I'm so confused about clipless pedals

I'm looking into buying clipless pedals. I'm really confused between the different brands and then what shoes will work with them. I've been looking at some Adidas shoes that are around $125 or some Sidi shoes around $160. So far i've look at Shimano, Look, Crank bros. I'd like to stay under $100 for the pedals. Since I'm a beginner I need something that's really easy to clip out of, I weigh 215 pounds if that makes a difference. When I look at the pictures of these different pedals I'm not sure I even understand how you clip in. For example, on the Crank Bros Eggbeater, how do you clip in. I can't even picture it. Any help would be appreciated.

I used the performance cheapo's (forte's) for the first few months back on the bike this summer and really liked them. They are the "Look" type of pedal and work really well.

My wife needed some pedals for her new bike so I upgraded to the new Dura-Ace pedals by shimano which are really great as well.

It is not hard to clip into the pedals but, at first, it can be fun getting out of them.

If it was me, I would go with the look type pedals (Look, shimano, cheapo fortes, etc) as it is all I have ever used and I have always had great luck with them.

For shoes, I use sidi genius 5.5 carbons but their basic genius shoe is one of the best, solid shoes around and not too expensive.

You mostly get what you pay for and if you shop around on the internet, you can find some really good deals.

Hope this helps at least a little.

Buck

Although they are different they sort of clip in with a similiar method. SPD is very popular around here for mountain and road bikes and the shoes can be walked around in freely.
Personnaly i use SPD-SL for my road bike because they feel better than SPD for me when pedalling and especially when pedalling hard / out of the seat sprint type riding. I have started using the eggbeater type on my mountain bike and i like them too (but will still use the SPD-SL on my road bike).

Cheers

First off i recommend if your a begginer to choose your shoe first and then find a petal that works. For example i use a Sidi Dominator 5.0, its a Mountain bike shoe but i like it becuase i can walk around in it without wobbling. In fact its the only shoe i wear anymore. I have bike shoes and shoes at work, thats all i need since if im not at work im on my bike

Anyway the biggest problem i see with my shoe is that it wont accept any kind of pedal setup. There are 2 main types of clips, generally mountain bike shoes only work with 1 kind and road shoes work with any. So first chose if you want a mountain bike shoe or road shoe (if your a begginer i reccomend mountain or "casual" shoes) and then pick your pedal.

About Crank Bros. I have used their pedals and they work fine and are cheap. The way it works is like this. The clip runs basically up and down on the bottom of your shoe. You push it into the metal clip from any of the 4 sides and the spring loaded pedal parts move apart and then clamp onto the cleat. You turn your shoe at an angle and the cleat is at the furthest 2 corners of the pedal and they slide right out.

For road bike: I'd suggest the pedal with the larger contact surface area-platform- so that your weigh/pressure is distributed over a larger area. For comparison I'd use the surface area of your old "cruiser bike" (the rubber simple, dumb pedal).
The ease of getting in/out is relative. Just practice clicking in/out while you're standing straddling the bike; do it for each foot until you get the "feel". I think SPD's are easy. It's all a matter of getting used to them (you'll fall a few times so start on a "soft landing" area) I also don't like having different sets of cleats on my MTB and road bike.

You just need to try some out. SPD's/mountain shoes are great pedals for people who are beggining or commute. Road shoes are less practical for many people because they have not much tread for walking.
The eggbeater pedals can be clipped into on any one of the four faces. they are unusual for that alone. They also work very well, for road or MTB.
Try this: buy some MTB shoes, and try out SPD's and eggbeaters at the LBS. They can help you make a decision. Shimano PD-M520 or 540 pedals work very well.

[QUOTE]
My first pedal was Nashbars Ventoux (which I believe is the same as the Forte's), they only lasted one year as the bearings worn out and can not be lubed (I weigh 155 lbs and ride about 5K miles in a year). I replaced them with Crank Bros Candy C's (eggbeater type but has a platform). The Candy's C are much easier to get out and enter than the Ventoux's. I would recommend the the eggbeaters to someone just starting out because in any direction that I twist or pull on the Candy's C, they will release. The other pedals only release when you twist to the side.

Get shoes that fit first. I vote for the Crank Bros. I have them on all my bikes (road and MTB) now. Clip in by stepping on them and out by twisting in or out. Never had an accidental release but never been stuck in either.

You can get the base pedal model for around 50 bucks.

Eggbeaters are definitely the best combination of price, security, ease of clipping in and out, walkability etc of all the so-called MTB pedals.

I only have one bike that I use both for training and commuting. Because I'm not doing much commuting at the moment I've switched to Time road pedals. But if I was going to go back to MTB pedals for walkability reasons then Eggbeaters would be the only ones I'd consider.

I don't find the lack of a platform a problem, but I'm not heavy.

I have a pair of Look 396s. I've had them for 5 years and am quite satisfied. I got them on ebay for less than $100. At for the performance/nashbar brands, I've not had any experience with them but have read on some forums their bearings/spindles are not quite the quality of some name brands.

I also recommend Egg Beaters. I have bad knees and found the Look Keo's to result in knee pain. Bought Egg Beater and they have just the right mount of float. I use them on my road bike and my time trial bike. Never had a pull out and with my Sidi shoes, the hard carbon soles make for very strong platforms - no hot spots. The upside of a mountain bike show is being able to walk wthout those silly little cafe covers safely on hard floor surfaces.

I find that the Egg Beaters do not not foul from dirt or mud like the Speedplay's do.

Whatever you select, try them out and then make a final decision.

I am thinking to switch from Keo to Shimano, because of the larger contact surface area reason. But I want to hear more review on this reason, is it truth actually?

Sorry, I don't have any method to measure the difference, but I tend to believe it's true. Just want to get some more proof before purchase.

Thx!

FWIW. I have used-and-recommended the Shimano SPD-SL cleats with-and-for traditional LOOK pedals ... that is, Shimano & LOOK cleats have the same seen-from-above silhouette ...

Here (see attachment) is a picture of the respective cleats (where the shape/size of the 'Delta' cleat is therefore equivalent to the Shimano SPD-SL cleat, and vice-versa) ...

As far as whether the cleat size will make a difference in comfort is debatable ...

How stiff the shoe's sole is AND the comfort of the shoe's upper may be more meaningful with regard to dis-/comfort.

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well, in my case it was true. But i have foot problems. The stiffness of the shoe sole will help. I tried the "lollypop" pedals and by the end of a long ride my feet were killing me; when i switched to a larger platform pedal, the problem went away. My guess is that is has to do with the combination of shoe fit, sole stiffness, contact area and the kind of riding you do (do you get off the saddle a lot?, do you go for long rides?, lots of hills? are you pushing big gears? do you have calluses on the bottom of your feet?)

I have crank bros on my cross and MTB bike and Speedplay X series on my road bikes. if I were to start from scratch, I'd go full crank bros on all my bikes. Easy engagement/release, unaffected by dirt and mud like the speedplays and very easy to walk in. Plus they have a nice float to them. I would use an adapter plate though for road shoes to gain stiffness and to protect the sole from the eggbeaters (I hear they dig in after a while). If the eggbeater isn't your preference, I would look at the Shimano SPD SL. Everyone I know on those loves them and the cleat is very easy to walk in.