cleats and pedals quandry

[Tynan]

I took LBS advice when buying my first clipless

in hindsight they rather MTB orientated and the shoes that fit were some Northwind MTB shoes with SPD cleats, so they sold me some SPD pedals SH51

so far so good

bought some Diadora chiili winter boots and then found that I needed an adaptor to fit SPD cleats tothem, they onthe web so fine I suppose

but in the mean time I though wtf and bought some Time cleats and pedals from LBS on the basis that they'd be proper road kit and better than the off road

trouble with that is the original pedal and shoes are now redundant more or less

can't decide whether to plough on or take the Time pedals and cleats back and stick with SPD

is a bog standard commuter going to get any significant benefit from the Time stuff?

if I stick with SPD then I can have two pairs of shoes and save some dosh

 

[Tim Bennet.]

You won't notice any difference commuting with spd's. The ability to have 'recessed' cleats is also an advantage.

Road cleats are only necessary if you 'have' to wear road shoes, or you suffer from 'point loading pressure' on the ball of your foot after long, long days in the saddle, or you need the extra security of the bigger cleat when bunch sprinting.

 

[Tynan]

and there it is, LBS were a bit shifty, good boys but I suspect they get shifty on road matters because they don't support it properly, it's all MTB and some hybrids

thank-you

(no idea what bunch sprinting is but I'm fairly sure I don't do any on the way to Kilburn)

 

[Tynan]

time pedals and cleats returned, new set of SPD cleats for £9.99, and the adaptor for the shoes from one Discount Cycles Direct

delivery was nearly as much as the bloody adaptors but what can you do

 

[piedwagtail91]

i've got the diadora chilli winter boots and the spd cleats bolt straight onto mine .

 

[fossyant]

SPD's are the best for commuting - from someone who sticks to original Look (now called "Delta") for the road bikes. Lots of style shoes for spd - from full mtb styles to more casual ones , and of course the ability to walk to the office block. Can't do any of that on my Carbon Specialized Pro Carbons - strictly road use only, no walking....far to nice for that.

Good choice those !

 

[yenrod]

Time Road pedals are made for all day usage - saying that Id rather commute with Time road pedal than SPDs anyday = they're bigger.

Personal preference.

 

[bonj2]

i've got the diadora chilli winter boots and the spd cleats bolt straight onto mine .

hey they look class (my magpie instincts is kicking in - i want some...)
where did you get them from piedwagtail? and what's the sizing like?
cheers

 

[piedwagtail91]

i got them from merlin in leyland.i'm not sure if they have any left.
i live about 15 miles from the shop so went to try them on, and ended up with a size bigger then the ordinary chilli shoes i had already..
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=category&categoryId=136&page=2

 

[Tynan]

websites are dumping them all over the place, apparently they're discontinued as good as, rrp was £100 and they for £50 all over the place, sizing is suposedly at least one size bigger than usual

haven't used them yet but they seem well made, apparently there were problems with earlier versions, LBS said they dropped them because of too many problem with quality and fit

as to SPD fitting yours, I suspect that they're supposed to have the adaptor plates for all the cleats, some of the advertising says that all cleats fit, the bloke I bought from said he didn't advertise them as fitting SPD which I think tells a story

anyhow, looking forward to giving them a go, hopefully before the warm weather comes

 

[piedwagtail91]

i've worn them a lot over the last few weeks and they're a lot warmer than ordinary shoes with overshoes.
i think i got them for about £50

 

[Tynan]

good to hear and my main reason

howsabout water proof/resistant?

 

[squeaker]

(no idea what bunch sprinting is but I'm fairly sure I don't do any on the way to Kilburn)

it's the sort of thing that can lead to those massive end of stage pile-ups on the TdF etc..

 

[Tynan]

then defo no, that's even assuming I could get a mass of top class cyclists together on the approach to Kilburn

couple of pikeys/chavs on clapped out mtbs if I'm very lucky

 

[bonj2]

you ride all the way from E4 to kilburn?