Hi there,

Am about to buy my first road bike (had MTBs as a kid and have now a trekking bike for commuting).
Probably getting a Cannondale CAAD10 for some club riding, minor competition and stuff like that....

On my daily commutes, I ride clipless, SPD pedals, PD-M520 from Shimano.
I love it and couldn't imagine riding flats again.

Riding clipless on a race bike is a no-brainer. And obviously, one thinks at first of Look-like pedals or Shimano's SPD-SL.
But is it very wrong to install SPD on a race bike?

There are two major advantages I see:
- Ability to use both sides of the pedal which eases up clipping in (I will be riding car-less, so will have to commute a few miles before getting to the countryside for actual training or between train stations when train-travelling, so easy clipping in and out - commute comfort - is not completely irrelevant)
- Ability to keep all my shoes. Now I don't have that many shoes - 4 pairs - with cleats, but it's still something and only one of those pairs is SPD-SL compatible. Not having to buy new shoes is a nice money save. Also I get the feeling that purely road shoes don't come in such a wide variety (I have for example Shimano's Winter ankle-high boots which are great for rain and winter) and that the common use to achieve the same features is the use of a wide variety of overshoes...

I suppose there can some some serious cons to sticking to SPD:
- there is a reason SPD-SL exist, so they might be better...
- the pushing surface is higher on road pedals, thus saving some of the energy lost in the bend of the shoe should at each stroke especially if soles are not overly (carbon?)-stiff?
- anything else?

Any experience on this matter to share?

Thanks!