Steel is Real

I picked up my first road-bike this weekend. ( always a mtn bike kinda guy) It's a Specialized Allez Double Steel---- kind of a newer- oldschool type bike. Chromoly frame and forks, drop shifters---- dead stone simple.

I've only ridden it for a couple of short blasts, but I'm already amazed at how comfortable it is. Now I'll need a proper set of pedals. (clipless) I've heard "Look" are the pedals to get. Any recommendations? This will be my first foray into clipless pedals, so any advice would be appreciated.

Most importantly.......the dog approves!

neat... looks like a 2010 mode... I didn't even know they'd done these... really looks like a restomod with budget parts

how you like the downtube shifters? they are amazingly crisp due to such little cable and such but I've never cared for em... but I ride a HUGE frame so they downtube is a LONG reach for me... add that i'm not very flexable made them incompatible... on my first roadbike I moved to barcons and was very happy to move the shifting up to the bar ends haha. Being an 8 speed bike if you want a relatively budget move to get intigrated shifting like shimano STI for under $100... do a google search on "shimergo" it uses campy 10 speed stuff with shimano 8 spd... supposed to work perfectly... I've got a set of campy brifters that I need to install on my bike at some point... haven't ridden the road bike much so haven't spent the time to swap em on yet :(

as for pedals... know that you have to buy shoes that match I got into clipless in my MTB days and went with SPD... when I got a road bike I just used my mtb shoes and spd pedals... these days i'm on the road and love my shimano SPD sandals... ugly but comfy some waterproof socks and/or wool socks get used depending on the weather... if/when I do move to proper road shoes/pedals I'll likely go with speedplay, dual sided entry makes things much easier at starts and it has a large platform thanks to the way the cleat is designed... but on a budget I hear good things about shimano road pedals (just over $30 for the r540)

I have identical SPD pedals on my road and mountain bikes. I think familiarity is important, at least until you get used to them. I wear the same shoes on either bike.

I have SPD pedals on both bikes and use the same shoes too.

Thanks for the input guys. I'll shop around for SPD pedals and shoes that make sense. The sandals may be a good option for one set of shoes--- as this isn't a race bike---but a commuter / run about, and in FL, sandals are a nice option. I haven't had much time on the bike--- I'm looking forward to putting some miles on it this week.

I don't think the drop- levers will bother me. I am planning on upgrading the front brakes to add levers just off the main bar. Currently the brakes are out on the drop-bars, which isn't ideal. I'll see how well the current components function before upgrading. I kind of like the simplicity of the bike as it sits, and I love the clean look.

Thanks again for the input!

I love time pedals. Had the same pair with the same bearings for the last 15 year's. They are awesome. Mountain style times btw.

if you want sandals you are stuck with mtb type cleats...

I've used SPD pedals for almost the last ten years and had no issues with them. I just put my pedals onto my sixth bike in succession.

If you are looking to upgrade the shifters, I would look into bar end shifters,

Gevenalle shifters: http://www.gevenalle.com/about/ (same concept as brifters but you can use downtube or bar end shifters)

Paul's thumbies: http://www.paulcomp.com/thumbies.html (you can mount your downtube shifters up onto your handlebars)

Sunrace mtb thumb shifters: http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/sh3.htm $18 for a set of shifters.

Thanks for the input guys! I'm going to put a few miles on the bike before I make any modifications. I'm not sure if I want to keep the drop-shifters or not, as I like the retro look. I am looking to make this bike as comfortable as possible, as a century ride has always been a goal of mine. This isn't a fancy bike--- but it should do what I need it to do.

BTW-- I stopped by the bike shop today----- the fancy new bikes have electronic shifters, and hydraulic brakes?!

man---- cycling has changed a bunch in the last 20 years. These new bikes look like spaceships!

just for the record... the shifters you currently have are called downtube shifters as they are located on the downtube... they tend to work well and are light but can be difficult to use and obviously require taking the hands of the bars to shift.

the other options are where the shifters have been integrated into the brakes... these are often refereed to as "brifters" (brake/shifters)... you can stay on the brake hoods while shifting with these but they have a lot of moving parts and are fairly expensive.

the other option to get shifting up on the bars is with barend shifters often called barcons... these take something similar to your downtube shifters and mount them on the end of the bars.

for electric shifting... nothing new, mavic was doing that in nearly 30 years ago... it's just finally broken though... neat stuff but I don't ever see myself using it.

hydro (and disc) brakes are nice but it's only really new to being put on road bikes... the kewl thing is bikes are so simple that most GRMers shouldn't have an issue with tweaking stuff :)

for the record I ride around on a 31 year old steel frame with mostly 15+ y/o parts on it...

anyway good call on just getting some miles on it... get to know the bike a bit and make sure the fit is dialed in... that saddle would be the first thing to go for me... big squishy saddles make for painful riding :-/

donalson wrote: just for the record... the shifters you currently have are called downtube shifters as they are located on the downtube...

I didn't want to be the one to say it, but yeah, what he said. Also, just FYI if the right shifter clicks as you go from gear to gear then they are "indexed" downtube shifters. If they don't click they are friction shifters, and you would have to shift past the gear you want and back it up a little until it runs quiet. If there is a little d-ring on the side of the shifter it (should) switch between indexed and non-indexed if you want to play around with it.

Also, two sided SPD style pedals are definitely a good way to go for a bike like that. If you are a mountain biker and already have shoes it is nice to have compatible pedals on both bikes.

Enjoy it, that is a cool bike and a real throwback. I was surprised when Specialized brought out that model because, as you have noted, most road bikes rely on having all the newest stuff. FWIW, my favorite road bike is my steel Gios.

assuming the shifters are stock the front shifter will be a friction shifter... i LOVE having a friction shifter up front, it makes it easy to "trim" the derailleur so it isn't rubbing in whatever gear combination you are in, it also makes it easy to move to a triple crankset which I prefer to compact cranks (and i'm too fat for a racing double). out back you should have an indexed 8spd... the higher end models have a little switch so you can turn the rear into a friction shifter if needed/preferred

also something I thought about... if you are wanting to commute with it and still want clipless one of the MTB type will be the way to go as the cleat is recessed so you can walk fairly comfortably in the shoes without issue, road cleats make that not so easy.

I also run SPD type pedals on my road bike. A true road pedal (Look or similar) will be better for power transfer, but mtn bike pedals are a hell of a lot easier to get into and walk around in off the bike. The latter was my main reason for switching since my normal loop has two bridges that require walking across. I ride alone 95% of the time, so all-out performance isn't my main priority.

Thanks for the input---- the bike has a friction shifter for the front sprocket and the other lever is indexed for the rear. Both work well, so I'll leave them for now. (I also like the "old" look to it) My main goal is to get the bike where it's comfortable, and start putting some miles on it. There is a great 30 mile "loop" through a forest preserve nearby which will be a great ride. I'm not overly concerned with having the newest technology, or having the lightest / fastest bike---- I'd just like to have something that is capable of covering miles without beating me to death. One day I'd like to do a century ride, as that's always been a goal of mine. It may take a while, but I think this bike is capable enough for that sort of mission.

I appreciate the advice / input! and yes---- that saddle sucks---- I'll be replacing it soon. The previous owner had a nice-- worn-in Brooks saddle on it--- but that wasn't included at the $200 buying price!

I run CrankBrothers' Eggbeater pedals on all my bikes - mountain, road, whatever. I started out on SPDs but found when they get dirty (particularly sandy) the release becomes very inconsistent. Sometimes they'd let go mid log hop and leave me flailing and then minutes later I couldn't get out of them when I stopped. With the eggbeaters I'm out when I want out and in when I want in. I've packed them with so much red clay you couldn't see the pedal and was still able to clip in. They're easily and cheaply rebuildable and the cleats last forever. You will be stuck with MTB shoes (or sandals) but I prefer them anyway. My MTB shoes are sleek looking enough to blend in on a group road ride but still have enough molded lugs that one can easily walk into a convenient store without feeling like you're ice skating on the metal cleats.

And for cool points, the Jelly Belly American pro team used them on all their road bikes about 10 years back, so I'm in good company.

I didn't realize they made such a bike. I like it.

I've got crank brothers candy pedals on both of my bikes. My first 'real' bike was a Specialized Sirrus that I bought when I had a summer job working at a bike shop in High School. It looked like this:

That's just a pic I found on the internet and not my bike as far as I know. I ended up selling that bike in 1992. It had indexed shifting in the rear and a friction shifter in the front. I am not sure why more people don't ride steel road bikes. My cyclocross bike is steel. Sure, there is a couple pound weight penalty, but I always figured that until I didn't have a couple pounds I could lose of body weight, then it really didn't matter too much.

In reply to T.J.:

Hard to say... weight, mainly... and to some extent stiffness. Aluminum always beat steel for power-transfer, but would also beat the piss out of the ride. Now they've managed to get tubing tech refined so they aren't nearly as abusive. Carbon fiber, however, is now the go-to material, as it gives the designer the ability to really refine how they want the bike to ride down to the Nth degree. Both of my latest frames are carbon, although my next one will likely be aluminum (nobody really makes steel DH frames since BMW closed). My road bike from '97 is Ti, but it weighs more than a lot of steel frames - partly due to the extra and fancy tubes and partly due to the 1/2 pound of paint layered on it.

For custom frames, Ti seems to be overtaking steel as the material of choice. Possibly due to the weight advantages, possibly due to the fact builders can charge more for what is roughly the same level of labor. A local friend who's been building custom frames for a few years now has pretty much dropped steel as an option and now builds exclusively in Ti. He's such a perfectionist, it's hard to say how much money he really makes off each frame, despite the $3250 base price.

My road bike is a carbon Madone, and I love it. Having said that I'm really intrigued by steel. I keep pondering a custom steel frame bike that is racy enough geometry to feel at home on an uppity group ride, can still fit 32mm cyclocross tires with fenders for mixed road exploration, and has enough mounts to handle light panniers on both ends. Kind of a one-bike-to-rule all. Maybe future-proof it with electronic routing and disc tabs even if I'm not using them now.

In reply to Ian F:

My MTB is carbon. It is light and is a joy to ride. Certainly there are good frames made out of aluminum, steel, carbon and titanium. It just seems that for the riding that most people with road bikes do, steel is a good frame material choice, but it has been out marketed by the other materials. I would not be very interested in Al for a road bike, although I know they do wonders with tube shaping and the frames don't ride like they did 20 years ago.

In reply to ultraclyde:

How about a Mr. Pink?
(EDIT)No disk tabs. I have one of their cyclocross bikes (the Macho Man). Yes, I bought it just for the name. (not really)