Cycling dopers: Explain shoes and pedals to me

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve started riding again and have really gotten into it. I do about 35km a day for my commute and I’m doing my first century ride next week. I’m trying to learn as much as I can about training and bike maintenance, but one subject has me baffled so far: shoes. Right now I just ride with regular street shoes on pedals that don’t have any kind of clip mechanism, and that’s good enough for the time being. In the future, though, I’d like to get more serious.

The books I’ve read mention the advantages of “clipless” shoes, and although it seems clear from the context that these shoes somehow attach to the pedals, it’s never explained how. More importantly (in my mind, at least), it’s never explained how you’re supposed to get your shoe out of them. They just assume that if you know anything about riding, you already use them.

How do these systems work? Would I have to buy pedals and shoes as a matched set, or is there some standardization?

Are they easy to get in and out of? Riding in traffic, I have to start and stop frequently, and I don’t want to be falling over at every light.

If I install pedals that I’m supposed to clip into, is it safe to try to ride with regular shoes?

Are they even worth having? Is there any real advantage for a non-professional?

Thanks in advance.

2

Theree are several different kinds. Mine are SPD. To clip your shoes to the peddle you press them in. To remove your shoe from the peddle you rotate your foot.
It takes a while to get used to it, but not too bad. There is an adjustment on them that sets how far you have to rotate to dislodge. The bike shop guy set them very loose (easy to remove) and said to tighten them as I get used to it.

The peddles came with the opposite ends. These screwed into the shoes so I suppose the shoes could handle other types of clips.

Brian

3

One thing that’s confusing. . .

You actually clip into “clipless” pedals. You’ve seen those pedals with the “basket” thingy attached that you slide your foot into? They used to call those “toe clips” so when they invented pedals that you attach to, they called them clipless.

Basically, you get a shoe, a cleat and a pedal. There are several different brands of pedals (SPD, Look, Time).

Once you put the pedal on your bike, you need to buy a matching cleat. The “cleat” attaches to the shoe. You can’t use an SPD cleat with a Time pedal. The pedals and the cleats are usually sold together.

Now, you need to get a shoe. Not all cleats attach to all shoes, but mostly they do.

I think the main benefit is that you’re using a stiff-soled shoe. However, being attached is nice.

You’ll fall over at least once learning to use the pedals, but after a short while it becomes second nature.

4

Look and Time systems are pretty popular road shoe setups. Egg Beaters, SPD(Shimano Pedal Device) and Speedplays are other brands that are used for both off-road and road uses. The SPD being popular because it’s a recessed cleat that, with the proper shoes, allows for almost normal walking.

I first got the Look system in '88 and have been using them ever since. It does take a few rides for clipping in and out to be second nature, but once you do, you’ll never go back. I use the SPD system for my mountain bike, which I use for everything else. (However, as noted before, the two systems are incompatible, hence I have separate pairs of shoes)

Basically, all the systems rely on some sort of tension binding between the cleat of the shoe and the pedal, this originally came from ski binding systems (Look has been a forerunner since they originally were a ski company). For the Look system, you step into the pedal push down to clip in, and with a twist of the foot and ankle, you pop out of the pedal. Most have some type of tensioning adjustment to prevent accidental unclipping.

Price is a major factor. You can spend anywhere from $70-$200 bucks on the pedals, then an additional $50-$250 bucks on the shoes.

5

> More importantly (in my mind, at least), it’s never explained how you’re supposed to get your shoe out of them.

Normally you twist your foot to release. It becomes intuitive after a while. And even without practice they usually release in an accident, much like ski bindings.

> How do these systems work? Would I have to buy pedals and shoes as a matched set, or is there some standardization?

MTB shoes are pretty standardized; they all have the same 4-bolt pattern. These shoes are called “SPD compatible,” but most other MTB cleats use the same bolt pattern too.

Road shoes and pedals use different systems, but trust me, you dont’ want those. MTB shoes have recessed cleats so you can walk around in them; road shoes do not.

> Are they easy to get in and out of? Riding in traffic, I have to start and stop frequently, and I don’t want to be falling over at every light.

It’s easy, but it takes some getting used to. After you set up the pedals and shoes, position your bike next to a handrail of some sort and spend some time clipping in and out until it becomes natural.

> If I install pedals that I’m supposed to clip into, is it safe to try to ride with regular shoes?

I wouldn’t recommend it - it’s not so much unsafe as uncomfortable. If you really want to do this, you can get a pedal with a clipless mechanism on one side and a flat surface on the other.

I don’t use those though, I find it takes extra effort to find the correct side each time. I just wear cycling shoes or sandals every time I ride. Yes, they make SPD-comaptible sandals - these are awesome, very comfortable for walking as well as cycling. I used to bike to work in SPD sandals and keep wearing them all day. Shimano makes these.

> Are they even worth having? Is there any real advantage for a non-professional?

I feel it is. I can pedal hard without worrying about proper foot position on the pedal.

One thing to be careful about: on Shimano SPD and similar pedals, the cleat angle is very critical because it determines the angle of your feet (toe-in vs. toe-out). If the angle is wrong for your legs, the pedals will be twisting your leg as you pedal, which is very bad for your knees. Observe the natural angle of your feet while walking or cycling, and try to match that. Or you can get a pedal system with “free float,” which means the angle is not fixed; Speedplay Frog pedals are probably the most popular pedals with free float. I have Frogs on all my bikes.

6

As mentioned above make sure your shoe and pedals are using the same system, not really too tricky.

Take your time getting used to them and the feel, it’s not unusual to fall over once or twice in the early stage so plan to practice somewhere before you commute to work in traffic.

If your older than 30-35 understand that your tendons and ligaments will need more time getting used to the new load than your muscles will, so give it to them.

The new pattern of movement takes some getting used to, there’s lots of advice for this; think of scraping mud off the bottom of your shoe, push forward, not down yaddayaddayadda. The point is to apply force through a greater portion of the rotation, practice, patience. good luck

7

If you’re doing a century next week, you might consider getting clipless pedals and shoes now.

I started using them for the first time last March (my shoes are also SPD) while training for my first century last May. I will never go back to anything else. I love them.

They were incredibly easy to get used to. In fact, my husband purchased my shoes and pedals while we were out on a ride, forcing me to ride the 15 miles back home in them (and having to pick up my sneakers at the cycling shop the next day.) Before having the clipless pedals, my bike had toe clips, sort of like a regular pedal with a ‘cage or strap’ for your foot to slide in.

If you aren’t comfortable making the switch to clipless one week before your big ride, you might consider toe clips at the very least.

Either type will allow you to use more leg muscles on your ride. You’ll be able to ‘pull up’ on your pedals, not just push down. You’ll be able to ‘spin’ basically. But for me personally, I can definitely feel less energy lost with the clipless pedals and SPD shoes. It’s a great feeling. You really feel more ‘in tune’ with your bike, sort of machine-like.

It’s much easier than it seems to clip in and out. That was probably what had kept me from making the switch for a couple of years as my riding increased, but once I did, I realized I was making a much bigger deal about it in my mind.

Any decent bike shop should have a trainer set up to help you get the feel for them, and should be able to swap them for your current pedals and suggest a pair of shoes for you.

8

This clears up a lot of confusion I was having.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I probably won’t switch over to clipless pedals right away, but I may give it a try later this year or next year and at least now I know what to look into and ask about.

9

Going clipless can be an investment and a godsend. If you aren’t ready for the move to the pedals and shoes, then I would recommend that you at least get the toe-clips. They are considerably cheaper, install quickly and you can keep wearing the same shoes.

Keep in mind that you have to pull your feet out of the clips backwards and can’t just put your foot down to the side. It can also take some time to get used to getting your feet into them. It’s second nature to me now, but had some fussing with it to begin with. The problem is the baskets hang upside down when they are not being used, so you have to drag the sole of your foot on the front of the pedal to get it to flip up before you stuff the toe of your foot into the basket. It sounds more difficult than it is, but does take some practice. The benefits definitely outweigh the time spent on the learning curve.

10

Note that different types of clipless pedal/cleat systems have a different degree of ‘float’. That is the degree of side-to-side play your foot has when clipped in. I know some experienced riders may prefer their foot to be very firmly held in place, but if your cleats aren’t adjusted correctly this can force your foot to be very slightly, perhaps almost imperceptibly twisted and can cause knee problems. Some systems offer different cleats for the same pedal to suit your preferences.

11

I have really large feet, and all of of the shoes made for clipless systems stop one if not two sizes shy of accomidating me. So I still use the old style “toe clips” (straps and baskets). They are cheaper heavier and probably harder to get loose from on short notice…maybe harder to get into as well. They do, however, offer , the ergonomic advantages of the newfangled stuff.