I commute about 16 miles round trip, 4 days/week. Used to have a Kona Dr. Fine, which is a flat bar bike with endurance road geometry and an Alfine 8 internal hub. Carried a lot in a trunk bag. I rode it with sneakers and flat pedals because there are several stop lights on my ride and I didn't want to get stuck clipped in to my pedals.

Now, I've simplified what I have to transport, so I'm riding a Jamis Ventura Race drop-bar road bike for the same commute. Having used road clip-in pedals on longer rides, I wish I could use them on the commute. They are more efficient and I don't mistakenly bump my heels on the seat stays.

A friend recommended some kind of mountain bike pedals that have two points that clip instead of the SPD three-point on my current shoes and pedals. He says you can get out of them in both directions. Does anyone use this system on a commuter bike? Is it better? What equipment do you use?

Thanks!

I think either is fine, really. I have Shimano 105 SPD-SL pedals on my commuter and have no problems with them. My commute is 15 miles RT and plenty of lights and stop signs, but it's really no issue. That said, I'll likely be switching to SPD pedals, but that's more to do with shoe choice than pedals.

I think I'm confused. I didn't think SPD uses a 3 point system.



They're only 2 point I think...and you can kick out either in/out from the bike, but I can't think of a time I've actually released inwards besides to prove that I could.

Been using Shimano SPD for a few years now, my commute is 16.5 miles one way.
A few nice features with 2 bolt systems(SPD, Speedplay Frogs, Eggbeaters, etc.) that
make them convenient for commuting - flat shoes makes it easy to walk, double sided
means no flipping(Crankbrothers 4 sided), usually not too sensitive with dirt/mud/snow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFyX...IoDLA&index=57

I have double-duty SPD pedals on both my road bike and my utility bike. Shimano PD-A530's on the road bike and M324's on the utility bike. That way I can use regular shoes or SPD bike shoes, whatever I feel like. But I commute with Bontrager SSR SPD shoes. They look like normal shoes pretty much.

Forgot to add; you mentioned release options. Shimano SPD has 2 types of cleats;
single release(heel out) and multi release(heel in, heel up and heel out). Never
really tried the other methods to release; heel in or up. Seems like you're likely to
hit something on the bike if you twist in and twisting up seems unnatural. Maybe
they're options for riders with some type of physical issue or for emergencies.

I use Xpedo titanium clipless pedals on my folder; the cleats are SPD compatible:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh5V...IoDLA&index=10

I have campus pedals on my primary commuter, pinned platforms on my backup, and clips on my road bike that I sometimes use in the summer.
If I had to choose one it would be the campus pedals as they give me the most options. They allow me to use SPD for fair weather and recreational riding, and LL Bean boots in the wet.

The actual advantage of foot retention for my commute which is also 16 miles RT? For me its a wash, a little less effort to position the pedal for taking off, a little more effort clipping in. I set the retention level really low so clipping out takes no effort even if unexpected.

It's a little confusing. Shimano refers to their road pedals as SPD-SL (3 point) and their "mountain" pedals as just SPD (two point).

I suppose they're both technically SPD pedals but most everyone is referring to the two point variety when discussing SPDs. There is a particular type of SPD cleat called "multi-release" which is what I'm guessing your friend is talking about. Not all SPD cleats are multi-release.

more specifically, 2-BOLT cleats as opposed to 3-bolt, or 4-bolt (Speedplay).

That's what I assumed the friend meant by "point" (bolt), but maybe not.

QuakerProf: We're talking about the number of bolts used to attach the cleat to the shoe. Spd-SL pedals use larger cleats that have 3 bolt holes. SPD cleats are smaller and have two bolt holes.

CrankBrothers Candy pedals

Shimano M540 pedals and Giro Privateer shoes (it's also my CX setup). I don't like the multi-release cleats because they just seem to pop out at any random opportunity.

I use strapless toe clips on my commuter. You can't pull up on them obviously but they do put your feet in the correct position and keep them from sliding around.

I've been using Crank Bros Eggbeaters all year, no issues yet. If you're already comfortable with the shoes/pedals you have, keep them, just keep a pair of 'work shoes' at work, and maybe throw a pair of flip-flops in your bag to walk inside in

I use double-sided flats on one side and SPD on the other. These seem to work fine, and were cheap. So far, have 300 miles on them. They seem to have much less pressure to click in and out of than my regular double sided SPDs by Shimano.

T

I've been commuting 22 miles per day this summer using platform pedals and tennis shoes. I've finally got comfortable enough with my route to switch to back to clipless.

I do prefer the clipless. Speedplay Zero's on my road bike and SPD 2 bolt mtb on my recumbent. Of the two, for commuting, I would recommend the SPD and some good rubber soled mtb shoes with good gripping soles. I wear SPD sandals. Road shoes tend to be a little slippery if you put your foot down in hurry.

I ride with:

Shimano M520 pedals: Shimano PD-M520 Clipless Pedal > Components > Drivetrain, Brakes and Pedals > Clipless Pedals | Jenson USA

And either:

Giro Republics (black/grey)



or

Chrome Midway SPD (discontinued)



Normal looking shoes that are both comfortable and have held up well in all conditions. I could wear the Chrome shoes all day if needed, the Giro not so much but enough to be able to walk into work in.

I use my road bike for commuting so the clipless pedals are used for commuting. It's a 16 mile commute each way and it's not all city streets, so clipless works pretty well for me. I use the double sided SPD pedals.

I get along fine on SPD-SL pedals on mile my 16 RT commute with lots of lights on the way. I like the comfort of the clipless compared to riding my hybrid with shoes.

Personally I'd stick with flat pedals for anything less than 20 or 25 miles each way and even then I might stick with flat. Then again I don't wear any special cycling clothing for commuting or transportation but regular shoes, slacks, and shirt.

That said, my favorite pedal for other than training/racing was Time ATAC. Easy to get clipped in and out but still worked fairly well. The cleat is small and low profile so allowed easy and quiet walking in a wide variety of shoes. I wouldn't race in them (I prefer Zero's) but for lower intensity riding they're great.

Fyi there's a lot of debate over whether clipless is actually more efficient or not. A number of experiments or studies have suggested they're not more efficient at all, like this is the first one that popped up in a quick search:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNedIJBZpgM

I don't want to get into the endless debates - other claim clipless is less tiring, or that you don't regularly pull up but you do on sprints and hills. I dunno. But you should be aware that clipless are not automatically more efficient.

When I was using clipless Time Atac's were my favorite - as durable and shimano spd's, better than spd's in snow, you could tell when you clipped in or out (unlike crank brothers). If you aren't planning on winter biking in snow, shimano spd's were otherwise good.

You can get out of pretty much any clipless pedal in both directions.

The real reason to go with MTB pedals is the shoes are more comfortable to walk in than road shoes.

I also use Eggbeaters for all my riding and wouldn't consider anything else.

For shoes I found a NOS pair of Shimano spin shoes (FN-51?) that are by far the most comfortable shoe I have ever cycled in (don't know what I'll do when they need to be replaced!)...

I run Shimano pd-324 on my urban commuters and cheap shimano MT shoes or Keen spd sandals. I also use SH 56 "multi release" cleats.

This is a good point that I hadn't thought of. When I was racing we spent considerable time analyzing pedal stroke for power and efficiency and a gob of time training to use that info and develop good strokes. So for an average person (and I'd include me today) there may be little or no benefit.

Perhaps the best benefit is that the cleats force you to place your foot in the proper place on the pedal but that's easily done with flats as well.

Shimano SPD (not SPD-SL or three-bolt) uses two different models of two-bolt cleats

SH51 - unidirectional release

SH56 - multidirectional release

It seems to me that the SH56 has more float. These cleats are designed to be recessed into the shoe's tread blocks, which facilitates walking orders of magnitude more so than "road cleats."

These are mostly seen with MTB shoes/pedals, but there are a few road oriented pedals with the A600 being Ultegra level. A530s are a great choice dual sided SPD urban/commuting pedal. There are a range of commuter/road SPD shoes out there, from flexible and comfortable to stiff as a stone rooster.

This is not a general axiom, but the difference in pedaling efficiency between my toe-clip set up (Nike Free w/ Christophe clips on MKS platforms) is worlds behind my current setup (Northwave Jet365s with SH51 cleats on A600s). I plan to keep the current setup throughout the year.