With the coupon that was posted in the Performance section of the forum, I have been thinking about getting some pedals and shoes this weekend as a Father's Day gift to myself at a decent price. My problem is, I don't know what I should be looking for.

I don't like going into any shop completely uninformed. It just doesn't make me feel good. Can someone give me some pointers on what to look for, what kind of specs I should be looking for, what system is best for a beginner, etc.?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

ToddB

well, i will throw my .02 in here.

I went with the Speedplay Light Action for my second set of pedals and haven't looked back. They have a TON of "float" (more freedom in foot movement)and are easy to get in and out of for me. I am a bigger rider and also only in my second year of riding.

I will probably stick with Speedplays but I have been thinking about the Look Keo pedals too.

I am sure some others will chime in here, there are a lot of great people on these boards who know their stuff. I know they have helped me more think I could have ever asked for!

cheers!
Dave

Ive ridden virtually every pedal on the market. Speedplay Light Action is where its at. Easy in, easy out and the cleats dont get all gunked up like the traditional Speedplays do.

i third the speedplay light actions. ive got them on all my bikes 'cept the mountain bike, and i wouldnt have it any other way. ive tried a plethora of other pedals. these are by far the best ive come across. you are nice and stable in them, dont unclip accidentally, but it doesnt take any hard jerking of the leg/ankle to get out. its as easy as the 'click your heals to go home, Dorothy' motion one might make. they dont call them 'light action' for nothin!

I started with the LOOKs and then moved to the Speedplays. Love the Speedplays and wouldn't consider anything else for serious road.

I run eggbeaters on my mountain and single speed bikes, and have just platform pedals on my around-town bike.

The Speedplay light action pedals require a shoe with a 3 or 4 hole mounting spot for the cleat. This means you can't use mtb-style shoes with tread - all of those seem to have the 2-hole pattern cleat.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. However, I went this morning, used the 20% off coupon and bought some SPD compatible pedals and a pair of MTB shoes. They seem comfortable so far and with the short ride I did this afternoon, they feel great.

We'll see how they do on Thursday with a longer ride.

One reason I went with the SPD pedals was the price. This being my first foray into clipless, I didn't want to shell out a ton of money. When I wear these out, I will look at the speedplay and look style pedals.

Grats on the new pedals, hope they work out nicely for you!

Price is a factor especially these days! Coupons always help! Performance is usually pretty good about that!

I started out using my my MTB shoes when I started riding and quickly learned the value of Road Shoes. On longer rides I would experience some pretty uncomfortable foot pain and after working with Matt at The Spin Cycle (now the Cary Cycle Surgeon) and picking the brains of some here I changed to Road Shoes. The advantage is the stiff sole, MTB shoes tend to flex and are not as rigid so your power transfer is less and your foot flexes more. I was using my Crankbrothers egg beaters from my MTB and wearing my Shimano SPD shoes.
Once I switched it was a big difference in how I felt and the overall improvement in my rides. Of course, this is just my experience, you may experience something different.

The important thing is that you are riding!!! You can sort out all the other stuff as you go! See you on the road!

I like the SPD pedals, especially if you do a lot of event type rides where you walk around in the shoes.

Having a lot of float, which the Speedplay do, can be good or bad depending on your individual situation. For me, the limited float that the SPD pedals have is better. I have no cartledge left in my knees, and the limited float keeps my knees tracking correctly.

Ah, the joys of being newly clipless... the carefree ride to the stoplight... the stopping of the bike... the sudden realization that your feet are still clipped in.... the panic... the teeter... the fall... the hope that no one just saw a grown person fall over helplessly for no reason

I switched over back when I did nothing but MTB, so I rode the bike home from the bike shop and figured I would be extra careful on the way home. I came to the first stop light and unclipped on my left. As I put my foot down, I ended up leaning right to turn or something, and fell over on the right! After that, I went to grassy areas at Lake Benson and Lake Crabtree to practice waiting until the last instant to try to unclip so I could simulate panic mode.

It seemed like it was a year before I could ride through anything other than flat trail while clipped in for fear I would get stuck in clipped in.