Clipless pedal Q

Muahahaha

Im planning on getting clipless pedals soon and by the looks of it the SPD system seems the one I'll go with as I get the impression that the SPD SL shoes seem to be really hard and designed primarily for cycling whereas I want a shoe that can be worn casually as well.

Anyway I was just wondering how the actual SPD pedals are configuered. Can you clip in from both sides of the pedal ? If so what happens if you're wearing non SPD shoes, like would there be a protruding piece of metal sticking into your flat sole ? Are there pedals available that have the clip on one side and are flat on the other, if so any pointers to Shimano models would be helpful. I was told they exist in the bike shop but am unsure what they're called to search for them.
Also these pedals with clips one side and flat the other, does anyone know are they weighted so the clip side normally stayed upwards or is it a matter of looking down everytime, kicking the pedal 180 and then clipping in ?

iwillhtfu

Something like these.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/shimano-xt-spd-trekking-t780-mtb-pedals/rp-prod67250

Wishbone Ash

Shimano M324 look better in my opinion - no black plastic/rubber bits.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-m324-combination-pedals/

Muahahaha wrote: »

.. are they weighted so the clip side normally stayed upwards or is it a matter of looking down everytime, kicking the pedal 180 and then clipping in ?

I used to have them on my fixie. Neither side is weighted as such but it becomes second nature. You flip the pedal without thinking and won't need to look down. You can also simply use the flat side even with SPD shoes - useful if in tricky situations such as when there are lots of errant pedestrians/obstacles on road/cycle track.

iwillhtfu

They were the ones I was looking for but got bored searching.

They'll make a right mess of your shin at some point

Daroxtar

These lads are nice and tidy. Clip on one side and flat on the other.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/shimano-a530-road-pedals/rp-prod28050

not yet

Daroxtar wrote: »

These lads are nice and tidy. Clip on one side and flat on the other.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/shimano-a530-road-pedals/rp-prod28050

Have these and can only praise them, you will not go wrong with them.

Muahahaha

Thanks for the replies. I had a look at reviews of the Shimano A530 and it seems like a very good pedal.
However I also came across the Shimano m530 which is also a dual sided SPD pedal. It doesnt look massively dissimilar to the A530 but it at €22 or so it is almost half the price of the A530 which costs €40 on CRC and around the same on ebay.

The only difference I can see between the two is weight- the A530 is about 150grams lighter than the M530. Given that the weight thing doesnt bother me a whole lot is there any reason why I shouldnt go for the cheaper of the two pedals ?

Also when selecting footwear am I correct to say once I buy anything that says SPD in the description it will then therefore fit all SPD pedals? I;m presuming there are no exceptions to the rule ?

Daroxtar

Muahahaha wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I had a look at reviews of the Shimano A530 and it seems like a very good pedal.
However I also came across the Shimano m530 which is also a dual sided SPD pedal. It doesnt look massively dissimilar to the A530 but it at €22 or so it is almost half the price of the A530 which costs €40 on CRC and around the same on ebay.

The only difference I can see between the two is weight- the A530 is about 150grams lighter than the M530. Given that the weight thing doesnt bother me a whole lot is there any reason why I shouldnt go for the cheaper of the two pedals ?

Also when selecting footwear am I correct to say once I buy anything that says SPD in the description it will then therefore fit all SPD pedals? I;m presuming there are no exceptions to the rule ?

I have the m530 and they are great for the money. Very solid and easily adjustable.

Muahahaha

Daroxtar wrote: »

I have the m530 and they are great for the money. Very solid and easily adjustable.

Nice one, I think I'll go with the m530 as its hard to justify spending almost double the price for the a530 just to save 150grams in weight. Other than that I cant see much difference between them, bar the price of course. Also the m530 comes in white which is good as they'll match the bike. Thanks again for the help, now I just need to find a good set of footwear to match

Wishbone Ash

There are two basic types of SPD footwear - those which look pretty much like standard cycling shoes and available in all bike shops and those which look like hiking boots/shoes but have a section of the sole which can be removed to install the cleats (TK Maxx sometimes stock these).

Iranoutofideas

Shimano rt32 shoes are great

smacl

Also worth noting you have two types of cleat you can use with SPD pedal, SH51 an SH56, where SH56 are easier to unclip. I have m520s on the road bike and m424 on the hybrid. I find the m424 is a great pedal for urban and light off road, as it is handier to cycle unclipped the m520 but still double sided and easier to clip into than the m324s I had previously.

cdaly_

Muahahaha wrote: »

If so what happens if you're wearing non SPD shoes, like would there be a protruding piece of metal sticking into your flat sole ?

Muahahaha wrote: »

Nice one, I think I'll go with the m530 as its hard to justify spending almost double the price for the a530 just to save 150grams in weight. Other than that I cant see much difference between them, bar the price of course.

The difference is that the M530 pedal is double sided. That will mean you have the cleat anchor pushing up into flat shoes so SPD shoes only as far as I can tell.

Fian

I have teh a530 pedals, one advantage to them is that they have a bearing in the pedal which seems to "bed in" in a way that keeps them in a standard place. so since i tend to use teh clip in side almost all teh time they tend to sit ready for me to clip in with teh platform side down. If i need the platform side I need to flip them over. I gather that if you use the platform side teh most the reverse happens.

Nice pedals but one warning - the platform side gets slippery when wet, probably less of a problem in calafornia than here in rainy old ireland.

smacl

cdaly_ wrote: »

The difference is that the M530 pedal is double sided. That will mean you have the cleat anchor pushing up into flat shoes so SPD shoes only as far as I can tell.

I find the ones with a deeper cage, such as the m424s, work fine as flat pedals with sneakers and hiking boots without cleats. Not so pretty perhaps, but highly functional. I used the single sided m324s for a year and found them a pain by comparison.

Muahahaha

cdaly_ wrote: »

The difference is that the M530 pedal is double sided. That will mean you have the cleat anchor pushing up into flat shoes so SPD shoes only as far as I can tell.

Yeah I just copped that this morning when I went to take a look at it again. think I'm going to go with either the a530 or if I can find the older model of it, the a520, on ebay then I'll pick up that. Both of them seem to get pretty good reviews so hopefully it'll be a good entry level SPD pedal. I'll probably like the SPD so much that after a while I'll want to upgrade to something that has SPD clips on both sides but for now this will do the trick till Im fully confident on SPD.