Beginner’s guide to indoor cycling: five ways you can get your pedal fix inside | Spd Pedals

Road pedal performance is often heavily influenced by the the shape and amount of contact between the cleat and pedal. The cleat on the Shimano PD-A600 pedals is miniscule, but the wide pedal helps make up for that by supporting the lugs of properly chosen shoes.

Sounds like a bit of creative accounting occurred before the sale, with a load of “assets” now written off

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

Many Speedplay users favour the modern aesthetics and low weight that such a minimalist pedal design provides. However, it is worth noting that as a complete system (including cleat), both Look and Time beat Speedplay’s lightest offering in the weight war (sorry Shimano, you come in last). And while on the topic of weight, Stewart Morton of bike fitting company RiderFit.cc warns that a common mistake riders make “is chasing the lightest and usually the most expensive pedal as part of a new bike build. The lighter pedals usually have a shorter spindle (to save weight) and this can have negative effects on knee tracking by creating a stance width that is too narrow for the rider. Common problems, as a result, can present as lateral foot pain, symptoms of iliotibial band syndrome, knee pain, and a lack of power.“

While it may not be my style, I can certainly understand this impulse—after all, you never outgrow wanting to go outside and play with your toys with your friends, and trying to clean that trickly line is no different than shooting hoops or pitching horseshoes or working on any other methodical physical pursuit.

The Xpresso system boasts lateral (side to side) adjustment, and very small distance between the sole and the pedal axle, purportedly increasing efficiency.

The most significant stiffening is usually around the heel. This heel cup is shaped to hold your heel down in the shoe so it doesn’t slip on the upstroke as you pedal or as you walk. The toes are usually reinforced against scuffing, especially in shoes intended for mountain biking. There’s usually padding at the heel and top of the shoe for comfort. You also need to keep an eye out for lots of mesh and ventilation holes. Good ventilation will be great in the summer and, of course buy these shoes if you plan on only wearing the shoes in warmer weather. But beware as too much ventilation in winter will lead to cold feet pretty quickly. It was one of our complaints with the Shimano ME7 shoe. 

After cobbling together a few hundred quid during his student days off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story), Jack bought his first road bike at the age of 20 and has been hooked ever since.  He joined road.cc in 2017, having previously worked for 220 Triathlon magazine. Jack’s preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking (the latter being another long story), and on Sunday afternoons he can often be found on an M5 service station indulging in his favourite post-race meal of 20 chicken nuggets, a sausage roll, caramel shortbread and a large strawberry milkshake. 

SH-56 – multi-release cleats that allow your shoe to be disengaged by rolling or twisting the foot in any direction and even release with sufficiently hard (and considerable) upward force. Good for beginners and supplied with some pedals.

As CXR94Di2 has demonstrated and I can confirm that road shifters do work with the XT mechs, but as I said you must use front and rear. I took my advice from CXR94Di2

You can adjust the tension too. I ran a shade under half, which prevented my feet from lifting out without adding too much lateral restraint on top of that provided by the pins.

Rode it from Innertkirchen in June, having first done the Grimsel pass in freezing rain & fog. It’s a long old climb, but never feels overly…