PP337
+ SIDI DYNAMIC 3 ROAD SHOE for a princely £62.85 from the html deficient www.xpedia.co.uk. (If I can
get the checkout to work with mozilla 😉

For LBS I will try the new Newcastle branch of the Edinburgh bike shop, anyone got any other faves?
preferably with lots of shoes! (and a summer sale!)

TY

Fragg

Peter B said:

Over the years I've owned a variety (and still do) of double sided Shimano mtb SPDs so clearly I
like 'em. BUT last year I put some A515s on my new road bike for the sake of appearances, these are
not at all easy to get into <1> and while ok for open road riding there is no way whatsover I'd use
'em for commuting. In fact when/if they wear out they will be replaced with double-sided. You have
been warned!

Peter

I have A515s on my Orbea and have very little trouble with them at all. I use my toe to flip the
pedal the right way up them simply clip
in. I must say that I occasionally fail - perhaps 10% of the time. OK, I agree that two sided pedals
or pedals that stay the right way up (Looks do so, I understand) would be easier to use but I
disagree with your A515 doom-mongering.

Cheers James

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"James Hodson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I have A515s on my Orbea and have very little trouble with them at all. I use my toe to flip the
pedal the right way up them simply clip
in. I must say that I occasionally fail - perhaps 10% of the time. OK, I agree that two sided
pedals or pedals that stay the right way up (Looks do so, I understand) would be easier to
use but I disagree with your A515 doom-mongering.

Which is my point James, 10% missed on one of my road rides means perhaps once a ride or even every
other ride but on a commute it may be many times. And if you want to make a swift getaway, say at a
busy junction, then faffing around with a clipless pedal needlessly is extra aggravation. Why not
use double sided and have a 100% success rate?

Pete

Peter B said:

Which is my point James, 10% missed on one of my road rides means perhaps once a ride or even every
other ride but on a commute it may be many times. And if you want to make a swift getaway, say at a
busy junction, then faffing around with a clipless pedal needlessly is extra aggravation. Why not
use double sided and have a 100% success rate?

OK Agreed. But every now and again I "miss" my 515 double-sided pedals, too, which is extremely hard
to do! I usually mess up my A515 entry when I am faffing around. I rarely get it wrong when I'm
making a swift getaway. (I'm using the term swift getaway loosely.)

There is, of course, on major plus regarding the A515s: they look like the Starship Voyager (final
episode begins in ten minutes).

<http://home.wanadoo.nl/~sytze/sttrekkin/>

James

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I initially started with a pair of Shimano A515 pedals but these were a nightmare to clip into and by the end of the first ride were badly scratched on the underside and around the cleat.I spend a fair bit of time walking as I'm still really unfit so much as I'd love to buy a set of Looks this isnt really practical yet and as I also use the bike for trips to the shops etc when i don't wear cycling shoes I recently bought a pair of M545 double sided mtb pedals with the replacable cage.Yes I know that they may not be the most stylish pedals to put on what is otherwise a very nicely specced road bike but they are well built and practical and unlike the painted finish on the A515's the chrome seems to be pretty hard wearing,certainly £45 well spent.

Kittaen said:

Shimano A515 pedals but these were a nightmare to clip into and by the end of the first ride were
badly scratched on the underside and around the cleat

I agree that the pedals are prone to getting scratched and that _on the first ride_ are tricky to
clip in to. A few hundred rides later I find clipping in simple. Also, I'm not fussed about the look
(not the Look) of the pedals. After all you can't see them when you're ridng the bike. Perhaps you
cycle strangely ;-)

James

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