Cleats

[leahb87]

Hi girls,

I'm relatively new to cycling (it's probably been about 6 months) and I'm looking at swapping to cleats/shoes before I complete the Brisbane to Gold Coast in a few weeks. Can anyone give some recommendation as to what is best cleats wise in terms of float? I'm not looking to spend too much, and I have hip displaysia/fairly unstable hips, so an option that gives a little room to move would be great. Also as far as shoes go, something that's relatively easy to get in and out of as I'm looking at starting triathlons soon.

And if there is anyone in Brisbane, do you know of any relatively casual rides that take place on weekends. I ride with my boyfriend but he's a fair bit faster than me and gets frustrated, even on his fixie. I'm probably in the 20 - 25km/h bracket.

Cheers,
Leah

[gururug]

Speedplay, spd ( mtb ). SPD's can be unstable under high torque.

[Eleri]

Hi Leah

If you want something with not much float then stay away from Speedplays. I have zeros and they have loads of float. Speedplays can also be expensive.

You are probably better off with Shimano SPDs which you will find in most shops. Often on mountainbike looking shoes that you can walk in . They are often better for new riders because you can get pedals that are one side normal pedal and the other side you can clip in with the SPDs.

I wouldn't worry too much about torque - given you are a new rider, and a woman that won't be an issue for you.

[Ruby]

I have used the mountain bike SPD's (with flat pedal on the other side), road SPD's, speedplay zeros and the light actions.

I would recommend speedplay out of all of them mostly because both sides are up sides and it makes for one less thing to think about. I know you get used to flipping the SPD's as you set off but with speedplay it just isn't an issue.

I had issues with clipping with the zero's until they wore in which was a bit of a pain but never had issues unclipping.

The down side is that they are kinda expensive and high maintenance compared to others.

[BionicW]

I've got road cleats - they're triangular in appearance - I think Shimano make them. I have had years of pelvis dysfunction problems and these work nicely. I'm also doing the Brisbane to Gold Coast ride - and really looking forward to it.

Best thing for a weak pelvis is to learn to properly activate all of your core musculature. I teach pilates and it's made a really positive difference to my cycling.

Cheers
BW