First time SPD

Hi just looking for some advice and helpful suggestions, I ride a Giant talon 1 29er do some cross country and odd trail centre like Cwm carn and Forest of dean.

Back to the point, I use flat pedals DMR V8’s at the minute and I’m looking to make the terrifying jump up to SPD pedals.

I have never tried them before and don’t want to spend a fortune on shoes and a decent set of SPD’s that are suitable for the type of riding and do and a first time SPD user.

I am heading to Pedalon for my first bike service tonight and am looking to buy shoes tonight seen these http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/shimano-mt53-.html and these http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/shimano_xc30_mtb_shoe.html that I like the look of and not too expensive, are they any good and then any recommendation on the SPD to go with them please?

Thanks Rich

Standard shimano spds work fine, and can be had for like £15 if you look around.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-m520-pedals/

Why teach yourself bad habits?

SPDs have no place offroad.

Yep, I said it.

Why teach yourself bad habits?

SPDs have no place offroad.

Yep, I said it.

… The world cup downhill guys seem to like them.

Shimanao 520’s are a great pedal, & cheap as already said.

I just converted 6 rides ago to spd. It’s easier than you think and really just hype. Prepare to fall over clipped in. I fell right outside work returning from a 20 mile ride with the wife behind pissing herself laughing. Buy your shoes from a shop not online as you will get a proper fit and support your LBS i bought online as i had £100 vouchers to use, my shoes pinched for 1st 3 rides (also my bike was getting built up in LBS already to offset the guilt)happy riding just prepare to clip out earlier than needed to get used to it ??

SPDs have no place offroad.

Silly boy. Are you really suggesting that every professional cross country racer is wrong?

Accept the fact that you will fall off, but it will be when you least expect it. First few rides will be fine as you will really concentrate. Then, you think you are used to them, you have now entered the danger zone. You will pull up to your car / red light / house then just fall sideways in a comedy fashion, there will be people watching, it is a fact.

Set tension loose and just tighten up as you get used to them.

Why teach yourself bad habits?

SPDs have no place offroad.

Which would suggest that Shimano and millions of riders world wide have been getting it disasterously wrong for the last 25 years or more…

I agree that there’s no subsitute for good technique, but I’d much rather use SPDS than flats for everyday riding. That said, if I visit a trail centre, or go for a full-on mountain route, on go the flats.

Horses for courses and all that.

You’ll get used to the easy twisting-out action in no time – then you won’t even want to unclip cos you’ll be doing track stands at the traffic lights. Seriously, I fall off regularly and being locked-in is never an issue.

I would suggest the M530 – http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-m530-mtb-spd-trail-pedals/
It has kind of a platform, but much unlike the one on the M647 it’s not to support your feet (which is unnecessary, as the very hard SPD shoe sole does this), but to make it easier for you to hit the pedal, which in the first couple of months will be essential. Actually, when you are clipped in, you don’t touch the platform at all. Once you are confident you can switch to the M520 and save a few grams.
I am not really sure about the difference in the mechanics between the 520 and 530, but the 530 is virtually the same as the XT SPD stuff, with slightly crappier bearings and can be put on and removed only with an allen key.

As suggested, loosen the tension screw all the way, which will give you very easy detachment, and start to gradually tighten it as you progress and feel confident.

For me flats have no place off road. Points of view (:

You’ll probably be fine, the clip-in/out is simple to learn. Going back to try spds recently caught me out a couple of times, ironically on climbs… Shiamno makes sense, 520s are fine, 540s a little nicer and not much more expensive.

Only question is, why? You said the step “up”, it’s not up or down, it’s just different. It’s a good thing to try both (and try properly- you can’t compare one pedal type with the other til you have a lot of miles on both) but it’d be a good idea to give a bit of thought to what you hope to get out of it.

tinsy – Member

… The world cup downhill guys seem to like them.

Well. Quite a few don’t like them, but use them because they’re faster. But there were a few comedy clip-trap incidents at the weekend even for the best in the world, and there are still people competing and winning on flats

(there was a lot of chat over the last couple of years about how flats were dead and almost every win was on SPDs. What it actually meant was almost every win was Aaron Gwin, who used SPDs.

If your worried you could always start with multi release cleats with the pedal tension low so if you panic they will pop out in almost any angle.

If you’re used to flats, you mind find it useful to have something of a platform SPD, so you’ve something to get a bit more purchase on, and are just a lot easier to clip into IMHO. And they’re much more comfortable for longer downhills in particular.

Shimano M530’s are ideal. I love ’em! You can go for more expensive XT’s if you’re really that bothered about weight. But I don’t see the point. These things are bombproof:

EDIT: I also think multi-release cleats are counter-productive. I bought some when I first started. In the end they were a waste of time and money. Just get normal cleats. It won’t take long before clipping out is just second nature anyway.

Can I also recommend purchasing a GoPro or similar so we can all see the comedy, slow motion sideways falls? 😉
SPD’s really are worth a go. A mate of mine was convinced he’d never even try them so, before a ride, I swapped his pedals over without him knowing..he was not amused but gave them a go and hasn’t looked back since.
Do give them a decent trial, not just a quick ride..

IMHO the multi release will teach you only bad habits (on top of the opinion of the masses that SPDs themselves teach you bad habits). The point of the clip ins is that it takes deliberate sideways motion to clip out. Multi release can detach when you least suspect it…

I switched from basic spds to the trail version. Like N’wind the only comedy moments I have had were actually on a climb when I couldn,t unclip. Other than that, I cant imagine not being clipped in now.

Set them up properly and you’ll be fine.

Most important is to set the cleats so they mimic your natural foot position. Sit on something with your legs dangling, like a bar stool, it’s likely that your feet will naturally point slightly off centre. Make sure that your shoe cleats are set up so that they allow your feet to naturally settle in that position on the pedals. This might mean that your cleats are not pointing straight ahead. If you get that right you will be able to clip in and out much more easily and if you do come off you will “auto” unclip (not being able to is always a fear for a newbie to SPD’s). Wind off the tension on both sides of both of your new pedals too as that will help build your confidence. It is almost certain that you will forget you are clipped in and you will very slowly fall over sideways so try not to let this worry you.
Main benefit for me is that no matter how fast, rattly or rough it gets my feet never come off the pedals.

There’s nothing between flats and SPD’s performance wise really, it’s just personal preference.

IMHO the multi release will teach you only bad habits (on top of the opinion of the masses that SPDs themselves teach you bad habits). The point of the clip ins is that it takes deliberate sideways motion to clip out. Multi release can detach when you least suspect it…

Agree

And they’re much more comfortable for longer downhills in particular.

I don’t understand that. If you are wearing good shoes, then the only contact is with the cleat, pedals make no difference to comfort once clipped in.

Another thumbs-up for the M530s. Have had them for about 2 years now, they are ace and perfect for a virgin spd-user.

I don’t understand that. If you are wearing good shoes, then the only contact is with the cleat, pedals make no difference to comfort once clipped in.

It depends entirely what shoes you wear frank. I can’t stand ‘proper’ cycling roadie-esque disco slippers. I find them too siff, uncomfortable, and I much prefer something like 661 filters…

so you’ve a flat sole, which actually gives you get plenty of contact with the platform on the pedal

A neither-one-thing-nor-another half way house, or the best of both worlds, depending on your point of view, I suppose

Just to confuse matters – consider Crank Bros Mallets – a different system to spd but loads of float, easy to get in and out of and largely unaffected by mud. The Mallet gives a good platform too, to stand on if you need to and can’t get clipped in.

I’ve survived some big falls but dread to think how badly injured I’d have been if I was attached to the bike.

Cross Country racing ain’t really offroad.

I’ve survived some big falls but dread to think how badly injured I’d have been if I was attached to the bike.

Have you ever actually ridden with SPD’s? I manage to fall of with alarming frequency and my feet are never still attached to the bike by the time I hit the ground. Release becomes an impulse action.

I’ve survived some big falls but dread to think how badly injured I’d have been if I was attached to the bike.

You wouldn’t have been any more seriously injured at all. Getting unclipped and getting rid of a bike when you know its going pear shaped really isn’t that difficult. Unclipping just becomes intuitive. You don’t even consciously notice yourself doing it.

Cross Country racing ain’t really offroad.

Despite not being as obviously, like, just sooooooooooo TOTALLY AWESOME, and, like, rad to the power of sick as yourself, some of us have actually managed to do something a bit more challenging than canal towpaths with SPD’s. And Lived!

The irony is it’s the fear of failing that drives flat pedal sales, masking fear as better technique is just nonsense. If you had bigger balls you’d ride SPD’s like what I do. (this may or may not be true)you prolly run those 800mm bars too so you have room for your handbag I expect.

Enfht is a pretty low quality troll, but, he has a point- some folks claim that you’ll never be stuck in the cleats in a crash but that’s absolute bobbins. If you see any amount of crashes, sooner or later (and probably not later) you’ll see one where not escaping from the clips made it worse.

OTOH, you’ll also see plenty of cases where a stray flat caused a horrible flesh wound.

Cross Country racing ain’t really offroad

What on EARTH makes you say that? Ever been XC racing? Ever watched the fast guys?

joolsburger – Member

The irony is it’s the fear of failing that drives flat pedal sales, masking fear as better technique is just nonsense. If you had bigger balls you’d ride SPD’s like what I do. (this may or may not be true)you prolly run those 800mm bars too so you have room for your handbag I expect.

Obvious roadie is obvious.
Cross country racing is for roadies who are scared of traffic.
Isn’t this meant to be a MTB forum?
The lycra fetishists websites are that way —->
😆
(please don’t reply if you think any of that was written in any seriousness).

Enfht is a pretty low quality troll

Sir, you have offended my honour. I demand satisfaction and challenge you to a duel!

There is an obvious link between being all scared like a baby and using flats, real MTB riders deffo use spuds, a little over the bars calamity whilst being clipped in and having a still attached bike hit you on your neckback whilst simultaneously smashing your knees into the ground is a small price to pay.

I managed to do the full loop of Sherwood twice in SPD’s at the weekend. The first 30 minutes i was slow and scared but after a while it became pretty natural. The only time i nearly binned it was on a slow corner in a big puddle.

Its definately not in my mind to unclip though at the last minute. I was just lucky that i found a bit of grip and pulled myself out of the corner. It would have been pretty embarrasing otherwise.

They really did help on some of the uphill bits!

Still going back to flats though, alot of my riding is in local woods and involves lots of stopping and dropping into stuff. Trying to get drop into a descent in SPDs is a bit of a nightmare. I have a video i will upload to prove it later 😛

You don’t consciously unclip.. you just do it.

Everyone I know has had two really awkward embarrassing crashes when they start out with SPDs. Once you’re past that stage it’s genuinely never a problem. I crash a fair bit and I’ve ended up separated from my bike – completely unaware that I’ve obviously unclipped somehow. It just happens.

I can quite happily ride in both, but I do feel that SPDs give a bit more control. If you’re on a really rocky / tech bit of downhill, the mechanical connection allows you to a) feel where the back end is more accurately and b) steer the bike a bit with your hips. Plus more clearance = fewer rock strikes. The other reason I really like SPDs is that your foot is in the right place every time. Whereas with flats, I quite often find my foot at a funny angle / position on the pedal and I can’t stand it, and it’s quite hard to change foot position on something rocky / fast. Maybe I’m just fussier than average about foot position, though.

SPD shoes, like lycra bib shorts, not fashionable with the “youfs” but pretty damn effective for what they are designed for…

SPD shoes, like lycra bib shorts, not fashionable with the “youfs” but pretty damn effective for what they are designed for…

Yeah until you fall off, breaking your ankle and ripping your leotard…a long and awkward walk home with your testicles hanging loose.

enfht – Member

Sir, you have offended my honour.

That is a shame!

Yeah until you fall off, breaking your ankle and ripping your leotard…a long and awkward walk home with your testicles hanging loose

25+ years of mountain biking and its not happened yet despite having going ass over tit a fair number of times, though to be honest the first few years would have been strapped into my pedals.

come to think of it I still have my original MT500 lycra shorts which must be 10+ years old and done countless miles in the saddle and the spills that went with them, the only thing stopping me wearing them now is my wasitline.

I think enfht is telling us why he uses flats 8)

The world cup downhill guys seem to like them

except Sam Hill, Brendog, Brook Macdonald, Ratboy (sometimes) etc.

Shimano M520’s – http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=3759

Cheap shoes that will work fine – http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=70097

Anymore easy decisions you need help with? lol you won’t regret the change.