juanebici

Hello,

I have been road biking for almost three years and have been riding with mountain bike shoes for easy walking and SPD clips. How much of an improvement is it to go into road bike shoes and clips? Before I spend the $300 on shoes and pedals I wanted to get some opinions on what works best.

Thank you,

Juan.

I ride a 2014 Jamis Xenith

datlas 

Difference is minimal I believe, in performance.

It's probably more cultural than anything. Save your money for something that matters.

Smokehouse

I spent 2012 on SPD. Then 2013 and this year on SPD SL.

100% worth the switch. the positive contact and lock you get with the SL is far better than what the SPD offers. Funny enough, I find it far easier to walk in SPD SL when I have to. That tiny SPD cleat on road shoes proved dangerous to walk on, it is a tiny pivot point vs the two pads other SL has. Another plus is that it's far easier to clip into SL due to the size/design of the cleat.

Besides...not to be cockstrong, but who buys riding shoes due to walking ability? I walk as little as possible in my riding shoes...I ride in my riding shoes. If I spend 95% of my time in them riding! and 5% walking???why would I focus on how easy they are to walk through.

dnslater

I've been holding out as well, road biking for several years with my mountain shoes. I bought SPD road pedals, which helped alot. They spread out the pressure over a larger area on your foot, as compared to the standard SPD mountain pedals

Smokehouse

These are the pedals I used back in '12...and I didn't like them.

The problem is, going to SPD forces you into one of two far less than ideal categories (for the most part).

Wearing much heavier, less ventilated, often more flexy MTN bike shoes

-or-

Wearing lower tier road shoes (because most high end offerings do not accept SPD cleats)

And like I said...walking on SPD cleats with road shoes is dangerous. That tiny cleat with a flat bottom shoe is asking for a rolled ankle. I found this out the hard way. I was surprised at how easier SPD SL cleats were to walk on when I went to them.

dnslater

I wear mountain shoes with them so I don't have this issue. I admit that it is shameful that I am still wearing old mountain shoes and SPD pedals given the $$$ I have put into my road bike and lights...... My wife competes in Ironmans and has the expensive carbon road shoes..... and laughs at my old decaying mountain shoes.........

Smokehouse

I can see them being ok with MTN shoes. Often, the cleat is kind of recessed or there are supports around the sole with MTN shoes:

This:


-vs-this:


I rode SPD with a flat bottom road shoe and it was terrible to stand on with that tiny cleat being the only ground contact in the front.

cafzali

This question gets asked a lot here and, honestly, I think it's an issue of personal preference. There's no right or wrong with anything, unless you're truly bothered by comments you may get from some about MTB pedals on a road bike. The shop I bought my TCR SL3 from couldn't believe I was going to put SPDs on there, but in my mind, what do I care?

Pedals are a "grunt" part of the bike. They perform a vital function, but obsessiveness about grams and looks aside, they all perform the same function. The issue is which type you prefer. I like being able to easily walk around in my shoes and not having to take a separate pair of shoes for after a ride or event, unless I want to. But others feel there is a benefit to them from the increased surface area of a road pedal. And they may very well be right; since all I've ever used are SPDs, I can't say one way or another. But there's nothing in the way SPDs perform for me that's making it compelling to switch.

mihlbach

SPD is OK if you don't shave your legs.

dnslater

Perfect.

mihlbach

If you mount your shoe and look at the pedal-shoe inteface, I think you'll find that there's no difference in the amount of contact between this and a standard SPD pedal. Unless you have some really worn out flimsy shoes (in which case, the pedals are not the problem), the shoe should not contact the surrounding platform. The extra platform isn't even designed to contact the shoe.

Anthony.L

Well I can say I noticed a difference when upgrading my Sidi Genius Fit road shoes (SPD-SL) to Specialized S-Works road (SPD-SL). The reason being is the sole stiffness, I thought it wouldn't make a noticeable difference but holy hell it was night and day. I can imagine the MTB shoes are more flexible than the lower end road shoes as well. Also road shoes are typically a little lighter, and a little more aerodynamic.

gsa103

Its much easier to clip into SPD cleats. I switched to SPD-SL after I couldn't find any SPD shoes that fit (options were road shoes or custom). You can miss the toe hook part of an SPD-SL cleat, and then with slick shoes its hard to apply any force. SPD you basically just press down and go. I tried the PD-A600 (Ultegra single-sided SPD) and the shoe does actually make contact with the pedal. The rubber of the sole gets pushed in a very small amount.

The only reason to switch is that you're unhappy with your current shoes/cleats.

hueyhoolihan

i use MTB Sidi's with some stiff soles, zero float cleats and egg beaters. my shoes don't move around much. if the soles are stiff enough, the size of the pedal platform is immaterial.

Lazyass

You do a lot more spinning on a road bike and the lower weight of road shoes/pedals can make a difference on long rides. But SPD's are fine and you don't have to spend $300. I have:

$14.95 on ebay



New VP Clipless Pedals for Road Bike VP R61 MSRP $49 95 Make An OFFER | eBay

Shimano R088 @ $80.00



Shimano R088 Road Shoes > Apparel > Shoes and Footwear > Road Cycling Shoes | Jenson USA

floridamtb

I've been riding SPDs for over a year, it was time recently to either buy new MTB shoes OR switch to road pedals and shoes. After careful consideration I realized that even riding 200 miles per week there was no compelling reason to change. I bought some new Bontrager RL MTB shoes, which are basically their road shoe with a tread. I can walk around, there are no hot spots, they're light, they're cool, I can do everything a roadie can do, including dropping roadies wearing road shoes and pedals as well. I'm a firm believer that unless you're racing, or riding 200 miles in a day, or climbing Alpe Du Huez then SPDs are just fine.

floridamtb

+1
I believe that the surrounding platform is more for you to be able to flip the pedal over and have a "platform" pedal for tooling around in sneakers or sandals etc?

Smokehouse

I'm glad you feel that way...and I'm also glad you can "drop roadies" as well.

Shoes/cleats is 100% personal preference....nowhere did I claim shoes will make someone a better rider. I'm also glad you apply a threshold to where road only shoes are needed...but again, that's a personal call. If a rider likes to sport lightweight, $500/pr road shoes while on their trainer in the house, that's up to them.

floridamtb

No but you claimed that "Wearing much heavier, less ventilated, often more flexy MTN bike shoes"
I was simply disputing your claim, my new Bontrager shoes (which were very comparable to other brands) are not any heavier (ok maybe a 4-5 grams), they are well ventilated (and I ride in 96 degree weather with about 90%+ humidity) and they are not "flexy" either, they're quite rigid but I can still walk around.

Smokehouse

Aaaaand...I am very happy for you that your lightweight, airy MTN shoes work well for you while road riding. Cheers.

This thread...like 99% of the stuff on this and other public forums, is almost all opinions.

I showed you mine, you showed me yours...life goes on.

Lazyass

Ookay, roadie killer lol. You said in another thread that you ride 4300-4600 miles a year. And in April you said you had put 2600 miles on your bike you bought the previous July. In February you said you put 2500 miles on it so in two months you only rode 100 miles. Last August you claimed you ride 5000 miles per year. 200 miles a week is over 10,000 miles a year. I actually do ride that much but I'm retired and have nothing else to do but ride my bike 2-3 hours a day. And riding that much I do know you can feel the difference between road and MTB shoes. If you only do 50 miles a week you probably wouldn't tell much difference. Just sayin!

outashape

I couldn't tell a difference. I have SIDI road and SIDI mountain shoes. I used to use Time Attac mountain pedals and Speedplay road pedals. I never had to do anything to the SPD pedals and I always had to grease and tighten the Speedplays. I think it has a lot to do with your riding. If you will be on the bike all the time, you may want road shoes and pedals. If your club rides stop for lunch or you participate in organized daily rides or week long rides, I'd go with SPD. The larger the ride, the more riders, the harder it is to find a place to lay your bike on the grass and hit the water/Gatorade tables. I have been riding on platforms this year due to foot surgery. I started wearing my SPD shoes, but do not have cleats yet. I threw all my biking stuff away last year when I thought I wouldn't be able to ride.

floridamtb

OK dumbfahk, you got me, I only rode 189 miles a week the last 4 weeks

Smokehouse

I love internet c-flexing!!!

And I love how a thread on cleat types can never stay civil.

Again...and I repeat myself...this is opinions. No amount of/lack of "hr/mile per week" riding will validate/invalidate your opinion. Its just that, an opinion.

PaulRivers

I own both mountain (time atac) and road (speedplay's) pedals and shoes, and I never use my road shoes. To be fair here, this has a lot to do with that I could not find road shoes that did not leave hotspots on my feet, whereas my mountain shoes are more comfortable (to be clear I don't believe this is inherent to the style of the shoe, it's just how it worked out for me).

Advantages of Road Shoes:
- Somewhat better connected to the pedal feeling. If my shoes were the same on the inside, I'd probably find road shoes to have a little nicer feel and more connected when biking.

What I didn't get from road shoes:
- Better performance
- More comfort

Disadvantage of Road Shoes:
- More susceptible to getting jammed up - my mountain bike cleats work in mud, snow (I live in Minnesota, bike in the winter, and carry my bike on my shoulder over snow banks), etc. My original Speedplays would get funky sometimes if I walked over grass. My newer speedplays aren't this sensitive, they handle grass fine. But they don't handle sandy materials that well (like you'd find on the edge of the road), and they sure aren't going to handle something like mud. Did you step in a puddle and they got filled with mud? Crap. You have to get a hose (or at least water bottle) and rinse them out.
- Harder to walk short distance in them - harder on the cleat if you do to
- Most (though not all, speedplays are 2 sided) road systems are 1 sided - you can only clip in on one side. This means sometimes needing to flip to pedal to clip in, and usually looking down every time you need to reclip in. Not a problem with 2 sided systems, which nearly all mtn systems are. Some people have said they got down the hang of it...I couldn't myself, always had to look down. (Particularly annoying because you're most often doing this at an intersection where I really really don't want to be looking at anything but traffic)
- A second set of shoes/pedals if you also mountain bike or need mtn bike shoes for other things (I'm moving into a small apartment - this is an annoyance for me)
- Likewise, a second set of shoes to get fit/adjusted if you get a fitting

P.S. It's believed that originally road shoes were more efficient because of their wider platform. But that's changed with the advent of carbon fiber shoes soles, which make mtn bike shoes just as stiff as road shoes. People race mtn bikes - they want as much efficiency as they can get as well, but back in the day they were willing to trade a little off for the need to be able to put a foot down and carry the bike. Nowadays it's equal though, because of more modern shoe's with carbon fiber.