shoes, pedals, and computers

well, thats something like 20 views, and 0 replies.... i hadnt realised i was the only person out there who wanted to know about cheap stuff, or who has bought it. really, any responses would be great.

thanks

john

seksy_johnny3 said:

well, thats something like 20 views, and 0 replies.... i hadnt realised i was the only person out there who wanted to know about cheap stuff, or who has bought it. really, any responses would be great.

Well, perhaps a little patience?? It's only been like three hours! And you first post is posted before anyone but the nocturnal animals get up in my time zone! 🙂

Anyways .. pedals - I don't think you'll find ANY performance gains apart from weight on those. It's mostly a preference issue of that type of cleats you want on your pedals. If it's for a road bike, I would recommend any pedal with red LOOK cleats. The biggest difference between pedals are weight and the type of 'clip-in mechanism'. My cheap ones work just perfect and they were not more than 30 USD tops.

Shoes, you might want to go to the LBS and try a few, because these are really a critical when it comes to FIT! There are literally thousands to choose from, so to pick one as a sort of "best buy" would be difficult. I suggest that you go to the shop and try a few out. Usually they have a last years model on sale. Generally LBS has higher prices that you'll find on the internet, but on the other hand, they often has sell outs and such, so it's not too expensive anyway.

Computer I don't know, perhaps surf a little on the web and see if you can find one that is cheap. If price and cadence sensor are your only 'demands' it shouldn't be too hard to find one that you want.
Personally, I'm happy with my Polar CS100 because it also displays heart rate, and I can use the same transmitter as my Polar wrist watch, which keeps track of my training both on and off the bike.
The technology in a wired cycling computer is not very complicated, so any cheap computer will generally work well. There is a supermarket where I live, that also sells cycling computers at surprisingly low prices. Perhaps check out the stores as well as the Internet?

Cheers!

seksy_johnny3 said:

hi guys,

how that i've worked out which bike i'm going to buy, another few questions arise. which pedals and shoes are best value for money? i dont want to have to fork out $00's on either, but at the same time, dont want them falling apart or anything. also, i would really like to have a bike computer that features cadence. i'm not worried about wireless or anything like that, more about the price, and that it isn overly complicated.

thanks for your advice.

john

Jon,

My first set of shoes were Sidi's. Not sure of the exact name anymore, but they were about 100 to 115 bucks and are still, after 5 years, in very useable shape. No tears, rips, or malfuctions. There are only two velcro strapes, but are comfy and easy to use. I went with a simple look style pedal I got off of ebay for 25 bucks and I still use them on my 'trainer bike.' If you don't like ebay try your LBS and get a cheap look style pedal for 30 to 40 bucks.

The most important thing about the shoes is that they fit properly. I would not buy shoes on-line unless I was replacing an existing pair. I went to the store immediately after a 38 mile ride and tried on about 12 different models of shoes before deciding on this one:

performancebike.comprofile.cfmOpen ↗

I bought those because that is what fit my feet. They are not going to be the best for everyone.

I like the Shimano PD-520 SPD pedals, even on my road bike. I do not race, but I like to do long rides with stops every 10 to 20 miles. On a recent 75 mile ride, a friend of mine spent 20 minutes after one of our stops trying to get the mud out of his Speedplay cleats before he could clip in again. Mud and grit are no problem for SPD pedals.

in my opinion, about the cheapest decent computer w/ cadence you can get is the cateye astrale 8.