mitts66

Hi There,
I wanted to ask if anyone could offer counsel on the following dilemma: I ride a mountain bike all year long for commuting and occasional long rides. Also, frequently during nice weather in NW Chicagoland, I will ride a road bike. Currently, I am considering getting clips and shoes, but am unsure whether or not to get the same type of pedals for both bikes.

There are some hills in the area, and I ride both on road and on trails. What do you recommend? Thanks in advance.

Cyclist looking for advice.

LarDasse74

I would put the same type of pedal on both bikes... you bike does not know or care what type of shoes you have. If you aren't racing then some good qaulity mountain bike shoes will work great on a road bike, with the added benifit of you being able to walk if you stop at a store, while your friends with road bike shoes waddle like ducks and risk splititng their heads open onthe magazine rack...

Also, if you chose to get mountain bike style pedals on your road bike, most road shoes will also fit the cleats, should you choose to get a pair of road shoes in the future.

(previously unnoticed sentence fragment removed)

mitts66

Thank you for your response. Your advice will be considered.

Oldpeddaller

+1 to everything Lardasse said - I agree totally! If you've ever tried to walk even a few steps in carbon-soled road shoes fitted with Look cleats, it's a risky prospect. MTB shoes & cleats are MUCH better.

2372ighost

+2 It's what I do.

PM7771

I have hand-me-down ritchie pedals on my Trek 820 mtb, then got shimanos on my new DeVinci Podium road bike. Two sets of used but not worn-out shoes I've enjoyed recreational rides of 10-42mi over the past 3 years

Going clipless was a small step, more stressful to read about that to perform. Just one dumb fall at the end of my street.

My SPD clips are great. Very loose on the old Ritchies, just the opposite on the Shimanos

Peter

HillRider

I use Speedplay's Frog "MTB" pedals on my road bikes with recessed sole "MTB-style" shoes and love them. They are lousy off-road pedals as the cleats are terribly intolerant of mud, ice and other debris but they are great road pedals and about the lightest style available.

That said, if I was going to buy true double-duty pedals for road and true off-road or Rail-Trail use, I recommend Shimano's SPD in what ever model you wish. They are reasonably priced, durable, easy to clip into and out of and the cleats fit ALL MTB-type shoes.

CACycling

SPDs are great. I like the M520s for MTB and the A520s for road bike (give a little more support for distance riding) and a good pair of MTB shoes will work in both. And if you decide to get road shoes down the road, most of them will work fine with the SPDs.

urbanknight

+1 to all the above. Unless you're racing or doing extremely long road rides, mountainbike pedals and shoes will work fine on both bikes. That will save you $$$ on shoes.

I recommend Crank Bros. A lot of people love them on both mountain and road bikes.

embankmentlb

I ride with SPD's on both my road & mountain bike. 90% of the time i use my mtb shoes even if riding on the road. I have done back to back century rides with them. The best part is i can walk as easy as ride. My road shoes are a Shimano fitness touring shoe that walks ok also as the cleat is still up into the sole. Both shoes carry a bit more weight than most. If having the lightest in equipment is your goal it would be best to go another direction.

BCRider

Another happy SPD commuter here. All my road bikes get setup with SPD pedals. The other options are good as well but I happened to go SPD way back and with all the pedals and two pairs of shoes I figure I'll stay with SPD since they work for me.

It doesn't hurt that SPD pedals are often much less $ than the other options either.....

If you start racing or serious training riding with a road group you may want to look at what, if any, advantages the road setups offer. But even on my longer ride days the SPD's have worked just fine without any foot pain and only a general fatigue from all the riding.

Feaduin

You might also consider crank brothers candies, awesome mud clearance for off road riding and the little tiny platform helps spread out the force of the down-stroke for long road rides. (they also make a road pedal (quattro) that uses the exact same cleat but you won't get the full advantage of that unless you have the extra add on rubber pads which won't work with mountain shoes but the tread on mountain shoes simulates the rubber add on with the candies anyways, as I said above.)

BCRider

Mud off road isn't an issue for me since around here I won't use anything that locks my feet in. So it's platforms only for me. But the good platforms with the grip pins that really grab the shoe soles.... and do a wonderful "shredded pork" number on your shins if you're not wearing shin guards.... don't ask.....

tacomee

Some folks like Crank Brothers, some Shimano SPD-- so it's a matter of personal choice. SPD is really the standard however. I wouldn't buy or ride anything else, road or mountain. The're also the cheapest!