UKC

I'm going to make this a separate post as I think it'll be of use to others rather than bury it in my original bike thread.

I've got to the point where I need to make a decision on the pedals that I want to put on my new bike which will *almost* certainly be a Moda Calore so I can get a final price. Theres been hints at some possible discounts depending on these choices.

I've decided to definitely go with clip in types but have no idea what the issues are and the choices are bewildering. Main use will be year round stop start city commuting so they need to be good and solid.

What sort of bike lock do people have and how do they carry it? Bike will be behind a security fence with key fob access and CCTV (almost certainly not recording) but visible to general public. Not too worried about people 'surfing' in but if somebody did want it..... Bikeparka?

As London never really gets dark I'm temped to just get a set of cheapish flashing bike lights of the £20 Argos variety more just to be noticed as theres no need to illuminate my path as such.

Looking more long term if I wanted to step up and get a more well specified set for illumination what would people suggest? bearing in mind see below and a budget that will almost certainly be much less than £100.

Thanks

Was in the Lakes just before Christmas and ran from Bowness to Staveley and was nearly blinded by what I thought was a car driving on the pavement a mile or so short of Staveley. Turned out to be a bloke on a bicycle with really powerful cycle lights. Anti-social in my mind as you can't dip them.

In reply to Indy: if you're city commuting mtb spd pedals will probably be best - the cleats are recessed so the shoes are easier to walk in.

In reply to andy:
Thanks Andy. I've been offered a brand new pair of these unused for £50 which seems about half way up the price scale.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/crank-brothers-candy-2-mtb-pedals/

Have to admit the worst thing about this sort of pedal is the cost and practicality of the shoes.

In reply to Indy: there's nowt wrong with these:

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/transmission-gears/pedals-m...

In reply to Indy:

Suggest you get at east two rear lights of some sort. I have a Cateye, which does various sorts of flashing, strapped to my seat post and I have a cheapo Tesco (£5) strapped to my rucksack.

I do almost of my riding on country lanes. I don't ride often in complete darkness, bit the odd time I do I have found a headtorch to be OK for forward illumination. It's not often that it's dark enough to really require any sort of front light.

In reply to andy:
I've only just started to look into this is the past couple of hours and am I correct in thinking that there are 2 types Shimano's and another one/type? and its all very Coke Vs Pepsi or Mac Vs Windows sort of thing?

Evans suggested a Shimano one and was a similar price. Have no problem what so ever in saving a bit of dosh just want to make sure I fully understand the implications so it won't come back later to cost me more in the long run in shoes or breakages

In reply to wilkesley: Pretty much sums up what I'm thinking here thanks.

In reply to Indy: there's several pedal systems, but on touring/mtb type riding i've always used shimano spd. Because the cleats are inset the shoes are easy to walk in - so you can also get quite "non-cycling shoe" looking shoes.

I use speedplay on my road bikes but they're crap to walk in and you wouldn't want to be constantly putting your foot down in those either.

In reply to Indy:

I've just been through this. I am green as the grass so take my advice FWIW.

There are more than just two makers out there but the main ones seem to be "Look - Keo" and Shimano.

Then you have to decide if you are going for the mountain bike type (SPD) or the road bike type (SPD - SL).

Once you have decided that then there is a massive range in quality so you can pay from $50 CAD up to $450 CAD (you can convert the currency).

The quality difference is both in the machining, quality of material, quality of bearings etc. and in the weight.

So I went for a set of Shimano 105's which are a bit better than the entry level but not megga expensive.

In reply to Indy:

after glowing reports ,I bought a few of the Cree 1600 lumen lights of Ebay.

£25 each from China and they are brilliant.

and they have dipped beam and flashing, as well as main beam.