Spouse has a new road bike and she is going to ride flat/platofrm pedals for the immediate future on her 20-30 mile rides. I know nothing about flat pedals, but a little searching shows the Rivendell site has some, others recommend BMX pedals, there are the Speedplay Drilliums, and the Ergon PC2, the Crank Brothers 5050, and quite a few others ... Any one here ride a platform pedal for training rides that they can recommend so I can cut down the choices?

I continue to use platforms on my road bike. After complaining to my BSG that I felt a lump under my foot where it contacted with the pedal unless I flipped the pedal to the smooth side, he hooked me up with a pair that are weighted so the smooth side of the pedal always surfaces. I don't know the brand name, but I'm sure their common and it makes a world of difference.
(PS, tell your wife not to worry if the other kids laugh at her platforms, I've done 80 mile rides and can keep up with (almost) the best of them.)

I'm "coaching" my daughter and I've told her not to go over to clipless (I use clipless, BTW) until the desire to do so is so strong she can't handle not trying it. I would not encourage your wife to go clipless unless you ride a tandem together, at which time it's a pretty good idea.

You can read through this old thread that I had on here some time ago.
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ight=magnesium

I have a flat bar road bike and a couple of recumbents. As I note in the thread above, I purchased a pair of Wellgo MG-1 pedals and have now been using them for a couple of years. I have really liked them. Also picked up a pair of the Sun Ringle ZuZu pedals, almost the same as the MG-1, and really like them too.

I've also used decent quality cage pedals and done fine with them.

Or you could go with Shimano PD-M324 pedals, which have a cage on one side and a clip-in on the other.

I have been using the Ergon PC2 pedals all winter .
Wearing rubber boots sandals and whatever shoe I need.

the contour shape does a fine 'locating foot where it should be' job.

I use pinned platforms on both road and mountain bike. I like them. I am also seeing more and more of them. There is no anxiety in getting your foot off the pedal. I still have clipless and use them on long rides. But recreationally, I like the platforms.

I also use 5.10 sticky shoes. You almost get a clipless pedaling effect. I think the more casual and new rider will finds platforms more enjoyable. Once a person gets a fire in their belly for riding then clipless makes more sense.

this is my source-

https://www.blueskycycling.com/cat-pedals.htm

I always wanted to try these. The reviews are always positive.
https://www.amazon.com/MKS-Lambda-Ped...ef=pd_sbs_sg_6

These work for me on 4 bikes.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...lfclips009.jpg

Platforms will do the job with no worries no matter what style of platform you choose.

Be careful of BMX pedals since if you do slip off you will get "Pins in shin" that will hurt big time!

I have BMX platforms on one of my road bikes. Cruicial for winter. They work well with my waterproof boots.


2012-01-01_14-02-06_428.jpg by Lester Of Puppets, on Flickr

I use the Speedplay Drilliums on my Surley Big Dummy cargo bike. I really like them. If you use them I would start with the pins almost flat since you can do some damage to your leg with the pins sticking up a lot. They don't need to be out very much to keep you foot from slipping off the pedal.

One of my mates still uses platforms on his MTB and a few things come to mind. The bigger the platform- the easier it is to find the pedal in a hurry- The agressive pin pedals draw blood frequently and once you get over the Cheapie pedals- they still wear out on a frequent basis.

I encouraged him to buy some $100 pedals once due to the reviews and the fact that you can adjust- tighten- replace the bearings and so keep the pedals for longer before they wear out. Didn't help much as the shaft wore out as the bearings turned in the housing and took the Body with them. Warranty replacements were good pedals and they worked just as well for the same amount of time.

I use platforms and toe clips.

We use MKS Touring pedals. A good pedal for less than $40. Very happy with them.

Look up Phillips Philite pedal. They are very comfortable. I also find the MKS touring and Lambda "bear claw" to be fine for rides like you describe.

My wife rides flats. She refuses to try clipless. I set her up with these and she's ridden thousands of miles on them very happily:

https://www.rivbike.com/product-p/pe3.htm

Those bmx pedals with pins will tear up the soles of your shoes.

My wife rides flat pedals on her road bike. I bought her some shoes and SPD's and put her on the trainer with them, but she didn't seem to be able to clip in at all (seriously). We put them on the Tandem and she really could not get into the spd's. Baffling. I got some Speedplay Frogs and they are totally easy for her to use on the tandem. But she doesn't want to use them on the road bike because she just doesn't feel comfortable with them.

I am not going to urge her any more to try the Frogs on her road bike. OK, I might once, but really don't intend to. Why? First, we're in our late 50s, and the last thing I ever want to happen is for her to simply fall down because of a pedal mishap. That could ruin a whole season or worse for someone her age (me too). Second, I really don't think that clipless pedals are a "night and day" difference in efficiency or speed for her. SHe's fine with her flat pedals and sneakers.

Now to the real OP question: she just uses generic flat pedals - we have maybe 3 -4 pair laying around the garage that came with low end road and MTBs we own. They work perfectly fine.

On her mountain bike, we put on some BMX pedals I had layng around. They really seem to work very well, almost as well as clipless in a sense.

I'd just try generic flats and then see if your wife wants or needs something more aggressive.

Another option for flat pedals which my daughter uses so she doesn't need cycling shoes are the Power Grips - you might check them out too.

Me too, works well for me.

I have platforms or cages with toe clips on all three of my bikes and find it works very well for me. I can cycle in any number of street or dedicated bicyle shoes that I own. It's great to be able to bicycle to a cultural event and then not have to change shoes to walk around.

What do you wear for shoes? In the old toe clip days, shoes would have a stiff sole to prevent flex, but what do you use today?

+1 on the Ergons.

My favorite are a pair of high top Vasque hiking and rock climbing sneakers. They have a pretty stiff sole and good ankle protection. When ever I buy a pair of casual shoes I look for a fairly stiff sole because I know that I will probably wear them sometime biking. Mountain bike shoes are usually dual purpose but you have to look for shoes with laces for them to work well with toe clips. Velcro straps are tough to get into toe clips.

MKS GR-9. According to Sheldon Brown, the only true platform pedal still manufactured and sold.https://harriscyclery.net/product/mks...s-9-16-453.htm