Re, the following -
Originally Posted by
Sillyak
It's worth going on kijiji and seeing what you can scrounge. Mtb pedals/shoes work just fine on a road bike too.
After traveling the road shoes and pedals path I agree with the mtb pedals choice. The fact is, the pedals won't know the difference, and the bike won't know the difference. And mtb shoes are typically something you can walk around in without risking a disc in your back...
As an aside, my road bike has gone away in favor of a flat-bar hybrid (the Cannondale PD in my signature).
And I agree here as well -
Originally Posted by
gregf83
Clipless is more comfortable, but pedaling steady state at threshold or below makes no difference to your efficiency. Standing up or sprinting, clipless can provide extra power. For training, it’s not going to improve your the efficiency of your workout. I’d get the best bike you can afford now and add some used clipless pedals later. Once you have them you likely won’t want to go back to riding on flats.
I have Shimano PD A-530 pedals on my mtb. (The same pedal is also referred to as "spd" pedals). Anyway, they have a platform on one side and take cleats on the other. That pedal is still available, but it's pricey. There is a less expensive replacement tagged as the PD EH-500.
The upshot is that about 90% of the time I use the platform side of the SPD's, but they leave me with the option to clip-in if I wish. I do occasionally clip-in when on longer rides, but for tooling around the neighborhood with the wife, the platforms are a genuine convenience.