12 Best Clipless Pedals for Beginners (Updated 2023) (2023)

As a starter, riding with clipless pedals can be challenging. Many people occasionally start riding with these types of pedals and after a certain period of time, don’t want to use them anymore. So why do they want to ride with such types of pedals when it can be difficult? Because clipless pedals are best when it comes to efficient pedaling and performance. These pedals are designed based on specific riding intents. Unlike flat or platform pedals, these pedals always have the upper edges for providing ultimate performance, and sometimes it is more comfortable when you master riding with such pedals.

Most people lose the motivation to cycle with these types of paddles because of their miscalculations. Most of the time the reason behind not cycling with these pedals is the wrong selection of pedals. There are plenty of clipless pedals in the market and each of them is built for specific usage. Therefore, choosing the right set of pedals can be really tricky. And before starting cycling with these pedals, you should study about how they actually work. Then, you should research the best clipless pedals that suit your budget and fulfill your demands.

Buying Guide: Everything You Want to Know About Clipless Mechanism

Okay, we all know that the clipless mechanism includes some sort of cleats in order to function. So, what are cleats? Cleats are actually a piece of metal that attaches under the shoe of a compatible shoe to fasten your feet tightly with the pedals all the time when you are cycling.

Tension Release:

In this system, the cleats are connected with the pedals through a spring tension mechanism where you have to turn your feet in order to release them from the pedals. Although the overall function works pretty much the same for all clipless pedals, few significant changes might be seen for different systems. All of the clipless pedals feature some type of release tension feature where you can adjust the tension according to your own preference. Most clipless pedals have this type of feature except for a few Crank Brothers Mallet edition pedals. Beginner level riders prefer to easily get their feet out of the pedals. Therefore, light and flexible tension adjustment is suitable for them. Then again, advanced and professional riders want a firm and rigid attachment of their feet with the pedals as this type of setting does not allow the foot to slip off unintentionally while aggressive cycling.

Float Adjustment:

Float adjustment measures the flexibility and feelings of your feet when you clip-in and out. The characteristics of the pedal play a significant role in acquiring the float angle while your pedaling style doesn’t have much to do here. How much can you freely rotate your feet while they are on the pedals – that is defined by the float angle. At first, you may think having a small float angle is a benefit as the theory says you can release your feet effortlessly. But in practice, riders have found that having a large float angle is much better because you will be able to turn your feet while cornering and that will make predictable and active steering. Your foot may slip unconditionally while cornering or steering if you have a small float angle.

Different cleats with different float and release angles have been produced by various manufacturers. For example, Crank Brothers cleats offer 6° float; which means you can turn your feet between 0° to 6°. And these pedals have a release angle from 15° to 20°. On the other hand, Shimano cleats offer a 4° float that is 2° less than the Crank Brothers cleats. Remember, having a large float angle is better as it allows your feet to have better free movement. Then again, if the release angle is much larger than the float angle; it can make the entry and release much more difficult.

Contact Area:

Having a larger contact area helps a lot for distributing the power to each section of the platform. This eventually transmits power for efficient pedaling. It also makes you confident enough for clipless pedaling, especially when you are new. Because of having larger platforms, you don’t have to look down and locate the pedals in order to clip-in. Larger platforms ensure you have better edge-to-edge contact while pedaling.

People have a common misconception of the contact area. They think the better contact area can be achieved in those pedals that have long pins and larger cages. But that is not quite true. Pedals are combined with different types of shoes and there lies the difference. When you compare riding with different shoe models, you will notice the pins and cages contact the sole partially. Usually, your shoe floats above the platform. So, don’t think you will get much contact area just by looking at the large platform, it usually depends on reality. Compared to the traditional XC parts, you may experience better contact area with the modern clipless pedals that are suitable for enduro and trail.

Connection Between The Shoe and Pedal:

There are no specific standards for the connection between your shoe and the pedal. Depending on the manufacturer, the depth and the contact area between the pedals and soles varies a lot. With different types of cleats and shoes, you can experience different depths and recess areas. The pedals offered by Shimano, Nukeproof, HT, Sixpack work very well with most shoe types. A small contact area is offered by the pedals in the best possible scenario, the rest is done by the sole. Therefore, it is wise to choose a pair of shoes that have stiff soles.

DMR and Crank Brothers offer some of the pedals with relatively large platform cages. Aside from stiff soles, these pedals work pretty well with soft soles. However, these pedals adjust to various areas of the sole and the adjustment can be more complicated. The distance between the outer-sole and the cleat can be adjusted via shims and cleat spacers. As a result, it doesn’t only rely on the shoe and the pedal. But once everything is perfectly tuned, you will have greater advantages.

Our Top Pick

That is why we will introduce you to some of the best clipless pedals in this article so that your work becomes a bit easier and you can get a better guideline. Each of these pedals is simply best according to their own aspects and they will handle the job quite well for various users’ intents. Among all the products we really think the SHIMANO Ultegra PD-R8000 pedals beat all of them as you can use these pedals not just only for a particular intent but also for all types of cycling. So, we have entitled it as our “Overall Best Choice”.

In the following table, we’ve listed the best clipless pedals for the beginner cyclists:

How our selected Clipless Pedals for beginners compare

We have sketched out a comparison table so that you can easily compare all the products. This chart is specially made for those who are very busy with their work and where time is very crucial for them. But as usual, we highly suggest you read the full article to have in-depth details of all the products.

Pedal	Preview	Type	Weight (Pair)	Dimension	Release Angle	Cleat Mount	Body Material
SHIMANO PD-M530		Clipless (dual entry)	1 lbs	0.6” x 0.6” x 0.4”	–	2-bolt	Aluminum
SHIMANO PD-EH500		Clipless (SPD)	0.84 lbs	7” x 6” x 3”	–	2-bolt	Aluminum
SHIMANO PD-RS500		Clipless (SPD-SL)	0.7 lbs	6.7” x 6.3” x 2”	30°	3-bolt	Composite (Resin)
SHIMANO Dura-Ace PD-9000		Clipless (SPD-SL)	0.55 lbs	7.9” x 3.2” x 1.6”	35°	3-bolt	Carbon
SHIMANO Ultegra PD-R8000		Clipless (SPD-SL)	0.55 lbs	8.7” x 4.7” x 2.4”	33°	3-bolt	Carbon Composite
SHIMANO PD-M520		Clipless (dual entry)	0.84 lbs	4.6” x 4.1” x 3.9”	–	2-bolt	Alloy
SHIMANO XT PD-M8120		Clipless (SPD)	0.96 lbs	9” x 5” x 3”	–	2-bolt	Aluminum
SHIMANO XTR PD-M9120		Clipless (dual entry)	0.87 lbs	8.3” x 4.3” x 2.4”	–	2-bolt	Anodized Aluminum
Crankbrothers Candy 2		Clipless	0.78 lbs	3.4” x 2.7” x 0.6”	15°-20°	2-bolt	6061-T6 Aluminum
Crankbrothers Mallet DH		Clipless	1.06 lbs	8” x 8” x 8”	15°-20°	2-bolt	6061-T6 Aluminum
SHIMANO Saint PD-M820		Clipless (dual entry)	1.25 lbs	6” x 5” x 3”	–	2-bolt	Alloy
Crankbrothers Doubleshot 1		Hybrid	0.73 lbs	7” x 5” x 3”	10°	2-bolt	Composite Nylon

Even if you are a beginner, you may want to concentrate on a specific style of cycling. As clipless pedals can be used for multiple types of cycling, we thought it would be better to categorize our selection into different parts. Therefore, all of the products from our list are the benchmarks for different types of cycling. So, take a look at the pedals that we have selected for various classification.

12 best clipless pedals you can buy today for beginners

# For beginner road cyclists

1. SHIMANO PD-M530

Great Set of Pedals for Road

The PD-M530 pedals from Shimano are some of the budget-friendly models in their series. Yet these pedals are brilliant inventions for those who enjoy riding without much support from the cages. You can change your track from trails to tarmac whenever you like as these pedals offer more stability and control for their large surface areas. You will notice there is almost no mud or debris sticking on these pedals when you step in for their innovative mud-shedding design. Moreover, the adjustable spring tension allows riding with confidence and restrain you from not getting stuck on rocks or bristly surfaces.

We have found almost zero SPD compatible shoes that don’t match with these pedals. So, these pedals will work perfectly with any SPD shoes. Although the SM-SH51 cleats are included in the package, you can also use SM-SH56 cleats if you ever want to try out a different set of cleats. The make sure a minimum loss of power for stress-free pedaling. Their rigid structure has made an excellent choice for enduro, terrain, and all-mountain type cycling. These pedals won’t let your anticipated acceleration and speed down when you move to different terrain.

SHIMANO PD-M530 Mountain Pedals

2. SHIMANO PD-EH500

Great Hybrid Pedals with Multi Release Cleats

The SHIMANO PD-EH500 pedals were designed for multipurpose performance and allow you to either clip into them for SPD style cycling or flip them over to crank on their wide platforms. These pedals cannot ignore performance as well as ease while cycling whether they are clipped-in or not. So, these can be great choices for those who don’t like always riding with SPD compatible shoes.

These grey colored pedals offer relatively faster getting in and out for their light action open binding mechanism. And the flat side can offer an excellent grip for better control even in wet conditions. Instead of the SM-SH51 standard cleats, they come with multi-release SM-SH56 cleats that can be mounted with 2-bolt SPD compatible shoes. Hence these pedals are best suited with Shimano CT and MT shoe models.

SHIMANO PD-EH500

# For beginner road racing

3. SHIMANO PD-RS500

Great SPD-SL pedals to Start Racing

The SHIMANO PD-RS500 SPD-SL pedals are optimized for the novice riders and make them ready to conquer almost any type of ride. Make frequent entry and exit on these pedals easily for the lighter spring tension adjustment. These pedals have some of the essential features that are needed for any entry-level riders, especially those who are new to clipless pedals. In addition, these pedals provide larger entry targets for their extra-wide platforms. This will make a better engagement of your feet with the pedals meaning you can comfortably clip-in before riding and quickly clip-out at traffic or rest-stops.

The PD-RS500 pedals won’t disappoint you on any type of cycling. Either you are racing or hauling with a group, these pedals are just perfect for both. Stainless steel is inserted in the pedal body and covered with composite resin materials that make these pedals highly resilient. Get a 6° float with the included SM-SH11 cleats and you can switch the angle of float either 0° or 2° by using the SM-SH10 and SM-SH12 cleats correspondingly. The 30° release angle will always provide you better traction for racing.

SHIMANO PD-RS500 Pedals

4. SHIMANO Dura-Ace PD-9000

Excellent Selection to Start with SPD-SL

The Shimano Dura-Ace PD 9000 pedals have the ultimate carbon-infused power transfer platforms. When you are looking for nothing but absolute performance for road cycling, these are top-of-the-line pedals that you can find in the market. If you are wondering what made these pedals exceptional, then you will actually notice plenty of changes. For instance, these pedals are now equipped with new cleats and they have wider surfaces in order to have positioning adjustability. As a whole, these pedals can provide efficient power transfer and superior comfort simultaneously while pedaling.

The wider surfaces also offer better engagement and disengagement between your shoe and the pedal as you don’t have to look down to locate the pedals. This gives you more confidence while riding. These are SPD-SL LS road pedals that actually means “Long Spindle” for LS. As a result, these pedals can be used with 4mm longer axles than the standard ones. This was made for those who enjoy a wider Q-factor while riding. These pedals provide better traction and cornering with 35° road clearance and adjust the float to ±1° to limit toe movement between the pedal and cleat.

SHIMANO Dura-Ace PD-9000 SPD

# For beginner triathlon riders

5. SHIMANO Ultegra PD-R8000

Lightweight Pedals for Triathlon | Overall Best Choice

The Shimano Ultegra PD R8000 is the role model of high-quality pedals. With all the necessary features, these pedals don’t compromise anything for ultimate performance. Hence their aesthetic has been updated to a great extent in order to match the new 6811-speed group. These pedals ensure a 10mm height from the center of the axle to the cleat. These pedals were leveraged by Shimano to provide something worthy for the professional cyclists. This video shows an awesome overview of these pedals and their installation process –

Enjoy better traction than before for their 33° road clearance and the SPD-SL cleats allow you to adjust the float to 6°. This will help you to move your feet freely on the pedals while you are clipped in. Again, this also makes an improved engagement and disengagement of your feet with the pedals. The SM-SH11 cleats will be given with these pedals and as alternatives, you can either use SM-SH10 or SM-SH12 cleats. All in all, these pedals really prove to be the true successor of the Shimano Dura-Ace PD-9100 flagship model.

Related: Top Pedals for Triathlon Bikes Reviews

SHIMANO Ultegra PD-R8000 Pedals

# For beginner mountain/gravel/trail riders

6. SHIMANO PD-M520

Good Choice for MTB

The Shimano PD-M520 pedals were perfected for road and MTB cyclists and these pedals offer classic SPD performance and reliability. These pedals will come within your budget. As a result, when someone wants to start riding with clipless pedals; he can grab these affordable pedals. Again, these pedals can be considered some of the best pedals for seasoned veterans. These pedals are the proud members of the DEORE M6000 series.

When you compare these pedals with some of the expensive models such as Shimano XT or XTR brethren, you can notice these pedals use the same entry and release control mechanism as them. These are reasonable with their weights and for their faux bear trap alloy cage, they can offer extra support for mountain, gravel and road cycling. When you purchase them, you will get a pair of SM-SH51 cleats that offer ±4° float. But the SM-SH56 cleats can be also used with these pedals.

SHIMANO PD-M520

7. SHIMANO XT PD-M8120

Features Excellent Shoe-to-pedal Contact

The Shimano XT PD-M8120 pedals extend the contact zones for their wide platform surfaces and allow you to gain control over aggressive cycling. Those who like to get the support of wider cages should definitely choose these pedals. These integrated wider cages grant maximum power flow for efficient pedaling and protect the binding mechanism acting like shields. They are also helpful for letting you engage and release the pedals very easily.

These pedals come with the standard SM-SH51 cleats and as an option, allow you to use the SM-SH56 cleats. These pedals are the part of DEORE XT M8100 series and all of the pedals from this series have proved to be very well-suited for enduro, trail and all-mountain type cycling. All the pedals from this series have gone through some extensive tests on trails and the venerable XT group gets updated every year. For serious mountain bikers, the legacy of the XT pedals seems very important. The XT PD-M8120 pedals are less heavy than their previous M8120 model and offer ±4° float.

SHIMANO XT PD-M8120

# For beginner XC riders

8. SHIMANO XTR PD-M9120

Bike Pedal for XC

Get a maximum edge-to-edge contact for feasible pedaling as the wide and long platforms on the Shimano XTR PD-M9120 pedals will stabilize shoe-to-pedal interference. These SPD style pedals work flawlessly with most sneakers that have flat outsoles like AM and ME shoes. Then again, a pair of 1.0mm rider-tuned cleat spacers will be included to accommodate various shoe designs with random outsoles and lug heights. These pedals belong to the XTR M9100 series, which is the weapon of choice for the World Cycling champions as all of the pedals from this series can offer traction control and predictable steering for any kind of cycling.

These pedals offer outstanding performance for enduro, gravel, trail and all-mountain type cycling. Even if you are not clipped, the wider platforms will ensure maximum efficiency for optimum pedaling by transmitting power and improving control. The SM-SH51 standard cleats are included with these pedals and these pedals give you the option to use the SM-SH56 multi-release cleats. Small or medium size shoes ranging from 36 to 43 and medium or large size shoes ranging from 43 to 48 can adjust with these pedals and they should be compatible with the SPD mechanism.

SHIMANO XTR PD-M9120

9. Crankbrothers Candy 2

Customizable Float with Premium Bearings

The Crankbrothers Candy 2 pedals are from the ‘Candy’ series and they have proved to be some of the versatile pedals for cross-country, trail, gravel, and cyclocross type cycling. The ‘Candy’ series includes the following pedals – Candy 1, Candy 2, Candy 3, Candy 7, and Candy 11. Among all the pedals of this series, we found the Candy 2 pedals promote all the important features within a pretty affordable price. Hence they are not cheaper than the Candy 1 pedals and the high-end Candy 11 pedals have Titanium wings and spindle axles.

You can easily customize the float and release angle for these pedals and unlike the Candy 1 pedals, a pair of premium brass cleats are included with them with shims to get you the appropriate height when you clipped in. They are excellent for shedding mud and debris and for their fancy colors, they will certainly look cool on any bike. Their four-sided entry allows you to clip in easily and quickly as you don’t have to look down and locate the pedals. These pedals are some great choice for trail riders and gravel grinders who are seeking something durable and easy to use.

Crankbrothers Candy 2

# For beginner Down-Hill riders

10. Crankbrothers Mallet DH

Appreciated by Many for Down-Hill

When it comes to ultimate DownHill cycling, the Crankbrothers Mallet DH pedals are undoubtedly the best selections. Crank Brothers has produced various types of Mallet pedals and the DH variants are simply the best for DownHill type cycling. That is why these pedals are highly recommended by many professionals and they are the choice of the DH World champions. Greg Minnaar, 3 times DH World champion finds these pedals truly deserving to be the best for DownHill. This following video from Crank Brothers shows his perspectives about these pedals –

With that being said, these pedals come with premium brass cleats with shims so that you can adjust a suitable interface between your foot and the pedal. Where Shimano cleats only offer a ±4° float, these cleats are able to adjust the float angle to ±6°. And the customizable release angle gives you better clearance while you are speeding up on DownHill. The traction has increased to a whole new level for their concave shape, textured finish, and rigid body. And they also support a technology where you can change the traction pads.

However, there is also a special edition of these pedals in the contribution of 4 times DH World champion Loic Bruni. These are called theMallet DH Super Bruni Edition and they are quite different from the normal ones. Featuring many similar facilities as the normal Mallet DH pedals, they have 5mm longer axles that increase the durability up to 50% and they are decorated with asymmetrical double-anodized red and blue color.

Crankbrothers Mallet MTB Bike Pedal

# For beginner Enduro riding

11. SHIMANO Saint PD-M820

The Best Pair of Pedals for All-mountain and Enduro

You will find the Shimano M820 Saint SPD pedals cogent straight out of their boxes. These are some of the hefty pedals available in the market that are slim yet have wider surfaces measuring 19mm from the center to the edge of the platform. Surprisingly, you can adjust your foot height conveniently with 4 adjustable traction pins. Two of these pins are located at the front and two are at the back on each side of the platform. These pedals may offer similar engagement and disengagement as the Shimano XT M8120 model.

These pedals are some of the reliable products constructed with Aluminum that is tuned by machine and the axle units are made of chrome-moly Steel containing dual cup and cone bearings. They will look elegant on your bike for their gold anodized lock bushes. These pedals come with the standard SM-SH51 cleats and you can use the SM-SH56 cleats as an option. And like most of the SPD pedals, these cleats offer ±4° float adjustment.

SHIMANO Saint PD-M820 SPD Pedals

# For beginner commuters

12. Crankbrothers Doubleshot 1

Outstanding Hybrid Pedals, Liked by Most People

Eliminating the traditional 4-way engagement, the Crankbrothers Doubleshot series pedals let you enjoy the benefits of both worlds with double-sided engagement where one side of these pedals can be used as a casual flat pedal for recreational cycling and the other side can be used as a clipless for riding aggressively on trails or mountains. These pedals will decorate your bike with an aesthetic appearance and for their variety of fancy colors, you will get the option to choose the right one that matches your bike. These pedals come with the Easy cleats that have a 10° release and allow you to change the release angle to 15° if you use the optional Standard cleats.

“Invent a product that can make the ride better than the last one” – keeping this philosophy, the ‘Crankbrothers’ started their journey back in 1997 and they started in their small garage at Laguna Beach. Today, this company makes world-class bicycle accessories including wheels, tools, droppers, pumps, and pedals. They have achieved reputation globally and general people, as well as world-class athletes; highly praise all of their products.

Crankbrothers Doubleshot Hybrid Bike Pedal

Conclusion

If you have read the whole article taking your time and deeply noticing all the products, we think you should get a basic idea of what type of clipless pedal works best for what type of cycling. We also think you are now prepared to buy good quality clipless pedals after reading this article.

We have selected all the products on our list through exclusive research and testing for countless hours. They are obviously some of the best pedals available in the market. So, if you really want to buy a pair of clipless pedals, why are you waiting? Go ahead and buy one of the products from our list and we can guarantee you will not regret even for a bit buying any of the products.

Honestly, these pedals are worth every penny and you will surely thank us if you buy one of these pedals. A piece of advice – try to buy a pair of pedals from our list according to the criteria that suit you most. Thank you for reading this article taking your precious time and we really hope you have enjoyed it.