Good clipless-platform pedals?
 

I'm wondering if anyone has a recommendation for some pedals that are SPD clipless and platform allowing me to use bike shoes and regular shoes.

I was looking at the Shimano A530 -- but I'm wondering if there's anything better. I'm aiming for an all-rounder type pedal.

Perhaps it's a better value to get a regular platform pair and a clipless pair and swap on the weekends when I go out for extended trips?

Thanks!

Not SPD, but I use Crank Bro's Acid pedals on my bikes. The platform is medium-sized, allowing me to ride shorter distances without special shoes.
The Mallet (DH pedal) would be a great option with a larger platform.

I have these and am very happy with them.
Changing out pedals from week to weekend would end up being enough of a PITA that it would keep me from riding as much.

Just to avoid confusion -

Crank Brothers's cleats aren't SPD, but they work with any SPD-compatible shoes with the two-bolt mount.

I agree about the Mallets (I have a set) and would also point people towards Time, who has both dual-purpose and double-sided pedals.

I also ride my road bike over short trips (no more than a couple miles so far) in plain shoes on its Time RXS pedals. Think of them like SPD-SL or Look road pedals.

I have those same pedals on my commuter and am happy with them. I usually ride with SPD shoes for my commutes, but sometimes wear sneakers to run short errands from home, or may stay in my work shoes to ride the bike from work to the deli half a mile away for lunch.

When starting at an intersection, landing an SPD shoe on the platform side is safe and convenient if I miss the fast clip-in. In contrast, landing a sneakered foot on the SPD side is slippery. I've slipped a foot off the pedal and scratched my leg on the pedal once. I use a little more caution now. I really don't like riding patform pedals regardless of whether they are single-sided, but the convenience of not changing shoes is often worth the compromise.

Be careful taking turns while pedaling if you have an older bike with cranks that swing low. I catch the platform side when pedaling on the SPD side through some turns. My small SPD road pedals on my other road bike have spoiled me.

I use these:
http://www.nashbar.com/images/nashba...NCL-ANGLE2.jpg
Same thing as DTSCDS but cheaper.....both in price and quality ;)

Shimano A530. I love mine. Easy clip in and out (compared to some cheap wellgo plat/clipless that I have). They look nice and the platform side is comfortable to ride with a decent though not super strong grip.

http://www.shimano.com/publish/conte...bm.512.384.gif

You don't want to change pedals every week. I did that for awhile, maybe a month and a half, until I got so sick of it I bought new pedals.

I'm still doing it with a saddle/seat post, but those days are numbered too. Come on Brooks B-17 Father's Day present, don't let me down.

How slippery is the platform side?

I use M324s for winter riding (snow/ice/rain) with improved grip on the platform side. I use them with winter SPD shoes or regular boots. I have heard the A530s are slippery when wet, so get pedals that suit the conditions you ride in. For pedals, definitely go with Shimano. It's not worth saving a few bucks on cheaper pedals.

Theres an aluminum plate , Winwood Decksters, that you screw a spare cleat onto,
and you can turn any double sided pedal into one with a platform on the opposite side.

I bought those, and I think they're kind of terrible. They squirm around below your foot while you're riding and you can't get a decent grip, I haven't found riding with them any better than riding with a double sided clipless pedal with a platform around it, personally.

The only pedals I've run across which seem to solve this problem for me are the "EZY Superior" pedals - they use a quick release attachment so you can swap which pedals are on the bike faster and easier than using a pedal wrench. I would own them except I prefer the Time ATAC pedals, and the "EZY Superior" are spd's. So basically it makes it a lot easier to swap between your clipless pedals (which you buy from them) or a straight platform pedal (which you also buy from them).

I don't like any of the other "solutions" -

1. Pedals like the Shimano A530's I find very, very annoying because I have to look down when I need to clip in. When do you clip in the most? When you're at a traffic light and should be keeping your head up looking at the traffic. Some people have said you just ride through the intersection with your foot on the platform side if you get the platform side, but the problem for me is that I wear stiff-soled mountain bike shoes which have hard plastic on the soles - and the platform side of the pedals is made out of shiny, slippery metal - I can't imagine that working well.

I did own a pair of a different version of these from Shimano, and always found the one-sided pedal thing to be really annoying...personally.

2. The 2 sided pedals with the large cage around them - good if you only need to ride half a mile to lunch or something, but not good for going with regular shoes for longer distances. I don't know - I mean, they're just not as comfortable, and you don't get as much shoe/pedal grip with them.

If I was using spd's I would use the EZY's and swap the pedals as needed.

I've have owned the following:

Shimano A530
Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL
Crank Bros Acid
Crank Bros Quattro

Though I've heard several other people say that the platform on the Acids are big enough that you can use regular shoes for shorter distances, I was never comfortable riding them that way. The wings tend to roll forward sliding your foot off the front of the pedal. Yes, you can keep that from happening but I didn't find them to be that much better than just about any clipless pedal with regular shoes. If you're enough of a masochist you can get by with just a spindle. The SPD-SLs are probably as good or better to use with regular shoes, and they're not great. ;)

I was pretty luke warm about the A530s at first until they broke in and started to hang in a consistent way. That allowed me to clip in 90% of the time without looking. The other key to enjoying the A530s is to use shoes with some grip, - that means rubber on the bottom as opposed to hard leather or plastic. That goes for the cycling shoes you use with them too. The SPD shoes I have are grippy enough that if I do hit the platform side by accident with them it's no big deal. I'll just pedal along until it's convenient to flip them and then clip in.

I have the same ones as DTSCDS (3rd post). They work great, I'm very happy with them.

I have the cheap Forte pedals, they are working better and longer than I expected.

Love my Crank Brothers Acid pedals.

I have a pair of them and hate them .They're always turning up with the wrong side up, distracting me when I should be pedaling away from a stop. I've bought a bunch of gear since I resumed bicycling years ago, and these pedals were the only thing I purchased that truly stunk.

I use the Shimano M424 pedals. http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...0_10000_202460 They're two-sided SPD and platform. The platforms let me take quick trips around town with regular shoes. They also make it easier to get started at traffic lights without worrying about clipping in right away.

I highly recommend them.

Based on the pictures, I'd think the Mallets would work better.

There are perfectly good pedals around. I have the cheap wellgos (pictured on this thread, they also sell under other names). But think hard about whether that's what you want. I use platforms mostly for short trips in heavy traffic: lots of stops and starts. Flipping the pedal to get the platform side is at best a pain and at worst an extra hazard. If you only want spds at the weekend, it's easy enough, and no more expensive, to switch from platforms to cheap spd-only. (I use mtb-style strapless clips on my platforms: a good compromise when you are wearing street shoes, and dirt cheap from zefal, among others).

I use the clipless/platform pedals for a few weeks a year with the opposite of your pattern of riding, when I am on holiday touring. The spd side when I'm riding seriously during the day; the platform side when I want to poodle about in the evening in street shoes.

I use these shimano 324, they're a little cheaper than the 530 and have a larger platform. I like the convenience of attaching the cleats while on the road touring and detaching in traffic.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/image...no-pd-m324.jpg

Marc

These appear to be identical to the Evo-branded pedals that I've been using for about a week or so. They're my first clipless pedals and I'm very happy with them. The platform side is big, comfortable and grippy enough with regular shoes, and the cleated side has been far more user friendly than I'd been led to expect. Clipping in and out has been easy and accident-free, and the shoes I've been using (Pearl Izumi Alp Seek MTB shoes) are comfortable on and off the bike. The combo is entirely satisfactory for a casual rider like me.
I tried strapless clips once, and hated them. They were always upside down, they were hard to get into -- much harder than SPDs -- and they drag on the road if you have trouble flipping them up and threading your foot into them on the move. I thought they were dangerous in traffic.