What pedals to get?

jsmoke

jsmoke

jsmoke

Soldato
Joined
17 Jun 2012
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Still have standard clunky plastic pedals, I think I should buy proper pedals for road cycling, seem to be a few different kinds, cleats etc, any tips on what I buy, no idea about this stuff.
 
+1 on the M520's - still using these on my road bike.

Not sure if the M520's still come with black plastic reflectors that you can unscrew, as that gives you the option of one flat side that can still be ridden with normal trainers etc, and is also ideal whilst you are still getting used to them, but can later be removed to make them double sided.

edit: Video of M520s with plastic side here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWUTen0rsBA
 
Vector 2s innit!

:p

the M520s look like they'd be really nice easy pedals. I have managed to end up with 3 types of cleat; mavic/time on the trainer and hardtail, SLs on the vectors and spds on the dual sus. Which means I have half a shoe shop downstairs.
 
Armageus said:
Not sure if the M520's still come with black plastic reflectors that you can unscrew, as that gives you the option of one flat side that can still be ridden with normal trainers etc, and is also ideal whilst you are still getting used to them, but can later be removed to make them double sided.
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Mine didn't when I purchased them earlier in the year
 
I used the Shimano M520's for 3 years and fitted them to 4 bikes but around August last year I had an argument with somebody who said that for my commute I would be far better off not using them because of the 100s of stop/starts I have to do.
After being hassled I decided to put flats on and he was 100% correct, there was zero difference in my pedalling style from cleats to flat pedals except I was always ready to stop & start without mucking about with cleats.
Late August I had a nasty accident where a car drove straight out of a hospital entrance and me being hit was witnessed by 6 paramedics and 2 coppers outside the West Midlands Ambulance Service.
The Copper actually said to me "It's a good job you weren't wearing cleats because you would have been under the car but instead it threw you from the bike".

HOWEVER, a mate of mine cycles 13 miles on a basically straight road with very few stops so I can see the advantage for him wearing cleats. Also anybody who goes out at the weekend on a course that has very few stop/starts it would be an advantage.

If you live close to me OP I have 3 sets in a box that I will never use for commuting.
I've kept them on my road bike.
 
FrenchTart said:
I disagree with the idea of there being no benefit to cleats if you happen to need to stop-start a lot. It is a far more effective way to put power through your peddles.
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I thought the same until I tried it.
I had convinced myself for 3 years that cleats were the best thing to have for efficiency and even added to other threads on here and with people at home.
I came out of them and I haven't noticed 0% difference except for advantages.
There was one day where cleats were useful, my left pedal arm fell off and I couldn't get it back on so rode to work & back with one pedal :D
Obviously there were places I had to get off and push.

Like I say, when I go out on my road bike I pick a route that has very few stop/starts so cleats are useful, I don't have that luxury with my commute.
 
I'll just echo what others have said, I've only ever used an SPD setup with the dhb shoes and the lifeline spd compatible pedals, and I've got no complaints. I've heard some people tell me that SPD is terrible but I don't really have anything compare it to, it's fine and pretty easy to get used to.

I don't know about power efficiency or anything, I'm sure if you had cycling shoes in toe clips it'd be more or less the same. Although it's a lot harder to get in and out of toe clips. But the advantage for me wasn't anything to do with efficiency, it was that before then I was cycling in running shoes which was an absolutely abysmal experience over about 30kms, and that cleats let you to adjust the position of your foot reliably, which allowed me to eliminate some knee pain I was getting on longer rides or up climbs.
 
PermaBanned said:
I'll just echo what others have said, I've only ever used an SPD setup with the dhb shoes and the lifeline spd compatible pedals, and I've got no complaints. I've heard some people tell me that SPD is terrible but I don't really have anything compare it to, it's fine and pretty easy to get used to.

I don't know about power efficiency or anything, I'm sure if you had cycling shoes in toe clips it'd be more or less the same. Although it's a lot harder to get in and out of toe clips. But the advantage for me wasn't anything to do with efficiency, it was that before then I was cycling in running shoes which was an absolutely abysmal experience over about 30kms, and that cleats let you to adjust the position of your foot reliably, which allowed me to eliminate some knee pain I was getting on longer rides or up climbs.
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I've ridden on SPD and SPD-SL/Look Keo (latter mostly admittedly in a track environment) and I think the shoe makes a much bigger difference than the cleat, at least in terms of how most people compare these things.
 
helpimcrap said:
M520 - can use cleats or normal. That's what I got the first time I ventured into cleats because if it didn't work I would always change without hassle.
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A520 would be better suited for that. It's mentioned above about the platforms with the M520s but I feel like that must be old M520s as myself and Nursie didn't get them last year with M520s.
 
Lethal` said:
A520 would be better suited for that. It's mentioned above about the platforms with the M520s but I feel like that must be old M520s as myself and Nursie didn't get them last year with M520s.
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Do you mean A530s? M520s can be adapted to be used with flats but I doubt it would last. A520s are single sided SPD pedals. A530s have a big flat on the other side. M324s are also combo pedals if memory serves.
 
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