spd pedals

Well, first off, one of those pedals is SPD and one is SPD-SL. SPD shoes have recessed cleats which makes it easier to walk in them. With SPD-SL shoes the cleats stick out and they're a massive pain in the arse to walk in. SPD-SL set ups tend to be lighter though, and often the pedals will have less float so you'll get (slightly) better peddling efficiency and feel.

I don't see why you couldn't use non-cycling shoes with the SPD-SL pedals if you wanted to, though it's likely that they'll try to orient themselves in such a way that the clip side faces up so you might have to faff around with them in order to ride comfortably.

Most people that make the move from flat peddles to SPDs/SPD-SL rapidly lose all interest in cycling without cycle shoes. Once you get used to being clipped in it is massively massively nicer to ride that way than on flat peddles. As such, I'd not get single-sided peddles and something more like this if you do decide to go for SPD instead of SPD-SL. For reference, I bought the exact peddles in your second link for my first set of SPDs. Eventually I changed over to the ones I've just linked you to as it was too annoying having to flip over the peddles whenever I wanted to clip in.

Coming back to the SPD vs SPD-SL debate - Do you imagine that you'll be doing a fair bit of walking in your cycle shoes? If it's going to be more than about a minute, get SPDs.
 
I was going to post a very similar question today as I really need to some clip in shoes/pedals, I'm currently riding with flat pedals and trainers and with the state of the roads my feet keep bouncing off the pedals which is annoying.

Thanks for the info on SPD vs SPD-SL, I don't walk much distance (through new street and from the bike rack to office building) however they do look hard to walk in properly!

Without hijacking, what cycling shoes would go with those pedals you linked FT? Most I'm looking at are SPD-SL?
 
Without hijacking, what cycling shoes would go with those pedals you linked FT? Most I'm looking at are SPD-SL?

The M520 pedals?

For them, shoes will often be labelled as MTB or touring shoes. The cleats under the shoe have two bolts. Some touring shoe designs look like a casual trainer eg these

"Road" shoes (SPD-SL) use 3 bolts to mount the cleat to the shoe. You can normally spot an SPD-SL wearer as they'll probably walk like Pingu :D Road shoes are often a lot more bling (aka Disco Slippers)
 
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Sorry :D

For commuting, plain SPD pedals / shoes usually win with them being better to walk in (as previously mentioned) and the double-sided pedals means less faff if you are in/out the pedals a lot at junctions / lights.
 
You can normally spot an SPD-SL wearer as they'll probably walk like Pingu :D

Yep, it's like wearing high heels backwards.

#Chri5# said:
Road shoes are often a lot more bling (aka Disco Slippers)

A guy I've ridden with a few times was soundly laughed at by some strangers at a cafe for wearing his flouro yellow shoes with no overshoes on one of the wettest days ever last Autumn.
 
If you want SPD shoes, look for those marketed for offroad or touring use. Shimano RT82 look like a good bet..

At the same price, I think the M089's are a better bet. Better straps, same ratchet, and the sole looks much better to walk in. I've had the M089's for about a fortnight now, and they're great - far better than the DHB M1.0's that they replaced.
 
If you want SPD shoes, look for those marketed for offroad or touring use. Shimano RT82 look like a good bet.
I have and use the Shimano RT82 shoes with Shimano XT SPD pedals for long, fast rides to commuting and wandering around the supermarket.

They look the part and are comfy when cycling and walking relatively short distances. I think you need to go one size up from normal though.
 
I use the m520 and rt82 combo everyday for my commute, very happy with them, ratchet system is quick easy and they were one of the few shoes that fitted my wide flipper feet. Shimano have some weird shoe sizing (mine are 11.2) so if you can try them on or just got 1 size up.

Handy tip, undo the adjuster on the pedals all the way. Makes unclipping much easier.
 
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I got a600's as they are the lightest spd's shimano do, Yeah they are single sided but they also weigh a stem's weight less than m520's
 
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