SPD Pedal/Shoe question(s)

[maxo]

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 12:25:48 -0500, Roger Zoul wrote:

> Isn't there an issue with cleats, though? Like, you can only use Wellgo
> cleats with their pedals and they are harder to find and more variable?
> Or some such deal....

I think you're right. with the super cheap wellgos, the cleat is their
own. The model I have, their basic, but not cheapest atb model, sold under
the Ritchey and Nashbar name, is regular spd compatible.

 

[Peter Cole]

"maxo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 12:25:48 -0500, Roger Zoul wrote:
>
> > Isn't there an issue with cleats, though? Like, you can only use
Wellgo
> > cleats with their pedals and they are harder to find and more variable?
> > Or some such deal....
>
> I think you're right. with the super cheap wellgos, the cleat is their
> own. The model I have, their basic, but not cheapest atb model, sold
under
> the Ritchey and Nashbar name, is regular spd compatible.

This pedal for $25 is compatible: http://tinyurl.com/3dn7f

 

[maxo]

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 18:48:43 +0000, Peter Cole wrote:

> The Shimano pedals are better made. The seals/bearings are better. They
> (dis)engage a bit smoother.

I've got the atb model that retails under various names for 35-50 dollars.
The bearings are double sealed with a soft plastic sleeve covering the
axel between pedal and crank + another gasket on the pedal. Overkill since
I use them on a road bike. I actually cut the first sleeve off since I
hated the plasticky look of it and since rebuilding pedals is something I
can do in my sleep.

The bearings definitely were tighter than the Shimanos, which was easy to
mitigate with the proper tools.

I got mine while I was looking for some vintage slot cleats, otherwise I'd
probably spent some more dough on pedals.

The blue color perfectly matches my bike and the amount of float makes
them disappear under me. Guess I got lucky. They've got around 3K miles
on them so far and seem like new.

Wellgo does make a model with a resin body which I've indeed heard horror
stories about. My experience is only with the metal body models.

Clipping in and out works well and the tension screws work just dandy for
fine tuning. I'm using smooth sole road shoes so clipping in can be a
little challenging if I don't have good aim, but that's a self inflicted
shortcoming.

I find Look style pedals a lot easier to clip into, tbh, but my knees
prefer the float of the atb model.

 

[Peter Cole]

"Peter Cole" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:gB6nd.49765$V41.44086@attbi_s52...
>
> "maxo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]...
> > On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 12:25:48 -0500, Roger Zoul wrote:
> >
> > > Isn't there an issue with cleats, though? Like, you can only use
> Wellgo
> > > cleats with their pedals and they are harder to find and more
variable?
> > > Or some such deal....
> >
> > I think you're right. with the super cheap wellgos, the cleat is their
> > own. The model I have, their basic, but not cheapest atb model, sold
> under
> > the Ritchey and Nashbar name, is regular spd compatible.
>
> This pedal for $25 is compatible: http://tinyurl.com/3dn7f

Of course the Shimano 535 is also on sale for $5 more, no compatibility
worries there...

>
>

 

[Roger Zoul]

Peter Cole wrote:
|| "Badger" <[email protected]> wrote
|||
||| Contrary to the gut instinct, it may be somewhat better to have
||| your feet stay on the pedals if you have to lay the bike down, imo.
||| As you've seen, if I recall the attribution, the time you pulled
||| out and got a foot on the ground you broke an ankle.
||
|| No way. A good friend just had a (off-road) low speed, twisting fall
|| a couple of months ago. His pedal (Crank Brothers Egg Beaters) didn't
|| release. He required surgery to screw his completely shattered leg
|| back together. In a crash, you want your feet loose. What you don't
|| want is the pedal to release when you're pedaling hard or using body
|| english.

I thought body english only worked when playing pool.

 

[maxo]

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 19:19:40 +0000, Peter Cole wrote:

> This pedal for $25 is compatible: http://tinyurl.com/3dn7f


I got a set of those, as I said in a different post, the only real
shortcoming is the fact that the bearings came adjusted too tightly.

This is the model that you should avoid:

http://tinyurl.com/53cb7

I do believe that the cage/spd "Rodeo" pedal IS spd compatible as well.

 

[Badger]

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 18:35:20 GMT, "Peter Cole"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>"Badger" <[email protected]> wrote
>>
>> MTB shoes are pretty good. Generally you want one size smaller (but not
>> so small they are hard to get on or squeeze your foot.
>
>I don't agree. Racer-types will tell you to get tight shoes. I went that
>route with my first pair, rode them several months, haven't used them
>since. Of the next 6 or so pairs I bought, most were the same as my shoe
>size, with plenty of toe room, the others are oversize to wear in the
>winter with extra socks or on long-distance rides where your feet have a
>tendency to swell.

I don't disagree. Just giving what worked for me. The elevens seemed a bit
roomy, and I've been happy with the tens. I may change my mind if I get
into higher mileages and my feet swell or something.

At the time, thinking back, I was concerned with the heel sliding up when I
pedaled. Turns out that's not that case and the main force seems to be
towards having the foot well in the shoe. In fact getting too small a
toebox might be problem.

I probably got lucky on the fit of the shoes.

-B

 

[Badger]

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 13:49:11 -0500, "Roger Zoul" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Peter Cole wrote:
>|| "Badger" <[email protected]> wrote
>|||
>||| MTB shoes are pretty good. Generally you want one size smaller (but
>||| not so small they are hard to get on or squeeze your foot.
>||
>|| I don't agree. Racer-types will tell you to get tight shoes. I went
>|| that route with my first pair, rode them several months, haven't
>|| used them since. Of the next 6 or so pairs I bought, most were the
>|| same as my shoe size, with plenty of toe room, the others are
>|| oversize to wear in the winter with extra socks or on long-distance
>|| rides where your feet have a tendency to swell.
>
>I'd have to get off the bike if I wore shoes in a smaller size than my foot
>requires. As it is, I have to wear my shoes extremely loose or I'll get
>"hot foot" issues up around 60 miles or so. My shoes have sufficient toe
>room and fit really well, but those issues crop up after the miles rack up
>on the SPD pedals with not-so-stiff shoes.

OK, another vote for loose shoes. I stand corrected. As I said I leaned
toward slightly snug and got lucky. It may be something to reexamine if I
get any of your symptoms.

So how's the race preparations coming? You're probably like a racehorse
penned up eager to get going, eh?

-B

 

[Blair P. Houghton]

Peter Cole <[email protected]> wrote:
>Clipless pedals are mostly a safety innovation. They're designed to prevent
>the kind of mishap you have already had.

Again, I feel "safer" in clips and straps than I do in clipless,
because when I want to put a foot down I jam my heel downward
instinctively and that extends my toe in the right way to release
the strap.

To get out of clipless pedals in an emergency is a much
less fluid operation.

--Blair
"YMMV."

 

[Badger]

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 18:55:41 GMT, "Peter Cole"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>"Badger" <[email protected]> wrote
>>
>> Contrary to the gut instinct, it may be somewhat better to have your feet
>> stay on the pedals if you have to lay the bike down, imo. As you've seen,
>> if I recall the attribution, the time you pulled out and got a foot on
>> the ground you broke an ankle.
>
>No way. A good friend just had a (off-road) low speed, twisting fall a
>couple of months ago. His pedal (Crank Brothers Egg Beaters) didn't
>release. He required surgery to screw his completely shattered leg back
>together. In a crash, you want your feet loose. What you don't want is the
>pedal to release when you're pedaling hard or using body english.

Well low speed fall, twisting...sounds like a not-too-representative of the
common falls (if there is such a thing), but if you say so.

-B

 

[Blair P. Houghton]

Badger <[email protected]> wrote:
>On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 10:08:43 -0500, "Roger Zoul" <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>
>>| Are replacement shoes interchangeable for these clipless clips?
>>||
>>
>>If they are made for SPD pedals, generally, yes.
>
>Usually the shoes will detail if they are SPD compatible. If browsing you
>can look on the bottoms of the shoes and tell, usually, if the holes will
>accept the cleat that comes with the pedal.

I'm seeing a lot of newer road shoes that won't take the small
original-style SPD cleats or the longer SPD-R cleats, at least
not without some sort of adapter. They're all 3-hole drilled,
which will accept the newer SPD-SL cleat.

Of course, the three cleats are incompatible with each other...

--Blair
"Hey look! Shimano's figured out
how computer companies stay in
business..."

 

[Zoot Katz]

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 14:26:44 -0500, <[email protected]>,
"Roger Zoul" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>I thought body english only worked when playing pool.

Then you've not yet ridden on ice.
--
zk

 

[Peter Cole]

"Blair P. Houghton" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Peter Cole <[email protected]> wrote:
> >Clipless pedals are mostly a safety innovation. They're designed to
prevent
> >the kind of mishap you have already had.
>
> Again, I feel "safer" in clips and straps than I do in clipless,
> because when I want to put a foot down I jam my heel downward
> instinctively and that extends my toe in the right way to release
> the strap.
>
> To get out of clipless pedals in an emergency is a much
> less fluid operation.

Well, the OP spoke of breaking an ankle, I broke ribs when my foot was
trapped by a strap. I have never had a foot get trapped in a crash with
SPD's, and I'd guess I've fallen scores (100's?) of times mountain biking,

 

[Peter Cole]

"Badger" <[email protected]> wrote in message

>
> Well low speed fall, twisting...sounds like a not-too-representative of
the
> common falls (if there is such a thing), but if you say so.

It's very common in mountain biking. The only falls I've ever had on a road
bike were also low speed, thankfully. The real danger of foot entrapment is
broken bones in the foot or lower leg, same as skiing. It's no coincidence
that the first clipless pedals were from a ski binding manufacturer (Look).

 

[B i l l S o r n s o n]

Bonehenge wrote:

> Check out Time ATAC pedals while you're shopping.

Bear in mind, of course, that if you whack these pedals with your feet often
enough they'll break.

{Really, why?}

Because HEELS WOUND ALL TIMES!!!

Thank you. Thankyouverymuch.
--
BS (no, really)

 

[Peter Cole]

"maxo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 18:48:43 +0000, Peter Cole wrote:
>
> > The Shimano pedals are better made. The seals/bearings are better. They
> > (dis)engage a bit smoother.
>
> I've got the atb model that retails under various names for 35-50
dollars.
> The bearings are double sealed with a soft plastic sleeve covering the
> axel between pedal and crank + another gasket on the pedal. Overkill
since
> I use them on a road bike. I actually cut the first sleeve off since I
> hated the plasticky look of it and since rebuilding pedals is something I
> can do in my sleep.
>
> The bearings definitely were tighter than the Shimanos, which was easy to
> mitigate with the proper tools.

The Wellgo pedals I've used for several years: http://tinyurl.com/3dn7f
don't have any bearing adjustment that I can recall. They just have a
sleeve bearing inboard, and a (tiny) cartridge bearing outboard. I've never
rebuilt them, just slapped some grease on them. I've trashed at least one
of the outboard bearings, mostly I've broken the "tabs" that catch the
cleat. They haven't changed the design other than cosmetically in the ~10
years I've bought them (perhaps 8 pairs), so I cannibalize for parts. At
$20-25 a pair, a few failures isn't a hardship, and, since they're
double-sided, I've never been stranded.

For off-road, I prefer better quality Shimano, but I think the Wellgo makes
a great road bike pedal. I ride all winter, so it's likely I broke pedals
jamming snow packed cleats into them. I tried single-sided pedals once, but
found flipping them (especially in the dark) to be a real PITA. I do
occasionally pedal strike in hard turns with the double-sided though.

 

[Peter Cole]

"Bonehenge" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 17:05:42 GMT, "Leo Lichtman"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >Pardon me if this is old information, but I used to have two-sided SPD
> >pedals with plastic "onserts" on one side, so I could ride with regular
> >street shoes. That way, if you find that you are not going to be using
the
> >flat side, you can remove it.
>
>
> Those plastic things aren't really designed for riding. They are CPSC
> reflectors to make a complete bike legal if sold with SPD's.
>
> Complete bikes are supposed to have pedal reflectors when sold by a
> shop.

Checkout:
http://tinyurl.com/28y62

 

[Roger Zoul]

Badger wrote:
|| On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 13:49:11 -0500, "Roger Zoul"
|| <[email protected]> wrote:
||
||| Peter Cole wrote:
||||| "Badger" <[email protected]> wrote
||||||
|||||| MTB shoes are pretty good. Generally you want one size smaller
|||||| (but not so small they are hard to get on or squeeze your foot.
|||||
||||| I don't agree. Racer-types will tell you to get tight shoes. I
||||| went that route with my first pair, rode them several months,
||||| haven't
||||| used them since. Of the next 6 or so pairs I bought, most were the
||||| same as my shoe size, with plenty of toe room, the others are
||||| oversize to wear in the winter with extra socks or on
||||| long-distance rides where your feet have a tendency to swell.
|||
||| I'd have to get off the bike if I wore shoes in a smaller size than
||| my foot requires. As it is, I have to wear my shoes extremely
||| loose or I'll get "hot foot" issues up around 60 miles or so. My
||| shoes have sufficient toe room and fit really well, but those
||| issues crop up after the miles rack up on the SPD pedals with
||| not-so-stiff shoes.
||
|| OK, another vote for loose shoes. I stand corrected. As I said I
|| leaned toward slightly snug and got lucky. It may be something to
|| reexamine if I get any of your symptoms.
||
|| So how's the race preparations coming? You're probably like a
|| racehorse penned up eager to get going, eh?
||

I've been ill for two weeks!!! Can't seem to shake it. I'm hoping to
resume riding this weekend and since I'll have time off next week (holiday),
I'm planning some makeup riding. I could be in serious trouble here, in
terms of banging out 100 lbs. I keep telling myself that this Charleston
century is flat, so that ought to make it easier. Of course, it can get
windy down by the SC coast, so I hear. We'll see I'm a glutton for
punishment, I guess.

 

[Roger Zoul]

Zoot Katz wrote:
|| Thu, 18 Nov 2004 14:26:44 -0500,
|| <[email protected]>, "Roger Zoul"
|| <[email protected]> wrote:
||
|||
||| I thought body english only worked when playing pool.
||
|| Then you've not yet ridden on ice.

True!

 

[Drew Eckhardt]

I wear Shimano M-033 shoes when I'm commuting, running errands, sitting
arround the office, walking accross the street for lunch, etc. They cost
about $50 a pair. I have single sided Ritchey Road Logic pedals.

The cleats don't rub until the rubber wears down, they're reasonably
comfortable for cycling (the sole could be stiffer), and not uncomfortable
off the bike.

I wouldn't go back to clips+straps or waste space/time/effort changing
into non-cycling shoes.

YMMV.
--
<a href="http://www.poohsticks.org/drew/">Home Page</a>
Life is a terminal sexually transmitted disease.