Reccomend me (clipless) pedals & shoes for mtb and a bike rack/towbar

EdwardTeach · 7 Apr 2020 at 15:04

Hi

I bought a bike a couple of weeks ago at the beginning of the shutdown. It is the first time I have owned a bike in 10 yrs, I used to be really into mountain biking and I have been loving getting back out. It is a Saracen Zenith trail, I literally bought whatever they had in the store at roughly the price point I was happy with, as I was worried that the bike shop would get closed. Ive been for a few rides now, and it seems like a nice enough bike.

Back when i used to ride, I had clipless pedals that could also be used with normal shoes, or that you could pre-emptively clip out of for tricky terrain. I had bit of a google and seen pedal like the shiman xt t8000 and the shimano m424. Do any of you have experience with this kind of pedal and have any reccomendation?

On the same note, anyone reccomend a particular mtb shoe? I was looking at the shimano me7, the giro chamber II and the mavic xa matryx.

For bike racks/towbar I have never owned one before and I dont know what to look for. I have a BMW 335. Wife +2kids, means I should be looking at something that can hold 4 bikes. Would you have any reservations about the towbars from halfords? They look kind of precarious, do they really do no damage to the car?

(Obviously I have been sensible and I am only directing my bike enquiries to ocuk rather than a bike forum).

SoliD · 8 Apr 2020 at 07:54

I will always go shimano shoes now, whatever is the best for your budget with the cheap spd pedals.

#Chri5# · 8 Apr 2020 at 10:02

Shoe wise, I found Shimano shoes narrow previously so had to size up for my now very old winter SPD boots. I've had two pairs of Specialized shoes which seem to suit my wide feet. My road shoes are from Mavic though. Might be best until you get into a bike shop and try assorted brands on back-to-back to avoid returning pairs.

I'd ring some local towbar specialists (once they are open again!). They should be able to advise if they need to do any cutting on the rear splitter, confirm they can wire the electrics in properly and "code" the car so parking sensors are disabled when the rack is plugged in (etc).

Plenty of towbar bike carrier options - https://www.roofbox.co.uk/bike-carriers/bike-carriers-racks-range-towbar-mounting.php is a good place to start and compare spec's / prices.

SoliD · 8 Apr 2020 at 13:47

Didn't reply on the towbar thing, I got a Witter second hand off ebay about 1/4 of the new price and got the towbar fitted locally and I've taken 3 bikes all around the country racing/holiday with no issues. It goes on and off every week and has been faultless in the almost 3 years I've owned it, but as @#Chri5# says worth phoning around first to ensure you have the option to have one fitted aftermarket.

EdwardTeach · 8 Apr 2020 at 13:58

Thanks for the replies guys.

Begbie · 11 Apr 2020 at 20:39

I've just got the Giro Ventana and they are bloody lovely. Very comfy. I went for the fast lace ones.

Use them on my gravel bike too.

{SAS}TB · 11 Apr 2020 at 21:37

I had the Thule 4 bike towbar (tiltable) bike rack and was absolutely brilliant in terms of fitting / unfitting the rack, putting bikes on and off etc.

The only "issue" I had with it was that it was on a pretty long car (A5) to start with and it was VERY long after the rack with four bikes on. Also took some getting used to it bouncing away in your rear view.

When I swapped to my new car it can't have a towbar fitted so went with Thule Aerobars and four 598 bike racks. I leave the racks on full time and a.nikenis on and off in seconds.

Only issue is having to lift above your head to get the bikes on / off and watch out for hight restricted car parks !

kefkef · 16 Apr 2020 at 10:53

Shimano saint pd-m820 pedals, has a decent platform size and clips in really easily. As others have said, shimano shoes for me too, had expensive northwave ones that fell to pieces in 8 months. Got a cheap pair of shimano to use whilst waiting for replacements and still use them now!