AdrianL

It seems that a very large percentage of us here ride with clipless pedals and shoes - not everyone, but a large percentage it seems.

For those of us that ride road bikes, which type of pedal and shoe do you use - road or MTB and why?

Personally, I ride a MTB pedal and shoe. I am not out racing or setting records. I climb some small hills but nothing like what is found in mountain country. The biggest reason is the ease of walking around before, after, and at breaks during the ride.

I struggle with my choice occasionally, wondering if a road pedal and shoe would really be that much more efficient. At least enough to overcome the inconvenience of walking with road cleats, even with covers.

I am just curious as to why each of us chooses to ride with the type of pedal we use.

Thx

Shimagnolo

+1
SPD on everything. I also hear good things about Crank Bros, and if I was going to experiment, the Bebop looks interesting.
I have yet to hear a plausible explanation why the road-type pedals would be any more efficient.

stapfam

I use the Shimano M520 MTB pedal on the MTB's- but Decided to use the A520 pedal when I went road. The A520 is only single sided but has a longer platform for the feet. It also uses the same cleat so One pair of shoes will fit both pedals.

Reason for going A520 was so that I could use the same shoe- but road riding does involve longer milage and less time betwen stops and rest's. That longer platform stopped the ache coming in on the ball of the foot that I used to get with the MTB M520 pedal.

NOS88

I ride four different road bikes with road shoes using Keo pedals. I find them more comfortable while riding, and believe on rides of an hour or more comfort translates into better efficiency. Very few of my rides involve any walking. I seldom stop at stores, cafés, etc. I don't ride off-road, and carry a pair of cleat covers in my jersey pocket. My commuter/touring bike has SPDs but I ride this less than 5% of the time (in part because I don't like the SPDs). When I actually do tour (haven't in the last several years) the SPDs are useful. Otherwise I think they are a poor substitute for a good road pedal/shoe combination.

Robert Foster

I had the same questions when I switched to clipless. My biggest concern was walking whenever we took a break on longer rides. Maybe a third of our club riders are using pure road shoes. I don’t know how many of the others have a shoe at home for rides other than club rides. Anyway after talking to many people in these forums I decided to try a specialized sport shoe. The pedals are Time Atac so I get a bit more foot float for longer rides. What I did get was the ability to walk almost normally when going into a coffee shop and walking in a park. I wouldn’t want to walk a mile in these shoes because I did that once after dropping my bike off for servicing at my LBS. It is just over a mile from my house and it seemed within walking distance to me. It was about as far as I hope to ever walk in bike shoes again. Still the shoes have worked pretty much like I expected and I prefer them to traditional road shoes.

DaveMc

I use my mountain bike shoes along with Crank Bros pedals. I used the same pedals on both bikes so I don't have to switch back and forth.

Retro Grouch 

I'm an unapologic restaurant-to-restaurant rider.

All of my bikes have some variation of SPD pedals. My beater has double sided SPD/platforms. A couple of bikes have 747 SPD's and a couple have old style Ultegra one sided SPD's. They all suit me fine.

There's a story about how I gravitated to all SPD pedals (with multi-release clips) but it's probably more than you want to know.

Longfemur

Road bike here... a custom-made all-Campagnolo classic lugged steel road bike. Classic Campagnolo quill pedals I have look best on it, but I'm riding it today, in the real world. I take an aesthetic hit by using mountain/hybrid Shimano SPD pedals. I could use a road pedal, but, even though I ride a lot, a walkable, recessed cleat pedal system is more practical for me. And I'm no newbie at it. But I am not, have never been, nor will ever be an "athlete" at it. I just use what makes sense for me as a non-racing cyclist.

dcvelo

I have a hybrid with SPD, a cross bike with Eggbeaters, and two road bikes with Look Keo's. The Keo's offer a much more solid connection in my experience. I assume it's the much larger cleat that makes the difference.

My older road bike had SPD's initially, and I've done some pretty long rides using them....there's absolutely no doubt in my mind the Keo's are much better for that use.

Pat

I use a look system. It works well and has a decent sized platform. It is not good to walk in, but then again, I don't stop much so that is a pretty minor issue.

BluesDawg

I have several bikes and do different types of riding for which different pedal setups are optimum.

When I ride my mountain bike on singletrack I wear stiff MTB shoes with Crank Bros. Candy pedals.

When I ride my old rigid MTB or my casual road bikes on the road, on bike paths or around town on rides that are likely to involve a fair amount of walking around, I either wear sneakers and use cage pedals with or with out toe clips or I wear softer MTB shoes and use Crank Bros. Smarty pedals (similar to Candy but cheaper).

When I go on longer road rides where I plan to get off the bike a good bit and do some walking aroud and sight seeing, I wear my stiff MTB shoes and use Crank Bros. Smarty pedals. I plan to get a better pair of shoes for these kinds of rides. Something with good support, but more flexible and with less rigid soles than my MTB shoes.

When I go on athletic road rides of any length, from 5 mile sprints to centuries, I wear my Sidi road shoes and use Look pedals. I find these pedals much more comfortable and a bit more efficient than the MTB type pedals for longer rides and for more athletic type riding. I have no trouble walking around rest stops or convenience stores or restaurants in road shoes with cleat covers. For this kind of ride, how they work on the road matters more than how they work walking around.

The right tool for the job.

CACycling

I've got M505 SPDs on my MTB (but have a second set of pedals set up with clips and straps for when we're camping) and A520s on my commuter road bike. My SPD shoes look like skate shoes and are easy to walk in but not great for long distances because they are too flexible.

I've got Nashbar ARC compatibles on my road bike (planning to upgrade to Shimano SPD-SLs soon) and Pearl Izumi road shoes to mate with them. If I'm taking this bike out it is to ride, not walk, so walkability is secondary to comfortable and efficient pedaling.

My wife will accept nothing but M520s on her road bike. She has a pair of Shimano road shoes for long rides and Shimano MTB shoes for shorter rides when walking will be involved. Her other bikes have clips and straps.

roadfix

If you like to socialize off the bike you'll be happier with the mountain shoe/pedal combo.

BluesDawg

Sometimes I prefer to be barefoot when I'm socializing.

crtreedude 

I have a hardtail (MTB) and use SPD with a very comfortable shoe that is like a sneaker. I also have some pedals I am thinking of putting on that allow you to switch between clipless and just a pedal. I know I will look like a total Fred, but hey, you just have to go with it at times... I use my bike going back and forth between sections of our business (office, nursery, my personal office, home, furniture factory, etc.) and it isn't always good to have the shoes on.

stapfam

On the shoes-

I bought a cheap pair of shoes initially. The sole was fairly flexible but my first pair of SPD's. Then I went to the LBS and bought a pair of real offroad shoes and the sole was like a plank of wood. After wearing them in- they were fantastc. Unfortunately I broke the straps on a tree stump and they have never fitted quite as comfortable since So then bought the cheapest pair of Shimano MTB shoes they made. Offroad sole and I could walk in these for hours. Unfortunaly I got Foot ache after about 4 hours on the bike and that really hurt.

Then last year I "Nearly" went road shoe. Put them on in the shop and they told me to walk. Forget it- and that was without the cleats fitted. So I selected out a pair of Diadora MTB shoes. The only pair of MTB shoes that I could not bend or flex the sole on. They are comfortable.

So for cycling shoes that you can walk in- Choose carefully. Rigid sole works better on the bike- but does make walking long distances painfull. But we are buying the shoes for the bike- Aren't we?

maddmaxx 

I use the Shimano A520.........This is an almost road pedal for MTB style SPD cleats. Most of the advantages of the road pedal with cleats you can walk in. I like them so well in fact that I use them on the MTB as well even though they're just single sided.

donheff

My pedals are SPD one side with platforms on the other. I like being able to ride on the platform sides in busy street traffic where I am constantly stopping. I also like being comfortable walking in my shoes. I haven't seen anything about road shoes/pedals that would tempt me over.

BengeBoy 

SPD's for commuting and grocery-getting.

Look Keo for fast rides and rides over 50 miles.

BluesDawg

How so?

maddmaxx 

Shimano A520 sport road pedal. Road style frame to support the feet.

bobbycorno

I use Time ATAC mtb pedals + high-end mtb shoes. I'm a commuter and randonneur, so pretty much all the riding I do requires being able to walk too. And while skating across the linoleum in a mini-mart in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night might be entertaining for the locals, I'd just as soon avoid DNFing for avoidable medical reasons (or any reason, thanks).

SP

tsl

Plus they're light (315 grams) and nothing hangs below the spindle for more cornering clearance.

A520s are my choice for both bikes. In fact, I went into a huge panic when Shimano changed the web site and I couldn't find them any more. I thought they'd been discontinued, and I set out to stock up for future bikes.

I use SPDs and A520s on everything since I'm car-free. Most rides involve some sort of off-bike stuff--shopping, work, what-have-you. Plus there's the matter of the metal fire-escape stairs to get the bike in and out of my apartment. I shudder at the thought of negotiating that in protruding road cleats.

robtown

My bikes have Look, double sided SPD and single side SPD. I have road style shoes and boots for Look and both road / mtb style shoes and mtb boots for SPD.

The mtb shoes and boots are easier to walk in - but I find I get hot spots if I ride more than 20 miles. The Looks are slippery and I cannot walk in the road shoes - but they are comfortable for longer rides.

The Weak Link

I'm not challenging anyone's faith or manhood, but it's not clear exactly why road pedals would be more "efficient" than, for example, A520s. Sure, with dedicated road pedals you would use a lighter stiffer soled shoe, so perhaps it has more to do with the shoe choice than the pedal choice.

I use A520s on the road and M520's on the trail. I don't think the A520s are better, but they look cooler on my road bike and that is why I use them.