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Pedals and Shoes for Cross & Commute

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  • September 25, 2014 at 3:57 pm #22459
    ike2112

    I’ve been cycling on the road ‘properly’ for few years, use Look Keo pedals quite happily and LG road shoes after a failed experiment with expensive but uncomfortable italian shoes.
    Have just ordered a cyclocross bike, as I moved to an area with a lot of trails and old roads, some not fully tarmac. I plan to use the bike mostly for leisure, with occasional commute and occasional cross races.

    I don’t know what to do about pedals and shoes – I’m back to being a novice to be honest. The shop I ordered the bike through is a LBS with enthusiastic staff, but they’re all enthusiastic about different things and I’ve realised over the years they try to sell what the individual salesperson personally likes. Good in some ways, as they’re not pushing the most expensive options all the time, but bad in other ways as its kind of biased.

    The first guy in the LBS said I ought to definitely go for eggbeaters. I looked this up, crank brothers, they look odd to me but I get the idea of 4-sided entry and easy to clear mud. Then I wasn’t sure on shoe – I’m not a fan of the look of MTB shoes with the massive sole that looks like really wide rubber football studs, nor the thick velcro on front. Ideally I’d like something that looks a bit more trainer-like and that I could conceivably walk in (when I do commute, its about 300 yards walk from where I park my bike, to further down the street where I’d get changed). They recommended the Shimano MT34 and said they’d be fine for cross for a beginner. They did not however have sizes for me to try on.
    Whilst I was still in the shop I remembered I’d seen “pub pedals” on eBay (http://pubpedals.com), plastic clip-on things that attach to eggbeaters to make them temporary flat pedals so you can ride in trainers. I asked another member of staff just to check these were what I thought, and that they’re for the crank brother eggbeaters I’d been shown. This second member of staff said he reckoned I’d actually be better off with the Candy crank brothers pedals, either 2 or 3 because the entry-level are plastic/nylon, so contradicted his colleague. I’ve looked them up, and right enough Candy 2 or 3 look sturdier than the basic one, but even then I can’t really tell why 2 is better than 3 or why one of them is £20 more than the other.

    So then I went to an Evans to try some shoes. I explained the above to the staff. The guy near laughed in my face. He said crank brothers have lots of problems and its common that people warranty them within a year. He said they only had the Candy 1 in stock, showed me them, but said he would not use them. He recommended SPD. He said they are more likely to clog up with mud, but that all cleats do when riding cross. He recommended I buy a touring shoe (Specialized Sport RBX) for regular use, and a proper MTB shoe for cross. That bumps the price up quite a bit, and also means I cant just take the bike out on trainers if I’m nipping to the shops. Or can I – can you ride on, for example a Shimano XT Trail SPD pedal in trainers without it being very slippery?
    And now as I write this I think I see one-sided SPDs, which wont be as convenient for cross but I guess would be in general and similar to my current situation with look road pedals.

    Just looking for some guidance from the wider cycling audience and people’s experience of cross riding, pedals to use for a mix of cross and road/leisure, and experiences of the crank brothers pedals.

    Thanks

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  • October 1, 2014 at 8:51 am #815897
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    IngloriousLou

    Shimano mo-88
    Perfect
    Shimano mo-88

    Perfect commuting shoe, under £55 if look around.

    Don’t worry about sizing too much, I wear 44 in ‘normal’ shoes and 44 was right for in these.

    Whatever shoe you race in will probably be unusable for commuting on Monday if race Sunday, might be worth getting 2 pairs.

    September 30, 2014 at 11:25 pm #815895
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    ike2112

    Thanks for the comments
    Thanks for the comments all.
    An update, and a further question:

    I’ve ordered M520s, they’re cheap enough to have a tryout and see.
    I’ve also been gifted some Crank Bros Candy pedals, although they are the older kind not the 1/2/3 options available now so if I like them I don’t know how close they are to what is available now (from further reading online, it looks like the old ones were more widely loved than the new ones, the main benefit of which is now lightness and colour-coordination).

    I haven’t however been able to decide on shoes.
    The Shimano RT82s look fine and good value, but I can’t see how I’d be able to do cross in them, the soles look as smooth as bowling alley shoes?
    Anyone tried Pearl Izumi X-Alp Seek V MTB Shoes? Looks like I can get a set of those for half price, and they look trainer-like but with a good tread for cross and SPD. However being trainer-like, I suspect they will be heavy with water very quickly, and I have no idea whether lace-up shoes will survive rain etc? Wouldn’t laces stretch?

    Thanks all!

    September 28, 2014 at 8:37 am #815893
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    PonteD

    Just got rid of my crank bros
    Just got rid of my crank bros candy’s these were the original ones, so no 1,2 or 3 nonsense. I reckon they’ve been on at least 10 years, but not really had much punishment, maybe a few hundred miles at the most.

    After bashing them one too many times I’ve retired them, and would have got another pair, but the reviews of the modern ones make them sound rubbish compared to the old ones. I’ve now switched to SPD’s with a pair of shimano M540’s. TBH, for commuting, I can’t tell the difference from the Candys, they both click in and out, the SPD’s do have a more positive click when you move off, but that’s about it. Not used them in the mud, so can’t comment on their shedding ability.

    The only problems I’ve had is internal clicking and grinding from the M540, Google this and it’s a common problem (both M520/540 pedals suffer from this), nothing a bit of a strip and grease doesn’t solve though.

    The M520 pedals are pretty much the same pedal but they have a plastic screw that holds the whole thing together (this needs an adapter in true shimano style, but it can be found for a couple of £’s) and they fasten to your crank using a spanner rather than an Allen key. These can be had for £16, as opposed to the M540 at a whopping £28. I’ve got both and prefer the 540 purely from the aesthetics POV, but you can’t argue with £16 for a pair of decent quality pedals, even getting a pair just for the cleats and spare parts is worth it.

    September 27, 2014 at 3:43 pm #815891
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    gazza_d

    2 options which don’t seem to
    2 options which don’t seem to have been mentioned.

    Shimano M324 – double sided with SPD cleat on one & standard rattrap style on the other. dirt cheap and great for trail/commute/leisure riding although possibly a little light for cross races themselves. Pick any SPD compatible shoe you want to use with them.

    Power Grips – basically a massive diagonal strap bolted to a conventional pedal (MTB beartrap usually) foot goes in at an angle & tightens up automatically with any shoe. These were my preferred choice for MTB with lightweight walking boots. Brilliant in mud or any other wet sticky rubbish.

    As for shoes, I have ridden in the one pair of cheap Halfords bikehut trainer style shoes for the last couple of years & they have performed in all weathers as well as anything from the big names. Yea, the metal cleat can get a bit sketchy, but that is true of any shoe. Trainer style so look OK down the pub or around the shop. I have even worn them in the office for a day without comment. Buy them (or similar cheap uns from Aldi or Sports Direct) & some race specific ones for the races.

    September 27, 2014 at 1:46 pm #815889
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    KirinChris

    Yep, SPD M520 or Time
    Yep, SPD M520 or Time Atac.

    The walkability and durability is the reason why they are the pedal of choice for most audaxers.

    September 27, 2014 at 12:58 pm #815887
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    bikebot

    Everyone will tell you SPD,
    Everyone will tell you SPD, because it’s the correct answer. Cheap, reliable, low maintenance. The M520 is the basic double sided pedal, fine for MTB, CX and commuting where you need to unclip all the time. I’m using that and the single sided A520.

    If you want a slim touring/road style SPD shoe that isn’t MTB, the two leading options are the Specialized Sport RBX and the Shimano RT82. I wear the RT82, but I wouldn’t recommend one over the other as they’re very similar and it’s down to the shape of your feet. Shimano shoes fit me near perfectly as I have narrow feet, whereas most people have to go up at least one size. The RBX on the other hand felt horrible to me, whereas others have rated them really well.

    September 26, 2014 at 12:54 pm #815885
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    Tomsk

    I use SPDs on my road (M540)
    I use SPDs on my road (M540) and mountain bike (M780) with Shimano XC50N shoes. I used to have M520s too. They’re all bulletproof. I’ve ridden my MTB in some pretty disgusting conditions this year and have had no real problems with the pedals clogging with mud.

    The XC50N (XC51N for this year) is a mid range XC/CX shoe that is nice and waterproof. I’ve used them for the last year. Having dry feet while slopping through mud and puddles is lovely. They can also mount spikes for CX. They’re chunky shoes, but I like the aesthetic.

    September 26, 2014 at 11:57 am #815883
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    Gemianini

    I ride Time Atac on both my
    I ride Time Atac on both my mountain bike and cyclocross/commuter. Double sided entry, shed mud very well and I’ve had no problems from two sets of pedals for several years. Very small, brass cleat on the shoe and I have an old beaten up pair of Specialized mtb shoes which don’t have such and aggressive sole – easy to walk in and don’t look too ridiculous riding on the road.

    September 26, 2014 at 11:35 am #815881
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    arfa

    +1 for SPD & shimano
    +1 for SPD & shimano RT82.
    Have had several thousand problem free miles in them and you can walk/run in the shoeas as needs be.

    September 26, 2014 at 9:47 am #815879
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    Nick0

    I’ve ridden just over 3,000
    I’ve ridden just over 3,000 miles (in all weather) in the last year on the M520s, no maintenance at all on them, and they’re still going strong. My commute is 14 miles into the centre of London with a mixture of rush hour traffic and long stretches and they are spot on, when I need the pedal lift/rotation they are fine. I’ve ridden my carbon road (as opposed to ‘regular’ steel commuter) for the commute, with SPD SL shoes and much prefer the ease/speed of clipping/unclipping of SPD, especially when there’s a squeaky bum moment. The M520s come with a removable flat side so they can be used with flat shoes too. So they get my vote too!
    In terms of shoes, for MTBing I’ve got some Lake MX100 shoes which have a vibram sole, they are as good/comfortable as ‘proper’ walking shoes and even come with a cover for the cleat. For the commute I use Shimano RT82, excellent, comfortable cycling shoes, smooth soled and fine for short walks. Both are very good value, excellent cycling shoes IMHO!
    Hope that helps,
    Nick0

    September 25, 2014 at 10:00 pm #815877
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    Colin Peyresourde

    Joemmo says a lot of good
    Joemmo says a lot of good stuff here. I was in a similar ground to you a while back and ended up with the M520. They’re very easy to use, and I’ve done no maintenance to them, though I’ve not exactly ridden them through a peat bog or anything. The only down side is that there’s an awful lot of float – but I should think the egg beaters are worse for that.

    I too looked for a shoe that looked like it could be a shoe and take a cleat. The results are never great. I have something by Specialized which is akin to a ‘smart trainer’. I just think they look like two slightly furry turds on my feet now, with minimal performance. You’re not really going to be able to skip the effect of a cleat in the sole so go for something that does the job it was meant to do.

    The other option is wearing toe clips. I did that for years and you don’t lose much from it. You can get a good pedal stroke and wear trainers without going to the expense of a the clipless. Though a good clipless shoe and pedal combo cannot be beaten.

    Basically you’re heading to a half-way house with your remit and so you are likely to be a bit disappointed, but I should think you can still get something you are 80% satisfied with.

    September 25, 2014 at 9:42 pm #815875
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    IngloriousLou

    M520
    M520

    September 25, 2014 at 9:42 pm #815873
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    joemmo

    I can’t comment on the crank
    I can’t comment on the crank brothers but I’ll be the first of several people to say ‘shimano M520’. Double sided spd, less than £15, genuinely bombproof. The drawback is that they aren’t much good for more than short rides in non cycling shoes so you could look at the m545 or m530 which have a surrounding platform but they still won’t be great in trainers.

    The 530s are really nice off road because the platform supports the shoe and makes it easier to clip in but they are quite hefty, you could also look at the a520 which has a clip on one side and flat on the other but you wouldn’t really want that if you are planning to race.

    Shoes wise, I prefer MTB race type shoes but there is a wide selection of trail shoes as well that have a bit more flexibility and less obviously bike-shoe styling.

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