Road bike recommendations

Oh and thanks for the shoe tips. How about pedals? Any views on vintage Campy?

I've got some late 70s campag pedals that look lovely. Unfortunately they were incredibably uncomfortable and if I road wearing trainers such as converse for more than 30-45mins they'd start to hurt my feet. I'd guess that's because they were designed for hard soled cycling shoes.

I think once I post a pic up people will realise why clips not clipless, despite having a modern groupset it's a very retro bike.

But mostly it's because I fear change

I saw someone riding the other day with some very neat classicly styled SPD pedals - flat one side, clipless on the other. See if you can find some.

Personally I think that you can find clipless pedals that 'work' with a classic build.

... I can see the point for the round town commuter who wants to wear one pair of shoes, I should add.

Agreed. Although I always ended up wearing the same pair of converse to ride in straps and cages so I did t have to fart about with readjustments....and I carried a bag for my lock...so there didn't really seem much point.

Jimmy, what size feet do you have? I can lend you a clipless pedal & MTB shoes to give it a try...

for the round town commuter who wants to wear one pair of shoes

some very neat classicly styled SPD pedals - flat one side, clipless on the other.

Wellgo M17, got some Token branded ones on my Pompetamine

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I rode with clips and straps for a few years, which is great for when your just nipping around town.

I then moved over to MTB cleats (SPD's) and MTB shoes, great I thought I can clip in and still walk if needed, albeit not as easy as trainers, but then nothing is. These were great for commuting (4 miles) to and from work. Although a whole day in the saddle and my feet did get sore.

Since then I've moved to road cleats, but with the added feature I can clip in on both sides (which I loved about mtb pedals) , speedplays, I now use these for all my riding, because to be honest when I'm riding I don't plan on doing much walking, my commute will also be longer in a weeks time - going from 4 miles to 20 miles and I think the larger contact with the pedals will help.

The big plus for me was also the amount of float on the speed plays. So long as they are level with the ball of your foot you shouldn't suffer from knee/ it band pain, which I did before with MTB cleats.

Jimmy, what size feet do you have? I can lend you a clipless pedal & MTB shoes to give it a try...

Cheers for the offer Ed, but I live in Cheltenham so it may prove complicated. Shame really because its a difficult decision. Another factor is the cost, as the overdraft took a hammering.

Its good to see people's thoughts, clearly clipless is the better option, but I do want the build to be true to the classic theme. It may depend on the calibre of Campy bvintage pedal I can find

I've got some DHB MTB shoes and Shimano pedals going cheap if your interested in trying them out?

Its hideous, but its gonna solve my cx brake problem. Deffo getting a pair when the Tekro V brake lever one goes on sale. Gear shifting from the hoods, with road levers that pull full Vs. YES PLEASE.

Thats what currently run on the CX commuter. Trektro V-brake levers with bar end shifters (running ful Vs, looks awful, but works). When it gets upgraded to discs I plan to run the same. MTB rear mech'n'cassette, road front mech'n'crankset, MTB cable disc's. A mess which works in the shitest of conditions.

man want to ride with clip and strap, who are we to says otherwise?

this is all I'm saying.

For a man who spends his time on the forum actually saying otherwise (to anything, with good reason or not), I find this extremely ironic.

Jimmy needs some quality time with a pair of Italian leather cycling shoes.

Quoc Pham FTW.

Gok Wan FTW.

may order a pair today....

Just to chuck my 2p on the pedal thing - I avoided going clipless for a while for the usual reasons (not carrying extra shoes, not wanting to splash out on new shoes + pedals at once etc).

But I ended up spending more getting better clip / strap setups before eventually cutting my losses and getting the cheapest clipless setup I could get - DHB M1 shoes (about £50) + time atac aliums (about £30). Never looked back and frankly felt like a bit of a twat for resisting so long and wasting money on clips / straps.

I also own an old fashioned bike but have modern road pedals on it. I like looking at the bike, but like riding it even more.

I fancy these Shimano A600s

pffft, once used never going back;;

I like the fact they've actually been designed for cycling.

will go for them soon.

Fair enough they need to be a bit more maintained than normal mtb spd pedals but well worth it. No knee pain either.

sounds sad but I can actually look forward to and concentrate on cycling even more because I don't suffer from knee pain any more.

why would that be sad? to enjoy riding more because you're more comfortable?

Totally, Ed. Pain is bad/sad and a warning sign.

it's verys sad....pathetic even

I had BeBops for some time. Nice when I was carrying an injury, but I did'nt really need the free float. On rides over and hour, I actually felt my ankles had to do more work. Look Keo's work for me.

why would that be sad? to enjoy riding more because you're more comfortable?

That's what I mean. For a while my knees were fine but I think the limited float on cleats meant my knees would hurt from a few hours in the saddle. Speed play cleats mean I can spend longer in the saddle and not suffer from IT band pain.

That's not sad at all really.

Am I imagining it or did prices just go up about 10%? Guess I just missed the January sales :-( ouch.

it's verys sad....pathetic even

Don't quite understand...

I fancy these Shimano A600s

Nice, but their cheaper cousin, the A520, is much better value, doesn't immediately scratch and for all intents and purposes is the same peddle.