# Pedals for road bike (NOT clipless)



## Radius (22 Nov 2008)

Hi there, in light of a new road bike I'm thinking about, I need pedals as it doesn't come with any. 
It will be used for commuting mainly, among other things, so I don't want (and can't afford) to go clipless. I was looking at these (in black, not red), but in the questions bit at the bottom it says "the pedals will fit all MTB cranks". 
Does that mean they wont fit a road bike? If not, then what pedals around this price range should I be looking at? I am going to buy some strapless toe clips as well, so need mounting holes.


Thanks 

JM


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## jimboalee (22 Nov 2008)

Thems are called 'Bear Traps'. I wonder why?

First things firsts, the whole idea of clips 'rat traps', clipless cleats SPD, Look, Time, Crank Bros, etc is that the foot can PULL the pedal UP as well as down.

Secondly, in the cold wet weather when you've beed dabbing the pavement a few times and your sole is wet, there is a good chance your foot is going to slip off the back of a non-cleated pedal.
When it does when you are just about to accelerate out of a junction, your shin will whack this pedal quite hard. If you're wearing shorts and ankle socks, you won't be wearing any skin on your shin.

Clipless pedals can be set so the shoe flips out sideways quite quickly, and after a few rides, it will come quite naturally.

Be warned.


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## Radius (22 Nov 2008)

Thanks for the reply, 
I know about the plusses of clipless pedals, but I seriously cannot afford them right now (plus shoes etc.), and I need to be wearing real shoes for commuting etc, so I'm not considering it. I know about pulling up, that's what the toe clips are for, and I think I can deal with getting in and out of them. Incidentally, I've never had a problem with wet pedals and slipping off before...

Plus I don't wear shorts (or ankle socks)


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## RedBike (22 Nov 2008)

Those pedals will be fine. They're designed to be used in wet muddy condition on the MTB so (with the right shoes) your feet are unlikely to slip. 

I really wouldn't fit toe-clips. If they're tight enough to work effectively then you probably can't smoothly remove your foot without having to lean down and unclip the buckle. This makes them highly dangerous for commuting in traffic.

The only 'problem' I can see with the pedals you've suggested is they just wont look right on a road bike. (Probably not that important on a commuter really).


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## Radius (22 Nov 2008)

Beh, that's for me to judge. You can come up and shout at me if you're ever cycling in London 

As for the clips, they're strapless clips, so I guess they wont be tight enough 'to work properly'. Is it worth just not bothering then?

It's quite a nice bike, but I think the pedals are the least of my worries really


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## HLaB (22 Nov 2008)

OK IMO straps are not as good as clipless but they still offer some efficiency gains even when not tight and the major point for me is they stop the foot slipping of the pedals and allow me to pull my right pedal up to the 3 O'clock'ish position which I like. I used to have urban w clip (the toe cage without the strap) and they were still better than no cage IMO.


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## RedBike (22 Nov 2008)

lol, thankfully i've learnt not to judge the rider by the bike. It doesn't matter to me if you're riding a £4k road bike or a £100 catalogue jobby. 

Well I say it doesn't matter. However, if you overtake me on a catalogue jobby I will be slightly more upset than if pass me on a 4k road bike !!. 

I've not tried any strapless toe clips so i can't comment.


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## Radius (22 Nov 2008)

Thanks H

RB it's not quite as low as a £100 catalogue jobby (more like £650 Tiagra jobby), but yes I've seen some fantastic riders of POS bikes, so like you say not always the bike (but sometimes ). I don't think I'm quite as bad a rider as I come across here, I just have recently started getting into bike technicalities, and that's why I have all the questions. I'm not that slow, I think is what I mean


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## Ivan Ardon (22 Nov 2008)

I found strapless clips fairly useless for pulling up on the pedals, which felt particularly odd switching between my clipless commuter and my strapless singlespeed.

The are useful for making sure your feet are in the correct place on the pedals.


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## Radius (22 Nov 2008)

That's a nice bit of info, thanks. That's what I was thinking really, but there was a chance they just wouldn't work, so that's good to know


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## peanut (23 Nov 2008)

I've got some pedals that will probably do. They have SPD fitted on one side and rat trap the other. They fit a road bike and you can have them free. Just need to pay P&P .
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p261/peanutNboo/retro bike bits/spdpedals.jpg


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## Radius (23 Nov 2008)

Well that's a very nice offer of you, I'll just go write the PM


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## threefingerjoe (23 Nov 2008)

Radius,

I use toe clips and straps, and have for years. I've never had problems with them, though, I'll admit, everyone is probably right about clipless being more efficient. I don't do any racing, and not much pleasure-riding. I mainly commute year around, and use the bike for transportation, and, like you, I want to be able to wear whatever shoes I want. I consider toe clips and straps to be much safer than not being clipped in at all. Sooner or later, you'll slip off of unrestrained pedals.

Oh, BTW, as far as toe clips looking funny on a road bike: 30 years ago, toe clips were very common on road bikes.


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## Steve Austin (23 Nov 2008)

i bought some of these on recomendation by mickle off here





http://www.cyclesportsuk.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=2507

Would suit your roadbike better than those red things!!


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## jimboalee (23 Nov 2008)

I've got a pair of quills in my bits box.

Going FREE !!


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## jimboalee (23 Nov 2008)

Hey Steve Austin,

Do they still sell them? 

I had them on my Apollo Olympic.


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## Steve Austin (23 Nov 2008)

Yeh. Bought some from Condor not more than a month ago! 

Old technology, but they work fine, grip fine. Look bad so they fit with my commuting bike ethos.


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## snorri (23 Nov 2008)

Strapless clips are the bees knees.


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## Moose (24 Nov 2008)

jimboalee said:


> Thems are called 'Bear Traps'. I wonder why?



Those are platforms, not bear traps.


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## mickle (25 Nov 2008)

Moose said:


> Those are platforms, not bear traps.



Actually they are 'rat traps', 'bear traps' were very much more aggressive in the knarlyness department, had almost circular cages and were found on early mountain bikes.


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## skwerl (25 Nov 2008)

how about some nice MKS pedals?

e.g. http://www.hubjub.co.uk/mks/mks.htm

keirin certified!


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## Moose (26 Nov 2008)

mickle said:


> Actually they are 'rat traps', 'bear traps' were very much more aggressive in the knarlyness department, had almost circular cages and were found on early mountain bikes.




Hmm - I thought rat-traps were like this with serrated edges:







As you rightly pointed out Beartraps are more aggressive like these:






Those Wellgo's are platforms based on Shimano DX platforms:


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## pinkkaz (26 Nov 2008)

Steve Austin said:


> i bought some of these on recomendation by mickle off here
> 
> 
> 
> ...



My pedals have serrated edges like that and I cut my shins to pieces on a recent cycling trip to France with my feet slipping off! Haven't done it for a while though so I've obviously learnt through the pain!

I'll definitely be thinking about going clipless when I get my new bike (wow just worked it out and only 3 months before my current bike is paid off through cycle-to-work! How exciting!)


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## HLaB (26 Nov 2008)

pinkkaz said:


> My pedals have serrated edges like that and I cut my shins to pieces on a recent cycling trip to France with my feet slipping off! Haven't done it for a while though so I've obviously learnt through the pain!
> 
> I'll definitely be thinking about going clipless when I get my new bike (wow just worked it out and only 3 months before my current bike is paid off through cycle-to-work! How exciting!)



The 1st pedals on my Sirrus were titanium, going clipless was the best thing I ever done as far as my shins are concerned


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