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Pedals/shoes


MartinB's picture

By MartinB - Posted on 24 August 2008

Hey
I'm looking at buying a pair of cliplees pedals/shoes, i ride primarily xc stuff, but i can get pretty aggressive, however i'm not a big fan of drops (can't afford to break my arm before the HSC)
My Main reason for wanting to clip in is i'm sick of my foot slipping off the bar and banging my knee on the handlebars, and not being able to climb up hills.

What should i expect to pay for a set up thats going to handle being beaten on a regular basis?
As a first attempt at clip in pedals is it worth getting something with a cage like the SHIMANO PD-M545 MTB Pedals or should i just go cageless?
And i will have to by from a shop, not online, as i have funny sized feet Sad they are really wide which makes shoe shopping a pain. Is it possible to get a quality set for less than $200 or am i dreaming? Smiling

Cheers

Bernd's picture

.. sometimes has a Pedals-shoe combo.
Lozza and I bought a Exustar Combo deal and I'm very happy with the shoe and pedal.
send T7 an e-mail and see if they have a Pedal-shoe combo deal coming up!!!
T7 is pretty good with that... I know it online.
Bernd

Rob's picture

Shimano M540 pedals are showing as 53 bucks on CRC right now, and I picked up some M181 shoes for 90 in an earlier order (they are 97 now but only have limited stock). I can defo recommend this combo (use it on the 575) and even without the free shipping (group up and get a $600 order for that) they come in under your $200 limit if they have your size for the shoes in.

That said, shoes are a bit personal and unless I was replacing the exact same set (above mentioned was my second pair of M181) would pick them up at your LBS to get the fitting right.

For shoes I've found Northwave have a wider fitting and CBD in the city stock them.

I've never tried these 'caged' pedals to be honest (maybe I just can't see the point?) but haven't had any worries with the 540s mentioned above - you can still ride a little without being clipped in but (and it will take you some time) eventually you'll actually feel better in then out and won't want to do that.

Brian's picture

For XC I wouldn't worry about the cage. As for getting quality pedals and shoes for under $200 depends on your idea of quality. By the sounds of it I think your feet will determine (by way of fit) what you need to spend.

Michael B's picture

Just go into your local bike shop, try on the shoes they have in stock, and work out where to go from there. Some shops will do a pedal-shoe combo deal for you, you'd expect the shop you bought your bike from to hook you up with a good deal, so give them a try first and see what they can do.

Winco's picture

I recently purchased SHIMANO PD-M545 MTB Pedals ($88.00 online at www.Torpedo7.com.au) plus Shimano MTB shoes from Cranks in North Sydney for $140. Suddenly it's another world of cycling! Used them the first time today (Sunday) on Perimeter / Long and found it wonderful. Only fell over once when I stalled at the top of an incline and forgot to unclip. Gave my mate a laugh though.

The SHIMANO PD-M545 MTB Pedals are not the lightest, far from it, but enable you to jump onto the bike and nip up to the shops without climbing into your MTB shoes everytime.

Cranks in North Sydney do have Italian MTB shoes for $99 on special. Look good but didn't fit my big, wide, flappy, paddle sized hoofs!

So there you are. Go for it.

Winco.

Alysum's picture

...that it's worth spending the extra money on a good shoes/pedals combo the first time.
The shoes will last a long time as you don't *walk* with them all the time. Plus low range pedals probably won't last a long time as you may start to realise that they sometimes uncleat too easily and/or are hard to clip on in muddy conditions.
I got sick of my Shimano M520 and recently got some Time Atax XS (about $120 on ebay) and they are marvellous with mud clearance and the 5 deg. floating Smiling

Tom

scottm8's picture

I also have a wide feet. I was going through the same process as you about 6 months ago. I ended up getting specialized shoes because they felt very comfortable on my wide foot. See the below link for the pair I bought.

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?s...

Good luck

MartinB's picture

Hey thanks for all the replies Smiling
I've got two more questions
1) Does each system use unique bindings? as in can i buy a shoe from one brand and a pedal from another, or do i have to buy just the one combo?
2) I live in terrey hills, and as such ride in terrey hills, (too lazy to drive anywhere else) how much does mud affect pedals? as the trails near home can be a mud pit some, actually make that most of the time. That means if mud is a big factor in pedals not working/becoming dangerous, it might be best if i invest that little bit more and get some that are relatively mud proof.

Rob's picture

With shoe/pedals you should be fine to mix and match.

Cleats are specific to the pedal, not the shoe. Most cleats are attached to the shoe with 2 bolts and most shoes are designed to accept the two bolts that will be enough to hold pretty much any cleat. Erm - hope that makes sense.

As for mud - some systems are allegedly more resilient to clogging than others (people say Eggbeaters are, but am yet to confirm this personally). Watch out for clay and think mud on SPDs - just don't let it set in there (wash out after your ride - bash it out while riding) and make sure they are lubed nicely.

Alysum's picture

You have to check whether shoes and pedals go together. The most common one is the shoe SPD pattern which is compatible with most cleats out there.
Terrey hills is a very muddy trail but it depends how often you put your shoes/walk in the mud Laughing out loud

Tom

MartinB's picture

Yep, that does make sense, so just to make sure i've got it straight, i buy shoe, screw in cleat and then clip into pedal and away i go, then i fall over and cause everybody to laugh when i attempt to get off for the first time Sticking out tongue

And i tend not to get off that often in terrey hills, excepting on a couple of steep hills, think smiths creek Smiling

Alysum, when you say Terrey Hills is a very muddy trail, do you mean terrey hills/duckholes trail, the perimiter track, or do you just mean terrey hills in general

valierm's picture

i just changed from the metal caged spd to crank bros smarty

was fed up with the spd's clogging and being unable to unclip, falling, bleeding and feeling like a tool.

heard good and bad about the smartys, but they're cheaper than the egg beaters and candys so allowed me to try the system without a huge outlay.

so far so good, but alot of float (there's two settings, may try the other).

in terms of shoes i use specialized kahoo (i think they're called). comfy and look ok.

all about personal preference i suppose.

MartinB's picture

Whats float? is it good to have float or bad? remember i know very little (read nothing) about pedals

valierm's picture

nah, float is the amount your foot can move whilst clipped into the pedal, measured in degrees from a line running parallel with the bike.

if you know what i mean.

more float means more movement on the pedal, which is good if you have dodgey knees or ankles, but i ntoice makes you feel less connected to the bike.

may be a good thing if you're just starting out on them, but could be bad thing as you must turn your foot more to get out of the clip in.

anyone help me here - i'm tying myself in knots?

Alysum's picture

is indeed how much you can move your foot - it's especially more tolarant if you hit something with your pedal. With the M520 whenever I hit something under the pedal/crank arm - the shoe would uncleat so pretty annoying.

Tom

delicious's picture

As described float is the degree of movement of your foot when engaged. It's always a personal thing, but a good amount of float allows one to move about on the bike during a technical descent yet remaining engaged. Also, it's good when pedaling hard in order to gain speed. If the engagement is too rigid then you could hurt yourself or unclip by mistake, with the associated consequences. Also the float helps to compensate for our individual body idiosyncrasies(i.e. sore knees and ankles.)
Another way to look at it is this; When clipped in and pedaling hard over rough terrain in order to, for instance, hit a jump, the float in your pedals works together with your suspension and your tyre flex and your automatic body adjustments to give you a smooth ride and in turn a good approach. When landing the same is true.

MartinB's picture

With float, how much is too much, and how much is too little? Or is it just one of those personal things you've got to work out for yourself? If thats the case just give me a rough idea, in adition to that how do you measure float?

who knew there was so much to consider when buying pedals?
Cheers

delicious's picture

Crankbros I believe have six degrees of float. Shimano pedals have adjustable float. There are many brands out there so read up and become an expert.
However don't sweat too much about this. In a lot of ways you just have to jump in and have a go. It's a lot like seats - you'll never know if you like or dislike a type or brand unless you live with it for a while.

MartinB's picture

if its like seats then i'm guaranteed to hate them all Sticking out tongue

Carlgroover's picture

I believe is to buy Shimano spd's for the following reasons, value for money, long lasting, reliable, easy to use, most people are happy with them so you're unlikely to need to change them, they adjust well to how hard you are clipped in so they're great for learning. Crank Bros are also great and heaps of people love them but are less adjustable, try them next time. the models worth having are 520, 540, XT, XTR from cheapest to dearest and I'm very happy with my XT's.
John.

starship303's picture

I've actually just received in the mail a pair of Time ATAC Aluim pedals. I've had a pair of SPD Ritchey's for years and never really got on with them due to their randomness of engagement/disengagement, and heard Time's have the most positive in/out in the business.
Time will tell i guess... (sorry Eye-wink)

_____________________________
my Intense 5.5 ~ my NS Suburban

Morgan's picture

Started with Alium & now use XS - love them - they never clog to the extent you can't clip in or out, they have a 3 level float adjustment and just enough body to allow you to let you get moving if you miss the clip in when you're starting up. I've never had problems with bearings either.

YOU DO NEED CLEATS SPECIFIC TO THE PEDALS YOU HAVE though - TIME cleats won't fit Shimano and vice versa..

Alysum's picture

Yes usually you need to put the pedal cleats onto the shoes but there can be *some* exceptions; my Shimano cleats were the same as the Xpedo cleats for my bike in France so I didn't have to change them Smiling

Nevertheless go Time ATAC XS! Eye-wink

Tom

hawkeye's picture

I just picked up a set of Shimano XT's off CRC for $77. I've stuck with Shimano because I;ve found the mud clearance to be quite good on this style of pedal. The older M515-style was hopeless and sometimes random in its disengagement, but these have been very good.

The feature I like best is the cleat tension adjustment - you can set them as light or as tight as you want, with almost zero risk of unintentional disengagement. I generally run mine 2 clicks off the minimum and have no problems with unintentional unclipping, nor getting stuck. I regularly bang my pedals on rocks, and rarely come out of the pedal. Twice I can remember in the last year. The force from one of those resulted in an OTB, so it was no small hit.

While others may clear mud better (eg Crank Bros) the lack of adjustment on some of them concerns me. My knees aren't the strongest in torsion, having had an op a few years ago, so would be concerned about how stiff the release action is compared to what I now have, which works well and is super reliable.

Cleats are a wear item - periodic replacement is required to ensure the smooth action continues.

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