pedals, cleats, shoes?

Welcome.  

Your local bike shop can probably hook you up with replacement cleats and shoes to go with them.  Alternatively, you can buy new pedals that come with cleats.  The latter gives you the option to get what you want.  

I’ve got Speedplay Zero pedals on my road bike.  The pedal looks like a lollipop.  I like them because they have adjustable “float” in them (they let me twist my feet side to side a little without releasing). 

I’ve got “ rodeo” pedals on my mountain bike so I can use the platform side with regular shoes and the SPD side with bike shoes.  

I’ve got SPD pedals on my tri bike, which some consider sacrilege.  The metal cloverleaf cleats are durable enough for transition, but I switch to the Speedplays for iron distance races.  

One suggestion...get some standard platform pedals and start with one “clipless” and one platform pedal. When you get good clipping in/out with that foot, swap which side is platform (if you aren’t already familiar, pedals have one right-hand thread and one left-hand thread) and practice the second side.  You may feel silly wear 2 different shoes, but not as silly as laying on the ground with a bicycle stuck to your feet.  Yes...you WILL fall over sometime...you can find stories here on BT.  

I think all styles have a tension adjustment.  Start at the easiest to release and increase tension after you’ve “mastered” it (hahaha).  

Oh...if you ride in shoes with laces, pay attention to the loops and lace ends.  Laces can wrap around the pedal axle and tighten so much you can’t pedal or get your foot loose.  

Your best bet for "portable" cleats would be to stick with the SPD 3-bolt setup, as you can find hybrid pedals with cleats on one side and cages on the other (I have them for my beater bike).  It'll save you having to buy two different shoes or switching out cleats all the time.  I also have a TT bike and a road racing bike so I have Look-style cleats on those and I've also ridden Speedplays.

As for shoes, if you go with the SPD you'll likely be getting more of a mountain bike shoe.  You could spend $60 or $400.  If you have a local LBS it's worth going to try them on...they all fit differently.

Why you calling me out like that?? 

in my case, it took about 3 years to my first tip over.