Shimano Bike Shoes

Hey,

Just so you know, the Wellgo WAM’s use an SPD cleat – in other words, a non-shimano SPD pedal

Personally, I used Shimano SPD’s (xt) for about 6-7 years, and eventually got sick of my cleats and pedals getting packed with mud on the trails…

I switched to Time, and love them!!!! The cleat took a while to get used to, but eventually, once it worked in – they are so smooth!

Eggbeater cleats, and entry are very very similar to that of time.

With that style cleat and pedal, you really feel your cleat engage with the pedal (which is really nice compared to SPD) and the cleat has a really low profile so it never gets packed with mud.

There are good and bad with each…

Eggbeater: really feel the engagement, cleats stay unclogged, really smooth and light, BUT can’t adjust release tension, hard to get used to.

Shimano: easy to learn with, can change release tension, very universal, used in spinning classes, BUT clog with mud, engagement not smooth.

If you haven’t had clipless before, I recommend the Shimano.

Lastly, I have the Pearl Izumi Vipers, and I love them!
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work in a bike shop

Wellgo makes a decent pedal and is interchangeable with the Shimano cleat. The Shimanos are arguably better quality but if you’re a casual rider you can probably save money with the Wellgos and they’ll last you for years.

I love Crank Bros products. Standup company, great designs, EASY availability of parts, simple to set up and maintain/repair. Shimano cleats are a little more durable than Crank Bros, but that’s a really minor issue to me. I ride the stainless eggbeaters on my trail bike….I’d highly recommend you get the stainless over the Cr-mo. I’ve seen several eggbeater pedal cages broken on rocks with the Cr-mo, but never with the stainless. Crank Bros. will replace them for you for free, often even if they’re out of warranty! But still, it’s a pain if you break stuff on the trail. I use the Mallets on my urban bike, and just got their Quattros for the road, which I love. If you’re new to clipless and have some technical trails where you ride, I’d suggest you go with the Candy pedal…..that little bit of platform does help a bit compared to the bare-bones eggbeater style.

Those prices seem a bit high to me, but supporting your local shops is important. I know you can find the stainless eggbeaters online for about $90 now, and the Candy for as little as $50. The Cr-mo eggbeaters range from $45 to $59 lately. There’s also the newer, cheaper copy of the Candy called the Smarty which you might like, and I’ve seen those on closeout as low as $35. Another new pedal from them is the Acid…..pricier, but a nice platform design and not as heavy as the Mallets.

Time is also a great pedal worth looking at. I rode some Attac Alums for awhile and was happy with them until I found out how much I liked Crank Bros. If you deal with clay soils or frequent wet and mud, you can’t beat the Crank Bros. stuff, but Time would be my next choice in a pedal.

Whatever shoe you get, just be sure it’s comfy and fits well. Sounds like a decent price on the shoes to me.
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shimanos’ are pretty good starters and until you race should last a while, when you race go with the egg beaters, wellgo is not an upgrade
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I’d go with the Wellgo, mainly ’cause I’m cheap and they work very well. I’ve used many brands including Shimano and was pretty happy with most. Richeys (forgot the model) were my least favorite. I like sticking with SPD because, again, I’m cheap and I only need one pair of shoes for SPD pedals on all my bikes.

I never tried the Egg Beaters so I can’t comment on them.
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I started with the original spd’s, and loved them. The mud issues caused me to go to the Time pedals as well, and they are great. The lack of adjustability isn’t really an issue as they are plenty secure, and the float is nice as well. I decided to look to the egg beater style pedal because I don’t like the lateral float of the Time pedals. Seems to me that if you make lateral movement available, your foot is just going to push outward as far as the lateral float will allow, which isn’t good for q-angle. I looked to the crank brothers, but not the egg beaters. I read stories about the egg beater style pedal ruining the bottom of shoes, so I went with the candy style. Having the extra platform area really helps, and they are inexpensive, you can find them on ebay from about $50. The really cool think about the egg beater mechanism is that you can engage them backwards. If you over step the engagement area with your shoe, you can drop your heel and slide in backwards; rather convenient. Good luck.
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