Clipless pedals, Mountain shoes vs road shoes on a road bike

[aztimm]

Have you ever worn clip-in pedals?

No matter what you choose, it could take a little while to get comfortable on them. You'll probably fall at some point, forgetting to unclip.

I started with MTB pedals on a cross bike, moved them over to a road bike. Just recently got Speedplay pedals and shoes for them.


Do you have any friends with clip-in pedals that you can demo out?

[david58]

I've been using SPD mtb pedals and shoes, no issues. I like being able to walk about at a stop, and just don't see any need for road shoes. Cost isn't so much a factor - good mtb shoes are not cheap either.

[TripleAce]

Thanks everyone, Amazing relpies and very good input from all of you. Great job, Iv bought a pair of clipless and gave it a shot two days ago. I just tried some mountain biking shoes and regular pedals with one side flat and the other with the clip. Did my normal 40km and here are the things I noticed.

1.The shoes are good to walk in, that is the mountain bike shoes.
2.The clips were really annoying at first to clip into. It just wasnt a smooth clip. So I put some oil lubrication on the pedal clips and shoes cleats and they seems to slip in pretty good after.
3.Also I did fall like four times, dammit. Not cause I forgot to clip out but rather cause I leaned on the wrong side.
4.There also a pain to always have to flip the pedal to get the clip side up, very very annoying if your on the streets before you make it to the bike routes.
5. As many have said, I certainly noticed big improvements going uphill and sprinting. Also its nice to have your shoes planted securely on the pedal while riding.

However, I felt that with given the distance I am doing so far (about 40km and possibly up to 60km) that I could defiantly live without them and still make my rides with significant ease like I was doing before I bought the clipless. I may have to push a little harder at times but while distance is key, effort is just as important. If im doing 40km with less effort then im burning less calories.

So in all its an awesome piece of gear to have, feels super good but maybe ill hold off until I get myself a really good road bike. For now I feel like I'm riding a piece of junk, ccm presto. I took all the decals off so no one would know its a ccm lol.

[byrnemm]

Honest to god I don't understand why anyone would recommend SPD's to a beginner.

[Ooompa Loompa]

Honest to god I don't understand why anyone would recommend SPD's to a beginner.

Any particular reason why? Having just gone clipless (just bought my pedals and shoes yesterday) I find SPDs super easy to clip in and out of, and the price was definitely right. The shoes were on clearance for $50 and the pedals (Shimano M520) were $60. I could have bought the pedals online for $40, but I figured since I got a good deal on the shoes I'd just buy the pedals at the same time and have the LBS set it all up for me. I have no complaints at all so far.

[lungdoc]

I used to use Look cleats on road bike and shoes, got SPD mountain pedels and shoes for a hybrid commuter and switched the cleats and pedals on the road bike to be the same. The road shoes are a fair bit stiffer and not as good for walking (even with the SPD's as not as recessed a design) but I like to have the choice. I like the two sided SPD's for clipping in and the SPD cleats are hugely better for walking in, even on the road shoes, versus the big Looks.

[BarracksSi]

Honest to god I don't understand why anyone would recommend SPD's to a beginner.

Yeah. Time ATAC is so much better.

OP, again, the biggest difference in shoes while on the bike is the stiffness of the sole. You can get really stiff MTB shoes with pretty light weight, too.

Off the bike, having a tread is really nice. It can even be nice enough to spend the day in MTB shoes around the office (if it's a casual office) or poking around the shops downtown.

Additionally, you open up your options to several other styles of shoes, from touring to winter to fiberglass-reinforced sneakers to strappy sandals for summer.

[wle]

Speedplay Frog

this is the essence of touring
road bike, mtb shoe
i do it all the time
commute that is
not tour
spd on a road bike
works great
shoes very walkable
if not racing do not bother with unwalkables
why do it>

wle

[gamby]

I use MTB shoes as well. Specialized Sport MTB, which are nearly identical in appearance to the road version except for some tread on the bottom. Good enough so that I don't duck walk off the bike. If I am exploring or running errands and want to do a lot of walking, then I have a pair of the sneaker-style Performance Traverse shoes.

I use these with M520 SPD's and they are fantastic. MS150 with zero foot pain. 50 mile rides, no problem. Walking around in them off of the bike is easy as pie, too.

[fuji_owner]

I got a pair of Diadora (probably the cheapest) road shoes, and I've walked so much in them (shockingly!) that they feel nearly as natural as any other shoes.

[Seattle Forrest]

Those like like road pedals? Awesome pic, BTW.

Thanks!

These are A-520 pedals. They're like road pedals for a mountain bike. They're one-sided, and, at least by SPD standards they're light and have a big platform-like area for your shoe.

[RT]

Thanks!

These are A-520 pedals. They're like road pedals for a mountain bike. They're one-sided, and, at least by SPD standards they're light and have a big platform-like area for your shoe.

How much of your shoe/sole actually engages the pedal aside from the cleat? The clip looks significantly higher than the platform.

[StephenT]

If using Shimano SPD's for a road bike I might suggest you use the SH56 silver multi release cleat over the SH51 black single release cleat.