road bike and pedals?

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sarahpink

New Member
Location
in devon
Hi I did do a search to see if their was anything that was relevant to save people repeating themselves but I need a bit of advice. Im getting a road bike and i dont know what my options are with regards to pedals. I will be using my bike mainly for training hoping to get into joining a road racing club but i also use it as a means of transport and like visiting nice places along country lanes etc and know you can get pedals that are attached to shoes please forgive my un technical terms, and my other option is pedal straps. what are the pedal straps like? meaning do they come of easily?
 

accountantpete

Brexiteer
The old fashioned method was Toe Clips - a plastic cage into which you put your foot

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Unfortunately they do not permit pulling back on the pedal, which a lot of roadies like to do (you don't simply press down on the pedal).

Best bet performance wise are the spd-sl based systems (not the spd system) which have large triangular cleats and transfer power better - The main makes are Shimano spd-sl, Look and Time.
 

e-rider

crappy member
Location
South West
There are a number of companies making good road bike 'clipless' pedals (the ones that attach to special shoes)

Top Brands to look out for: Shimano, LOOK, Time, Speedplay and Crank Brothers

Any entry level pair will cost about £40-£50 and the shoes will cost from £50 up to £300 if you get really serious!

You could always start with double sided MTB style clipless pedals like the Shimano M520 which only cost about £25 and are much easier to use for a beginner.
 

g00se

Veteran
Location
Norwich
Generally - though there are the exceptions - shoes with road clipless cleats are harder to walk in as the cleats protrude from the sole, whereas mountain biking SPD shoes are easier as the cleats are recessed.

There are also powergrip-style straps - which are mountain-bike straps:

http://powergrips.mrpbike.com/
 
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