"Generic" Wellgo clipless vs. SPD-SL

ok, here's the situation: i'm brand new to cycling and i've got a 58-cm 2005 trek 1200 arriving in about 2-3 weeks. obviously i haven't tried out cycling with clipless pedals yet, but i'm planning on immediately using them when the bike arrives, for reasons that seem evident after talking to people who have been cycling for a while. so i went ahead and bought a comfortable pair of nike road shoes and i'm waiting for a set of shimano SPD-SL (105-spec) pedals to come in, which i will put on my new bike when it arrives.

now the "problem": i thought i was getting a 2004 trek which would come fitted with toe-clip pedals, but http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2005/road/1200.jsp this link showing the 2005 model comes equipped with "wellgo clipless pedals" -- whatever specification that means. if they are decent SPD-SL style (i guess that would be look-style, right?) pedals, then i would have no problem with that, but i will have already bought those shimano 105 pedals for $80 or so, money as a college student i can't afford to throw around. so my question is: taking a look at that link, what quality pedals do you think the wellgo are, and should i not bother with getting a set of shimano pedals? or are they total crap, or alternately non-compatible SPD-style, and will it be in my best interest to upgrade ASAP? i will obviously default to the latter since i already ordered the shimano 105 pedals from my LBS. confusing maybe, but i know some of you are technically proficient and might have some experience with these pedals or might have a third solution that i haven't thought of.

on a side-note i'm having a great time training for getting my new road bike and riding with my college's club team. i'll probably be quite behind them but i'm on my way to being in good cycling shape.

 

I had some wellgo spd pedals on my MTB, used them for a long time w/o problems. The had very limited float (like 4 degrees total I think) and were not super easy to clip into. On long rides my knees would get a bit sore, which is the reason I eventually switched them out. You'll probably appreciate the shimano's better, but if you want to save a few bucks and have good knee's, I see no reason not to try the wellgo's out.

 

so do you think these are SPD? if so, i'll probably swap them out immediately for the 105 SPD-SL's because i have heard better things about them and i think i want a more "serious" road pedal to begin with. i don't have money a year from now to be upgrading again i don't think. thanks for the advice.

 

The WellGo's I have are SPD.

 

Looked at the link to the website, surprisingly it doesn't say what they are, but a blow up of the picture confirmed that they look like spd. Wait n see?

 

The Wellgos are more than likely SPD-Rs, which use a different cleat that the SPD-SL as well as the SPDs (which are mtb pedals).

 

i'm no expert but they didn't look like SPD-R style. i know that shimano doesn't make low-level SPD-R pedals, so why would wellgo? i also checked out the trek 2100 (2005 model) and it incidentally comes with the SPD-SL 105 pedals that i'm likely going to get. which means that the wellgos are likely "recreational" pedals instead of "enthusiast" (to borrow shimano's vague marketing terminology). i'll probably get the SPD-SL's very soon, learn how to use them on another bike, and then immediately switch out the wellgo pedals when the bike gets here. i'll bet that they're SPD since it seems highly unlikely that they're SPD-SL (in which case i'd sorta be wasting money). thanks for the advice.

 

Go to a shop and check them out or send Trek an email. Not sure about shops in Williamsburg, but if you get to Richmond, hit an Agees (big Trek dealer).

 

there's a bikebeat where i'm getting supplied with my bike and all the stuff i need. decent dealer and they've managed to treat me well minus the shortage of goods (i've had to wait for the bike, a jersey in medium and now these SPD-SL pedals). i only just found out about this looking at trek's 2005 provisional specs. i'll probably send trek an e-mail. thanks