Shoes and Pedals

It must be pedal question night :p

senator52 said:

Could someone please demistify what is the difference between all the shoes and pedal combinations. Why don't some shoes work with some pedals, etc...
Plus for a beginner on a tight budget where do you suggest I start? With bottom end Shimano shoes and pedals or a different brand? Thanx.

Pedal systems are usually in one of two camps;

MTB pedal systems tend to use a small metal cleat that is attached to the shoe with two horizontal bolts. This is so there's enough space on the shoe for tread and such.

MTB pedals tend to be double (or more) sided, and for that reason easier to clip in and out of. You can also kind of "mash" your foot into the pedal, and the cleat will clip in (eventually! 🙂 )

Some MTB pedal systems; Shimano SPD (and many work/lookalikes), Time ATAC, Crank Bros Eggbeater, ...

Road pedal systems tend to use a larger plastic cleat that is attached using three bolts in a triangle pattern. The larger cleat means there's a wider platform area for your foot pressure to come down, which helps prevent 'hot spots' on your feet, and in general feel more stable. Because the cleat is so big, there's no room for tread on the bottom of the shoe.. road systems are harder to walk in.

The road pedals are single-sided, but weighted so that if left alone they're in the optimum position for clipping into. They take a bit more getting used to for clipping in as you can't really "mash" the foot into them to clip in, but once you're comfortable with how they work, it's not hard.

Some common road pedal systems; Shimano SPD-SL, Look, Look KEO, Time Impact, ...

The reason why some shoes are incompatible with some pedals is to do with what bolt arrangement they have on the undeside, and how much tread and stuff they have there. Obviously a shoe designed for a small two-bolt MTB cleat (with tread everywhere else) isn't going to work with a huge three-bolt road cleat.

MTB pedal systems tend to be cheaper, and are good for starting out with clipless pedals because they're double sided.. makes it a lot easier to get used to the whole "attached to the bike" thing. Some bike stores offer shoe-and-pedal bundles at a discount.

The Shimano stuff, even the low-end pedals and shoes, are of excellent quality, but generally aren't the cheapest out there (but not really expensive, either). There are many "SPD-like" systems by brands like VP and Exus which work pretty much as well, that are cheaper.

Thanx heaps. I'm going into road riding so its just a question do Shimano pedals work with other brands like LOOK? Have any idea how much entry level Shimano gear would cost in AU$ ? Thanx

senator52 said:

Thanx heaps. I'm going into road riding so its just a question do Shimano pedals work with other brands like LOOK? Have any idea how much entry level Shimano gear would cost in AU$ ? Thanx

Nope, although the cleat bolt pattern may be the same between pedal brands/types, the shape of the actual cleat is different.

Local bike store price for a basic Shimano road pedal it would probably be about $80-100 I guess. If you wanted to buy them mail order (e.g. www.probikekit.com) you could almost halve that. Shimano brand road shoes would start at around $150.

But.. if you're looking to get into the sport, the advice/help of a local store would outweigh the initial cost saving of going mail-order. Plus then you'll be able to try the shoes on and make sure you get the right size, etc.

As a pick-out-of-the-hat idea as to the pedal-and-shoe combo specials that are about, here's one from a Melbourne bike store: Cecil Walker

Although ... from the other thread it looks like you're about to buy a bike as well, which may already come with some form of clipless pedal. You might be able to work out a deal with the bike store, to get some shoes at a discount price along with the bike 🙂 (most stores are fairly open to bundling accessories and such when selling a bike)

Thanx heaps. Yeah I'm looking at buying a new road bike. So much out there and I'm quite confused. Have been riding an old steel bike(an still really enjoying it) but yesterday the chain snapped whilst I was going quite fast, it got stuck in the wheel and sent me flying off under a parked car whilst the bike it now in bad condition (maybe even worse than me:eek: ).It hasn't dampened my spirit for riding but I can find no point in repairing it when it probably makes more sensible to buy a new bike, which I have been contemplating for quite some time now😄 !