Hi,

I’m considering on purchasing some clip-in shoes for the first time. So i would obviously need some clip-in pedals. As you’ve probably noticed, i’ve made a similar topic but asking about the shoes.

So my questions are exactly the same as what i asked for the shoes.

What should i be looking for? Any certain features and/or technologies/designs?

Apart from build quality, is there much difference in them between prices? So if i spent an extra £10-£20, would i actually see a difference?

Also what is the difference between MTB and road clip-in pedals?

Cheers for any help in advance.

road have three bolt holes and generally a totally solid sole as you will never walk in them ever – avoid for MTB use

they are not the same basically and they clip in in a different way

asumption you want for MTB

buy:

Shimano M520 pedals – they are cheap, work well, are robust and come with cleats (the bits you attach to shoes.

Then buy shoes that fit, are within budget and are suited to what you want in terms of look. Shimano shos are good as are Specialized – the former suits a slimmer foot.

IN that case I prefer TIME ones as they are easier to clip in and give some float – ie the foot/knee can twist whilst clipped in

Don’t bother looking beyond Shimano. Fit. Abuse. Forget. Their cheapest pedals are fine unless you are bothered about saving a couple 100g of weight. Avoid Crank Bros, or you’ll be spending far too much time thinking about pedals rather than riding.

i have time as well as spd..

both allow some ‘twist’ but the time do allow some side to side as well..

though acutally not that noticable – what is is that over time cleat wear is more obvious with spd… you know they are knackered when you can unclip when pulling up!

but really can’t go wrong with m520’s spd – less than £25 a set if you look around

There are a lot of crank brothers haters out there – they have overhauled the designs recently making a lot of improvements, I found shimano crap on balance.

There are a few things to consider:
Do you want a cage or platform or just the clip part
What are you going to be doing in them
What sort of shoes do you want

I have used the Specialized BG Comps which give a reasonable amount of stiffness and normally use them with a smaller pedal (CB Candy – 5 year old good as new) The stiffer shoe means you can run a smaller pedal.

I also have some 5.10 Minaars which are a flat skate style shoe with a clip. I use these with CB Mallets in order to have a bit more support and so that I can get away with dabbing, starting, riding DH. They turned out to be comfy so I keep wearing them. They work well with the bigger pedal and the Pins (Note non of the shimano pedals have pins) There are also some Teva clipped shoes coming out soon.

Thats the general advice, I found my spec shoes lasted a year with a lot of riding but that was fine really as I abused them. The Plastic sole type shoe doesn’t like walking/scrambling through rocks etc. The Flat style doesn’t work well in mud.

The other up side of the CB designs is that they work perfectly well in mud ice an snow as the mechanism stays clear.

I’d have a very hard time moving away from CrankBrothers.

The now discontinued Acid 2’s are the best pedals ever ime.

The good thing about CB pedals is that they are easy to get into and out of. they have 2 float options and still give a reasonable solid engagement click.

Regardless of brand, as a first timer, look for a pedal with a small cage also (like CB Candy – or better is Acid if you can find them).. helps reduce mid foot strain and also gives you something to get your foot planted on if you need a to simply get your feet on if you’re unclipped and already committed.
Not a large enough platform that you simply unclip for anything technical though.. thats silly..

First few rides will be full of low speed crashes where you simply brain fart about getting your foot out as you stop and fall over sideways.. after that its will become as natural as using the clutch pedal in your car. You do have to stick with it though until you get it figured.

Shimano m520 on CRC for £17.49 – bargain. I’ve had a set of crank bros candy 1 and a set of candy 2, the 2’s seized and could not get them apart without breaking up the plastic axel screw. Bought a rebuild kit for £12.99 and ended up using that on the candy 1’s which had metal axel screws (older set). Shimano all the way for build and price, won’t go back to crank bros.