Finally a decision has been made BUT

[SHornswaggle]

I need some more advice please.

I have decided that I will be buying a Specialized Roubaix Sport Compact 2013 road bike. (54cm frame)

However, as hard as that decision has been, I am now faced with a second decision to make - pedals!!

My requirements (bear in mind I have never used spds before)

I am looking at Look or Shimano

I know that cleats come with pedals and I'm currently thinking of the Look Keo Classic pedals. Can I buy pedals before buying road shoes? Or will I find myself struggling to find road shoes for those cleats?

Is it true that Look road shoes are a lot harder to walk in than Shimano road shoes (with cleats attached)? If this is true then should I go with Shimano - I don't intend to walk far in them but as I have a fairly serious calf muscle injury there is a strong possibility that I may end up walking the first few rides.

I don't want beginner spds because I want to buy the best and not feel I need to replace after a few months. I haven't really got a clue about the prices but I guess about £150 tops.

Do all bike shops sell the right shoes or should I buy them online. Generally my foot size is a 7 or 7and a half. If I order online which is the safest bet? Do they come up a large size say like trainers etc? Or will it be like buying proper ladies shoes which are a tight fit? I think I would prefer to go to a shop and try a few pairs on if possible. But would it be easy to know the difference between mountain biking and road biking shoes?

Can I only buy road bike shoes in a bike shop or are there other retailers that sell them? Who puts the cleats in the shoes - me or a pro?

Apart from a helmet and lights are there any other instant accessories that I should consider?

Sorry for so many questions. I'm really getting very confuddled about it all.

 

[SHornswaggle]

Oh and would I want one side to clip in and one side for if I was just wearing trainers? Or is that a silly idea? I was thinking that maybe I could practice clipping in and out that way?

 

[Eribiste]

I compromised and bought Shimano A530 pedals for my first clipless foray. These are a 'half and half' pedal, that is one side is cleat enabled, the other side is for standard footwear. Shoes came from Aldi for £20. I've set the tension on the retainers to the minimum, and so far had no trouble at all, including at least one 'unplanned' emergency stop.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I need some more advice please.

I have decided that I will be buying a Specialized Roubaix Sport Compact 2013 road bike. (54cm frame)

However, as hard as that decision has been, I am now faced with a second decision to make - pedals!!

My requirements (bear in mind I have never used spds before)

I am looking at Look or Shimano

I know that cleats come with pedals and I'm currently thinking of the Look Keo Classic pedals. Can I buy pedals before buying road shoes? Or will I find myself struggling to find road shoes for those cleats?

Is it true that Look road shoes are a lot harder to walk in than Shimano road shoes (with cleats attached)? If this is true then should I go with Shimano - I don't intend to walk far in them but as I have a fairly serious calf muscle injury there is a strong possibility that I may end up walking the first few rides.

I don't want beginner spds because I want to buy the best and not feel I need to replace after a few months. I haven't really got a clue about the prices but I guess about £150 tops.

Do all bike shops sell the right shoes or should I buy them online. Generally my foot size is a 7 or 7and a half. If I order online which is the safest bet? Do they come up a large size say like trainers etc? Or will it be like buying proper ladies shoes which are a tight fit? I think I would prefer to go to a shop and try a few pairs on if possible. But would it be easy to know the difference between mountain biking and road biking shoes?

Can I only buy road bike shoes in a bike shop or are there other retailers that sell them? Who puts the cleats in the shoes - me or a pro?

Apart from a helmet and lights are there any other instant accessories that I should consider?

Sorry for so many questions. I'm really getting very confuddled about it all.

Re the instant accessories.

If you are going to ride in winter then I would get a skull cap or a buff to wear under the helmet.

If you are going to do some decent miles then a pair of padded shorts - you can get padded under shorts if you wish

Don't forget a bike lock, or better still two - I always lock both wheels, with one going to something immovable and one to the frame.

 

[vickster]

Do you want SPD (recessed, MTB style, ok to walk) or more SPD-SL (road, sticky up cleats, hard to walk)

Shimano make both (I think), Look only SPD-SL I think

I'd say get the shoes from a shop, they'll fit the cleats and you can try on a few pairs of shoes. Shoes tend to come up smaller, but some do come up wide

You can buy online, Wiggle do easy free returns

Have a read of this perhaps? http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/clipless-pedals-faq.74358/

 

[defy-one]

i have look keo classics and they are great on a road bike. walking is a pain though. if your injury is serious... go for a mountain bike recessed cleat. so go looking for spd pedals, cleats and shoes.

 

[oldfatfool]

I don't want beginner spds because I want to buy the best and not feel I need to replace after a few months. I haven't really got a clue about the prices but I guess about £150 tops.

What makes you think spd's are for beginners?

Spd = able to walk comfartably
spd-sl = unable to walk

 

[SHornswaggle]

What makes you think spd's are for beginners?

Spd = able to walk comfartably
spd-sl = unable to walk

Ahh I see why you would think that. I didn't mean that spds were for beginners I meant that I didn't want a spd beginners model. I didn't know about SL etc - I thought they were just model numbers. I didn't realise it was a different type of spd. I thought all were spds and different colours, sizes and makes. I'm totally ignorant regards this.

I have read that most beginners choose mountain bike spds because they can be walked in mud etc but most quickly change. I don't want to make that mistake. I want a good system that I can learn to love and keep and rely on for a long time and if needed a system that I can easily replace cleats for. I hope that makes sense

 

[biggs682]

why not use cages and straps ?

 

[SHornswaggle]

i have look keo classics and they are great on a road bike. walking is a pain though. if your injury is serious... go for a mountain bike recessed cleat. so go looking for spd pedals, cleats and shoes.

Ahh I see. I don't want walking to be too hard but I'm hoping that this injury will only take a few more months to heal - so I need to look at spds not spds SL and not LOOK?

 

[SHornswaggle]

Do you want SPD (recessed, MTB style, ok to walk) or more SPD-SL (road, sticky up cleats, hard to walk)

Shimano make both (I think), Look only SPD-SL I think

I'd say get the shoes from a shop, they'll fit the cleats and you can try on a few pairs of shoes. Shoes tend to come up smaller, but some do come up wide

You can buy online, Wiggle do easy free returns

Have a read of this perhaps? http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/clipless-pedals-faq.74358/

Thank you for that link. It all seems so hard at first

 

[SHornswaggle]

why not use cages and straps ?

For cosmetic reasons I guess. Although in some ways that may be an idea until my leg is 110%

 

[vickster]

I wouldn't want to walk around on SPD-SL cleats with a bad leg, potentially slippy

 

[black'n'yellow]

why not use cages and straps ?

be serious.

Anyway, re the walking thing:- shoes with a three-bolt Look/SPD-SL/Time RXS cleat fitting are not designed to be used for walking - they are (for obvious reasons) intended for cycling. You can walk in them, but it is neither easy nor convenient for any more than a few yards.

Two bolt SPD (off road type) cleats can be walked in without problems, provided they are fitted to shoes with an appropriately recessed sole. In cycling terms, and for the average cyclist, there is little practical difference between pedal types, so if you plan on walking any further than the distance between your back door and the garage door (which is as far as I walk in mine) then I would go for the recessed/SPD type. Don't worry about one type being 'cooler' than the other - nobody gives a stuff.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

There's nothing wrong with SPD's - they work, they enable you to walk relatively ok.

I haven't ridden much in mine but there are occasions when you might need to take an unplanned walk on your route and then you'll be glad you've got SPD's and not SPD SL's.

There's also nothing wrong with the cheaper Shimano pedals either.

I have Shimano M520's which are stupid cheap. They look good (as if that really matters), they work well (that matters) and by all accounts they go on for a long time.

At the end of the day we are talking about pedals, it matters not a jot whether they look sexy or not - I would argue that for the vast majority of riders £150 on a pair of pedals is about £120/£130 down the drain.

The best pedals are the ones that get used regularly!