abshipp 

Really, any of the mountain bike style flat pedals with pins are going to work fine. I put some VP-001 on my wife's bike and she likes them a lot. The pins (really little grub screws) can tear up the bottom of your shoes, but they do provide a nice secure connection to the pedals.

I know this is the road forum and the majority of the people here ride clipless pedals and love them (myself included), but they aren't really necessary. A grippy flat pedal provides most of the performance of a clipless system, and you don't have to buy new shoes, either

If you decide to go clipless in the future, well then you can just put your nice flat pedals on your hybrid.

Yes, you will have less clearance when leaning the bike over, but like MinnMan said above, I doubt you will have any issues. You have to get to some pretty extreme lean angles to start having to worry about pedal strike.

maglia_grigia

I am also confused as to the loyalty shown to being clipped into the pedals. Especially as there seems to be no meaningful performance benefit, except for sprints.

Just picked up a 2nd hand Bianchi that has Shimanu SPDs attached, so going to give it a go at least.

guadzilla

I cant quantify it but my pedalling feels more efficient when clipped in. I have ridden road bikes with platform pedals (rentals when holiday) and it isnt close to the same thing, especially when pedaling at intensity.

The fact that there is near-unanimity re riding clipless should be telling.

philbob57

Yes - an overgenralization, as are phrases like 'You'll love clipless.' I won't include 'trust me' an 'trust us' as overgemeralizations.

I've tried SPDs, and I've ridden thousands of miles in toeclips and straps and toeclips, cleats, and straps. Of them all, I like pinned flats best. because in addition to no hot spots, they keep my feet attached to the pedals for probably 340 degrees, and, more important, I can adjust my foot position with almost total freedom to resolve any knee pain that I've encountered. (The knee pain, BTW, is due to arthritis, not to a need for a professional fit.)

There are a whole lot of other benefits of pinned flat pedals over SPDs. Personally, I might give Speedplays or road pedals a trial if I felt I had to be locked in to the pedal, and I have no doubt that toeclips and straps, with and without cleats, make for a good solution.

But I tried SPDs on my bike, and I have no doubt it's an inferior solution for a road bike. For the record, I'm writing only for myself. Other people obviously think differently, but I wonder how much SPD advocates have ridden on alternatives. And I wonder how much SPD on the road advocates take their positions in order to cut down the equipment they need, because one of their bikes may need SPDs.

ETA: That's near unanimity among people who post on these threads. Talk about overgeneralizations....

maglia_grigia

I'm not sure it's quite unanimous. Certainly does seem to be a 'if you try it, this becomes what you do' but there are loads of people who ride road bikes for fitness or commuting and use flat pedals.
In saying that my brother got the bike, got the SPDs, got the shoes. Had them on for an extended period of time.
And now uses flat pedals when he rides (for fitness).

Anyway, heading out shortly so will report back if I still have an unbroken collar bone.

guadzilla

True enough - which is why I said "near unanimous" Most people do like them.

It also depends on your pedaling style: if you tend to pedal full circles, pulling back at 6 and forwards at 12, having your feet clipped in helps a lot: you dont have to weight the pedals at 12 and 6 in order to keep your feet on the pedals and that reduces inefficiency. It also makes you feel more securely connected to the bike.

But you are correct - my comments were more in the context of riding fast/racing/etc. (ie, the full roadie experience). My commuter bike does have flat pedals on it, cos I couldnt be arsed putting on special footwear just to run errands. Similarly, for people who are riding for fitness, clipless is by no means essential.

How was your ride? What did you think?

maglia_grigia

Anyway, quick kilometre or so. Didn't fall and got clipped and unclipped ok.

Wouldn't say I'm a convert but wasn't as tricky as I feared and will persevere for a while to give it a fair chance.

Bah Humbug

A “standard” sprint has an even shorter bike - 20k. The standard numbers ate 1500m/ 20k/ 5k. It’s often changed for various reasons though.

PedalHardr

Those Dual Sided Shimano pedals posted above are actually a solid option. I started with those and they work well with both clipless SPD type pedals (often referred to as mountain bike pedals) as well as for road bikes when you want to use normal shoes. There is also the benefit of you being able to ride without issue if you forget your bike shoes and just want to go for a coffee or short errand and do not want to try out for the Icecapades while walking on the inevitable slick flooring and sliding everywhere. I was using them with a Shimano XC7 shoe which is more of a cyclocross type shoe but worked well until I transitioned to SPD-L road pedals and fizik road shoes. The tension is adjustable and reasonable to get out of (just remember to TWIST and not pull lol). Good luck.

Outback Cayucan

Confess being a Klutz. “Tombay” kept me off my bike >six weeks several years ago and I switched to Power Grips which served well five or more years and thousands of miles. But a bit fussy putting my Shimano MTB shoes in PG straps and the shoes even w/o the cleats gave me hot spots. Upon realizing my size12-3E feet had become 4-5E I wear ASICS X-wide athletic shoes and very pleased w/ Chester Race Face pedals. Bike Radar compared flat pedals a couple of years ago. Their report included research that the vast majority of riders realize little if any benefit from being clipped in which I had also read on Rivendell’s forum (“Shoes Ruse”, I believe).

justonwo

If you are used to clipless and you ride a bike with flats, as I occasionally do, you will quickly realize just how much your feet flop around and how unsecure they are relative to clipless. There is absolutely an efficiency improvement. And a huge benefit in the consistency and feel of the stroke. The motion of the stroke is consistent. The position of your foot/knee is consistent. If you ride thousands of miles, bad stroke mechanics can prevent repetitive stress.

Not to mention the huge improvement in stability when bombing a hill. Having your foot fly off the pedal when you hit a bump as dangerous.

OP, I would strongly encourage you to get onto dedicated clipless road pedals and shoes. You will be glad you did. SPDs are ok for road but not my favorite. I love Speedplay, which provide lots of float but a vastly more solid connection than SPDs. I don’t really walk around in my road shoes, so I don’t need the flex for walking.

If you do get flats, at least get some clips. I rode them all through the 90s. Much better than flats alone.

MinnMan

Huh. Never seen "Tombay" outside of the 50+ forum. I thought it was local sub-forum jargon.

I like powergrips. I used to use them on my winter rig with hiking boots, before I got a decent set of actual cycling winter boots. I prefer powergrips to old-fashioned toe clips. And I agree that they give one a lot of the advantages of a cleated system. they are a nice compromise.

(One problem I've had for powergrips, though, at least for winter riding, is that the bolts rust shut and then eventually the straps start to fray and you have to start again with a new set of pedals and straps. Not a big deal, and maybe mostly a problem when you're riding salted winter roads)

But I disagree about there not being a performance advantage with cleated systems. I've ridden all kinds of flat pedals, with and without powergrips and toe clips, and several different cleated systems (SPD, SPD-SL, Look equivalents). It's hard to argue with a statement that is based on "the vast majority of riders" because I don't know who does and doesn't fit in that cohort, but for people I know who have good form (i.e., they aren't mashers), cleated systems have real performance benefits. Maybe the "vast majority" are mashers.

Seattle Forrest

I got hot spots / pressure points with SPDs and cheap soft flexible shoes. Never with SPDs and stiff soled shoes.

hydrationnation

My intention wasnt to trigger a huge discussion here
But thanks for all your input.

I went to my two LBS and also spoke with some people from their grouprides.
Most of them in the group had SPD sl pedals.
Same feedback as here... I probably will never go back once I tried SPD sl; I will fall; I need training to clip in and out.

So I will get some cheap flat pedals to figure out if the Canyon is really the bike that I want and after I feel comfortable with the bike
I try to "convert" to SPD sl.

With that being said, the shippment of my bike is delayed

one more thing... they told me to start with the yellow cleats.

eduskator

Don't worry... Confinement has given most of us a lot more free time to spend on the internets.

By yellow cleats they mean Shimano's 6 degrees float (floating = your foot being able to move a little from left to right when you're clipped). It's what the ''average joe'' uses (including myself).

tlema

Try the all new MKS AR-2 Classic Alloy Road Bike Platform Pedals

maglia_grigia

Longer cycle today, clipped into the bike.

No real issues clipping and unclipping, apart from when I nearly fell after I decided to stop going up a road that was much steeper than I thought.
On reflection, think I will just get flat pedals, and have ordered the MKS AR-2 Classic Alloy Road Bike Platform Pedals, as suggested by tlema in large text above.

Reason for abandoning clips;
* the shoes I have are a size too big. So in reality I'd have to buy a new pair of shoes. I'd rather buy new pedals and have money left over for other things (bar tape, clothes etc).
* I did feel good going at pace and was certainly able to pedal faster, but I don't do a lot of high speeds and in reality there are too many traffic lights on main routes I'd do.
* for me, I just feel there's an extra risk of falling (I appreciate a small one) that I'd rather not take

Seattle Forrest

It's ok to use platform pedals if you're more comfortable that way. The important thing is you're riding.

Tacoenthusiast

Your new bike should arrive with a set of plastic flat pedals,. My canyon came with a pair. I didn't inspect them too closely but you will get a similar set I'm sure and they'll be good enough to get you started

No use spending money on more flat pedals when you will get a pair with your bike


Also, those Shimano with a platform on one side and spd on the other, skip those.., they suck IMO. The platform side is slippery.

Just use the free pedals then upgrade to clipless later

philbob57

Of course, the flopping on flats could be due to your reliance on the clips to keep your foot connected to the pedal. If that's what you're doing, you may be doing yourself a disservice.

If the Canyon comes with flat pedals, they may have 'pins' molded into them. If you ride with sneakers or running shoes, you may get something of an idea of how metal pins will feel.

hydrationnation

Never heard of that. Never seen Canyon unboxing videos with pedals in the box.
Are you sure?

MKahrl

I recommend the MKS Lambda or Gamma as great platform pedals. They also go by the names Grip King and Grip Monarch. Use with any kind of shoe with a rubber sole.

The Gammas come with the grub screws whereas the Lambda does not but are easily installed. Through experimentation I've found I need two screws on each side for a great grip.

Tacoenthusiast

Yes. I bought an ultimate CF 8.0 a year ago and I have an unopened plastic bag with pedals in it from that bike in my junk drawer :-)

justonwo

My Canyon came with pedals as well. Purchased about a month ago.

Kapusta

Part of the reason many people think flats are no good for road biking is that they have never tried GOOD flat pedals and shoes. They’ve ridden some standard issue pedal ( came free with the bike or on some rental or some other $29 pedal) with tennis shoes and that is what they assume flats can offer.

What they may not realize is how much difference a solid, stiff, grippy pedal/shoe combo makes.

I ride about 50/50 on the road with flats and clip less. There is a difference, and I would not race with flats, but the difference is not as much as people seem to think.

If you want to go with flats, I would ask in MTB forums as to good pedal recs. I have a set of Chromag Syth pedals that I like. But there are many, many to choose from.