What are clipless pedals and which should I buy?
Buy SPDs aka the tiny two screw clip, not the giant three screw one. I am an SPD supremacist and I will defend that below, and I am aware it is a minority position among road riders. Then set the release tension to its weakest setting so that you can panic jerk vertically and still unclip in a crisis.
Two-bolt SPD pedals and shoes with a recessed cleat, tension screwed all the way low, and five rides of rehearsing the twist before you clip in for real. You don't really give up much stiffness or feel and you can walk around like a normal human.
The name is backwards
"Clipless" pedals are the ones you clip into. Road bikes used to have toe clips, which were actual cages your foot slid into, and these got called clipless because they did away with the cage. So when someone says clipless they mean attached.
SPD versus road cleats
Road cleats - SPD-SL, Look, Speedplay - are three bolts and a big plastic wedge that sticks out under the sole. SPD is two bolts and a small metal cleat that sits recessed in the tread so you can actually walk.
| SPD (2-bolt) | Road (3-bolt) | |
|---|---|---|
| Walking in them | Normal. Cleat is recessed into the tread | On your heels, like a penguin |
| Getting out in a panic | Twist out, and you can go either direction | Twist out, less forgiving angle |
| Clipping in | Double sided - no need to flip the pedal | One side only, so you fish for it |
| Coffee stop | You walk in | You clack across the tiles |
| Power transfer | Very slightly less stiff | Marginally better |
| Looking the part | You do not | White shoes, immaculate |
I watch my friends waddling around like penguins and can't help but feel a smug superiority. Yes maybe the stiffness difference is real but not at our power levels yet.
The one that genuinely matters for newbies though is the panic unclip. Being able to get a foot down without thinking is worth more than any marginal power difference in the beginning.
What I would actually buy
Dual-sided pedals and a walkable shoe. That combination is what makes the first month survivable, because on any ride you are not feeling brave you can just ride the flat side in normal shoes. As you get stronger you may want a "stiffer" shoe. Manufacturers will have a stiffness rating. If you're pumping 1000W+ you'll feel the bend in the shoe platform.
Dual-sided - flat on one face, SPD clipless on the other - so you can ride in regular shoes while you’re still working up to clipping in. Where I got mine ↗
They look a bit bulky next to a road pedal, and the weight difference is nothing you’ll notice for a long time.
A walkable starter SPD shoe. The cleat sits recessed, so you can walk into a café in them without doing the clipless penguin waddle. Where I got mine ↗
Turn the tension all the way down
Every clipless pedal has a release tension screw. Out of the box it is usually somewhere in the middle. Wind it to the loosest setting and leave it there for a couple of months - you will pull out of them slightly more easily than you would like when you sprint, and that is a trade worth making while you are still learning.
You are still going to have the moment
It happens to the best of us. You roll up to a light, unclip your right foot, and then your body decides to lean left. There is a very long half second where you know exactly what is about to happen and can do nothing about it, and then you are on the floor at zero miles an hour in front of a bunch of cars.
It is almost always harmless since the speed is nil and you land on your hip, but it gets a lot less harmless if the pedal does not let go, hence the tension screw and the five rides of saying "clip out" like a lunatic. I fell off going to signal a turn, not even clipped-in related, and broke my wrist, so I would take the free wins where they are available.
And no, you do not need power meter pedals yet
Since you are already looking at pedals, you will see the ones with power meters in them and feel the temptation. Don't do it, not yet. If you have a smart trainer - Zwift is already giving you power indoors, which is where your structured work is happening anyway. Do you want numbers sapping all the joy out of outdoor riding in week two?
When you do buy them, get the single-sided ones. The Favero Assioma MX-1 measures one leg and doubles it, which is fine. If you buy dual-sided and discover you are a 52/48 split, I can tell you exactly what you will do about it, which is absolutely nothing.