Road Cycling - SPD or Look

Ive been riding on SPD pedals for about 2 years now and I like them and everything. I am getting a new road bike soon and i was just going to buy a pair of SPD-R pedals. Should I do this or will a pair of Look pedals be worth the upgrade. I am 15 yrs old. I ride a lot but I dont race.. yet.. any comments would be appreciated

Somehow, I feel better secured to the pedals using Look. Really the difference is minimal. SPD seems slightly easier to exit from the pedals.. Just my experience... When touring- definitely prefer SPD. More common to find yourself walking about while on tour, then SPD for sure.. overall- definitely prefer clipless to cages.. Those straps really hurt and you loose that upward pull. But on road/racing bike- guess I would prefer Look. Just seem more secure therefore, energy transfer is better - just my experience...... Probably reason for this hunch is that surface area of cleat is bigger than SPD..

Erm, just to bring to your attention:

SPD is for mountain bike and SPD-R is for the road bike, so though this is a road cycling topic area, it would still be better to be clearer of what you are typing. Then, I don't think I have heard good reviews on the SPD-R pedals.

I have 3 different pair of shoes and three different bikes. I have stayed with SPD just for consistency. I don't want to have to make sure I've matched up the right shoes with the right bike when I'm travelling etc.... My mountain bike shoes and road bike shoes can then be used on any bike I have. Just my 2 cents worth. Keep this in mind if you have or are planning on more than one bike.

Originally posted by oxologic
SPD is for mountain bike and SPD-R is for the road bike

lol

way to give out false info

there are more then a few road SPD pedals on the market

and even the ones that are "classified mtb" can but used on any bike.

Just because a set of pedals says mtb on it don't mean yer gonna have to go offroad.

I have a set of spd pedals on my road bike and guess what they say mtb on them :eek:

It doesn't really matter, they are the same weight as the spd pedals classified as road, and are double sided

Hi, Brian! I've been riding SPD-Rs for almost 3 years. My advice is to get Looks. I have several reasons. The Look cleat pattern is the standard. Almost all shoes accept them. Not true for SPD-Rs. Lots of people complain about SPD-Rs being hard to unclip from. I found that to be the case as well. It can be improved by changing the cleat adjustment on the shoe, but it's an unecessary hassle. And when they're new, the bearings are packed with a thick oil that doesn't let them rotate freely, which means you sometimes have to orient them before clipping in! And even if you get SPD-Rs, the only good model is the Dura-Ace, with the adjustable cleat pad. The others get loose and the cleat rattles around in the pedal. Annoying.

In their defense, my D-A SPD-Rs work well enough that they aren't worth replacing, now that I have worked through the problems. But when I do replace them I will get Look compatibles of some kind.

P.S. Whatever kind of pedals you get, I recommend getting cleats that allow some float. 5-10 degrees is sufficient for most people.

thank everyone. i will take all this into consideration.. i still gotta sell my damn MTB before i can get the road bike though.

if you plan at any point to get off the bike during a ride then spd or spd-r is the way to go. The shoes for the look pedals are not made for walking.

The shoes for my spd pedals are geat, if I want to walk around it's not a prob.

or if you have a problem with yer bike, and have to walk, you will be really sorry with the shoes for the look pedals