Road Cycling - mtb clipless on a road bike

I'm preparing to make the transition to clipless and mtb pedals are a good bit cheaper than road pedals. What are the differences and would I be in trouble if I went with mtb pedals on my roadie? I'm not a racer. More of a long distance "charity" rider...

Also, as I look for clipless pedals, what should I pay attention to. I don't really have any experience in this area...

I wear my MTB speedplay frogs and SIDI MTB shoes on my road bike. I really didn't feel the need to spend the money. Besides looking odd it works fine for me.

Some might argue that you get better power transfer with road specific shoe/pedal combination. But if you're not racing...

People that tour often use MTB pedals because they allow you to wear a shoe you can walk around in. These peals are also double sided for easier clip in.

My friend has Ritchey MTB SPD pedals on his Litespeed. He doesn't have to keep two pairs of shoes around all the time ... he only has so much room in his apartment, so one pair less is good for him.

So yes, it works. When I get a road bike, I'll go with some cheapo SPDs as well because I don't have money to buy LOOK-compatible shoes either.

I've got Shimano 515's on my MTB and road bike, so I didn't have to adjust to them at all and I can use one pair of shoes. I believe Shimano and Ritchey make some road-specific SPD pedals, if you're interested.

Cool. Thanks for the info everyone.

Well, I just ordered some Nashbar-brand ATB clipless pedals (the "Special ATB pedal") on sale for $17. Figured I couldn;t lose for that price. Also got some Pearl Izumi Boulder MTB shoes for $26. With a 10% coupon, I came in under $45 after shipping. I figure I can't really lose at that. The pedals got a decent review at epinions.com and the shoes were spoken of well on a few sites. I know I don't have the high-efficiency transfer of road shoes and pedals, but I think this'll do, especially since I was going to *have* to replace my caged pedals and Power Grips anyway (about $30). I'll try to revisit this thread (or make a new one) after I get them and have a few days to practice...

Do yourself a favor with those pedals, get the cleat screws, take them to a hardware store and find some that are a little bit longer. I had those for a while and the screw would work it self loose causing you to be stuck in the pedal. The only way out was to take off the shoe and pry it out with a multi tool. It's a pain, but with longer screws I had no more trouble until I just worn them to the ground (only took about 5 months).

-Middi-zon

During my road rides, I always stop at a Starbucks for that caffiene fix and it is so much more comfortable to walk and mingle around in Mtb shoes. Currently, I'm using Eggbeaters on my fixed gear road bike.

i have specialized pedals on my road and i use specialized MTB shoes...

I wonder if the smaller pedals and the more flexible shoes will results in "hot spots" compared to road pedals. I do some 50+ rides on the weekend and even with caged pedals, I can occassionally get hot spots. Will this be an issue with these pedals and not others, or is it just kind of common across the board?

I haven't had any trouble with hot spots and I've done centuries wearing just a cheap shimano mtb shoe and shimano spd pedals.

I use two sided SPD pedals for all my riding. I don't have to look down or hesitate when riding in traffic, just put my foot down and clip in. The people that do get hotspots are usually riding with the more flexible soled shoes. I use the shoes with a stiff sole. Another reason for the hot spots is their shoes are not that good a fit. Over a long period of time, the act of pedaling will cause your foot to move around inside the shoe. That, coupled with sweat from your foot, will cause a "hot spot", which is usually a physical sign of a possible blister in that spot. Wicking socks are also a must.
The best way to prevent the cleat screws from working loose is to use the "red" Locktite when putting the screws in. Find the position you want for the cleats, then put the Locktite on one screw at a time. This stuff was used by the manufacturer on the screws holding my derailleur hanger together.

I moved to Look pedals due to hotspots, which I got regardless of wicking socks, etc. I had trouble with them on my roadie shoes with SPD pedals. It's not a universal truth, by any means, but it might be an issue. Like saddles, the unfortunate truth to your own experience (or lack thereof) with hotspots will take trial and error.

you don't have to use an mtb shoe with an mtb pedal. i've got Time ATAC Carbon pedals (bought them used off a fellow forum member), and they work nicely. i've got road shoes that i use with them, SPD clips, and it all works fine. very stiff sole, double sided (and pretty light) pedal. best of both worlds IMO.

that said, i bought some Ritchey pedals (SPD-R cleat) off ebay recently...they were cheap enough that i could buy them just to see if i liked a different style. still waiting on delivery...

Yeah, I would've preferred road shoes, but I wanted to be able to walk w/o damaging the cleats and the mtb shoes were a really good deal. At worst, I'll just keep my eyes out for a cheap pair of road shoes and then I'll be able to choose based on the ride (i.e. commuting vs distance riding)

Originally posted by spexy
I wear my MTB speedplay frogs and SIDI MTB shoes on my road bike. I really didn't feel the need to spend the money. Besides looking odd it works fine for me.

You mean like these? :)
http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/images/cycling/bikes/Aegis/2001-Aro_Svelte/Aegis-002.jpg

I don't think it looks that odd actually. I admit though that I have since switched out the Frogs for Zeros because I just didn't like the feel of the Frogs... never could get used to all that much float and I didn't particularly like the toe-in entry method.


Originally posted by spexy
Some might argue that you get better power transfer with road specific shoe/pedal combination. But if you're not racing...

I picked up a pair of Sidi Energy shoes while I was in Italy on a business trip for half the price they were going for in the US. That made them cheaper than most mid-range cycling shoes. I will have to say that they are the comfiest shoes I own... cycling or otherwise and that the large interface of the Zero cleats to the shoes also feels much better in terms of power transfer and "connectedness" to the pedals/cranks. I also picked up a pair of Sidi Action MTB shoes (BTW, I think the Sidis in Europe come in much cooler colours than in the US) at the same time and they do fit just as well as the Energy but I can definately tell the difference between them [Actions] with SPD-style cleats (Time ATACs on my MTB) and the Speedplay Zero cleats and pedals on my RB. I think even if you're not racing, they feel better on the bike but that could just be me. I see plenty of people who ride with MTB style pedals and shoes on their roadbikes and the ability to only need to maintain one set of shoes between RB and MTB is also a bonus. I've shown up at plenty of MTB rides embarassed because after yanking the bike off the hitch rack, I reach into my backseat and realise that I've grabbed the wrong pair of shoes.

Yep those are the ones. I have the Ti frogs which are very light for a MTB pedal. I also have woogly knees and so I'm addicted to the wild amounts of float. Entry and exit is second nature at this point.

It's funny, I've spent all sorts of money on adding chi-chi items to my bike but I've never gotten around to buying a second set of road speedplays and shoes. I walk around the house with a pedal wrench switching from the MTB to the Trainer to the Road bike. One of these days gonna ruin the threads.

Originally posted by spexy
It's funny, I've spent all sorts of money on adding chi-chi items to my bike but I've never gotten around to buying a second set of road speedplays and shoes. I walk around the house with a pedal wrench switching from the MTB to the Trainer to the Road bike. One of these days gonna ruin the threads.

Yeah... I don't think it's recommended... especially with the Ti spindles. I opted for the steel spindles on my Frogs. I did spring for the Ti spindles on my Zeros though.

I gave my Frogs to a friend of mine and she was quite happy with them. She was contemplating a switch from straps to clipless for her hybrid and I sent her the Frogs with cleats along with a pair of magnesium-bodied ti-spindled SPD clones that originally came with my MTB. I told her she could keep the pedals she liked and just to send me back the pair she didn't want. I suggested she try the Frogs first. She did and she loved them. She eventually tried the SPD pedals but I think she was so biased at that point that it didn't matter. She sent me back the SPD pedals after only one ride.

When I first played with SPDs I had hot spots. I went away until the advent of the higher-end carbon fiber or carbon-glass sole shoes.

These shoes are stiff enough not to cave in around the SPD. Then I went back to SPD to stay. I used a road shoe with carbon fiber sole and SPD with pontoons for two years and then ditched the road shoe when the mountain bike shoes caught up and started shipping with carbon-fiber soles. I found the mountain bike sole was definatly the way to go during training rides so I don't slip at stop lights or walking into the store for gatoraide. The 2-sided ATB SPD is also easier to stomp and go when the light changes green...

I used Ritchey pedals with shimano cleats as this gave me a bit more float than the ritchey cleats... However I've run through two sets of pedals and now I'm switched to the egg-beaters.

The egg-beaters work with SPD shoes, the cleat is not as tall so they don't scrape as much as the SPD and the pedal ANd with a 4-sided entry the beater is even faster at clicking in than the ATB/SPD...

Originally posted by CarlJStoneham
I wonder if the smaller pedals and the more flexible shoes will results in "hot spots" compared to road pedals. I do some 50+ rides on the weekend and even with caged pedals, I can occassionally get hot spots. Will this be an issue with these pedals and not others, or is it just kind of common across the board?

You're going to have to go on some long rides and find out what you're in for. Hotspots happen when you have uneven pressure on the bottom of your foot -- this sometimes can happen if you have pedals with a small 'platform' and shoes with a semi-flexible sole. Your combination may work fine for you; you'll just have to put in the miles and see how it goes, and for the money you spent you haven't lost much of you decide to go with something else.

You need to be good to your feet if you're going to be doing long rides, so spend as much as you can justify in this area. When I did the MS-150 this year the biggest problem I had was my feet, and I have decent shoes with a very stiff sole (Sidi Bullets) and pedals with a large platform (Time ATAC Alium). Think about it this way; you're going to be riding for several hours at a stretch and putting a lot of pressure on your feet -- most folks would have sore feet just from standing still that long, even in comfortable shoes.

Jst a quick update. The pedals and shoes shipped today and I should have them by next Friday! YAY!!!! *much jumping up and down in anticipation*

I have also just ordered some mountain shoes for the weekend coffee runs. My Diadora's left me laying on the floor last weekend so that was it for me. I am also going to take them (the Diadora roadies) to my local shoe repair shop and have some rubber added to the heals at least.

I have no interest in learning to ice skate. I use SPD mountain pedals on all my bikes. I have the super budget Nashbar's on a couple of them. The only thing I'll say bad about them is that the colored ones don't have a durable finish. If I ever replace them I'll just stick with silver. Other than that, they work just fine. The bearing aren't super smooth but what do you expect for under $20.

Ooops. I ordered black. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to not scratch them ;)

Originally posted by CarlJStoneham
Ooops. I ordered black. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to not scratch them ;)

Put a black Sharpie permanent marker in the old toolbox, works great for touchups.

Well, they came in last week, but circumstances didn't let me ride enough. After a few more days, I'm quite happy with them. The shoes are a bit big and I've been having trouble getting the cleats positioned correctly, but the pedals work great (and I think the shoes too would if they weren't a size too big (but they'll be great in the winter)).

Already, my average speed has gone up by about 1.5mph. I actually rode home at 18mph the other day when my previous max was 16.2. YAY!