sigfan2340

If this is the wrong forum please move it.... newb mistake...

I am new into biking and loving it! I am currently riding a Trek FX 7.2 with a goal to drop some serious weight and then move into a ride bike. I average 20-30 miles per ride and have been talking with some local riders and they are recommending that I get some clip-less peddles and shoes. Is that something the people here would recommend. I am not out on casual rides, they are more for distance in the fastest time possible to keep the heart rate up. I ride roads and paved trails 90% of the time, no off road at all.

Would they be a benefit to have? Thanks for the advice and suggestions in advance.

MRT2

Clipless won't really make you much faster, but they help with foot retention and control of the bike. (and will make you feel like a real cyclist) Shimano SPD is what I use for myself, my wife, and my son. They are considered mountain bike pedals, but many people use them on hybrids and road bikes.

My wife and I both use the Shimano M-540 pedal. They are two sided pedals, meaning that both sides are clipless. My son uses the M-530 on his mountain bike. Also a two sided pedal, but with a slightly larger platform around the pedal.

Another possibility is to go with one sided, and a platform on the other side for casual riding without cycling shoes. I used to use the Shimano M324 and before that a Wellgo clone of the M324. Both are very good. The Wellgo is so robust that when my son hit a rock on his mountain bike using them, it bent the cage around the pedal but the clipless mechanism, the bearings, and the spindle were still fine and he was able to keep using them.

Staypuft1652

+1
I use shimano m520 which work great. Also use some crank brothers candy 1 pedals, work roughly the same. I am new to clipless myself, and I have found none easier to use. I did not have good experiences with the m324 though, maybe just me.

Staypuft1652

If you rarely get off the bike to do any sort of walking, one sided spd-sl and look type road pedals arent terribly difficult to use, just take more getting used to clip in. Be aware road type 3 bolt cleat pedals and mountain/touring type 2 bold cleat pedals require different shoes, although some road shoes also have 2 bolt mounts, I have found that setup is less than great.

travbikeman

I got myself a set of Shimano M530's the beginning of this year to replace the platform pedals that were also a replacement for the plastic pedals the bike originally came with. Whew...sorry for the long sentence. Performance Bikes had them on sale for $40 at the time.

While I liked the platform pedals I had with spikes in them, I still got hit way too often when slipping due to the trails I took. Got tired of seeing dried blood down my leg at the end of the rides.

I had found that using clipless had helped me straighten my leg with pedaling. Long story, but had surgery a few years ago and my leg needed further help, which maybe one reason it kept slipping so much on platform pedals.

I really got used to using these clipless and will not go back. Even use them on my short rides with my daughter.

My advice if you do get them, try using them while your bike is hooked up to a trainer if you have one. That really helped me out with getting used to clipping in and out.

MRT2

What did you not like about the m324? They were my go to pedal before I just bit the bullet and went 2 sided. The pedals were absolutely bulletproof and even after 7 or 8 years of regular use, they still work perfectly, even if they are relegated to backup bike duty now.

ltxi

M324, with toe clips and straps, is my much preferred pedal. I don't use the other side. Clipless is evil.

For platforms, Shimano Saints

TenSpeedV2

Shimano PD-M520 Clipless Pedal > Components > Pedals > Mountain Pedals | Jenson USA

This is my go to on all of my bikes, road, mountain and fixed gear. Never had an issue with any of them ever. Mine are pretty beat to hell and work just as well as when I got them.

Staypuft1652

I didn't like that the m324 was weighted to have the platform side up. I never got proficient in using my foot to have spd side up, always had to look, and even then it wasnt reliable for me, but I do agree they do seem to be very sturdy.

StanSeven

If you move to road bike riding with greater speed/distance as goals, get road pedals and road shoes. I have both mountain bike and road, and SPDs just aren't as good when you want power and are fatigued. The contact area is much smaller. The advantage is SPDs are better for walking around.

JanMM

PEDALS not PEDDLES.
I've been using mountain-style SPD clipless pedals and shoes since sometime in the '90's. Currently have mountain style pedals from Nashbar/Performance (probably made by Wellgo) that have clip hardware on one side and plain platform on the other. I ride clipped in at least 95% of the time.

Once in a while I have to walk up a hill, and then very much appreciate mountain style SPD with recessed cleats.

TheGMan

Just be prepared to take a couple of spills when you change to clip ins. I got clip ins for my road bike and took a couple of falls the first few times I used them. It's just getting used to turning you feet outward to unclip when you stop. I was basically stopped and fell over, pride hurt more than anything else/ Probably Looked kinda like Artie Johnson falling off the tricycle on the old Rowan and Martin Laugh In if you're old enough to remember.

v402872

Go get the Shimano 520 I am new to t also and it was a very simple process. I will be adding them to my Giant Escape hybrid also

JanMM

Self-fulfilling prophecy: If you keep telling yourself you're going to fall, that increases your chance of falling.
Not everyone using clipless falls. Happens to many but not all.

Staypuft1652

For the few months Ive been riding clipless, I have not fallen. Came damn close a couple times, but never fell. May or may not happen.

james_v

If you go with SPD type cleats, get the SH-56 cleats first as they are easier to get out of than the SH-51. The SH-56 is multi-directional where the SH-51 is lateral only.

Also, while you are learning, be sure to reduce the spring tension to where it just holds your foot in position. If you crank it up too much, you may have a problem with the release when you need it the most. (Have the elbow scar to prove this point!)

sigfan2340

I know..... lol. Tried to edit it after and it wouldn't let me, oh well.

Thanks for the info so far! I think I'm set on getting some now and shoes. I have to travel for work all week but then have 5 days off. Will get them and travel around the neighborhood for awhile to get used to them.

kuroba

I switched to clipless a couple months back. I got the PD-T400 pedals, which are aimed towards newbies as they're easier to clip in/out, with the SM-SH56 (multiple release) cleats. I mostly commute on my bike and I wanted shoes that didn't look like full cycling shoes, I use the Pearl Izumi X-Alp Seek V

They work great, I can easily clip in and out, even suddenly, which is why I haven't fell so far (couple of close calls, but nothing serious).

I practice clipping in/out at home first, with my bike leaned on the wall, then did a couple rounds around the block to get the hang of it and adjusted tension and cleat position.

So far, I don't feel I'm any faster but I do feel some slopes are easier to go up than they used to be.

netman9718

When I decided to become a full time road biker I bought a Domane and put the spd pedals on them day one. I now have thousands of miles on my bike and spd with zero falls. I took to them like a duck to water. Now on the other hand my wife tried the spd on her silque and crashed/fall twice in the driveway and has never asked for them back.
I love mine. I think mine are the SL type.

jkane101

This made me laugh, you'll see why.

PaulRivers

The primary advantage of clipless is to keep your feet securely attached to the pedals when you're hard all out sprinting - like racers do.

There is a myth that clipless makes you faster - studies have shown that pro racers in a lab do not pull up (they unweight the pedal but are not gaining any power by pulling up on it) and are not faster with clipless. There is still some debate about whether clipless might be faster when sprinting, when going uphill, or slightly more efficient over a long ride.

I had clipless and switched back to flat with pins and flat bottomed shoes from Chrome made for biking. Some people really like clipless. Clipless is fine for it's purpose. My biggest complaint is just that I think clipless is overhyped.

I think flat shoes with flat pedals with pins is good. If you really want a ton of grip you can buy five-ten shoes, they're super grippy on pins.
I think clipless is fine if you like them. I don't think they're necessary, but they do their job well. If I was all out sprinting in races I would have clipless.
The only thing I really don't like is cages/straps. I feel like it's the worst of all worlds - harder to get your foot out in an emergency, needing to flip the pedal to get into them, no performance advantage. Clipless is not perfect in being able to get out of them in an emergency, but straps are worse with less benefits.

Z953

I've been riding for just under two months and my clipless pedals have made riding easier for me because I never have to think about my feet. In fact, when I stand up to sprint that's when I'm reminded of how much they help me because I can feel how they keep my feet in place when I would've shifted them on the pedal otherwise.


I fell down two decades ago when I tried riding with a friend. While it was embarassing, I didn't get hurt; but it stuck with me all these years even though I never took up riding. So when I got a bike twenty years later, almost the only thing that I think about when I stop is getting one foot unattached. When I bought my bike, I told the guy at the LBS that I fell a long time ago and that I was apprehensive about using clipless. He said, "No problem, I adjusted the pedals to lightest tension so you'll have to problem twisting the cleat out. If they pop out when you're riding, tighten them a little". That really helped me mentally and I haven't fallen. In fact, I've gone from the PD-R550 in the loosest setting to the 5800 three-quarters tight last week.


Clipless are the way-to-go if you're going beyond just being a casual rider.

philbob57

I'm a duffer here, never raced, did 8 hour centuries in the '80s & '90s, started back on the bike a few years ago. I used to wear use toe clips, straps, and touring shoes - stiff-soled leather shoes. When the shoes wore out, I had to look for another solution. Perhaps because of my age (70+), I couldn't get used to clipping out of 'clipless' and suffered from hotspots. Although I liked the 10% speed performance the SPDs gave me, the occasional falls cost me more than I gained in speed.

Besides, the idea of pedaling with the mid-foot made sense to me.

Logic says I needed more surface area on the pedals and stiff-soled shoes. I came to the same conclusion PaulRivers did - pinned flats and Five-Ten shoes. I got the shoes very cheaply on 5-10's website; otherwise, there's enough surface area on the pedals to use running shoes, and 5-10 has competitors in Chrome and others.

I'd say the pedals I chose (DMR V12s, but there are lots to choose from ranging from $10 to $100s) added about 8% to my speed, with no loss to falls. I can't pull the pedals up as I did with toe clips or clipless, so my acceleration suffers a bit, but the pinned connection is enough to swing a pedal around to the 9 o'clock position at a light.

Most important, I can use the ball of my foot to accelerate and mid-foot for cruising, and I can change the angle and placing of my foot if a knee starts to hurt.

The more I ride on these things, the happier I am with them.

caloso

These are my CX pedals. They just work.

noglider 

I've been using one form of foot retention or another for over 40 years. Back then, we had toe clips, now called cages. They're tricky to get into, and they don't prevent your feet from coming out of the back unless you tighten the straps down really hard. Racers would use a cleat with a slot so that when the strap is tight, your foot was stuck in. To get out, they would have to loosen the strap before pulling the foot out.

Modern cleats cause you to clip in, which creates confusing terminology. Toe cages should never have been called clips, but oh well. Modern cleats are called clipless because they don't use cages. But argh! These things do clip. I wish we had called them snap in pedals or click in or something.

I like the modern systems because they're easy to get into. It takes a little habit building to snap out without falling over. Practice!

When I'm tired or climbing hills, sometimes, rather than pressing down on my forward foot at the 2 o'clock position, I pull back with my bottom foot (at the 6 o'clock position) and simultaneously push forward with my top foot at the 12 o'clock position. I'm not saying this makes me faster, but the ability to use different muscles reduces fatigue and when you do the math just might be more efficient.

I like the SPD kind of cleat best because the cleats are recessed, which allows for safe walking. I own four pairs of SPD shoes. One of them is a pair of sandals! Some of my pedals are dual-purpose, with a regular old surface on one side and SPD mechanism on the other side. This is really convenient if, for some reason, I'm not wearing my SPD shoes. It's also handy for loaning my bike out. Dual sided SPD pedals without cleats are pretty uncomfortable. But one advantage they have is that you don't have to flip the pedal over to engage.

Another thing I like about SPD is that I can adjust them loose to minimize the effort to disengage. I've had a few panic stops where rather than twisting out as intended, I just pulled straight up and out. This is good for me. If you are racing, you'll want to adjust your pedals tighter than that, because you can't afford for your foot to come out until you intend it.