Ask The Experts

Category: Triathlon
Subject:	Clipless Pedals and Shoes
Question:	I've never tried riding with clipless pedals before, but it is something I would like to try. I've read a few articles and gone to the bike store and so far, I'm overwhelmed by all the different pedals and shoes available. The pedals they seem to recommend for a beginner are the $165 SpeedPlays. They said it had a lot of float. The shoes ranged from $80 to $240. I did notice that the "tri" shoes had one velcro strap instead of 3 straps to help out with faster transitions. As a beginner to the clipless pedal world, I'm hoping you can suggest what might work best for me. Right now, I'm still using my mountain bike. I haven't made the plunge yet to purchase a road bike. I'm still thinking about it, but first I'd like to try using clipless pedals on the old bike. Is there a certain brand or certain feature I should be looking at for the pedals and shoes? What are the reasonable price ranges for something I would need as a beginner? Thanks in advance for any information you can throw my way.

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Great question regarding clipless pedals.... Anybody new to clipless pedals would benefit from using a very basic, mountain bike "SPD" system. The SPDs are super easy to get in and out of as they offer connection points on both sides of the pedal. In terms of the pedal world the SPDs are the least expensive and they offer easy adjustment to the spring tension. To go with this I'd look for an inexpensive mountain bike shoe that has 2 or 3 velcro straps. The velcro straps are important for triathlon so that you can get in out of them quickly and easily. Mountain bike shoes are much easier to walk in than a typical road or tri shoe, and only weigh a hair more. If after a few months you decide to upgrade to road or tri bike this SPD, mountain bike shoe pedal combo - you can either leave the system on the dirt ride or transfer it over to the road bike. One quick note about float: float is supposed to allow a bit of movement so that joints (knees) don't get injured by being strapped into a fixed position. I find that all pedals have a touch of float is just that some use it as a marketing angle and some don't. Most folks don't need to concern themselves with a pedal with float. Ian Ian Murray ACMEcoaching.com
Ian Murray
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