Newbie clipless peddles question

Get some speed play

By now you know there are lots of opinions, so to be helpful I'll add to the confusion... By far the most important thing is that the shoes fit - obvious but way more important than which system you use.

On systems:

I moved from clips and straps to SPD (2 bolt) years ago. This is best if you need to walk far and you are happy in MTB shoes with tread that surrounds the cleat. Other good reasons are the cleats last a long time, lots of the cheaper shoes use 2 bolt cleats, and you can get double sided pedals (almost all are), or SPD one side, flat the other which is handy for casual riding eg to the pub. Latterly I used road-style shoes where the 2 bolt cleat still protrudes; this is possibly the least stable for walking but OK at a cafe stop. Had to be careful at home as metal cleats can damage flooring. My pedals were Shimano PD520s and A600s - the latter look a lot cooler and are lighter but are one sided and I have always found them a challenge to clip in, as the feel on the foot of "right way up but not engaged" and "wrong way up" is pretty similar. And in the dark you can't see which way is which.

But I am moving now on to Look Keo (3 bolt) because I have a niggling pain in one foot that seems to take longer to appear on a ride using 3 bolt. Still the same shoes (Btwin 500) as they fit both 2 and 3 bolt, and there are quite a few low end shoes like that. Flicking the Look pedals over is a lot easier than the Shimano A600s in my opinion and I am totally sold on the switch now.

Why Look and not SPD-SL? Just because my son uses Look, so I pinched some spare PlanetX pedals (£20 worth) and cleats from him. I think it's harder to find really cheap SPD-SL pedals, because it hasn't been copied by lots of other manufacturers (yet). From my reading, I might slightly prefer SPD-SL due to the slightly wider contact between the pedal and the shoe and the cleats seem to last longer, but this is not enough of a difference to spend much. 

All this can be done on the cheap with ebay, as long as you've chosen your standard. There are lots of shoes in various states of repair and stinkiness, so if you can't wait until the shops re-open and you can try things on, get some old and cheap shoes from a major manufacturer (eg Specialized) in your size or slightly larger, and see how it goes. If you hate them, sell them on. But at least you'll know your size in that manufacturer and gain some experience.

To get used to clipping in and out (latter more important), spend a few minutes practising in your kitchen - worktops are an ideal height to lean on. Set the tension really low to start, decide which is your preferred foot to put down and make sure you can really get it out whenever you want. I don't believe anyone who claims not to have had a 0 mph fall at the start of their attached career - it will happen, but just try not to fall into traffic and don't break your wrist - fall on your side with your arm down if you can. It's far less painful to the body than the ego.

I switched to clipless pedals a few years ago and it wasn't as much of an adjustment as I expected.  I thought I would be falling off at first, but despite having a few wobbles I've never fallen over when coming to a stop, even when having to do sudden stops in the early days. 

I use SPD-SL pedals (just a basic RS500) and the main adjustment is getting used to having to wear specific shoes for cycling. This meant having to carry work shoes in my bag to work or leave a second pair at work or even taking in a pair of work shoes and trainers if I was planning to go to the gym that day. 

At the moment I only have the one road bike and miss something I can just hop on and off without the need to change shoes. 

I'll just add, at this point I'd advise spending as little as possible. 

Get the most basic M520 pedals and also some cheap and cheerful MTB shoes from somewhere like Planet X or Decathlon.
If you don't get on with clipping in then your outlay won't have been too big and if you do get used to it then in your own time you can either buy some fancy shoes or have a go at a Road system like SPD-SL or Look.

I personally use Shimano's Road SPD-SL on my road bikes as I much prefer the larger platform but it's not as practical. I use MTB pedals on my commuter and when cycling off road. 

Given the current situation and the fact you've only been using your road bike for two months I'd say hang fire for now.  Like any footwear you'll need to try before you buy (at least I would).  Shops are understandably a bit squeamish about having people try on helmets, clothing etc. I suppose you could have a punt shopping online.  Dunno.  

So my advice is to stick with what you've got and until you're sure what you'll be using this bike for.  Is it just dashing about on loops from your house, fitness/leisure?  When/if you return to work are you intending to commute on this bike?  If you're not primarily commuting/shopping etc my suggestion is to buy road pedals (eg SPD-SL) for your road bike. 

Below are some pedals and some thoughts.  Left to Right...

TOE CLIPS/STRAPS: In the olden days I had toe clips and straps.  More recently I used the clips and kept the straps loose.  Perfectly fine for your current needs.  

SPD/FLATS: For my commuter/MTB I bought Shimano M324 pedals as mentioned already.  My thinking was that I would buy some SPD shoes (I did - they don't fit) with the intention of also fitting them on my road bike, and on my MTB use the flat side riding to work in regular shoes.  So one side has never been used as I just never bothered.  The pedals are now on my touring bike (it's been doubling up as a shopper which I load with panniers and do early morning essentials shopping).  I take them off and put SPD-SL road pedals on my tourer when I'm going on a 'proper' ride.  

DOUBLE-SIDED SPDs: Put these type on your bike and you've got to buy in to the SPD shoes.  (I've never used these ones either.)

SPD-SL: if you are or you will be using your bike as an out and out road bike these provide a wider platform for your feet and are designed for the job.  If the act of clipping in is worrying you I don't believe this type of pedal will be any harder or easier than any other.  You'll just have to practise whatever type you get.  

Some points to consider:  

WEAR AND TEAR: On the far right you'll see the yellow plastic on a Shimano road shoe cleat that is beginning to wear away.  When it's gone the cleats should be replaced.  About £10.  You get them with a new pair of pedals.  (You can also get little rubber things for your road shoes/pedals.  You can slip them over your cleats when you teeter in to Tesco or clip other types on to your road pedal to give a flat surface when wearing normal shoes.  I have no experience of either.)

REFLECTORS: only the second and fourth pedals below are capable of taking amber pedal reflectors.  Technically - ie legally - any bike manufactured since the mid 80s must have front and rear facing amber pedal reflectors fitted if ridden between the hours of darkness in the UK.  Is that likely to be a consideration?  

Best wishes - KM.

Go for SPD (MTB style pedals)

There are plenty of road-look shoes for SPD, you don't have to wear something heavy with a load of tread.

I've ridden either flats or SPDs for 7 years in all weathers and they're very low maintenance and the shoes are easy to walk in if you have to.

Shimano do easy clip (low tension) pedals called Click'r which are a good way to get used to clipping in/out. Most of the Shimano pedals will have a tension adjusting screw to adjust the amount of force you need to use to pull your foot out. Good for gaining confidence.

Personally I prefer a hybrid pedal on my road bike - clip one side, flat the other. I've got these - https://www.cyclist.co.uk/reviews/5800/shimano-deore-xt-pd-t8000-pedal-r... and they're lovely. Nice wide platform on the SPD side, and really good engagement with the pins on the flat side. Look good too for a pedal with reflectors.

I'm loathe to tempt fate but in all my years riding SPDs I've never had a clipping out failure. Get the multi-release version of the cleats from Shimano whilst you're learning - that way you can pull out of the pedal vertically as well as by rotating.

I've heard that if you don't pay much attention to your cleats on your MTB shoes and they wear too much and you can't undo them, a dremel tool is great to score a slot and use a flathead scredriver to remove them.

Obviously I have no personal experience of such a predicament.

I agree that SPD MTB pedals are one of the easiest to engage and maintain, being metal they seem to last forever.  I used to have Keo road pedals on my road bike, but SPD MTB pedals on my commuter for convenience.

Another option, even easier to clip in/out of, but probably more pricey are Speedplay.  Since going to speedplay I haven't looked back, they give you the engagement and wide platform of a road pedal with the easiest clip in/out of any pedal.  However, they do need a little grease/oil from time to time.  With the new walkable cleats they're quite practical.

if you ever used toe clips then you'll know how easy it is to flip a pedal the "right" way up to engage your foot. That being so, I use Shimano M324 pedals, one side for SPD, the other side is for ordinary shoes. That way I have the option to clip in or not, and also to not have to wear cycling shoes necessarily.
If I do fumble the flip, it doesn't matter, the worst case is normal shoes hitting the clip side and that's just a moment's discomfort.

I second what Joe Totale said. There's two main types - 2 hole MTB (SPD) and 3 hold road bike (SPD-SL).

I use single-sided SPD pedals (they're Shimano road/touring style) on my road bike as I find that being able to walk in my shoes more important than other considerations. I've previously used double-sided MTB pedals on my road bike and they work great too.

I recently got a pair of Bont MTB shoes which are great - you pop them in the oven for a bit and then mould them to your feet (use socks and wait for them to not be too hot). They're also a great combination of being okay to walk in and very stiff (good for pedalling efficiency).

By the way, clipping into pedals isn't that much of an issue once you've used them for a while, but un-clipping is the thing that you really need to practise so it becomes second nature. There's nothing funnier than seeing someone come to a stop, then slowly fall over to the side as they've forgotten how to get their foot free.

If you've never cliped in before then I concur and would say that double sided MTB pedals such as the Shimano M520 are the way to go. You can set them to be pretty loose as well so you hopefully won't have any moments where you cannot clip out in time. 

In terms of shoes, you'll need MTB shoes which have holes for a 2 bolt cleat attachment.

Road shoes in general will have the holes for a 3 bolt cleat attachment and unfortunately they aren't compatible with each other. 

There are some shoes out there that take both but they're few and far between and you'd really limit yourself in terms of what you can buy. IIRC as well the cleats on these shoes aren't recessed which means that if you use MTB cleats then you lose one of their biggest advantages, that they're easy to walk in.