SteveFromNY

I currently have 3 bikes (fixie, cyclocross) and I FINALLY bought a new carbon road bike. I bought a pair of road shoes/LOOK pedals, but I JUST HATE not being able to walk around. (I do that a LOT mid-ride).

I don't race, but go on 50+ mile rides every other day with tons of hills so I bought a light and stiff carbon bike. The SPDs on the cross have a TON of flex, and even with the super stiff BB, I feel them ruining the ride.

Any suggestions for stiffer/lighter SPD pedals for road use? How about these?
https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-PD-A60...ords=spd+pedal

I'd ideally like a double-sided pedal but it's not a deal breaker.

aruban

I ride a road bike with SPD pedals. I ride in a busy city, commute occasionally and don't race. I like being able to walk around and to clip in without thinking. Works for me.

Bike Gremlin

+1

Guilty as charged.

JonnyUtah75

Speedplay Frogs.

John_V 

Same here with regards to the SPD pedals on a road bike. If you want road specific, double-entry pedals, try Speedplays. They are higher maintenance than the SPD's but people that use them seem to swear by them. They have much larger, non-recessed cleats and may not be that suitable for long periods of walking, even with the cleat covers on.

cplager

I think it's pretty common to use SPD and mountain bike shoes on a road bike. It makes walking around much easier. And if you are on a hilly area and need to get a foot down quickly, it's nice to have shoes that will give you some traction.

Cem K

I have those same pedals on my road bike. Unfortunately, since I haven't used SPD-SL pedals I cannot compare but only problem with those pedals are they scratch pretty easily and show those scratch marks. Other than that pretty stable pedals with good bearings, not bulky, and have wider surface area (In several occasions I've cycled for 100+ km without any hotspots )

Hope this helps

Cem K

rdtompki

I use Shimano A520's on both tandem and single. With proper shoes (i.e., road-like) this seems to be an efficient setup and it's particularly important on the tandem to be able to get a foot down fast. Also, walking the tandem is not unknown.

slims_s

I think some high-end SPD pedal (XT or XTR) and a stiff carbon-soled shoe should be stiff enough.

RT

Crank Bros here. SPD's work too, but I have an investment in Candy pedals and cleats.

speedevil 

I have Shimano XT PD-M785 pedals on my CAAD8 and Shimano PD-M324 pedals on my Trek 7500. Both work just fine. It just doesn't make sense to have different shoes for each bike. I'm not racing, I'm riding. Why overcomplicate things?

SteveFromNY

thanks for the advice all! I don't want to go with speedplays because I currently have my Cross bike on my trainer, and I just want to be able to use my MTB shoes for both.

Do eggbeaters clip onto my existing cleats? Are the pedals I linked good for my application?

tagaproject6

I use Shimano PD-A600.

SteveFromNY

actually, just found these...only 236 grams!

https://www.pricepoint.com/detail/128...15&zmap=12895&

SteveFromNY

how do you like these?

rebel1916

It's most likely the shoes, not the pedal. Some high end racing SPD shoes will have a much stiffer sole. You may lose some walkability, but that's probably your best compromise between stiffness and walkability.

SteveFromNY

thanks...honestly never gave that much thought at all. I'll take a look at them.

tagaproject6

They work well and I use them on all my bikes. Never had any unintended clip-outs even on the lightest setting.

Bacciagalupe

SPD + Specialized shoes. Walkable and stiff. It's fine as long as the cleats are in the right spot, and you don't get hot spots.

RollCNY

I don't know how many folks have tried them, but I have used the Look Quartz MTB pedals for years, and have zero complaints. Double sided, nice foot contact, and never had a hot spot issue. Paired with Specialized shoes, I can't tell the difference between them and my road shoes with Look clone cleats and pedals.

Bike Rebel

I use Shimano A520's and MTB shoes. I get off my bike and take photos and explore and it's not worth a few grams not to be able to walk around. Just being single-sided isn't much of a tradeoff. You'll quickly train yourself to kick the pedal around.

benajah

I think it's a lot more common than many realize to use MTB pedals on a road bike, especially among people with bio mechanical issues that make MTB pedal use easier. Additionally, some road shoes come with MTB cleat screw holes as well.
The way I see it...if SPD pedals are good enough for MTB cross country racing, what would make a road pedal any better for road riding? Racing is a bit different. For crits there is an advantage to speedplays.
ive got a pretty big selection of pedal cleat combinations in my garage, SPD, speedplay frogs, speedplay zero and X, and it seems to me the only real difference (aside from weight) is personal preference in clipping in and out, float, cornering clearance.

SteveFromNY

I have Specialized shoes...Do you know if these work with my existing SPD cleats?

RollCNY

They are different than an SPD cleat, but appear similar. The cleat comes with the pedal, and controls float. So you get two sets of cleats with the pedals, from memory I think they are 7 deg and 15 deg float but I could be way off. There is no tension adjustment in the pedal, and I have found them to be a very simple system.

Yo Spiff

Not a thing wrong about SPD's and "MTB" shoes on a road bike. Unless you are concerned about gaining style points. I consider them touring shoes. I use Specialized Sport Mountain shoes on my road bike. They look like road shoes except for the tread on the bottom. For more casual usage, I have several pairs of other SPD shoes that don't look as much like bike shoes.