Pedals and shoes! The big jump

[Bal4]

Currently swawing towards buying pedals and shoes for the road bike as have been told by so many people that they are worth it.Looked on wiggle and saw PD-R540 SPD SL pedals for £30 and DHB R1 road shoes for £50!Any other ideas or products people would advise at good price?Also I am a size 8 or 8.5 in normal shoes so what size is advised in dhb cycle shoes?

[Paul4]

Don't know about the DHB shoes, but Chain Reaction are cheaper for the pedals http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=5369And service seems to be pretty good too.

[puddings]

if you use CRC pay with paypal due to on going credit card security issues (there are several other threads relating to this on this forum and others

[Mike the bike]

Well now Bal4, there's a coincidence. I run exactly the combination you mention and I get along fine with both.Couldn't tell you what the pedals cost because they came with a new bike but my daughter bought me the DHB shoes for around the same price. I've had them for 2 and a bit years, never had a problem of any kind and so I suppose you could call them a bargain. I got my regular size 8 and they fit well. I've completed many day-long rides and a few centuries and haven't suffered any discomfort.Go for it.

[Bal4]

Well that's them ordered so fingers crossed they arrive and fit ok! Hopefully I won't kill myself on the first few outings n will b able to report back in a week or 2.

[Drooper]

Take a bit of time getting used to clipping into the pedals if you've not used SPD-SL before.  I was used to double-sided SPDs and found that I was frantically thrashing away as I tried to clip in to the SLs initially.  I'm getting more confident with them now, but I'm still not sure whether I'll ever be 100% assured when clipping in, which can be a bit challenging when pulling away at a busy junction or roundabout.  I still have a quick glance down to check that the pedal is almost in the right position before I try to engage.  I'm not sure if that's advisable, but it doesn't feel intuitivejust yet.  once clipped in they're spot-on though.  I use the 540s and Shimanos low end road shoes (RO63s?).  Both work great for me but I did opt for a size up from my standard fitting on the shoes having read that this can be a wise move - not sure if this only applies to Shimanos right enough.  I've got pretty (gorgeous in fact)  narrow, slight feet as it is, so they must be sized very much on the neat side.

[Paul4]

Drooper, I too have wonderful narrow feet and used Specialized shoes which I found to be the same size as my normal shoes, whether that was through luck I couldn't say, although I have been told that specialized also manufacture narrow and a wide fits.

[Mike the bike]

Mmmmm, you know what they say about men with small feet.

[Drooper]

Forget the width....experience the length!

[Tom Staniford]

Mike the bike wrote (see)Mmmmm, you know what they say about men with small feet.They make fantastic dancers? I agree. You should see the shapes I throw. Out on the floor, like.

[Paul4]

So right Tom, it's what you do that matters!!!!

[Bal4]

Well they've arrived!!!Small query about sizing though if people can help! I can feel the front of the shoe with my big toe but it doesnt feel to cramped or tight, should I send them back for the size bigger?Not sure how fitted the shoes should be.

[Richard Hallett]

Bal4 wrote (see)Well they've arrived!!!Small query about sizing though if people can help! I can feel the front of the shoe with my big toe but it doesnt feel to cramped or tight, should I send them back for the size bigger?Not sure how fitted the shoes should be.It's possible the shoe is slightly too small. Cycling shoes need to be a snug fit - unlike running shoes, your toes won't get mashed into the front of the shoe by the impact of footfall - but a toe touching as desribed may well start to hurt after a while on the bike.On the other hand, if you have long toes and the shoes are a good fit everywhere else, you do have the option, if it turns out the contact does cause discomfort, of taking a craft knife to the offending site and making a small slot to relieve pressure. It's something the pros used to do a lot - Greg LeMond for example - but may not have to do so much these days as foot comfort is so important to perfromacne and custom shoe fit is increasingly used.

[Bal4]

Decided to return them! I have ordered the size up so will just have to wait a wee bit longer now.Can't get the small pair returned till tuesday due to sodding bank hol weekend.

[Martin Hayman]

Richard, what you recommend is certainly the traditional advice, but I was told by Condor Cycles' expert fitter Carl that latest thinking favours a larger size. Specifically, he told me, the ergonomist who advises Specialized on its 'Body Geometry' approach reckons you should allow the width of your thumb between your toes and the end of the shoe's toebox. I was very doubtful about this advice because it meant I would end up with Shimano RT51 shoes in 43, up one size from previous Shimano shoes, and way more than the 40.5 of my first shoes for clip-in pedals, a Duegi pattern, sized the same as previous trad lace-up shoes for clips and straps (ie pretty tight).But he persisted, and I bought them, and it was good advice. There is plenty of footroom in the shoe for sure, but it has never proved sloppy and has never given a moment's discomfort. I still stick with 42 in Sidi however.

[Drooper]

I suspect shoe sizing is one area where a trip to your LBS as opposed to an online order is advisable.  I took a chance when ordering my shoes recently, but was fortunate that, in opting to select a size up from my standard sizing, it worked out well.  It was a gamble, though it's no major hassle to return them I suppose. It seems to me that if your toe can touch the end of the toe box then the shoes must be too small.  These things aren't cheap - even the cheap ones, if that makes sense - and you don't want to be regretting hanging onto them when it is too late to swap them. Another consideration is the fact that, come winter, you might want to wear a slightly thicker sock in combo with shoe covers, so a wee bit of wriggle room might not be a bad thing.  This is certainly something I factor in when buying walking shoes.

[Bal4]

2nd pair finally arrived today and fit a lot better. Also refunded for last pair so bonus points to wiggle! Negative points to royal mail for taking so long to deliver though.now justt need to put pedals on bike, cleats on shoes and tubster me into the saddle

[coolboarder]

Drooper wrote (see)I suspect shoe sizing is one area where a trip to your LBS as opposed to an online order is advisable.  Bal4 wrote (see) Also refunded for last pair so bonus points to wiggle! Wiggle is as good as the LBS for this, because there is no quibble and you can try different sizes until you get it right. OK you may have to wait a few days but who's to say the LBS will have the brand you want in the sizes you want anyway?!  I will sometimes order 2 different sizes and send back the ones I dont want. I have a problem with having wide feet for their length and my left foot is bigger than my right so I have a 43 on the left and 42 on the right. Even Wiggle aren't accomodating enough to sell odd shoes and buying two pairs is a touch expensive but as luck would have it (if you can consider crashing luck) I damaged a pair of 42s in a crash, claimed on the insurance and bought the 43s with the insurance money. Problem is: will I have to have another crash when they need replacing?

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