What pedals ??

[Kerplunk]

I got a pair of these Wellgo spd pedals when they were in stock and £10 cheaper. They're on my 'leisure' bike at the moment so I can ride with or with spd shoes. Wish I'd got an extra pair to go on my road bike as it does make it easier to pull away from junctions/traffic lights and to just hop on and nip down the shops.

 

[Simon Daw]

Hi guys, my route to work is about 14 miles each way,10 miles A+B roads then 4 miles in town (Livingston-Edinburgh) and any training/touring runs out in the country, i used to ride with cleats so i'm not worried about moving off/ stopping or should i be :?

No - if you've used Look in the past you'll find the Keos very similar. I don't find that they hang quite as well as the old ones (now referred to as Deltas); they tend to turn with the cranks, rather than hanging heavy-bit-down, if you see what I mean. For this reason I've stuck with the old ones on my grass track bike. For commuting / training use you probably won't notice any real difference, though.

i would prefer road shoes to match my bike, i'm fitting a 90's campag c-record chainset(9/16 thread) so does this mean i cant use shimano pedals?

No, Shimano will be fine. However, although the points above about newbies / clipless pedals may be fair, it's pretty clear that you're not a newbie; if you want something for training I suspect you won't want recessed sole SPD shoes.

i was thinking of look keo's but dont know if they are any good/easy to use?

As above - they're very decent pedals. The plates are easy to get hold of, and they work. Plates with float are available, and while this isn't quite as flexible as Time I've always found it more than adequate, even with my dodgy knees. (Switching to Look in the late 80s actually greatly reduced my knee problems.)

to confuse things more ive seen a pair of NOS Adidas Eddy Merckx old style racing shoes with cleats on ebay. Do i move with the times or stick to what i know, any advice appreciated.

If they come with the cleats be aware that the old Delta plates are not compatible with Keos. However, Keos (and most other pedals) are supplied with plates. The drillings on the soles of old shoes will still work with current Look pedals.

 

[Toff]

I would prefer road shoes to match my bike. I'm fitting a 90s Campag C-Record chainset(9/16 thread) so does this mean I can't use Shimano pedals? I was thinking of Look Keos but dont know if they are any good or easy to use? To confuse things more I've seen a pair of NOS Adidas Eddy Merckx old style racing shoes with cleats on Ebay. Do I move with the times or stick to what i know? Any advice appreciated.

9/16 inch threads are the stndard for road and MTB, so you can use any modern pedals. Look Keos are both good and easy to use. I use Look Deltas but Keos are essentially the same. (Just different enough to give Look a new patent to stop competition for the next decade...)

One word of caution with using older shoes with clipless pedals. They look fantastic, and I personally love them, but when clipless pedals first came out the shoe designers took a few years to realise that the shoes need a different design to handle the sideways shearing forces of clipping and unclipping all the time. The early shoes did not have the appropriate reinforcement around the heel, and would quickly stretch, and then tear at the heel when used with clipless pedals as opposed to traditional cleats. The lightweight mesh ones are the most succeptible. I would not recommend them for daily use: save them for special occasions...

 

[kula]

One word of caution with using older shoes with clipless pedals. They look fantastic, and I personally love them, but when clipless pedals first came out the shoe designers took a few years to realise that the shoes need a different design to handle the sideways shearing forces of clipping and unclipping all the time. The early shoes did not have the appropriate reinforcement around the heel, and would quickly stretch, and then tear at the heel when used with clipless pedals as opposed to traditional cleats. The lightweight mesh ones are the most succeptible. I would not recommend them for daily use: save them for special occasions...

I've got some old garish Sidi shoes that are still working fine, firstly used on Look but now on Time. No problems with heels on mine, but something to be potentially aware of.