need some cleats

SPD stands for Shimano Pedaling Dynamic or something along those lines. SPD's has become a somewhat generic term for clipless pedals.

Two bolt designs are for mountain bike cleats. Three bolt designs are more for road style cleats, which are much broader, but are not usable as an off-road pedal. First off, road pedals tend to be one sided, which is practical on road, when you never really have to take your feet off your pedals, but not practical for off-road cycling where you have to dab every now and again (well, unless you happen to be Hans Ray, in which case you could bunny hop up the side of a cliff and never need to put your foot down). Second off, road cleats are wide and are not designed to shed mud at all.

Shimano off-road pedals are your standard fair, lots of knock-offs look almost exactly like the Shimano pedals (Ritchey, Welgo, ect). The new egg-beater by Crank Bros type of pedal is proving to be very popular. Time makes a popular line of off road pedals as well.

Cheers,
Juba

thanks juba, i think i'm getting my head round it now....

i'm a bit undecided about whether to go for a true clipless style, or a "chunky ass" hybrid type..... i guess the hybrid would let me go for a ride in trainers....

Hmmm....... decisions, decisions 🙂

Have a look at some of these options: http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/pedals.html

I use Shimano SPD (540) pedals with small cleat (M038) MTB shoes for training, my training partner uses Wellgo MTB pedals with Zefal strapless toe clips and running shoes. So, use what ever you are comfortable with, both give a quick "out" in the traffic.