yaw

Since it's not generally easy to just try each system out for a bit before buying, I thought I'd share my observations on the differences between the two systems for those on the fence or looking to switch for whatever reason. There's obviously a lot of content on this out there, but I think certain aspects are overemphasised for the sake of comparison, making these characteristics sound a bit more drastic than they really are - which skewed me in the wrong direction initially.

Bit of background
When I first got a bike I chose SPD simply because I thought it would be very awkward to walk on those giant SPD-SL cleats and favoured the convenience of double sided pedals. I also assumed a lighter release action would be a bit better for traffic lights.

To be fair
As part of this comparison, I am taking into account that I went from a mid tier Shimano shoe with a mid level stiffness sole to a flagship Bontrager shoe with a very stiff carbon sole and SPD-SL pedals that cost 3-4 times as much as the SPD pedals. So there is obviously an added degree of immediacy and feel from a 270g+ lighter and considerably stiffer setup that feels better just on that account, which is why I will try to keep it to the more general observations. There may still be some variations due to equipment I am missing, feel free to add to the discussion.

What I got wrong about SPD
It took about 3 days of riding and coming unstuck twice under load between enjoying the light clipping action and moving to the halfway spring setting and then soon to the hardest spring setting. I also soon realised that the convenience of dual sided entry, whilst it is a real practical benefit, is not really a concern when you know what your pedals are doing and get used to the motion, and it will easily cost 150-200g in weight just between a single or dual sided Shimano SPD pedal with otherwise identical quality. Anyone at the point where that amount of weight on a bike gets really expensive, the single vs dual SPD pedal price difference is comparatively very cheap, too cheap not to go single, really. Another surprise was that whilst one can obviously walk very well with recessed SPD cleats on flat floors, it really starts to suck when walking on coarse surfaces where the metal really scrapes and wears, which often led me to walk on the outsides of my feet, which really was not the point. Further, it seems like once SPD shoes are worn, the cleats will no longer be as recessed AND the wider contact patch on the side of the pedal gets lost, leaving the shoe to sit on the cleat only.

What I got wrong about SPD-SL
Every source seemed to overstate the difficulty of walking with SPD-SL cleats, to the point where it was a major deterrent for me based on pure theory. Yet the rubber studs on the cleats make it so much easier to walk than I expected. I assumed it would be a slippery hard plastic feel, which it is absolutely not. On coarse ground, I actually prefer it as there are no metal cleats to get awkwardly scraped, and on all other surfaces, it's perfectly fine for anyone who rides their bike to ride a bike, not to run a ton of errands. What is more, these cleats are cheap and can be replaced when worn down, which is much better than replacing an entire SPD shoe because its protruding tread wore down and lost all contact to the frame of the pedal. The unclipping force required with SPD-SL is definitely greater, at least with my set of Ultegra pedals, where the lightest SPD-SL setting feels near as hard to get out as the tightest SPD setting, but then again this is where I quickly ended up on SPD for the sake of trusting my bond to the pedals and not crashing.

Perceived differences when riding
There are a lot of other equipment factors to consider here, but in general one of the main things I heard about was the small (SPD) vs larger (SPD-SL) contact patch and associated performance and comfort differences. I would say that on a decent SPD shoe with reasonably stiff sole and good tread, there is no major pressure point over the cleat, and force is transferred well enough so as not to matter to those who do not constantly have one eye on their power figure. With a sloppy sole and poor tread, sure I can see how the small contact patch may shine through, but this was never an issue on my SPD setup. But there is still a difference in how these two systems feel, simply because the way the foot pivots with float. The SPD shoe pivots around a much more defined point, whereas the SPD-SL feels like it pivots on a larger base, which is probably why it feels like there is a broader platform under the foot. I think the perceived difference would be far less under controlled circumstances with equally stiff carbon soles and 0 degree float. This aside, I feel that the SPD-SL engagement is more reliable and has a more resolute feedback upon engagement, whereas the SPD system seems to have a bit less tolerance, meaning one has to aim a bit better so as not to stab around on the pedal, which feels awful being metal on metal, rather than plastic on carbon composite. Fit adjusting SPD-SL cleats also seems a bit smoother. So in the end, I overestimated the benefits of SPD that turned out not so great in the real world, and overestimated the downsides of SPD-SL that were surprisingly extremely mild to non-existent, with a number of key factors in favour of SPD-SL.

Keen to hear from other riders that either swear by either system or tried both. I will certainly be going around on SPD-SL, first order of business being to swap from the yellow to blue cleats for a bit less float. Once these are through, I may even try Speedplay, but 4 hole shoe selection was a bit too limited without messing with additional adapter plates.