Shimano Clipless pedals and Shoes help

[Giant-Churchy]

Hello all,

I have picked up my new Giant defy 1 2014 today and the bike retailer told me that the pedals i had supplied are the wrong pedals which are shimano SPD MTB pedals and shoes and I have the wrong shoes to. I wanted to know if its worth changing to what he called SPD SL which I believe are road bike pedals and what pedals should I be looking at getting.

Thanks all.
P.S I am a beginner and unsure of the roadies terminology.

 

[Steve H]

Some say SPD-SL's are better for road biking. However loads of people wear the SPD's instead on the road. Absolutely no problem doing this!

Shoes come in two variants. Those with three holes in the bottom to attach cleats to and those with two holes in the bottom. The SPD-SLs fit into the three hole shoes. The SPDs fit the two hole shoes. Some shoes will accept both.

As long as your shoes fit with the cleats and pedals you'll be fine!

 

[Roadrider48]

Plus 1 for what Steve said.
I have ridden with both and currently use spd type as I find them much easier to clip-in to. No problem clipping out with either style, it's just the clipping I find a lot easier with the spd as opposed to spd-sl.

 

[vickster]

If you want to be able to walk, especially on a hard surface, stick with SPD, shoes with recessed cleats....unless you are indeed the missing third member of the Torville-Dean-Churchy triad

 

[Twotter]

I use SPD-SLs and when I walk my bike out to the front of the house from the garage I do feel like I'm walking on ice If I wanted to walk any distance I'd happily change over to SPDs.

 

[CRVFR]

I've got M520 pedals on both my road bike & MTB, that way I only need one pair of cycling shoes & I can actually walk about in relative comfort.

 

[User33236]

retailer told me that the pedals i had supplied are the wrong pedals which are shimano SPD MTB pedals and shoes and I have the wrong shoes to.

Does this mean then that the shoes match with the pedals but the retailer is suggesting you are wrong to use SPD?

I use SPD on my commuter (a cyclocross) and Look (similar to SPD SL) on the road bike as both bikes see very different use. It really depends on what you plan to use the bike for and what you find comfortable using.

 

[PpPete]

Hello all,

I have picked up my new Giant defy 1 2014 today and the bike retailer told me that the pedals i had supplied are the wrong pedals which are shimano SPD MTB pedals and shoes and I have the wrong shoes to. I wanted to know if its worth changing to what he called SPD SL which I believe are road bike pedals and what pedals should I be looking at getting.

Thanks all.
P.S I am a beginner and unsure of the roadies terminology.

Your retailer is a cock !
There is absolutely no need to change to SPD-SL just because it is a road bike.

I have a tourer, a road bike, a fixie, a tandem, (and an MTB) - and they are all fitted with SPD pedals.

Of course if you want shiny new shoes....

 

[Giant-Churchy]

Ok glad I have cleared that up the shoes and pedals are for mountain bikes which is SPD and I got them new for Christmas. The retailer told me that I needed the bike version SPD SL or Look? as they would be easier to use, need to be on a road bike and clip in much easier than SPD. he also said I would have a problem with the SPD pedals as they wont help my riding pedal stroke on the road bike and will hurt my feet as I am not using them on the correct bike.

I was then given these to buy but I said I would take a picture to look online here is the pictures I took.
Is my terminology correct?

 

[Peteaud]

Ok glad I have cleared that up the shoes and pedals are for mountain bikes which is SPD and I got them new for Christmas. The retailer told me that I needed the bike version SPD SL or Look? as they would be easier to use, need to be on a road bike and clip in much easier than SPD. he also said I would have a problem with the SPD pedals as they wont help my riding pedal stroke on the road bike and will hurt my feet as I am not using them on the correct bike.

I was then given these to buy but I said I would take a picture to look online here is the pictures I took.
Is my terminology correct?

Let me get this right, your retailer told you spd are wrong?

 

[ianrauk]

Ok glad I have cleared that up the shoes and pedals are for mountain bikes which is SPD and I got them new for Christmas. The retailer told me that I needed the bike version SPD SL or Look? as they would be easier to use, need to be on a road bike and clip in much easier than SPD. he also said I would have a problem with the SPD pedals as they wont help my riding pedal stroke on the road bike and will hurt my feet as I am not using them on the correct bike.

I was then given these to buy but I said I would take a picture to look online here is the pictures I took.
Is my terminology correct?

This is 100% complete and utter bullshit. Change your retailer to someone who doesn't spout so much crap.

 

[Giant-Churchy]

Let me get this right, your retailer told you spd are wrong?

Yes wrong for the road bike but they will do for now if i cant afford them SPD SL he was showing me in them photos

 

[Giant-Churchy]

So I get this straight! I can use the SPD and they wont effect or damage the bike and I wont suffer from bad feet. He mentioned that the point of contact on the shoe to Pedal on the SPD was smaller in diameter than the SPD SL.

 

[vickster]

Not if set up right, no

You could get problems with any shoes if planning on doing 1000 miles a week or something

 

[Peteaud]

Yes wrong for the road bike but they will do for now if i cant afford them SPD SL he was showing me in them photos

As Ian says, never go back in there again, or if you do tell him he is talking BS.

SPD are fine, and shimano even do adaptors for SPD now on flat soled shoes.

I use Shimano A600 "ROAD" SPD pedals

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-a600-road-pedals/rp-prod74749

and northwave shoes

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/northwave-striker-carbon-5-mtb-shoes-2013/rp-prod91019

And i use them on road bikes, as do many others.

FWIW SH56 cleats are multi release, and are way easier to clip in and out than SPD SL, Look etc.