Track Shoes and Pedal's

Brad Wadlow

Okay, I got my first track bike now I need some shoes and pedal's. What do you recomend and where can I order them? I plan on doing only the sprint/explosive type of races.

Thanx in advance!!

superstar kyle

go with the Speedplay Zero Track specials if you can afford them if not check out the MKS range. Shoe wise anything with a superstiff carbon sole I use the Nike Poggio2.

Brad Wadlow

Hey Superstar Kyle. Thanks for the advice man! Im coming over to track from mountain biking and really didnt have a clue as to peadls and cleats. As soon as I read your post I did a search on e-bay and found a brand new pair of Poggio 2 shoes just my size with 10 minutes left in the auction. I won them for $113 bucks! Pretty good timing wouldnt you say? Thanks Kyle for the advice.

faye04_27

Get some toe straps aswell if your sprinting

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faye04_27

ooo and i use poggio 2's aswell!

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Brad Wadlow

How do the toe straps work? Is there some kind of cleat that is nessasary? Or can I just get a pair of track pedals with toe straps and slip my Poggio's in there?

Thanks

taras0000

Speedplay Zeroes with a leather/kevlar strap

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Taras

Woofer

Nice job. What's the Speedplay part number for that screw?

Most sprinters use straps. Some with clipless pedals as illustrated here or the older Shimano non SPD road pedals.

taras0000

Well, the distributor for that one was the local hardware store. Countersunk (conical head)Phillips head machine screw, 16 mm long I believe, with a washer and locknut on the end. Total weight penalty of the bolts over the old stuff was a measly 8 grams. Now looking to manufacture a plate that will allow me to mount a double strap. Not for security reasons, but i like the feeling of your foot not moving around in the shoe.

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Taras

velomanct

taras, thanks! this answers my question, which I was going to ask.

I alread have the zero steel road pedals, but I will be getting the track version, and adding a strap like you did.

Although I have never pulled out of my speedplay zeros, I still would like the extra confidence of a more secure system during standing starts. The last thing I want to be worrying about is pulling out of the pedal during such an effort!

BTW, do you think it is a bad idea to do standing starts on a road bike? (I don't have a good track bike yet, and my powertap is only on the road bike, so I do most my training on it.) How likely is it that the chain could snap? cause that would be really ugly

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The faster you go, the fewer passing cars

taras0000

I myself have never even pulled out of my Speedplay X pedals. The design is idiot proof, with the zeroes beig even more so. I don't think that you'll pull a pedal with the zeroes unless you end up hitting the release point for clicking out. The strap is there for extra security and the fact that I don't trust having only velcro anchoring you to your bike. If you've ever used a proper toe strap system for sprinting, you'll know that nothing beats the feel of being locked in with straps. Nothing moves around in your shoe, and everything is just that much more direct.

As far as doing standing starts on the road bike, I would stay away from that. I have a Santa Cruz Roadster. Super stiff bike. Always kept it maintained in excellent condition and would bring it into the LBS every month or so just to make sure everything was spic n' span. I was doing standing starts and ended up wrapping my rear derailler around the cogset. The reason being, so much tension ends up going throught the chain, the rear D gets bulled back and then snap, it bends sideways and you have yourself a huge mess. My rear D got bent so far back that the cogs cut grooves in my hanger. I would stick to a single speed for standing starts. Oh, and i'm no meat monster as well, only 170 lbs, so if you're bigger and stronger than me, I would definitley tell you not to do standing starts on your road bike.

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Taras

velomanct

yeh I can imagine how the straps feel tighter and more secure. I ride shimano shoes, so they are more stiff than most other shoes, but I still get signifcant movement during hill sprints and standing starts.
I suppose the reason not to do standing starts on a roadie is something that happened to me last fall. Although it wasn't even a standing start, just a jump from ~15mph. My back wheel came out of the dropouts and locked up, bending my chainstays apart and taco-ing the wheel. Almost crashed, and I was lucky to be able to ride it home. Since that day I always tighten the QR lever as tight as possible.
I am a not much bigger than you. 6'2" 182lbs, so I am on the skinny side, started weights this winter.

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"friendship, family, religion. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business!" -Mr. Burns
The faster you go, the fewer passing cars

wolfix

taras0000

I stick to old school components too. Shimano 8 speed, lol

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Taras