illusiumd

So I went out and bought Shimano A530 + Louis Garneau MTB 50 shoe. I think I need to try a different pedal - one with a cage on the dual side. The shoe slips all over the place when on the other side of this pedal. My commute is 10 mi nice paved lakefront and 5mi city.

So I only fell down once. In general the twisting motion to get the shoe out might be a deal breaker for me unless I can find something I can get my foot out of easier. It seems like you have to have your foot at the bottom of the rotation to get some weight on it and then twist... which is tough cause usually when I come to a stop my I take my left foot out of the strap toward the top of the rotation. I turned the tension thingy on the pedals all the way toward the negative sign.

What I would love is to find a Chrome type of shoe with rubber sole but no one makes a shoe like that above 46/47. I had folks recommend the Shimano M089 but that thing at size 50 is crazy wide - I had to pull the straps over until the velcro ended. The LG shoe at 50 is a bit narrower - but I don't understand why they make MTB like that with the hard ass plastic knobs on the outside.

unabowler

If you need cages on the platform side and the clip-in side is too hard to get out of, you could just get pedals with cages. If you flip the cages over you'll probably scrape them on the ground a fair amount of the time.

trailangel

That is the complaint about the A530 pedals.. slippery on the non-clip side.
Try these:
Forté Campus Pedals

dodgeboy8888

I run the same pedals and i love them. It's your first try give it a bit of time

CliffordK

I like my cleats tight...
But you might try the Shimano SH-56 multi-release cleats. They are supposed to be easier to get out of.

sstorkel

FWIW, I always release at the top of the pedal stroke. Putting weight on the pedal makes release much more difficult, at least with my Shimano PD-M520 pedals. I generally coast to a stop with all my weight on the right pedal. I release from the left pedal, which is at the top of the stroke, and put my left foot on the ground. Once I have weight off the right foot, then I can easily get it to release.

Willbird

IMHO I do not even think about where I am in the pedal stroke to unlclip I have pd520 and pd530 both, backed both off to lowest tension when they were new (you do know there is a tension adjustment?) and have left them there for a year. Both types of pedal work well, got them at performance.

CliffordK

I like the tension adjustment on the Wellgo SPD compatible pedals.

Inevitably if I buy a used pair, they'll be set way too low so the first thing I do is crank the tension up to near the max.

But, learning, best to keep it light. I went from toeclips (and a long time ago, toeclips + cleats) to clipless. The conversion was quick.

I do think the toeclips (without cleats) is a bit more intuitive, and perhaps quicker as one pulls the foot down and back to get them out. Although it is always nice to loosen the straps before removing the feet, mainly because they must be loose before re-inserting.

sriley4290

I ride the Shimano PD-M424 SPD pedals with specialized MTB shoes. they have clips on both sides, and they have pedall nobs on both sides so you don' have to try and figure out which side to clip on. I love them. no adjustments at all and they fit nice and snug. clipping was difficult at first, but that was more of not knowing how to use them, and I have fallen several times. but I stuck with them and love them. I wouldn't give up just yet, or try something else. try them in you LBS and see what you think of them there. also great advice from the other posters.

illusiumd

Thanks after comparing the 424 and the 520 - I'm going to give them both a try before I go back to my bmx platform with big straps.

ltxi

I am old. I am no longer fascinated with replacing things that are already working quite okay/well for me......an attitude for which my current wife seems grateful. I like toe clips. Provide all the connection security and "up" effort ability I need, don't need annoying special shoes, and have never fallen down 'cause can't get foot off pedal. Don't care if they're out of fashion dorky. Will most likely never use anything else.

Willbird

I used toe clips years ago, but find dual sided spd easier really.

ltxi

Honestly, they seem to be the best solution for serious/bonding to the bike. I have Shimano 340, dual purpose /sided pedals that I use with toe clips....leaving the option open. As a recreational/fitness rider not much into more than 20 miles at a time, though, I'm currently good if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Did I mention I'm old?

illusiumd

I would be more inclined toward spd/clipless if a) I rode more non-city and b) I could find a shoe that fit AND I didn't think I was going to slip down five flights of stairs - the first flight is hard wood. Some of these shoes are really nice - I've tried many MTB shoes - but the only ones that fit have these stupid hard plastic rivets on the side which just piss me off. I live five flights up with no elevator and have to keep my bike in my apt. Unless I can find a rubber sole MTB/casual shoe in a 49/50 I'm going to have to wait on clipless till I move out of the city. No big deal If I was riding centuries on pavement I would invest in two sets for sure.

Willbird

I have always used MTb shoes. Just got a new pair of shimano shoes.

They look kinda like this.....search

Sh-m088w

if you ride through water 6" deep they drain right out too :-)

GravelMN

This surprises me. I've got A530s on my road bike and using the multi-release cleats (silver) and with the pedal retention set toward the low end but not all the way, I can clip out in any direction except straight forward with ease. The retention is so light that I've stepped off of a pedal during an emergency stop without ever thinking of unclipping.

- Do you have the single release SH51 (black) or multi-release SH56 (silver/gold) cleats? If you have single release, I suggest you switch. There is nothing wrong with the black cleats but the motion to disengage is more specific. There really isn't much of a twist needed, just turn your heel slightly out or in and step off in any direction other than straight forward.

- Make sure that you have actually turned the tension on your pedals down. The factory setting is usually quite high and it takes several full turns with a hex (allen) wrench to back them off all the way. Back them all the way down to the lowest tension and take a test ride. Increase the tension by half turns until there are no unintentional clip-outs.

Here are the shoes I use, Shimano SH-MT34. Very walkable, good sole on or off the bike. Not as stiff as most roadies would like but for mixed use on and off the bike I don't think you can beat them.