The Official DMF Bicycle Thread

[Fox]

bumpity bump bump....

the husband and i are planning to make mutual xmas presents of mtb shoes and clipless pedals.  anybody got brand recommendations?  i have been told we need to be able to adjust the ease of clipping in/out and that we need the kind where the cleat can move around a little in the clip without clipping out. 

I just made the transition from SPD to egg beaters. I highly recommend them. They are easier to get in and out of, self clean better, and have more float which helps my knees.

[Desmostro]

bumpity bump bump....

the husband and i are planning to make mutual xmas presents of mtb shoes and clipless pedals.  anybody got brand recommendations?  i have been told we need to be able to adjust the ease of clipping in/out and that we need the kind where the cleat can move around a little in the clip without clipping out. 

+1 Egg beaters. Crank Brothers rock.

Lateral movement is what you want to save your knees. (float)
Vertical security is what you want to transfer the most energy from your pedal stroke. (Don't recommend the lightest weight Ti unless you're under 185lbs - they flex too much. Stainless is very good if you're over. )

+3
Sidi's fit me best - that's personal, however: After 4 years /hundreds of miles of mud/abuse. I washed them and 2 friends thought they were new.
SIDI = bomb proof.
I have 3 pairs: MTB, Road, Moto.

[scienceiscool]

hm - i'm a hasher (basher?) and we have been known to ride through swamps, so perhaps ease of mud cleaning is important...

[Desmostro]

Next time, stop the bike first 

We stopped. We hung out. He was nice the first 50 miles.

Then after 3,500' climb, on top of a ridge in the woods, with 25 of us going +30MPH on rollers, he just... went away off the front. Like there was a rocket under his ass.
I've never seen anything like it. Mind boggling. 


That's him #1002
EDIT>
From 10/02/96  the date he was diagnosed terminally ill.  X11tyb

[somegirl]

That's awesome Eric.

Oh, and I use SPDs and MTB shoes on my road bike.  That's what I started with originally because it was easy to find half SPD / half platform pedals (which I use on my folder).  Worked well for me.

I had tried Look Keo pedals on the road bike at first, but they really were difficult to get in and out of.  The real kicker though was that they hurt my right knee.  Switching to the SPDs fixed the pain for me.

And I love having shoes I can walk in without feeling ridiculous.

[Fox]

We stopped. We hung out. He was nice the first 50 miles.

Then after 3,500' climb, on top of a ridge in the woods, with 25 of us going +30MPH on rollers, he just... went away off the front. Like there was a rocket under his ass.
I've never seen anything like it. Mind boggling. 


That's him #1002
As in 10/2002 the date he was diagnosed terminally ill.  X11tyb

The math of 10/2002 was not working for me since he won the tour in 2002. He was diagnosed on 10/02/96 which seems to be how he came up with 1002

"On October 2, 1996, Armstrong was diagnosed with nonseminomatous testicular cancer. The cancer had already spread to his lungs, abdomen and brain. The standard chemotherapeutic regimen for Armstrong's type of cancer is known as BEP (Bleomycin, Etoposide and Cisplatin (or Platinol)). Armstrong, however, chose to undergo an alternative regimen, VIP (vinblastine, ifosfamide and Cisplatin), in order to avoid the lung toxicity associated with the drug Bleomycin.[4] Armstrong underwent surgery on his brain tumors, which were found to be necrotic, and an orchiectomy to remove his diseased testicle.

[Desmostro]

The math of 10/2002 was not working for me since he won the tour in 2002. He was diagnosed on 10/02/96 which seems to be how he came up with 1002
...

thanks - that's right.

[Manny]

Off topic, but apropos to the crowd here: I got some brakes for a very good price recently. They came with Shimano SM-RT80S 160mm center-lock rotors, which are too big for my hubs (normal x-country hubs). If anyone has use for these rotors, I'll entertain almost any silly offer. 

[psycledelic]

+1 Egg beaters. Crank Brothers rock.

Lateral movement is what you want to save your knees. (float)
Vertical security is what you want to transfer the most energy from your pedal stroke. (Don't recommend the lightest weight Ti unless you're under 185lbs - they flex too much. Stainless is very good if you're over. )

+3
Sidi's fit me best - that's personal, however: After 4 years /hundreds of miles of mud/abuse. I washed them and 2 friends thought they were new.
SIDI = bomb proof.
I have 3 pairs: MTB, Road, Moto.

Well, I hate to go against the majority, but I had issues with the Sidi Dominators.  They were, by far, the most comfortable mtb shoes I have worn, but I thought the upper leather was a little to soft and flexible.  I have had really good luck with the Specialized BG's.  I have three pair (mtn, road, tri) and love them all.  Soles are super stiff and all of my pairs are comfortable on long rides. 
As far as pedals go, I have always been partial to the Shimano SPD's in the dirt.  Mostly because I am pushing a single speed or my cross bike on the trails and want to make sure that I stay clipped in when standing and mashing .  I have always had really good results with the Shimano's.  The only experience I have had with the egg beaters are on a friends bike and shoes.  They felt pretty secure, but I had some numbness in my foot after about 15 miles.  Could have had a lot to do with his shoes having softer soles then I am used to. 
I very seriously doubt you can go wrong with either style. 

[kopfjäger]

It's Lorica not leather, and I only push a SS and have no problems w/candy ti pedals. 

[psycledelic]

It's Lorica not leather,

At least I got the first letter correct.

and I only push a SS and have no problems w/candy ti pedals. 

As much as I would love to blame my Sidi problems on the awesome amount of power my legs produce, I would honestly have to say that it could my fat ars and funny shaped feet. 

[kopfjäger]

^^^^^ 

[Manny]

Well, I hate to go against the majority, but I had issues with the Sidi Dominators.  They were, by far, the most comfortable mtb shoes I have worn, but I thought the upper leather was a little to soft and flexible.  I have had really good luck with the Specialized BG's.  I have three pair (mtn, road, tri) and love them all.  Soles are super stiff and all of my pairs are comfortable on long rides. 
As far as pedals go, I have always been partial to the Shimano SPD's in the dirt.  Mostly because I am pushing a single speed or my cross bike on the trails and want to make sure that I stay clipped in when standing and mashing .  I have always had really good results with the Shimano's.  The only experience I have had with the egg beaters are on a friends bike and shoes.  They felt pretty secure, but I had some numbness in my foot after about 15 miles.  Could have had a lot to do with his shoes having softer soles then I am used to. 
I very seriously doubt you can go wrong with either style. 

I've loved my Sidi Dominators. I occasionally try something else and inevitably go back to the same old beat up Sidis that I've had for about 8-9 years. 

I move my feet around alot in small ways to adjust my balance and position. Technical riding is the only thing I'd say I'm "good" at, and so I need really firm gripping pedals. I kept falling out of the egg beaters (usually sideways) at the most inconvenient times. Hence, my egg beaters only lasted a year or so until I went back to the SPDs. I'm not a great Shimano supporter, but like the SPDs.

[FatguyRacer]

I've loved my Sidi Dominators. I occasionally try something else and inevitably go back to the same old beat up Sidis that I've had for about 8-9 years. 
 

Sometimes a good pair of shoes is hard to find. I always seem to be wearing the Carnac Lemond's i bought in 1997 more often than the Carnac Ellipse's that I got in 2006.

[Fresh Pants]

In another world of MTB shoes, I've used 5.10 impact shoes for DH racing and a little bit of trail riding (to get used to riding with platform pedals) and they've been really impressive. They have the "stealth" rubber sole that 5.10 uses on their climbing shoes, and you literally have to pick your foot up off the pedal to reposition them. But you can put a foot down whenever you need to. It doesn't even matter if you have long or short pins on your platform pedals.

That said, I've got 2nd gen SPD pedals on the rest of the bikes (mtn SPD on the road bike too, so I only have one pair of SPD shoes) except for the fixie (metal toe clips, leather straps), the DH bike, and the goofin' around urban bike. My Shimano SPD shoes could use a replacement soon, they're like 6 or 7 years old now.