Shoes and Pedal Advice

[sawyer280769]

Hi there. I have recently aquired an old TREK road bike but its minus the pedals. I realise shoes and pedals go together. I plan to start building up the miles and my fitness so any advice and recommendations on pedals and shoes would be appreciated.

 

[ianrauk]

There are quite a few threads already posted that will give you some good information
Have a look at the similar threads below/ and/or do a search up there /

 

[Ben M]

Shoes and pedals don't really "go together".

Shoes are cleat* specific, but are usually compatible with more than one type of cleat.
* the part that is fixed to the shoe which clips onto the pedal.

Each type of pedal has its own type of cleat, which normally comes with it.

Generally, there are two types of pedals. Road pedals and MTB pedals. Which are compatible with road shoes and MTB shoes respectively.

Road shoes are not suitable for walking in for any distance, the cleat sits proud of the shoe, so you'll damage the cleat, and probably fall over.

With MTB shoes, the cleat sits inside the shoe, so that you can walk in them, the cleat will crunch a bit on some surfaces, but it's okay for short-ish distances.

There are also touring shoes, such as the Shimano RT51 shoe, which fit a mountainbike cleat/pedal, but they are similar to a road pedal, in that they are less suited for off-road, getting muddy, etc. But you can still walk in them.

I'm on my first road bike and clipless (they're called clipless because they aren't toe straps...) pedals. I wanted to be able to walk around in my shoes, so I went for the very popular shimano m520 MTB pedal, and a pair of RT51s, and I'm pretty happy with them.

To decide between road and MTB pedals, you need to ask whether you want to be able to walk around in them. Then you can start to think about which brand etc.

 

[sawyer280769]

Thanks. I missed the search facility. Wont ask so many dumb ass questions now..... I hope.

 

[ianrauk]

not so dumb at all mate, we all have to learn don't we?
Just that many of these type of questions have been covered already on the forum.
So may be quicker for you to have a search.

 

[wafflycat]

The only dumb ass questions are the ones you haven't asked. Don't be put off asking. Asking is the only way to get an answer. And if you haven't used clipless pedals before how can you be expected to know the ins and outs of the various systems, and how they relate to cleats & shoes.

When buying clipless pedals, each different clipless system has its own cleat design. The cleats are screwed into the sole of the cycle shoe, and you have to make sure that whatever shoes you buy are compatible with the cleats for the pedal system you are wanting to use - that the shoe has the screw holes in the correct place.

 

[Muddyfox]

Thanks. I missed the search facility. Wont ask so many dumb ass questions now..... I hope.

Questions = knowledge

An old employer of mine used to have a poster on the office wall that said

"It is far easier to answer a stupid question ~ than to correct a stupid mistake "

Not that i'm implying that your question was stupid ... just sprung to mind when you say " Dumb ass Question "

Simon

 

[Bigtwin]

The only dumb ass questions are the ones you haven't asked.

That's not true. I have a friend with a massive ass, and she's always saying "does my bum look big in this".

 

[sawyer280769]

LOL! great answers! I appreciate the advice on the shoes and cleats as this is the first bike tht I have ridden with clipless pedals. I dont envisage me doing a lot of walking in the shoes so road shoes/pedals look favourite at the mo. I plan to visit my local bike shop for somefurther dvice. Thanks guys.

 

[wafflycat]

Don't forget that quite a few of the road pedal/cleat systems, the cleat is proud of the sole of the shoe and you can buy cleat covers to slip over the cleat when walking off the bike. Saves a lot of wear & tear on the cleat so they last a lot longer.

I prefer Look pedals as the cleat is quite large, and this is easier on the foot on a longer ride for me.
I can't get on with spd pedals as the cleat is *tiny* and that causes a 'hot spot' to develop on the sole of my foot in quite a short space of time. Mr Wafflycat manages fine with spds though. Wafflycat Minor has used.. Look, spd, spd-sl and Speedplay. He gets along fine with all of them but his favourite is Speedplay.

A bit like saddles, choice of pedal system is very much a personal thing as to what you are most comfortabel with.

 

[Muddyfox]

the cleat is quite large, and this is easier on the foot on a longer ride for me.

I had to read this bit twice to make sure it said " Cleat "

Simon