Idiot's questions about pedals

I am looking to buy pedals for my new bike but very confused with all that is available and while I understand a lot mig be personal choice I would welcome your comments as to the best pedals for a road bike. my old bike has shimano PD pedals which I am happy with but these were transferred from my mountain bike so I don't know if it is sensible to consider other options?

Do Shimano SPD or Look Kep pedals have any advantages on a road bike?

Any advice would be welcomed

Take care and keep smiling 

John

Comments

  • SuperCazSuperCaz ✭✭✭

    I thought you said that you had no idea?  You either do have some idea or you are talking in tongues.  None of that made sense to me

  • Are you changing shoes as well?

    MTB shoes aren't compatiable with the Shimano road or Look Keo pedals.

  • yes was planning new shoes at the same time

  • I've always used look pedals and they're great. My brother uses speed play pedals and swears by them, too! The speed play are double sided so might be a bit more like what you're used to. If you can, get shoes with really stiff soles- carbon is good. Just to complicate things, like...

  • TownerTowner ✭✭✭

    shimano spd are great value for money , im no expert and there are better qualified people than me on here, but i use them and have no problems... spend any saved cash on posh shoes, as mentioned carbon is always good!

  • SlugsSlugs ✭✭✭

    Just swithched to SPD SLs after countless years on Looks. The old pedals fell apart, but they had done more than their fair share of work.

    Find the SPDs slightly easier to enage & unclip from than the Looks, but apart from that no difference.

  • Tat - I've ridden both.  I started out with SPDs and a mid priced shoe and loved them.  Easy in easy out and robust and you can trot around in the shoes without wearing out cleats or looking like you're never more than two seconds away from losing balance and falling over.  This combo has been used for three years and 12,000 miles (ish) without hassle.

    More recently I transferred to Look Keo Carbons (£100) and a more expensive stiffer shoe.  There is no doubt you get extra power out of these with more force being transferred from leg and foot into pedal.  Unfortunately the carbon pedals broke within 10 weeks.  Whilst they're being replaced for free by manufacturer I have used a mate's Look Keo Easy.  They're brilliant.  So much so I've just bought a pair for myself.  £32!

    Doing it all again I'd go for Keo Easys and a stiff carbon soled shoe.  The latter seeming to make the most of the power and weight I can put through each pedal stroke.

  • I switched from SPD to Look Keo and never looked back. I found using SPDs for any longish distance hurt my feet terribly, in fact so bad that I used to have to stop in the middle of a ride, take my shoes off and massage my feet. Never had any problem with the Keos.

  • fat buddhafat buddha ✭✭✭

    in reality there's not a great deal to choose between any of the road clipless - whether Shimano, Look, Time, Speedplay, Cranks etc - they all do a good job

    but if you have multiple bikes (if not - you will....image) then make your choice and stick with it as that way you only need shoes with one set of cleats.

    and from experience, Look Keo cleats wear very very quickly if you walk in them a lot - get the cleat covers to protect them when walking.  I'm tempted to change but that means changing 3 sets of pedals as well so it's cheaper to replace the cleats as needed

  • Try looking for look compatible pedals if you want to save some cash. I have a set from exustar on both my road bike and TT bike that cost £20. They look good, they're light and they work well.

  • fat buddhafat buddha ✭✭✭

    I think my last lot of Keo cleats are Exustar - still wear quickly.....image

  • M..o.useM..o.use ✭✭✭

    I run SPDs on a mountain bike and SPD-SL on my road bike.  I prefer how the load spreads on SPD-SLs on a road bike.  I prefer that SPDs seem to unclip more easily and I can have 'optional' pedals (so run clipped in or flat) on the mountain bike.

    I believe, though this could be rubbish, that SPD-SLs are a cheaper system than Look but that could be a bag of crap. I ended up on SPD-SLs over Looks purely by chance.

  • fat buddhafat buddha ✭✭✭

    SPDs on MTBs will unclip easier as the cleat is smaller so requires less twisting force, and generally the spring tensions are not so high as one thing you need when MTBing is the ability to unclip very very quickly sometimes....especially when you're going down a steep gnarly singletrack or about to hit a tree.....image

  • M..o.useM..o.use ✭✭✭

    Or crapping yourself over a teeny tiny bump.

    Me?

    Would I....?

  • Clipped in ... mountain biking ??  Can you imagine the carnage    image

  • Clipped in is the only way to MTB image 

     

  • Thanks for all your comments and they have really helped me make a decision. It seems not much advantage or disadvantage to each and just a matter of choice. I have ordered the Look Keo Classic.

  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭

    When I bought my first 'proper' bike*, my question about pedals was I'm paying a grand for this - why doesn't come WITH pedals?!




    *I do realise that to some people a bike that cost "only" one thousand pounds is not really a 'proper' bike.

Sign In or Register to comment.