Pedal wisdom please

[davefb]

A daft additional question, which I should know the answer too but am not sure of.
Can I use ordinary shoes/trainers on clipless pedals, maybe Shimano M520's (which are on offer at the moment)
The reason I ask is that half of my riding is to the local Tesco etc etc and it would be a bit of a pain to get in and out of special shoes for an hour trip that is mostly spent trying to dodge trolleys and aggressive female shoppers.

I'm of the same thought.. according to LBS 'you can' , but its not great. ( I'd take that to be an understatement, he was showing me some eggbeaters at the time )

which is why i'm looking at the 424's , you gain being able to cycle in normal shoes OR cycle shoes..

you lose the fact the 520's are two sided,, so putting your feet in, you need the pedal the 'correct' way round for the shoe you want.. I'll take that, I'm currently riding with a toe-clip ( which I've found quite useful tbh and not TOO much of a pain having to flip the pedals sometimes )

[i'm passing info on, i've not tried any of this,, just got the aldi shoes so far ]

 

[GrumpyGregry]

You can but you won't enjoy the experience and your feet may slip off. Not good.

I'd start with a pair of shimano M324 pedals then. clip on one side normal cage type pedal on the other. Of course mtb-ers can fit M424's and similar without it looking odd but on a road bike the dx style (clipless with a big cage/platform both sides) pedals like M424's are a bit of aesthetic disaster.

 

[HLaB]

You can but you won't enjoy the experience and your feet may slip off. Not good.

I'd start with a pair of shimano M324 pedals then. clip on one side normal cage type pedal on the other. Of course mtb-ers can fit M424's and similar without it looking odd but on a road bike the dx style (clipless with a big cage/platform both sides) pedals like M424's are a bit of aesthetic disaster.

Yip I'd agree with both points. I've got 424's on my Hybrid they are pratical but not the best looking. The hybrid had M520 for a while but they were quickly replaced by the M424's, for the rasons you suggest; I don't mind the 424'ss dont look good on that bike the work. If I was wanting something that looked good I think I'd go for A530's

 

[fossyant]

Get some M770's fab..........

 

[Willo]

A daft additional question, which I should know the answer too but am not sure of.
Can I use ordinary shoes/trainers on clipless pedals, maybe Shimano M520's (which are on offer at the moment)
The reason I ask is that half of my riding is to the local Tesco etc etc and it would be a bit of a pain to get in and out of special shoes for an hour trip that is mostly spent trying to dodge trolleys and aggressive female shoppers.

I was in a similar position and being my first foray into the world of clipless plumped for a touring pedal. I have these Shimano A530 pedals on my Allez and they do the job nicely. Not overly keen on the flat side but perfectly adequate (just not brilliant in terms of grip when wet). Find I clip in easily even though there's only one side to clip into. And being a bit of a tart, they don't look too out of place of my road bike.
http://www.wiggle.co...als/5360031862/

 

[SMD]

THESE are coming up at Aldi - would you say they were any good?

Thanks for this link - I got a pair today - just need pedals now

 

[kewb]

another tick for mtb shoes and spd`s , 

the flexibility and comfort is hard to top for average riding imho .

 

[davefb]

Thanks for this link - I got a pair today - just need pedals now

after getting the aldi shoes,, i got these ( as per the advice above )

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Shimano_M324_Combination_Pedals/4000000039/

according to lbs ( evans), they work better as normal pedals, than the 424's ... and seeing them 'in the flesh' i'm inclined to agree..

 

[adds21]

Yip I'd agree with both points. I've got 424's on my Hybrid they are pratical but not the best looking. The hybrid had M520 for a while but they were quickly replaced by the M424's, for the rasons you suggest; I don't mind the 424'ss dont look good on that bike the work. If I was wanting something that looked good I think I'd go for A530's

Funnily enough, I've just switched from A530's to M520's on my hybrid. I was finding that I never rode the bike on "normal" shoes anyway, so thought I may as well switch to M520's as they're double sided.

I have MTB SPD on both my hybrid and road bike. Saves having two different type of cycling shoe. I've always got on with SPD pretty well, although I've never tired SPD-SL.

 

[Lien Sdrawde]

Having got the Aldi shoes and the double sided spd's (?520's) I gave them a try last night.

I'd set them up (on the advice of my newly aquanted LBS) with one side a bit easier to get out of than the other, on the grounds that if you've forgotten your 'locked in' to the pedal - and your coming to a dead stop - it pays to be able to get one foot down quickly.

The LBS said it was up to me which one to choose - I'd chosen this to be my right foot (as ive had recurrent 3 degree sprains on the left ankle, hence its comparitively weak) - but, this was a mistake IMO as kerbs are on the left, and as a newbie the kerb is seems a 'sanctuary' to reach for with the left foot - and, as my right foot is strongest I think its the best foot to keep locked in for a positive 'launch' from a stand still.

 

[Sittingduck]

Having got the Aldi shoes and the double sided spd's (?520's) I gave them a try last night.

I'd set them up (on the advice of my newly aquanted LBS) with one side a bit easier to get out of than the other, on the grounds that if you've forgotten your 'locked in' to the pedal - and your coming to a dead stop - it pays to be able to get one foot down quickly.

The LBS said it was up to me which one to choose - I'd chosen this to be my right foot (as ive had recurrent 3 degree sprains on the left ankle, hence its comparitively weak) - but, this was a mistake IMO as kerbs are on the left, and as a newbie the kerb is seems a 'sanctuary' to reach for with the left foot - and, as my right foot is strongest I think its the best foot to keep locked in for a positive 'launch' from a stand still.

You can update the tenstion on the left pedal dead easy. Just use a small hex key and rotate away from the + and towards the -

 

[guitarpete247]

I backed off the tension on my M520's, when I got them a few months ago, and feel I'm now wanting to add a little more on. I have 520's on my road bike and these from EBC on my MTB.

I went for the double sided pedals on MTB as they were my first foray into clipless and I thought I might want to use normal shoes for a quick trip out but have always clipped in. Shoes I bought have been Lidl MTB shoes and dhb R1's from Wiggle. I've found the Lidl shoes quite good and they seem well made,

The 520's are on my road bike cos I bought the pedals on offer for £20 and at the time only had the Lidl shoes. I haven't had any hot foot problems so far even on 30, 40 mile rides. Time will tell on longer trips. I can always use the MTB shoe if I nip out shopping as I can walk in them the R1's are quite dangerous, as I nearly discovered in my local farm shop on te tiled floor. The Aldi shoes are only for 2 bolt pedals like SPD and Crank Brothers and also have the built up sections to make walking easy and safe. They seem similar to my R1's though don't look quite as well made but should be a good intro to clipless.

Don't worry about any of the scare stories you may read about clipless moments. They might happen but then again falling off can happen even if not clipped in. If you have had toe clips and straps you will be used to havingto think ahead to unstrapping so twisting foot to unclip shouldn't be a problem .

 

[HLaB]

I have MTB SPD on both my hybrid and road bike. Saves having two different type of cycling shoe. I've always got on with SPD pretty well, although I've never tired SPD-SL.

I have SPD-SL on my carbon bike and they much be slightly better (pedaling wise) but then again it might be the bike. I choose to use SPD's on my other bike A520's on the Kinesis and Sirrus and M424's on the Hybrid. My preference is the SPD's, although I do have two types of cycling shoes, a stifferred soled pair and more walkable pair. I just find that the ability to walk even just into the cafe outweighs the minute pedalling benefit of the SPD-SL's and their like (Look Keos, etc).

 

[Hont]

Just want to mention Speedplay pedals, as I can't see anyone has referred to these yet. I use MTB shoes (for the ability to walk reasons mentioned by others) and switched from SPDs to Speedplay Frogs. They fit on an MTB shoe, are much easier to clip in and out of, and offer complete free-float which helped with some knee/calf issues I was having.

Only negative is that they're more expensive than SPDs.