Sports direct doing SPD shoes for £20? Is this right?

[Cubist]

Must admit, I'm tempted to try SPD clipless..

I can get a pair of Shimano SPD pedals from eBay for £20 with cleats, and these shoes adding up to a grand total £40.

If I get along with clipless, I'd use the cheap shoes until they wore out. If I don't get along with it, I could probably sell the shoes and pedals on here for someone else to try clipless, and hopefully recover £20 or so.

Read my lips. Pd M530 for less than a fiver more at Merlin. Much better pedals

 

[HovR]

Most SPD pedals have a release tension setting. My advice is to set that to minimum to give you the best chance of unclipping in a hurry if you need to. NB If the pedals are double-sided, make sure you lower the tensions on both sides. I missed one side on one of my new pedals and couldn't unclip my own foot. I had to get Ajay to do it for me!

You can always increase the tension later once you get used to clipless, but I never bothered. I don't accidentally unclip, which is the only worry about low tension. Just make sure that you don't slide your feet about too much when you are pedalling and you should be fine.

I think that most people who give clipless pedal systems a fair try never want to go back to their old pedals.

Thanks for the advice! I've been looking at these pedals. I decided on the double sided ones as I figured it would be enough of a learning curve without having to flip the pedals to the correct side! Besides, everyone with the platform and SPD mix pedals say they never use the platform side.

 

[HovR]

Read my lips. Pd M530 for less than a fiver more at Merlin. Much better pedals

Ok, thanks for that. I'll keep that in mind!

 

[MrJamie]

Is the advantage of clipless just being able to apply force on the upstroke and does it make much difference in real terms of speed?

My hybrid has those sharp spikey mtb pedals that bite into the soles of my shoes so well they cant move around at all which i like (partly down to the shoes tread), but ive been wondering when i upgrade to a faster bike with drops if id go for clipless.

 

[guitarpete247]

I totally agree with ColinJ. I bought some Lidl MTB shoes and some Two Way pedals from EBC. Then got some M520's for the road bike. Invested in some dhb R1 shoes as they could be used for both 2 and 3 bolt cleats. I now have some Shimano R540's. Love them. I can't see wanting to back to toe-straps or normal pedals .

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Is the advantage of clipless just being able to apply force on the upstroke and does it make much difference in real terms of speed?

My hybrid has those sharp spikey mtb pedals that bite into the soles of my shoes so well they cant move around at all which i like (partly down to the shoes tread), but ive been wondering when i upgrade to a faster bike with drops if id go for clipless.

I've got clips and straps on the fixed and clipless on the geared bike, I don't find I get any advantage from the clipless pedals over the clips and straps, I prefer clips and straps, if you're not using any form of foot retention you will notice a difference what ever form of foot retention you use.

 

[guitarpete247]

Is the advantage of clipless just being able to apply force on the upstroke and does it make much difference in real terms of speed?

I find I get my feet moving round and round. Not simply following where the pedals are going but moving the pedals in every direction. When I do this I find that pedalling is much easier and my speed can go up, even up-hill. Toe-clips were the same but not as easy to get out of.

If folks mention clip-less moments think about getting out of tightened clipped in feet. If too loose they weren't good enough. If too tight they hurt your feet after a few miles. To unclip you not only had to think in advance (like clip-less) but bend down and pull the strap loose.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I find I get my feet moving round and round. Not simply following where the pedals are going but moving the pedals in every direction. When I do this I find that pedalling is much easier and my speed can go up, even up-hill. Toe-clips were the same but not as easy to get out of.

If folks mention clip-less moments think about getting out of tightened clipped in feet. If too loose they weren't good enough. If too tight they hurt your feet after a few miles. To unclip you not only had to think in advance (like clip-less) but bend down and pull the strap loose.

There a point with clips and straps where they are tight enough but you can ease your foot out, I usually tighten the straps on the fixed about once a month, the straps will work loose over time.

 

[HovR]

If folks mention clip-less moments think about getting out of tightened clipped in feet. If too loose they weren't good enough. If too tight they hurt your feet after a few miles. To unclip you not only had to think in advance (like clip-less) but bend down and pull the strap loose.

It's fair to say I've had some clipless moments whilst clipped in with straps. Rarely at traffic lights, as I seem to remember to undo the straps, but when low speed maneuvering goes wrong, and I haven't been quick enough to drag my feet out!

Not really worried about being unable to unclip, but more concerned about clipping in.. Guess it'll just be one of those things you get used to, like flipping the toe-clip'd pedal the right way around.

 

[ColinJ]

I know a couple of people who stuck with straps and seem to get on alright with them but I had the opposite of 'clipless moments' with them, being unable to get my feet out on steep climbs when I couldn't climb any further.

I also had a few major wobbles trying to get my feet in when pulling away from traffic lights. I've watched people set off with the pedals upside down and then flipping them and sliding their feet into the straps once they were up to speed.

I'll stick to my SPDs on most of my bikes, and might go back to the Look system for my best bike.

 

[Soltydog]

I have an old pair of Specialised Sonamo? shoes in a size 12 complete with cleats if they are of any use to anyone wishing to try out clipless. The Spesh sizing is pretty mush as a 'normal' shoe I'm normally a 12 in shoes & these are no different

 

[fossala]

I'm using a pair of the road ones at the moment. The holes for the cleats aren't in the same place (my cleats look wonky but feel good. I bought them to get me up and going. I will make them last until next summer, then buy a better pair.

 

[Cyclist33]

Most SPD pedals have a release tension setting. My advice is to set that to minimum to give you the best chance of unclipping in a hurry if you need to. NB If the pedals are double-sided, make sure you lower the tensions on both sides. I missed one side on one of my new pedals and couldn't unclip my own foot. I had to get Ajay to do it for me!

You can always increase the tension later once you get used to clipless, but I never bothered. I don't accidentally unclip, which is the only worry about low tension. Just make sure that you don't slide your feet about too much when you are pedalling and you should be fine.

I think that most people who give clipless pedal systems a fair try never want to go back to their old pedals.

Did my first ever SPD ride yesterday. 18.5 miles. It was pretty slow when I looked at my average speed after the ride. ie, not any faster than using platforms. But a quite different experience - tiring on the leg muscles. My only real gripe is how difficult it was to find the slots to clip back in - lots of shameful and unsafe skidding around trying to get the cleats to bite. I think it will come easier in time though.

 

[Rob500]

My only real gripe is how difficult it was to find the slots to clip back in - lots of shameful and unsafe skidding around trying to get the cleats to bite.

Hi Cyclist33. Did you set your cleats position by letting your feet dangle at their natural angle? eg By sitting on the edge of a table. I never had any real trouble re-clipping but just taking that little bit of time to set the cleats correctly really made it so much more easier. Rather than trying to clip my feet in 'straight' I just let them hang naturally and the cleats almost just fall into the pedals themselves.

 

[Cyclist33]

Cheers dude, hard to visualise but i'll give it a go later!

Stu