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Tri shoes & pedals

Hi All

Having got the new road bike and then experienced the delight of trying to get my feet into toe clips/straps at T1 of the Hathersage Hilly Tri I've decided to get tri-shoes and clip-in pedals. Any recommendations would be welcome, I've got fairly wide size 11 feet.

cheers SL

Comments

  • risris Posts: 1,002
    if you want something suited more to road or racing then spd-sl's or look type pedals ar probably the best starting point. the cleats for these fit most tri shoes out there and they are relatively inexpensive (for entry-level, not ultegra sl pedals!)

    these are a little harder to get to grips with at the start, the cleats are a pain to walk around on, and cost a bit more, but are a more stable platform for road use.

    if you want something easier to start off with, inexpensive, lots of shoes and pedal variations out there (normal pedals one side, cleats the other, for example), and possible to walk around in normally (recessed cleats can be had with some shoes) then standard spd's are probably the way forward.

    you may need to check if the tri shoes you are interested in (there was a round up of tri shoes in this months 220 mag) will take spd fixings though, there is a chance that not all will. (spd is 2bolt, spd-sl type is 3 bolt)

    tri shoes are very unlikely to take recessed cleats by the way.
  • aoneill69aoneill69 Posts: 206
    Hi,
    I just got my 1st pair of bike shoes and spd pedals, so a little limited in experience but i will give you my opinion..
    I went for Northwest shoes (called Spike Black - i am size 11/wide also and had to try on a size 45 and 46..the 46 were much better fit)...these are the mountain bike version rather then the race versions or full leisure shoe, has two straps and very easy to get on/off. (about £65)
    I also went for Shimano double sided pedals so i don't have to worry about flicking the pedal over for it to catch. (about £40) - you can spend a lot more!
    Also mine are single release, so click outwards to release, they also have multiple release, so click backwards, outwards, sidewards...but that is too complicated for me..
    The mtb shoe has more sole than the race shoe so my theory is i won't be slipping all over the place in transition...also if i do want to stick spd pedals on my mtb then the shoes can transfer.
    Plan would be run these for a year or so then if i am seriously racing probably move to the race shoe.....only had them a week or so...managed to ride out 4 times and haven't toppled over yet!...doh shouldn't have said that out loud...
  • risris Posts: 1,002
    i forgot to mention that for wide feet a lot of people on cycling forums recommend specialized and sidi shoes.

    i think i have the 'm' cleats on my spd shoes - almost any rotation or pull apart from up gets them out which is brilliant for use in traffic.
  • aoneill69aoneill69 Posts: 206
    just realised i said northwest shoes...should have said northwave
  • huwdhuwd Posts: 228
    I've got really wide size 11 feet and I find the shimano tri shoes to be fine, I bought the TR31 as a starter and I'm impressed with the quality so far.

    I went for spd-sl cleats on a 105 pedal - cant fault them, easy clip in and reliable clip out with no issues.
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