Originally Posted by
sstorkel
Buy better shoes. With a stiff sole, the pedal is almost irrelevant. I've ridden a century on Crank Brother Eggbeater pedals, which are essentially just a spindle, using my Specialized BG Comp shoes and my feet were perfectly fine. My soft-soled Shimano MT31 shoes, on the other hand, start to feel a bit tiresome after 60-70 miles.
If you really have to have a larger platform and don't mind a weight penalty, there are SPD pedals with larger platforms. Look at the "All Mountain" SPD pedals like the PD-M530, PD-M785, and PD-M985.
I had the same problem with SPD's and I use very high end Carnac, Northwave and Time shoes. SPD's are the only pedals I have gotten hot spots with. I've never had that problem with wider platform pedals like Time and Simano DA. I've heard the argument that the plat form size doesn't matter but for some of us at least, it appears to.