Touring pedals advice?

[strawpanda]

I’m nearly 52 and came back to cycling a year ago. In August I did a 1450 mile solo European tour (Lancaster > Stockholm > Amsterdam > Lancaster) on my adapted Marin (mudguards, lights, bell, pannier rack & bags and Schwalbe Marathon tyres) which has traditional pedals and toe clips. Since then I’ve got a very nice Sunday best road bike with Look pedals and Sidi shoes. For touring I’ve just got a s/h Mercian which has SPD pedals that I’m unfamiliar with. My inclination is to buy some simple pedals and toe clips for this bike - but which ones? I’ve seen some cheap AXCS pedals and Zéfal clips on eBay...

[Doughboy]

Avoid toeclips, also known as 'cleats of death' since they are hard to get out of in an emergency. I use SPD pedals for commuting, with a clip-on 'normal' pedal on one side for when I'm wearing ordinary shoes.

[Barry]

Sorry Doughboy, but I must disagree with you about toeclips being difficult to get out of in an emergency.

THIS IS A MYTH!!!

In the old days when racing cyclists used shoe plates and cleats, they put their feet into the clip and then tightened the strap down to hold the foot in place. So, to remove their foot, they NEEDED to release the strap first.

Nowadays, I don't believe anyone still uses shoe plates and cleats with toeclips and straps, therefore there is NO NEED to tighten the strap down after riding off, and no need to release the strap before removing your foot. If you adjust the strap length correctly, so that your foot slips into the clip upon starting off, although held securely in place whilst riding, it comes out when called upon with no problem. I have found (over the last 12,000 miles or so since returning to cycling) that engaging and removing my foot from toeclips and straps is EASIER and QUICKER than using "clipless" pedals and shoe cleats.

Regarding the double sided pedals, they require fiddling around upon moving off from rest to ensure that the correct side for the shoe is uppermost. A pedal with clips and straps always hangs in the correct attitude to be flipped over and your foot to slide into.

OK, I know that I am old fashioned, a Luddite even. But I have formed this opinion from riding and observing other riders.

Just one proviso - you need to wear fairly smooth soled shoes for clips and straps to work efficiently. Heavy treaded trainers get caught up on the cage of a normal rat trap pedal.

A further advantage (apart from the saving in cost by not having to buy expensive pedals and special shoes), is that walking in your ordinary shoes is easier than in special shoes with metal cleats screwed to the soles.

[Pedalling Pete]

You may have made up your mind by now, SP, but why reject SPDs? Ever since the 1960s I wanted the pedal/shoe attachment offered by shoeplates with clips & straps, combined with the ability to step off the bike and walk normally. What Shimamo did some 15 years back was to add the quick-exit technology from ski bindings, and easy clip-in with double sided pedals, plus recessed cleats. And you want to reject those advances?

Assuming your SPDs are the double sided ("off-road") type, get a pair of SPD compatible shoes with rigid sole, and set up the cleats to your personal position. Just make sure that the pedal release tension is adjusted down to minimum, but take care not to go too far and release the spring. If you are unsure get a good shop to do it.

Give yourself a week or two to get used to the world of SPDs, and you'll never return to the dark days of 20th century bike technology!

[strawpanda]

Not sure which way to go yet but inclined to be a Luddite like Barry. If I go that way what pedals would anyone suggest for a Mercian touring bike and a fancy carbon fibre road bike?

[PW]

I started with a pair of Time ATACs. I was lucky to get top of the range Carbons cheap when the design changed slightly. Shoes are Carnac Passy. The platform is big enough to spread the load, no hotspots in the foot, the shoe floats on the pedal so no knee troubles, easy in/out & the shoes are walkable for at least short distances, eg around a campsite, supermarket or shopping street. I won't be going back to toeclips except for those journeys where I need non-cycling footwear & I keep a hack bike for that purpose.

[mas051]

I recently decided to go clipless, however as a lot of my riding is to go somewhere reather than for the sake of riding I frequently have to ride in normal shoes, to this end I was able to obtain a set of platforms that mount a cleat on the underside. This means that when using normal shoes I clip these platforms into the pedals and have old-style toeclips.

Matthew

[Doughboy]

OK, so toeclips are now safe. I hear you can also get really good gaslamps for your bike, should electric ones offend

(only kidding)

[Elucasr]

Read your "Cycle", Spa Cycles, Pedals, MKS AR2, £13 pair. Our DA Vice President/Chairman and myself have been using them for years.

[mac_ray]

The problem with spd's is that they often don't have a great deal of "float". This means that your feet are locked into a position with a limited amount of lateral movement. This can lead to problems with the knees and other muscles. I speak from experience. I love spd's, but my right foot has a natural splay to the right which means that in the spd it is forced into an unatural inward angle. For long distances, especially when touring, toe clips and straps work better for me. I would agree that spd's are easier to get out of in an emergency.

[Shen]

I have a considerable splay on my left leg due to a broken leg in childhood. My foot points off to the left by near 30 degrees. I use SPD quite comfortably by turning the shoe on the cleat to compensate. The cleat sits at right angles to the pedal and the shoe is set off to the left in relation if that makes sense? I dunno much about float but I do know that my SPD set up is safe and comfortable.

[kwn]

I use toeclips, not because I am a luddite but because I have very wide feet an no-on e does bike shoes that fit.
And after about 10000k or touring I have no complaints about clips.

[trk1983]

I definitely agree with toeclips for touring - I recently did the end to end initially with SPDs - and was in shear knee pain hell by Day 3 south of Bristol.

I had to either pay a sports scientist loads (probably just to tell me to raise my saddle by a few mm) or switch to toeclips. I choose the latter option. Shame I didn't do it before Fort William tho.