5 arch supports and why your cycling feet need them | Spd Pedals

The Ksyrium wheelsThe wheels by themselves are good wheels (remember, I ran them with at least 10 different tubed tyres before trying tubeless). They feel light and fast. They look pretty bling with one yellow spoke and some matching yellow stickers on the rim. I normally run carbon rims in my race bike, so I had to go out and purchase some alloy-friendly brake pads for these rims.

I’m well aware that this is considered as crash damage, so it’s entirely outside of Shimano’s typical warranty policy. I’m also aware that smacking pedals has a lot to do with technique and the bike you’re riding, and not everyone will put these through the same beating that I subjected them to.

Whether you are looking to buy clip-in or flat shoes will depend on whether you choose to ride clipless pedals or flat ones. Clip-in shoes have a recess in the sole at the ball of the foot which provides room for cleats to be bolted to in order to clip into the clipless pedals.

On some shoes you’ll find a ratchet buckle replacing the top strap. The advantage of a ratchet is that it’s very easy to adjust the tension as you ride, either to tighten it for a big effort or loosen it off if your feet are getting tired.

We would say, though, that in our experience problems like this are rare and Shimano does have very good diagnostics tools.  

If you’re the type who likes to kick a leg out in high-speed corners, or if you’re not yet confident on your clipless pedals, flats are certainly a good option.

Ed Fischer, owner of Camas Bike and Sport, is not counting on most potential e-bike customers living near the store to be as civic- or practical-minded as Grall.

“The Nano-X is one of Superstar’s most recent pedal designs. It used to be they’d badge generic components, such as the old style Nanos that are so familiar are a mainstay of budget mountain biking – I have a pair that still run okay after six years. The Nano-X is an altogether shinier beast though, made in house on Superstar’s own CNC mill. That they sell direct rather than through distributors…” Read the full review here.

In case you’re wondering why they’re called clipless pedals, it’s because pedals used to have metal cages, called toe clips, and leather straps to hold the shoe in place. Racing shoes had cleats that were slotted to fit the cage of the pedal. To get out, you had to loosen the strap. Falling over at traffic lights behind a busload of schoolkids was not unknown.

As well as the shifters and derailleurs, with SRAM eTap you’ll need only a Charger Power Pack that retails at £63 (and an eTap Firmware Update Dongle, but only if SRAM ever makes firmware updates).

The Time Xpresso 15 pedals are extremely light and clipping in/twisting out could hardly be easier. The downside is the price, and the cleats wear noticeably faster than those of other brands.

@whatyadoinsucka – I think ‘affordable’ is relative to Sixpack Racing’s own flat pedals, like the (admittedly very trick) €160 Skywalker pedals;