Beginner's advice on pedals & shoes?

I've got SPD-SLs on my road bike at the moment, but if I were buying again now I'd probably go for SPDs instead.
If I'm honest I probably went for SLs because of some vague 'it's the rules' roadie thing. I think for most people the actual performance difference when you're in the saddle is basically zero, and SPDs are better in pretty much every other respect.
I won't be binning my SLs anytime soon, but I were starting from scratch that's the route I'd go. And I wouldn't even consider commuting on SLs.

Shimano RT82 shoes take SPD cleats and look like a road shoe, so you won't attract comments from the roadies and the Rules...

I use crank brothers eggbeaters 4 points of entry and previous to that I used their candy pedals as they were my first clipless and I felt that they offered me some reassurance with a standard if small pedal, a psychological thing. Walking isn't a problem with a mtb shoe as the cleat is well out the way, so no duck walking or perilous slips.

@movingtarget - yes, the A520s are single-sided SPDs. You need to get the knack of gently flicking the pedal before clipping in so not as convenient but I like mine. Shimano A600 (http://road.cc/16799) are a slightly lighter version.

I have used Shimano A520s on my commuting bike for the last 5 or 6 years. They were my first experience of clipless pedals and they have been reliable, maintenance free and feel very stable with the relatively big platform. I have not found the one sided design a big deal. They are great value at £25.

You will need a little practice and yes most of us have fallen over at some point on the early days. It is worth the effort to learn though. Recessed cleats are by far the most sensible if you walk more than a few steps around your ride.

I do have SPD-SLs on my 'best bike'. I like the feel of them, but they are less practical. It also an investment as I ended up with two pairs of shoes and winter boots.

Start with SPDs and there is no compelling reason to make a leap to anything else. I have not tried Speedplays though.

Mtb pedals and shoes are probably fine up to Cat3 racer level. If you don't race then don't even consider road pedals as they have no practical advantages and one major flaw ie lack of walkability and several other minor ones such as being harder to clip into and being harder to set up to avoid knee issues.

I switched from Look (after years of slipping and sliding off the bike) to Crank Brothers Candy and mtb shoes and do thousands of miles every year on them. The commuter has the same pedals as the audax bike which technically means I only need one pair of shoes for everything. (The reality though is that I'm the cycling version of Imelda Marcos)

I have bog standard shoes and boots for commuting and carbon soled jobs for "performance" riding. In my experience, at a non-competitive level the stiffness of the shoe makes more difference than whether it's a road or mtb pedal.

Aesthetics are perhaps a factor, in that road pedals may look prettier, but that's really the only reason to go down the road pedal line for 90% of people who ride road bikes.

I can also recommend Time Atac mtb pedals as several people I know swear by them.

@parksey: I'd agree that a recessed cleat would work well for the type of riding you do (urban commuting mixed with longer weekend rides). My one concern on the Shimano A520s that they appear to be a single-sided entry pedal (in the second pic the left is the underside of the pedal and the right is the topside where you click in, dual-sided pedals look identical on top or bottom) meaning that when you're at a standstill ie traffic light you'll be fumbling a bit to click back in which get be a bit stressful with traffic breathing down your neck. Great price tho, gotta love Wiggle. Speedplay Frogs, which I've been happy with for the last 5 years, are pricey new (£63-152 depending on if you go for chromoly vs titanium) but it's easy to get a pair of well cared for used ones for ~£36-49. Had the same pair of stainless Frogs for 4 years with almost no wear on them till I upgraded to a pristine used titanium pair (husband now calls me a weight weenie :P). There's also a great review for dual-sided Shimano M520s here on road.cc too and they're about the same weight as the A520s if you care about those things.

http://road.cc/content/review/43776-shimano-pd-m520-spd-pedal

@Dunluce: Not familiar with strap systems so hopefully someone else will chime in [nudge nudge]

Speedplays is where it's at!

Since I started cycling again a couple of years ago I have never used any sort of clipless system but used pedal straps. At present I use the Ynot strap which I find hold my feet well are easy to get in and out of and I can wear pretty much any shoe I want. I commute every day and have done several sportives including the Dunwich Dynamo last year. So my question is, if I'm not a racer or enter time trials is there any real need for clipless; what benefits would they give me?

I have had Campag Deltas and Look Keos over the years, and found them both ok. Accept comments from others re ease of walking about in SPDs (and nearly fell over big time at a Sportive stop on the Campag cleats - think Fred Astaire!) Top tips, when starting, set minimum spring tension, unclip early on one side when coming to a stop, minimise heroics when traffic comes to a crawl by unclipping ... Not that I have been caught out by these things you understand ...

I have Shimano M424's which I've been using since I went clipless a couple of years ago. The only downside is that they look a little out of place on a road bike and I have had a roadie comment that I've fitted the wrong pedals

The pedals have a fairly big platform and can be used with street shoes, although not for long rides as the metal cleat mechanism is slightly proud of the platform.

I'm interested in the comments about 'float'. Bad knees forced me to give up running, but I've had no knee pain with these pedals (my summer rides are 3/4 hours) - do they 'float' or have I been lucky so far?

I would recommend SPD's for starters, in part as they are fairly affordable, can take a beating, but more importantly easier to get out of in a hurry that 'road' pedals

PS, the only time I have taken a fall was when I put my SPD-Sl cleated foot down on a wet while line at a stop sign

I use SPDs for everything, I like being able to walk around.

+1 for Time, but only because that's what I had on the commuter, as it was inherited from the MTB. I used SPD for many years before switching for Time's greater simplicity, float and mud-clearing ability (the last of which is clearly worthless on a road bike!).

I'm slightly surprised to see so much love for MTB clipless systems as I thought I was some kind of pariah for using MTB boots on the road bike! Much easier to walk in, though, as others have said, and I'm certain I don't notice the extra few grams.

I must be one of the few people that use Time pedals. With lots of float but a still a solid platform to push against I find them to be brilliant. I have used SPd and look keos, though I enjoyed the keos I had a persistent problem with creaking, not sure why, even after greasing and cleaning. Perhaps Time jus fit me as I've got poor knees, but the entry system is just so easy. Step in and click!

FWIW I have run SPDs and SPD SL. I actually prefer SPD SL, especially with the zero-float cleats but I'm now running SPDs on all of my bikes simply because SPD SL doesn't work for 'cross and the benefits of a single pedal system outweigh any downsides to using SPDs on the road in my view.

I also commuted on SPD SL for about a year. I didn't find them too bad to walk short distances in but they were a PITA if I had to use the stairs at the station to change platforms. If you are doing any kind of practical riding (commuting, to the shops etc. ) them SPD or similar are the obvious choice. If you only cycle for fun then perhaps SPD SL or similar are worth looking at.