Clipless recommendations?

[zombi]

This season i’m clip’n in Ladies and Gents.

Whats your suggestions for pedals?

Any I should stay away from?

[Xerien]

I have, but do NOT recommend the Shimano 324 clipless.
For casual riding, they perform well. You have the option of riding clipped, or platform style and you can always just go for a spin with any old pair of shoes.
When things heat up a bit however, the pedals become (for me at least) a liability. The biggest issue I have with them is trying to use them in platform mode while wearing cleated shoes. If I see that the terrain is getting too gnarly for my skill; which doesn’t take much sometimes…; I would clip out and go platform. The problem is the cage doesn’t project high enough to allow the cleat to clear the axle on the platform side, so shoe grip is nearly nonexistant. Slick metal on metal when you’re attempting to power out of something has led me to slip off far too many times.
So – I’d resist the temptation to try to have ‘training wheels’ or the best of both worlds, at least with the 324s. I’ve gotten so fed up with them that I pulled them about a month ago and am running with old school toeclips / straps until I decide where to head next.

Perhaps the crank bros mallets – but I can’t vouch for them personally.

[AK_Dan]

Actually I do use and like the shimano pedals that are ‘both’- the SPD model I beleive, sorry cant remember the #. I use them because I often find myself just jumping on the bike for a quick ride and dont always want to put my bike shoes on.
I can see CA’s point though, so far I havent ran into this too much though. I would make sure and buy decent shoes first as they are half the expense and can remain a constant while you try different pedals until you find what you like.

[Beaker]

I just bought some crank brothers (Smarties) b/c they have a slightly larger platform than my old spd pedals. I have heard from others that they take a little breaking in before they are as easy to get in/out of but mine work pretty well right out of the box.

[flamdrag8]

I really like crank brothers egg beater and mixer. Both are great choices for your first clipless pedal setup.

[brianW]

I went with the Shimano M520’s because of the price and the pedals in my "Spin" class have SPD’s. I was looking very close at eggbeaters and might of gone with them if it wasn’t for the class.

I wouldn’t trade mine in and have no complaints.

[zombi]

I’m leaning towards the Crank Bros. They make little platforms that have cleats on the bottom to clip into your pedals.

Thanks for the heads up on the Shimanos I was looking at those as well.

[netog]

I just bought Crank brothers acid 1 as my first clipless pedals.

I really like the clip and small platform combination. and price is not high.

[Xerien]

"CAndrewsAK" wrote

…
Perhaps the crank bros mallets – but I can’t vouch for them personally.

I can vouch for the mallets now, and so far love them.
Was whining to the owner of the LBS a few weeks ago. He was kind enough to loan me a set of Crank Bros Quattro’s – road pedals, but with the same eggbeater binding. Liked them well enough that I broke down and bought a set of Mallet 1’s. What a difference…
The clip is secure, and the platforms are quite usable when unclipped. I’ve yet to slip from the platform when running unclipped, though I do still get stuck on occasion. At least with these, the sticks are when I’m already falling as opposed to trying to unclip before the nasties as was the case with the spd’s. For me, that’s a good thing, as I’m comfortable enough on them to stay clipped in stuff just slightly beyond my skill level. That was definitely not the case with those 324’s.

Only gripe about them so far is they’re sometimes vague feeling when clipping in.

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