How to Choose Road Bike Pedals

Look at your beginning pedals. Unless you are building a bike from scratch, your bicycle likely already has pedals. Standard platform pedals do not offer clips or any specialty equipment. These are likely perfectly acceptable if you are not a serious or competitive cyclist.

Consider the weight of your pedals. If you are looking to increase speed, one of the many places you can loose excess weight is with your bicycle pedals. Clip-in pedals are notably the lightest, being both small and typically made of very lightweight materials. Pedals are widely available in aluminum, titanium and composites that are all lighter than typical platform bicycle pedals.

Determine if you need an attachment system. There are a variety of ways to attach your feet to your bicycle. The most common is a specialty pair of shoes that lock into your bicycle pedals. These work on both faces of the pedal (or in some cases on all four sides of the pedal). Another alternative is a stirrup, which places a toe clip on your pedal. Both of these accessories enable you to pull up with one leg while driving down with the other, making you dramatically more efficient than just pushing with standard pedals. Stirrup attachments are better for casual cyclists who want extra speed or power for climbing hills but don't want to spend the money on new pedals and attaching shoes. A good pair of clip-in pedals with cycling shoes, however, are a must for any serious cyclist.

Adjust your bindings. If you select clip-in pedals, the contact point is called the binding. These are typically adjustable to determine how easy it is to step out of the binding. If you often get off and on your bike, it is advisable to make these as loose as possible. If you are a long-distance cyclist, it is best to make your bindings as tight as possible.

Read reviews. Once you have determined what kind of bicycle pedal is best for you, do some homework by reading reviews of this type of pedal online. With bicycling, you often get exactly what you pay for, so don't be afraid to spend a bit of extra money on the best pedal possible.