bernmart

I've been riding on the road with SPD pedals and touring shoes for eight years now, with a good deal of satisfaction. I average 5-6K miles per year. In short, I'm not a newbie. But lately road pedals, especially the Speedplays that two of my friends swear by, have begun to appeal to me. Which of the options--Looks, Shimano SPD-SLs, Speedplays--are the easiest to walk in, when walking is necessary?

Also, which is the best source for Speedplay-specific road shoes? If I go the Speedplay route I don't want to use an adapter; the pedals are complicated enough!

Advice from all you roadies would be very welcome!

garciawork

I still use eggbeaters after 5 years. I have thought MANY times about getting a set of speedplays, but I just can't find anything negative about my eggbeaters, plus they are super easy to walk in, and have a cleat for road or MTB shoes. I did NOT like shimano SPD's though. One pair of high end MTB shoes and the exact same pedals across the board, KISS.

bbeasley

I have a road bike with speed plays. Great on the bike, totally suck to walk in. Other bike has SPDs and I use these Pearl Izumi shoes. They look just like any nice athletic shoe and are very comfortable. I wear them all day at work.

BykOfALesserGod

Why on earth would you do that?

kenji666

I don't walk in my pedals. That would be very difficult.

fstshrk

I have used SPD-SL and Keo. SPD-SL cleats are easy to walk on unless you want to run a marathon ;-)
However, Keo pedals are much easier on the knees due to having real free float and the 9 degree red cleats. The Keo grip cleats look like they wear easily since the rubber pads tear but they last forever.

bernmart

I've needed to walk to, among other things: cross washed-out or flooded places between stretches of pavement; get the bike through roadwork sites; negotiate detours on bike paths; walk the bike across really dangerous intersections; help friends to safety after accidents; go to restaurants in malls. This is Los Angeles, guys, not Boulder or Portland.

Carloswithac

I have Speedplays and find the cleat easy to walk on. I have the Keep on Covers on the cleats for extra grip/protection.

RonH

I've used Look, then SPD-SL and now Speedplay.
I don't think there are many "Speedplay specific" shoes. Speedplay pedals/cleats come with an adapter plate to make a 3 hole shoe a Speedplay shoe.

+1. Very easy to walk on. Cleat covers will greatly extend the life of your cleats if you do a lot of walking on them.

Dan333SP

I have Look Keos (the grey cleat). They are hard plastic and tend to wear fairly quickly on the side that you unclip from when coming to a stop. For walking, they're borderline dangerous on smooth surfaces like marble or waxed wood. I have a pair of $5 rubber cleat covers I keep in my jersey pocket when I expect to be walking around (basically every ride except racing) and that solves the slippery problem just nicely.

sreten

Hi,

What about SPD MTB shoes ?
Many road bikers use them.
They start pretty cheap.

rgds, sreten.

gc3

i'm a speedplay zero advocate, using them for almost 10 years

having tried them, i'd put speedplay-specific soles low on my list of things I require....in the "false economy" category....i much higher prioritize using shoes that are comfortable for me, and using the adaptor (which is extremely simple, adds only 3mm stack height, etc etc....)

having said that, i recently talked with speedplay customer service, who related there are currently 21 models of speedplay specific shoes being sold (albeit I think some of those are custom)...so if you choose that path, a little reserach will go a long way...

MikeWMass

Time road cleats, IMO, are the best combination of easy to walk in, won't scratch floors, and tolerant of a little schmutz.

halfspeed

If you're worried about walking around, stick with MTB pedals. Why the sudden interest in road pedals anyway? Because your friends use them or is there something wrong with what you have?

FlatSix911

Hands down - try SPD pedals and shoes

https://drivemybike.wordpress.com/200...als-the-shoes/

KevinF

My road bike has SPD-SL pedals. I use my road bike for commuting, so I have to walk inside at some point (as much as I'd like to try riding through the revolving door, onto the elevator and down the hallway to my office, the building maintenance staff wouldn't appreciate that stunt...). It's about 100 yards in SPD-SL's. It's doable, and once you get the hang of it, it's not "hard".

My MTB shoes (with "regular" SPD's) are way easier to walk in though. I imagine any recessed cleat shoe is substantially easier to walk in than "road style" shoes. If you're having to walk any real distance with any regularity, just go with MTB shoes.

clausen

If you want to walk in your shoes go with some MTB shoes. Walking in road shoes just wrecks your cleats and heel of your shoe.

waynesworld

Which KEEN sandal is that, and how do you like them? I have Daytonas in 10.5, and Newport 2's in 11.5. I think I need a larger size in the closed-toe sandals. I would like to get a pair of their cycling sandals, but I can't find them locally, so will have to order online.

Thanks.