Which to go for? decided that if I can go next month with commuting via bike and start doing night commuting im going to reward myself, and buy gear

So folks... what should I go for?

Clipless (SPD, Look, etc..)
Toe Clips and straps?!? no idea how these work for getting into and out of the pedals.

or the half way house... Power grips - Diagonal straps that fit to metal platforms and provide tension when you twist your foot in them.

Should also mention maybe that im gonna buy a Trunk rack bag as well so I dont have to carry this damn backpack around with me everywhere carrying crap in it.

Edit: Also.. im discussing it now as its my thing im going to go "look.. do it for a month you lazy bastard and you can get new shiny gear!!!"

Wouldnt have anything other than SPDs now Ive experienced the joy of using them (strictly road though, I wouldnt use them off-road as I am too lame)

but it all depends really....   I use SPDs but I only ever ride my bike from my house.....   back to my house with X amount of miles in between. So I love all that kind of thing, as I only ever ride my bike for leisure / going fast, So I dont mind wearing them

For commuting, I dont know if I could be bothered as I wouldnt want the whole performance thing, id just be wanting to get to work comfortably and without stinking when I got there

clipping in and out isnt a problem though in Traffic id say so dont let that put you off, pedals can be made easy to unclip from / into.

getting into an SPD is simple...  push down  you hook the front of the cleat in, and push your heel down and CLACK! in you go,..  twist to get out

the noise, of it all working is always satisfying

Pedals: Wellgo, either the mtb spd (wpd801)*, or the flip cage/spd version.

Shoes: Casual walkable spd compatible.

I personally just like rat trap pedals w/o clips for commuting/utility--then again, I often ride in wooden clogs.


*the 801s are by far the best value of any bike component Ive ever used. Do not get Wellgos cheaper version, as theyre not fully spd interchangable.

Cheap as chips peddles there max, rather impressed

May get SPD, but the whole walking around with a cleat digging into my heel might suck.

As a general rule do SPD pedals (i.e. those flip peddles) come with the necessary gear to fit into some cycling shoes? As most shoes come with no hardware as far as I can see.

Quote from: snellgroveWouldnt have anything other than SPDs now Ive experienced the joy of using them (strictly road though, I wouldnt use them off-road as I am too lame)

but it all depends really....   I use SPDs but I only ever ride my bike from my house.....   back to my house with X amount of miles in between. So I love all that kind of thing, as I only ever ride my bike for leisure / going fast, So I dont mind wearing them

For commuting, I dont know if I could be bothered as I wouldnt want the whole performance thing, id just be wanting to get to work comfortably and without stinking when I got there

clipping in and out isnt a problem though in Traffic id say so dont let that put you off, pedals can be made easy to unclip from / into.

getting into an SPD is simple...  push down  you hook the front of the cleat in, and push your heel down and CLACK! in you go,..  twist to get out

the noise, of it all working is always satisfying

Your saying you just randomly get on your bike and do a circuit then come home?! Random!!! Would never ever consider doing that unless there was a point to the trip. lol.

Perhaps Ill change my mind when I get fitter or something and want more of a challenge than a daily commute.

I guess you just take your bike out for a random ride, do you have any way of selecting routes or was it just randomness? or map browsing that resulted in a route?.

So you rate SPDs as good then, what im mainly worried about is being unable to get out of the things if I need to stop.

Quote from: M3ta7h3adAs a general rule do SPD pedals (i.e. those flip peddles) come with the necessary gear.

Always.

Unless you think youre actually going to ride the bike in street shoes from time to time, the 801s are superior. They have an outboard sealed cartridge bearing and an inner bushing. If they feel a little unsmooth, disassemble and grease the bushing and theyll feel like $100 pedals.

lol

clogs.

Quote from: M3ta7h3adYour saying you just randomly get on your bike and do a circuit then come home?! Random!!! Would never ever consider doing that unless there was a point to the trip. lol.

Perhaps Ill change my mind when I get fitter or something and want more of a challenge than a daily commute.

I guess you just take your bike out for a random ride, do you have any way of selecting routes or was it just randomness? or map browsing that resulted in a route?.

thats pretty much it, yes..  If I need to go somewhere, I generally go hop in the car

car = transport
bike = fun, leisure, wind-in-hair eyes-watering racing cars down hills / in towns  etc

I have a 10, a 15 and a 25 and a 35 mile circuit. Its generally a 15 after work, with mates if we feel like it and longer stuff @ the weekends.

Last saturday, we kept riding along the bmth promenade until we ran out of promenade which was fun you are aware that it may go on for a long way and when you reach the end, your half way through the bike ride. bit scary..   only came to ~35 miles in the end!

QuoteSo you rate SPDs as good then, what im mainly worried about is being unable to get out of the things if I need to stop.

I havent crashed due to SPDs yet, but both of my riding buddies have, one especially quite a few times - but he has the pedals pretty tight, so he cant whip his feet out of them quickly if he needs to - I have mine quite easy to get out of initial rides with them was weird, as you forget all about them until the moment you go to put your foot down :shock: then you have to override the fear and "WOAHH LEMME OUTTA THESE  ARRGH" and remember to TWIST, as pulling just wont be gettin ya nowhere.

Ive had a few close moments but its 2nd nature now

as for walking, I bought mountain bike SPD pedals and shoes the cleat sticks out as per normal, but theres big off-road tread which comes to the same level as the cleat, so you can walk on them fairly normally...   just ignore the loud CLACK CLACK CLACKing sound from the studs and metal cleat whacking against the ground every step

:edit:

could always try the straps type of thing first, they probably arent that expensive. Its pretty much my first experience of being attached to the pedal on a mates mountain bike, and tbh I felt right at home the moment I tried it, so when I bought my racer SPDs seemed the only way to go

I :wub:  my SPDs.  In fact, I wear the shoes any chance I get, even if its only for the 5min ride to lectures  I use the shimano equivalent of those Wellgos on my singlespeed, the M324.  On my ribble I have M540s, same as snell.

nice

lol snell you nutter I spose when im living in cardiff Id ride to caerphilly for a laugh or if im bored, but I dont really think theres anywhere around me that makes for a leisurely ride, itd be all hill one way, and all downhill the other. I have found routes to friends houses but again it involves following dirt tracks crossing a field and climbing a bloody high and steep hill ( no switchbacks as there arent any roads... just "footpath" which means slightly worn grass track)

Right well from the raves from you lot seems SPDs are the way to go. Im mainly looking for more pulling power when going up the hills. I can get up them easy enough, but I want more speed .

Co-incidentally expect almost monthly threads like this one coming up now, as I think if I manage to cover 400miles in a month (this month... as its the beginning ) then I should qualify for a little cycling treat . Already considering experimenting with gear ratios on my bike to see if I can ride everything at 42x16 lol.

Was looking at a guys singlespeed today and awww... it just looked so clean, not just the geary bit... but the fact he had only one cable going back on his frame, and no clutter on the downtube with a front derailier. Pretty... but thats for another month down the line

I would have thought most people here ride "for pleasure" rather than from/to someplace.  If I only rode when I needed to, I would only cover like 5 miles a day max  :?

Quote from: funkychicken9000I would have thought most people here ride "for pleasure" rather than from/to someplace.  If I only rode when I needed to, I would only cover like 5 miles a day max  :?

Guess so

to be perfectly honest (this sounds like a cop out but bare with me)... I dont have time to do pleasure rides.

What will happen tomorrow:

QuoteWake up 5:30am
Eat Breakfast (something im religious about now, I dont miss it if I have 5 mins spare).
Prepare clothes and start making dinner (Salad, or some form of salad sarnie)
Shower, Dress, Check emails and gubbins if I have 5 mins spare on the puter.

Check over bike, reinflate tyres if needed, and give it a quick once over (remove the twigs and crap from the day before).

Leave house at 8am on bike.
Hit work just before 9am (its normally 9 after I cool off and start working).

Work until 5pm...

Get on bike and ride home takes anything from 2hours to 2.5hours

8pm before I can even start thinking of doing anything after cooling down having another shower and just changing into non-ming clothes.

9pm Have some tea and chill downstairs for a few mins.

10pm come up here and chill on the computer.

Midnight... Bedtime

As my shift changes sometimes I leave my house at 11am but that means I get a little more of a lie in until 6:30am normally.

Saturday and sunday are similar, but I am normally home and sorted by 3pm. Spose I could fit in a leisure ride but with weekend traffic in the town centre, nothing but muddy fields and hills around me (Caerphilly is actually well known for its mountain bike trails apparantly twas what another biker was telling me once), and if I went out itd mean Id not enjoy it especially after doing a 2.5hr ride back from work.

Maybe I will try and fit one in on a sunday perhaps but meh...