Cycling

6 responses so far ↓

• 1 TREVOR L // Jul 26, 2009 at 6:16 pm

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  If you are just starting out, you don,t want to get into expensive clipless pedals and shoes yet, decide what kind of cycling you want to do, road, off-road, mix of both, and go to your local bike shop, they will advise you.
  You don,t need to spend a fortune to get a serviceable bike to start on, £150 to £200 will get you an alloy frame with suspension and disc brakes, don,t have one with rear suspension unless you are intent on fairly serious off-road riding, not for a beginner.
  Many councils run cycling courses of one sort or another, most employ a cycling officer, for instance Sandwell have a cycling and walking officer and provide backing to a club called “Cycling in Sandwell”.
  There was also a scheme called “Biking Buddies” who helped to get people started, but I don,t know if this is still running.
  Ring your local council and ask if they have anything similar.

• 2 BuRnDriVE // Jul 29, 2009 at 2:11 pm

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  Best place for that will be surfing the net Google it

• 3 John Paul // Jul 30, 2009 at 2:37 pm

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  I am with Trevor on this. There are so many types of pedals clipless clip and just platform pedals. Cycling shoes Jerseys and racing equiptment buy what fits and feels good. Visit your Local Cyclery. I have been commutting so I use mason shoes and rat trap pedals with clips because stop and go trafic I may have to get off the pedals quickly.

• 4 sfr1224 // Aug 1, 2009 at 6:12 pm

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  Hum…

  A good place to read about pedals and shoes (and other) road biking stuff is roadbikereview.com. The page for Look Pedals is:

  You can find review on shoes here:

  For the record, a buddy of mine uses Look Keo pedals and really likes them. Personally, I like Speedplay. While expensive, they are super easy to clip into and out of and the cleats last forever.

  My buddy likes Sidi shoes. I’ve always bought Shimano shoes. I’d recommend you go to your local bike shop and try on shoes. Given that you need comfortable, well fitting shoes, you eally don’t want to buy over the internet.

  Hope this helps.

• 5 w w // Aug 3, 2009 at 12:14 am

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  yeah, check out roadbikereview.com & mtbr.com to get some info on pedals. as for shoes, don’t buy them online, until you know what fits! some brands run narrower/wider than others. also, make sure the screws attatching the cleats are the right length! I had to replace one on the fly during a 75 mile ride and had screw numbing my foot for about 60 miles!

  I have time pedals on my road bike & spd’s on my mtb & commuter. I’m condisering changing the time to look keo. I started with the spd’s on all three bikes. they’re double sided which is good for newbies, you don’t need to worry about flipping your pedals around to click in!

• 6 Matthew H // Aug 3, 2009 at 12:09 pm

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  I know it isn’t the question you asked, but please, do not skimp on shorts. Buy yourself a great pair of bike shorts (with a good chamois) and you’ll have far more fun (and far less chafing/soreness) than if you try to do serious cycling in a pair of old sweats or running shorts.

  About pedals, I’m a big fan of SPDs (Shimano) or eggbeaters (crank brothers). both allow you to wear a shoe with recessed cleats. A shoe with recessed cleats usually has a rubber bottom with good traction, so that if you aren’t clipped in, you’ll still be able to pedal in a circle (just sub-optimally). This is very helpful when you are just starting out and for in-town riding with a lot of starting/stopping. A few of my friends ride pedals with a platform (no clip/cleat) on one side and an SPD entry on the other. This lets them ride clipped in or not, depending on what kind of shoes they have on. Very cool.