Are spd's easy to use??

Hi all me again, are spd pedals easy to use, i have got flatties on my bike, and all my bikes i have had before had flatties. I seem to get on well with them. But have never tried spd before, are they expensive??

expense wise, look at chainreaction.com or a local shop. Remember its not just the pedals, you need compatible shoes too.

Whether or not they are easy is down to experience. To start off with, you will fall over all the time when you forget to unclip. The frequency of silly falls will get less, however will probably never go away completely. I still manage to have the occasional SPD related injury (usually nothing worse than a bruised ego) after many years of using them.

My latest crash (broken collar bone, rib & internal bleeding)couldnt be blamed on the SPD's but they probably didnt help! (that said I was arsing about on a fairly serious downhill course on the big boy jumps)

easy to use (after the comedy dismounts you can get as a newbie to SPD's) to release you just twist your heel away from the chainstay (or with multi release cleats twist or pull up)

Shimano M520 ~£25 are very good value entry level SPD's (dunno which retro ones are best) and all Shimano SPD's have adjustable release tension.

Shoes start ~£30, best to get down to a shop & try some on as I found Shimano shoes narrow in the toebox area, went with Specialized as they fitted better

Think i may stick with my flats, sounds safer. How do you click them in and out of the proper shoe??

Andy B":3qp8vh6c said:

easy to use (after the comedy dismounts you can get as a newbie to SPD's) to release you just twist your heel away from the chainstay (or with multi release cleats twist or pull up)

Shimano M520 ~£25 are very good value entry level SPD's (dunno which retro ones are best) and all Shimano SPD's have adjustable release tension.

Shoes start ~£30, best to get down to a shop & try some on as I found Shimano shoes narrow in the toebox area, went with Specialized as they fitted better

Click to expand...

I did have a go on my mates about 9 years ago and i couldn't clip out of the pedal and kept wiping out, put me off.

I have some Girvin ones that are spd compatible you can have to try for nowt. I go down your way a lot to see my parents etc. If you do get on with them you can upgrade to proper Shimano ones at your lesiure.

Andy B":34pu3059 said:

easy to use (after the comedy dismounts you can get as a newbie to SPD's) to release you just twist your heel away from the chainstay (or with multi release cleats twist or pull up)

Click to expand...

Never forget my first comedy dismount flat on my side infront of my mate who knew nothing abot bikes and spd's...he wondered what the hell i was on and then when i showed him the spd's the bemused look of confusion and the inevitable question....why :?

They are brill though, you can really power up hill and down through twisty trails.

Easy_Rider":3q3sd427 said:

Andy B":3q3sd427 said:

easy to use (after the comedy dismounts you can get as a newbie to SPD's) to release you just twist your heel away from the chainstay (or with multi release cleats twist or pull up)

Click to expand...

Never forget my first comedy dismount flat on my side infront of my mate who knew nothing abot bikes and spd's...he wondered what the hell i was on and then when i showed him the spd's the bemused look of confusion and the inevitable question....why :?

They are brill though, you can really power up hill and down through twisty trails.

Click to expand...

Would they be safe for riding when on roads aswell??

Iwasgoodonce":1n4qg1o0 said:

I have some Girvin ones that are spd compatible you can have to try for nowt. I go down your way a lot to see my parents etc. If you do get on with them you can upgrade to proper Shimano ones at your lesiure.

Click to expand...

Wow that is very kind of you. So would just need to get some shoes somewhere.

Yes, very safe once you get used to them

I've just done a 24 mile on road ride in my Spesh shoes & XTR SPD pedals, most roadies use SPD's all the time, MTB'ers is a bit of a split between flatties & SPD's

Might be an ideas to try some 2nd hand ones 1st to see if you do like them or not, unless you know anyone who has SPD's & the same size feet who's willing to let you try them