Upgrading to proper Road Shoes

[Jezston]

So today I was out shopping for proper road pedals and shoes. Interestingly, I was wondering if eggbeaters are ok for the track - they do say they need to be really securely attached.

Today I found out exactly why eggbeaters are NOT secure enough for the track:

View: http://youtu.be/Ag14dgvoluA


With my front wheel buckled and handlebars bent, along with being a bit messed up physically - looks like I wont be hitting Herne Hill before the season ends.

 

[ianrauk]

ouch

 

[Rob3rt]

:S What actually happened! Heal up soon!

 

[2Loose]

WTF Jezton? GWS and poor bike :-(

 

[400bhp]

I think there may be a little confusion here - to clarify, I'll be keeping the eggbeaters for the commuter as they suit it well, but I am thinking of getting road pedals and shoes for the weekend bike.

Friends have extolled the virtues of fancy roadie clipless (i.e. look keo, spd-sl etc) as they claim the reduced float, stiffer base and greater surface contact is better for more serious riding, and I can kind of see where that comes from. But is that perhaps nonsense?

Another reason is I'd like to have a go on the velodrome, and I'm not sure eggbeaters are allowed.

Currently thinking of going SPD-SL as Evans have a special offer on the 105 pedals - from looking at them, I cant tell much difference between them and Looks.

I'm also not prepared to drop £300 on all this! I have no plans to enter any races!

Unless they are pros/semi pros/cat racers then yes this is nonesense.

Do they read Cycling Plus by any chance?

 

[Drago]

Buy your SPD shoes carefully and you can have a sole every bit as stiff as any road shoe, right up to rigid oif you choose.

Apart from a tiny amount of weight saved, and in not sure it's much at all over a top flight SPD pedal, there's no real advantage. It's just different is all.

 

[dellzeqq]

Unless they are pros/semi pros/cat racers then yes this is nonesense.

Do they read Cycling Plus by any chance?

I disagree, (albeit reluctantly, because the price of these things is eye-watering). I do think the broader platform offered by SPD-SLs (and, previously, SPD-Rs) does help ordinary duffers like me. One just feels that little bit more secure, and the absence of rotation and tilt is that little bit less wearing on the legs. Indeed, the irony is that (like carbon forks) it might make more of a difference to duffers than it does to more accomplished cyclists.

 

[StuAff]

It's that phrase 'marginal gains' again, isn't it? I'm not knocking road shoes and pedal systems because I've never tried them, but for me the gain in switching from SPD to a road system on some of my bikes would be be minimal- I think the greatest benefit (or not, if it's not to one's taste) is to move to a clipless system, regardless of type. I know plenty of people who ride SPDs (or another two-bolt system) for the commute and a road system for the weekend. And there might be other advantages for individuals. For example, a friend of mine (a very strong rider, at least over short distances...much faster than me, though that's not saying much) found that if she rode her custom-built Viner Maxima, its carbon layup and geometry both made to suit her needs, in SPDs, the stiffness of the frame put her knees and feet under more stress than on her Tifosi CK7. She rides Speedplays on the Maxima, usually, the extra float and wider platform helps her considerably.

 

[antonypo]

So today I was out shopping for proper road pedals and shoes. Interestingly, I was wondering if eggbeaters are ok for the track - they do say they need to be really securely attached.

Today I found out exactly why eggbeaters are NOT secure enough for the track:

View: http://youtu.be/Ag14dgvoluA


With my front wheel buckled and handlebars bent, along with being a bit messed up physically - looks like I wont be hitting Herne Hill before the season ends.

Well today I fell off my bike and its only my 3rd outing with the SPD system. Thought the car in front of me was going to go at the junction but NO SHE DIDNT..... No injuries except pride as my neighbour was in the car behind and got out of his car and said "the bike should be underneath you not on top " I knew I was doing something wrong!!

 

[Jezston]

Well I need a road shoe system to take the (now repaired) bike on the track, so the question is:

Look or Shimano?