2 Pedals Questions

[FredS]

I am looking at going with a set of pedals that are both clipless and have a platform that I can ride with or without bike shoes on both the MTB and the recumbent. I am thinking on using on set and just moving them from one bike to the other as I ride them, so here it goes,

1. Can I exchange pedals form MTB to a road bike?

2. Do to a very tight budget; what is a good affordable clipless pedal to start with?

[nameused]

1. As long as they are the same sized thread (which they should be) yes they'll exchange fine.
2. I've always heard crank brothers clipless pedals are good, but I've never actually used clipless...so...not the best judge there

[FredS]

Thanks nameused, the online stores list the pedals in separate categories of MTB and Road bike.

[RobAR]

Hey Fred. That is no problem. I use MTB pedals on my road bike. The cleat on the shoe is what is different.

You can choose from a few:

Shimano M324 will cost about ~$70 and have better sealed bearings than the others.

If dirt entry isn't an issue, the Wellgo WPD-95B is a nice pedal for ~$55. I have a pair of these on my Trek FX.

There is another company that makes a cheaper one but, I would advise against it. I won't even name the company, even tho they make decent stuff otherwise.

I've seen the Wellgo's on sale at ~$45 on occasion.

[JonB]

Quote:2. I've always heard crank brothers clipless pedals are good, but I've never actually used clipless...so...not the best judge there

It's a good design, shed's mud really well and has plenty of float (Shimano ones tend to clog easily, and the lack of float* can cause problems with some people). It has two major drawbacks however:

1. They aren't that cheap anymore

2. The bearings are made of cheese and last about as long as an ISIS bottom bracket (i.e. 30 seconds)

Time pedals are very similar to Crank Bros in terms of design and have the same amount of float, but they have more of a platform, better bearings and are cheaper. If my knees ever heal up I might buy a set of these:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=4739
(OK, they're the Downhill model, but you won't find a large platform clipless pedal for less)

If you want cheap SPDs to learn in though, Shimano M525s are the cheapest pedal you can buy and are quite hardy. However if you need to use normal shoes they have no platform at all, and the only ones I'm aware of that have one side flat, one side SPD are Shimano.


*float is the amount of movement your feet have on the pedal. Road SPDs tend to have almost none.

[JohnV]

Fred, I've got you covered. I faced the same dilemma when I went clipless and had two bikes that I ride on a regular basis. I went with the Shimano M520 MTB pedals for two reasons, one they were less expensive than the others (I found them for $40.00 on sale) and the cleats fit more brands of shoes than proprietary road bike cleats. On MTB shoes, the cleats are usually protected by the sides of the shoes whereas with road shoes, you actually walk on the cleats causing them to be replaced more often. Both the hybrid and road bike now have the M520 clipless pedals on them and a set of Decksters solves the problem of not having to swap the pedals.

Decksters are an aluminum platform that you attach your SPD style cleats to and snap them into the pedal so you have clipless on one side, platform on the other. Because they twist on and off, you can transfer them to either bike when you want to or not use them at all. They normally stay on the hybrid but I have used them on the road bike as well. Because I have two sets of pedals, one set of cleats went on the shoes, the other on the Decksters. Also, Shimano makes a nylon and plastic reflector that clips into any of their SPD pedals. It has the cleat built into it but because its nylon, it isn't something that you would want to use on a regular basis, like the Decksters, as it will wear out quickly. I use them only for night riding.

Another reason I like this setup is that I can let someone ride my hybrid with regular shoes while I ride the road bike clipless. I have a friend that doesn't have a bike but rides with me a lot and this is how I solve that situation. If you want, I can attach a photo of the Decksters on my hybrid so you can see where I am going with this.

[RobAR]

Thanks, JonB but, isn't the Shimano 525 (now the 545) a pedal with Pop-Up binding? Those are a nice option and it is good that you brought that to our attention.
I think Fred is looking for clipless on one side and a regular cage on the other, though. The 525/545 is primarily aimed at the BMX crowd where in and out happens every 20 seconds.

Bearings made of cheese? I like cheese. Monterey Jack? Sharp Cheddar?

[JohnV]

I decided to take the pics anyway. This pic is the Decksters on the bike, platform side up. It doesn't grip very well if you are using dress shoes or shoes with slick soles on them.
[attachment=1913]

This is platform side down, so if I were wearing my bike shoes, I can still clip in if I want to.
[attachment=1914]

Bottom side of the Decksters with the SPD cleat. The holes on the side are for guides (come with the Decksters) used for SPD compatible cleats, but are not required for the SPD cleats.
[attachment=1915]

Since I bought the pedals at different times, it wasn't as hard on the pocketbook as buying everything at once. Obviously, the first set of pedals went on the road bike. The pedals on the hybrid went on after I was comfortable riding with clipless pedals on the road bike.

[FredS]

Thanks everyone, I think I go with the shimano m520 mtb pedals, next month I start looking at shows and try to figure out the sizing for them.

[FredS]

Ok, I know I said the shimano, but I like the looks of the Wellgo M919 Clipless

[nameused]

I have a question that I feel kind of goes along with this post. I recently rode clips for the first time on my friends road bike. It felt like my feet couldn't move anywhere at all. When we got back from our ride he said mountain bike pedals tend to let your foot move more freely. Is there really that much of a difference between the float of road and mountain pedals?

[JonB]

Yes, that tends to be the way.

The road ones make it more efficient, though if you don't have the cleats in the 100% exact position you can get knee problems,

Mountain bikes ones have more float so that if you clip a rock with your foot it doesn't break your ankle or disengage the pedal.


FredS: no idea what they're like, didn't know they existed.

[JohnV]

Fred, The M919 uses the 98A cleat which is the same as the Shimano 51 cleat used on the M520 pedals. The major difference between the two pedals is price. You can find the M520's on sale for what you would normally pay for the Wellgo pedals but they are both good pedals. Also, if you want to use the Decksters on your M919 pedals, you can. You just have to use the cleat guides that come with the Decksters when using Wellgo cleats. I don't know why, it just states that in the instruction sheet.

[FredS]

Ok, Thanks John