[mclarent]

Sorry, for the cross post, but I have a quick question for y'all, i have a pedal decision to make! I have my first proper road bike on order, a Bianchi, which i'm planning to use for a duathlon and a few long rides at the weekend. It comes with shimano spd touring pedals. Question is, should i bother upgrading the pedals? At the moment i have a pair of spd shoes, so not sure if its worth the extra cash for both pedals and shoes - was considering Shimano Ultegra (spd-sl) pedals, which I can source for little extra cash... Any opinions? Thanks! Tom

 

[Kerry Irons]

Choices

Sorry, for the cross post, but I have a quick question for y'all, i have a pedal decision to make! I have my first proper road bike on order, a Bianchi, which i'm planning to use for a duathlon and a few long rides at the weekend. It comes with shimano spd touring pedals. Question is, should i bother upgrading the pedals? At the moment i have a pair of spd shoes, so not sure if its worth the extra cash for both pedals and shoes - was considering Shimano Ultegra (spd-sl) pedals, which I can source for little extra cash... Any opinions? Thanks! Tom

First, you don't say anything about distances or other uses, so it's hard to know. The general consensus is that if you're doing longer rides, it's better to switch to road pedals to avoid the hot spots often associated with SPDs. Of course, there are those who don't have that problem, and they also value being able to wear a shoe that is "easier" for walking. Me, I never walk farther than to the Coca Cola cooler and back in my bike shoes, but everyone's situation is different. For a relatively short duathalon and relatively short weekend rides, the SPDs may be just fine. Only you can tell. Also, the pedals and compatible shoes will cost you some style points, but that's a personal issue too.

 

[mclarent]

Thanks for the info - in terms of distance, Duathlon is 20k and I'm looking to do rides of 40-60km at the weekends for training and pleasure. Might also think about a commute of about 10k. When you say hot spots, you mean that there are areas of my feet that will get hotter if I use SPDs? I'm also wondering about weight, for the type of riding I'm talking about am I stupid to worry about that?