Road pedals

[GeorigaGirl94]

Hey I have hijacked my wifes forum name i have a question that i need help with she want to switch from strap pedals to road clip less i was wondering which shoe type road or mountain and which pedal type would be easier and more comfortable look or speed play? thanks for you help

[nonsmoker3]

I use the Look pedals with PI Vagabond shoes. Love em.

Hijack - Ft. Benning?? I work and play here on Benning. I live in Waverly Hall. If your wife wants to ride let me know. There is a 'gang' of us who do the river walk pretty regular (all women) and have a blast.

Julie

[Eden]

There's a lot of "it depends" answers in that there question :D

It depends a lot on how she rides or wants to ride.
If the biggest issue is comfort and she'd like a shoe that is easy to walk in, go for mt bike or "touring" shoes. Look for a nice flat sole and a recessed cleat area. If she's looking to be more race/performance oriented and doesn't care if she does the duck walk go for road shoes/pedals.

As far as brands of pedals go there are many

Look, Speedplay, Crank Bros, Shimano, etc.

I don't necessarily think that any one of these pedals is necessarily better than any other, though some are better for certain people - some of it depends on whether or not you need float or no float (the ability to have your foot move around a bit vs having your foot very solidly locked in - this can affect your knee comfort). Some people prefer a larger pedal platform as they tend to develop "hot spots" (sore spots on the bottoms of their feet) if they have small pedals and cleats. As with many things, people often just develop a preference for one system over the others too.

You also want to make sure your shoes will be compatible with your cleats - some road shoes can accept a 2 hole (mt bike) cleat and others cannot.

Go to the store with your wife and take a look at all the shoes and pedals - see if there are demo pedals in the store so she can maybe try them out before she decides which system she wants to go with.

[GeorigaGirl94]

Thanks julie once the computer gets fixed ill show her. also thanks Eden, I use looks and have always used them but i was wondering if theres are some pedals that are easier to get in and out of as far as shoes sounds like mountain bike will work for her. and the speed plays look easier . just trying to make everything comfortable for her so she wont wanna quit

[Eden]

Just be sure that the shoes and pedals are compatible - mt bike/touring shoes won't accept a road cleat (so for Speedplay you'd need the Frog model - if you look around here you'll find some people who really like their Frogs) some road shoes will not take a 2 hole cleat, so without an adapter mt bike cleat/pedals won't work.
Personally I like and use Crank Bros - super easy to get in and out of and the cleats and pedals are interchangable - I can use my road shoes with my mt bike cleats and vice versa. Gives me options when I get dressed to go out.

[sundial]

I use Frogs on my road bike and wear Specialized mtb shoes.

[wannaduacentury]

I use the Look pedals with PI Vagabond shoes. Love em.

Hijack - Ft. Benning?? I work and play here on Benning. I live in Waverly Hall. If your wife wants to ride let me know. There is a 'gang' of us who do the river walk pretty regular (all women) and have a blast.

Julie

Hey Julie, you're not far from me- I'm in west central ga too. 1 hr north of Columbus :) small world. Jenn

[ehirsch83]

I use the Look pedals with PI Vagabond shoes. Love em.

Hijack - Ft. Benning?? I work and play here on Benning. I live in Waverly Hall. If your wife wants to ride let me know. There is a 'gang' of us who do the river walk pretty regular (all women) and have a blast.

Julie

I'm going to hijack this even more and ask how life and cycling is in Ft.Benning?

My BF is, at the moment, in the National Guard, and his unit is set to be deployed in june 09. Anyways, if he has to go(it is unclear at this moment,will know in a month or so) he is going to go active and one of the places we might end up is Ft.Benning(either there or in NC)

[nonsmoker3]

Jenn - we should get together for a ride sometime. Have you done/heard of Wheels of Fire? It is a charity ride in March here in Harris county. Challenging but a great cause. Proceeds go to the Fire Departments in Harris County and the support this ride gets from the various fire depts is amazing.

Ehirsch83 - Fort Benning is pretty cycling friendly. We have a river walk that runs from downtown onto Benning and it is a great ride. A lot of folks ride on Benning. Columbus, however, is not a great cycling city. Heavy traffic, no bike lanes, redneck country boys in big trucks, etc. But out here where I live we have some great country roads and have quite a few good routes. If you do end up here definately let me know.

[Aggie_Ama]

I ride Looks with Sidi Genius 5 shoes. I love the platform and power transfer of the Looks. HOWEVER, I find them a bit tricky to engage and cleat is slick. A lot of women on here use mountain shoes and the Frogs. That would probably be a more comfortable option.

[wannaduacentury]

[QUOTE=nonsmoker3;277680]Jenn - we should get together for a ride sometime. Have you done/heard of Wheels of Fire? It is a charity ride in March here in Harris county. Challenging but a great cause. Proceeds go to the Fire Departments in Harris County and the support this ride gets from the various fire depts is amazing.

Yep, I've heard of it and some of my friends have done it every yr. I personally haven't done the ride due to scheduling or work etc. I'll find out tomorrow I bet when it is since it barely a month away(bike club mtg). We're practically down the road from each other- I work in LaG. Jenn

[nonsmoker3]

LaG? Wow, that is close. Did the Tour De Lakes last year. Beautiful area.
Thinking about it this year, along with the triathlon. Small world.

[ChickWithBrains]

Look and Speedplay are not your only options.

Many people say the "eggbeater" style of pedals are the easiest to learn for people who are new to these sort of clip-in pedals. There's no up and down to worry about (like there is with some clipless pedals, and certainly in pedals with a toe cage). There's also only a small amount of "float," the action that lets the pedaler point their toes in and out a little while pedaling. Lots of float (like some speedplays) gives the rider a very wobbly feeling on the pedals until they get used to it -- not the kindest introduction to this kind of riding.

Most shoes will accept most kinds of contraptions for various pedals, but shoes intended for mountain biking may be the easiest to get used to because the nubs hit the ground more than the plate for the pedal does. Makes walking easier and more stable. In any case, for systems with larger plates (speedplay), there are covers you can snap over the plate on the shoe when you get off the bike and walk around.

I'd suggest a setup similar to my first system: Specialized mountain bike shoes and Crank Brothers eggbeaters (I got some pretty little blue ones). I have since graduated to some pink speedplays and more aerodynamic, lighter shoes -- but I think my first setup was awesome for a newbie to clipless.

[northstar]

I'd like to second the recommendation of CrankBrothers pedals. I have Smarty's on my road bike and really love them. Then again, I've never ridden anything else.