Originally Posted by
Machka
Since then I've been using SPD pedals ... and my next pair of SPD pedals, which I hope to get this summer, will be the kind with a platform on one side and the SPD part on the other.
just as a caveat ... I picked up a pair of combo pedals about two years ago, and found that it was always a little annoying having to figure out which side was up when starting from a red light or other stop. I adapted by learning to unclip from the top of the pedal stroke, then relying on the pedal to retain its orientation when I tried to clip back in again, but at least 10% or 25% of the time, the wrong side would be up and I'd have to spend a few seconds flipping it over. Not a big deal but a minor annoyance when one is used to double-sided SPD pedals and not having to look to see if one is clipped in properly.
After my old Shimano M520 SPDs started falling apart (rust in the springs), I replaced them with the new A520 road SPDs, and found that these have similar problem of only one-sided entry.
I've never had 'hot-spot' problems after having a fitting done by my shop, so I don't necessarily need the bigger platform of the A520, and might just go back to MTB pedals.