A couple of days ago i joined the Cycle2work scheme and got myself my first road bike in over a decade. It's just a Carrera Virtuoso from Halfords but for a £500 bike, it's stunning. Far less effort on my 16 mile commute than my Giant MTB. My only concern is that the pedals/toeclips are simply useless! I know there are a few keen cyclists on the forum and i was hoping someone could suggest a good quality replacement for them? Any suggestions appreciated.

Would you consider going "clipless" with SPDs? It's the way to go these days. Get some Shimano M520 pedals (eBay prices are best - make sure they include the cleats) then get some MTB SPD shoes - DHB from Wiggle are great value.

I use M520s on all my bikes - the cleats are bulletproof and, with MTB shoes, no problem to walk in.

I've got Shimano SPD M540 pedals with Shimano shoes that have the cleats in the bottom but you can walk on them normally (not the most comfortable for walking) they let in plenty of air (so a bit cold at the moment). I think they are classed as MTB pedals/shoes as opposed to racing bike ones but with the latter you can't walk so easily. The M540 have sealed beaings unlike the M520 IIRC. I also got a set of clip in reflectors for the pedals, not the best fit and probably not re-usable if you take them off again, but at least I'm legal in the dark.

Lucky you for having an employer that was happy to do bike 2 work, mine wouldn't do it even though there are ~2,000 employees in UK

CTW is nowhere near as good as it was. It's good, interest-free, money but savings just as big can normally be found during the sales. I'm tied into some absurdly long extended lease to avoid paying the residual value of my bike

I have been mountain biking for 20 years. I would no way use SPD's for commuting to work.

Get some DMR V8 or V12 pedals very grippy, great quality, bomb proof construction and vey good bearings.

Why on earth not? Ask Bike Radar's commuting forum and you'll find most of the serious commuters (ie those that do more than a short trip) use SPDs. I've used them non-stop for two years.

I use SPDR's on my Dawes Galaxy and my Beone Black Pearl and on my Cannondale F700 they're reliable and effective.

I too have been commuting for over 20 years too and even did some cycle couriering in central london in the mid 80s. IMHO clipless pedals are a must and it is far safer with them, let alone the extra pedal efficiency. As MRS and DaveG say, SPDs are the way to go or any other system that has recessed cleats so you can walk in the shoes with ease.

i´m riding look keo 2 max carbon on my roadbike
they are light, cheap and look good

I find Look Keo cleats last about 5 paces if I have to walk on them - I know I'm not alone in that experience. It doesn't make them much good for commuting. They're also harder to clip into than SPDs.

One of the few benefits of being a postie, Royal Mail has nearer 170,000 employees. And they do like some positive PR.

I personally find it to be a reasonably good scheme, I get a £500 bike for £5.86 pw which comes off my wages before tax. Halfords threw in the best set of lights they had, a lock, mudguards etc free. And i get 50% off bikes for Mrs Jimbob and the Neices/Nephews for the 18 month duration of the lease. I already used the scheme to get the aforementioned Giant MTB and when i did the maths at the end of the 18 months, i had actually been paid £60 to take the bike. But that was three years ago, perhaps things have changed slightly.

More than slightly. The residual value rules have changed. I think if I'd come out of the scheme at the end and bought my bike, I'd have ended up paying about 80% of the value.

Shimano M520 pedals ordered now (with cleats, thanks, would've missed that one!) Still muddling through the bewildering array of MTB SPD shoes.

A few things to think about:
- some are highly vented and your toes will freeze
- stiffer soles are better for longer distances (though less good for walking)
- some shoes are pretty narrow. Allow room for thick socks if using in winter. Shimano are narrow (but pretty good value) - go a size up.

More good advice, thanks. I have Raynaud's disease, so keeping my feet warm is essential. Walking any distance isn't going to be a problem, only have to go up a flight of stairs to my locker once i get to work, then i'll be swapping into my postie shoes for the working day.

I bought some reversible Shimano pedals from Wiggle. They have SPD clips on one side and on the other flat pedals for using with normal shoes.

Yep, I had them and the after a while got fed up with trying to click in on the wrong side Went to double sided ones after a while. They are however useful for a bike when you may not always wear your spd shoes.

That's why I've never got that reversible sort. I think that there's double-sided broad pedals too. I think M520s are just the job for commuting and they are useable with normal shoes for a short ride to the shops or pub.

I just got an old second hand set of click in pedals and shoes and had the first run this morning.
They aren't M520s but the design and the cleats are very similar.
Having never used toe clips or anything in the past they are amazing! It feels like there's double the power available on the steeper inclines so they don't slow you down in the same way. The fixings don't let go but are really easy to twist out of.
The man in the shop said they make you about a minute faster in any hour, but it seems to be a lot more than that.

Agree, clipless pedals make a massive difference.

One word or warning... beware of traffic lights. I have fallen off and see countless other do the same when new to clipless pedals. You are comming to a stop and forget you have clipless then the bike starts to lean one way and you pull the foot out on the wrong side and topple to the floor with your foot still attached in a "you've been framed" moment

All clipless pedals involve a "baptism" of unplanned stops and "toppling overs", in my case these were due to changing my mind at the last second about which side to ride around a massive puddle or boggy bit, losing control when cornering in a particularly sandy bit, or completely falling off the bike onto the road (left knee first, ouch) in a torrential downpour due to clipping a pothole unseen under water, and a few near misses when cars enter a roundabout very fast to the right of me when I was hoping to sail through.

You may need to experiment with the tightness of the pedal clip so as you can clip in easily but also twist out easily (with your foot at the bottom, hard to do in any other position).

The great thing even with clips/straps (but better with clipless cleats) is that you can "pull up" on the pedals for some extra power input. I'm really happy with the M540's.

I've been wondering about the toppling.
Either to do some practice- for example stop and click out at every road junction, or maybe just assume the worst and wear a pair of jeans for the next few weeks.

Are you both topple free now? or do they still catch you out from time to time?

Also my average speed on the first run was up from 15.7 to 16.1 so the benefit is immediately measurable.

I toppled 2-3 times in th first 6 months but have since been topple free for 19years ! Had a few scares but you soon learn to pull the correct leg at the last minute

I'm topple-free too now, but only really got back into some more serious cycling a year ago (mid life crisis I think).

As for what is the "correct" leg, it's a bit like your tailor asking you "which side" (or so I am told, they don't normally ask you in M&S or Asda). If it's the "wrong" side (or leg) you'll soon know. So make sure when you do start to topple, it's to the "correct" side...

Yup - I used to pre-plan stops by unclipping my left foot in advance. It's now pretty much second-nature and I even did the Puffer (riding over some pretty challenging rocks - in the dark) clipped in. I've been caught out once in the last year or two. Arrived at a crossing and didn't unclip. The lights changed much sooner than I thought - ended up sprawled across the road - very embarassing.

Embarrassment is my middle name, so no problems there.
I like the idea of choosing a side to cut down on the indecision.

I was topple free for 4 years until last May. Doing C2C from Ravenglass to Newcastle, I pulled up outside the gates at Sellafield and toppled over, much to the amusement of the Security guards

When you go down do you hit the ground hard? I guess your hand hits the ground first?

I landed elbow and hip first. It's surprising how hard you hit the floor from such a short height!