swillard8

Hi - I hope I'm posting in the correct place and apologies if I haven't.

I'm borrowing a friends road bike to test it out as a commute bike before I jump in and buy my own.

I have never used clip-in shoes before so I went to Halfords on Monday for some advice and I was sold shoes and cleats for the bike's already fitted pedals.

When I got home I found it was almost impossible to get the cleat and shoe into the pedal as the "back lever" (don't know if that's the right term) is so stiff. I managed to eventually get one foot clipped in but couldn't get it back out with a twist of the ankle so had to get my foot out of the shoe and yank it hard to get the cleat out of the pedal.

The pedal brand looks like "RSP" and the cleats and shoes I've been sold are Shimano. Sorry I'm unable to upload pictures as I'm new.

Have I been sold the wrong shoe and cleat for the pedal? Looking online RSP pedals aren't compatible with SPD Shimano cleats - have I got that correct?

If so wish me luck as I'm going back to Halfords to try and get my money back!

Cyclist0108

I never heard of RSP pedals but it sounds like they sold you the wrong cleats. Frankly, I would keep the cleats and replace the pedals with some (compatible) shimano pedals, as they are what you would really want. If the pedals belong to the borrowed bike, then either try a second set of cleats or take those pedals off and replace them with something better.

If you are just beginning, I would think it unwise to try clip-in pedals, especially for commuting.

During my time in the UK, I never had a positive experience at Halford's FWIW.

Iride01 

I wouldn't use a cleat for commuting unless you are going to be commuting where traffic is light, stops are few and far between and your speed and cadence is high.

big john

I agree with the others that you should start with flat pedals for commuting, at least until you are confident on the bike. Clipless should be practiced away from traffic until you are sure of yourself. I recommend Shimano SPD to start and adjust them for easy release.

I've never heard of RSP pedals either. I use SPD on my mountain bike and after wet rides they get harder to get in and out of until I spray them with WD-40.

blacknbluebikes 

If you have a fair number of traffic controls on your commute, such as stop signs or traffic lights, you probably don't want clipless pedals at all. Definitely more hassle than the benefits. Not to mention "work shoe management."

smashndash

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/co...pedals-review/

If these are your pedals, you have the wrong cleats. The only pedals that work with shimano road cleats are shimano pedals (as far as I know). These RSP pedals use Look Keo cleats which look a lot like Shimano, but aren't.

alcjphil

The shoes you bought are fine but the store sold you the wrong cleats. The Keo type cleat that you need can be installed on your shoes