I have been thinking about replacing my RockBros flat pedals. I have some Shimano SPD pedals that I bought years ago and barely used.
I have been looking at spd shoes and have noticed a few Shimano shoes that will accept either mtb or road cleats.
Are these good with an spd cleat?
Since the cleat isn’t recessed like on mtb shoes walking would be similar to walking with road cleats- right?
I don’t understand what the advantage would be using a road shoe that can also use a spd cleat.

Not sure about the combo I use both spd-sl ans spd, but have shoes specific for both.

I am using the spd more often than not, I would not want to use spd without shoes with the recess as that negates half of the utility. I would also queston function

I would just get spd (2 bolt) specific shoes with a recess or shoes with with a recess

They are not as good as dedicated SPD shoes.

Not if you are talking about something like these: 5-HOLE OUTSOLES | SHIMANO FOOTWEAR TECHNOLOGIES | Ride Shimano?
As you can see, you are supposed to install pontoons before installing the SPD cleats.

None whatsoever. Just to cater to indecisive people?

The Shimano IC 101 can accept the SPD-L 3 bolt cleat or the 2 bolt SPD cleat. They are shown as an indoor trading shoe and I would assume as they have no rubber cleats on the sole, they would suck for walking with the SPD cleat.

I would just look at any of their SPD 2 bolt models, they can be walked in. If you have a wide foot, some of their models come in wide versions,

Thanks for the answers.
The pontoons make sense but still don’t seem to be as good as dedicated mtb shoes.
I will just get spd mtb shoes. They will make it easier to walk.

I hope you're not saying you're just looking at Shimano shoes. You should try on shoes and get thee brand that fits you best.

I was just curious about the dual cleat shoes I saw.
With my luck my wide feet will only like Lakes.

Shoes that accept spd cleats, but are not recessed, really suck! Walking like that is dangerous, and, it changes the height of the shoe and pedal interface. I really like 2 sided spd pedals with either both sides being for cleats, or, one side being spd, the other side being flat.
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The CHinese are seemingly producing shoes with 5 hole (3-hole SPD-SL & 2 hole mtb (which can be spd or some other variant, like crank bros).
Then there's Speedplay - which has become a very popular design... now Wahoo...
I found 3 hole shoes the lightest... and SPD-SL is somewhat walkable - to the coffee shop counter and back to your seat... but walking distances measured in yards is quite wearing on the cleats, even with the walking pads...
2 hole shoes have been 'heavy' , because as mtb shoes they needed to be very sturdy and usable on open terrain, often came with screw-on metal toe spikes.
some were more 'shoe-like' for easy walking and 'touring' cycling...
Now you can get 2 hole shoes, with more 'road/sport' orientation, lighter, sturdy and still have the outside of the cleat supports, which have the cleat recessed and surrounded by walking pads.
I've been on crank bros eggbeaters for about 12+ years now, since I stopped most racing back in 2013...
The few I did with crank bros. went fine, if not very spectacularly... LOL! but it was fun to be back in a real peloton... (which was the primary purpose...)
Most of the guys I ride and drink coffee with are using some variant of 2 hole or speedplay. A few are still very dedicated racers and use SPD-SL.
I suggest to find shoes which are comfortable and supportive and have a closure you like - then get pedals to match...
Ride On
Yuri

I had a customer that found it impossible to clip into the pedals with a walkable spd shoe. I had her try the road/spd Shimano shoe where the spd cleat sits proud of the sole just like a road cleat and the woman was clicking into the pedal from the very first try and 8 years later she is still using those shoes and pedals without complaint.

If you already have the shoes and pedals that work together, then use them. If you have issues that can't be solved with that combination, then you'll know that something needs to change. If you don't have the shoes. Which usually are the bigger expense vs pedals. Then it's not as big a deal whether you go SPD-SL or SPD.

As for shoes that handle both SPD and SPD-SL. It's still a matter of fit. So just decide which cleat method you want. Then buy the shoe that fits the best. Whether it's a double use shoe or not.

I'm SPD on my road bike and always have been since going clipless. I can't find a reason to go with SPD-SL since I don't compete with any but myself.

I was wondering what the pontoons I hear the gravel racers talk about were. I saw the link you provided and see I’ve used them for years. The newer ones I got a couple years ago are more rugged than the first set I got.

As for shoes I have wide feet and like Lake shoes. I accidentally bought road shoes and kept them and got a pair of their mountain bike shoes. I had used the Shimano adapters before so just used those. I find single side road pedals a pain to clip in so use duel side SPDs on all my bikes. My Domane and trainer bike are set up for the road shoes. The adapter does add some height.



yes that is a piece of inner tube glued to the bottom of my road shoes. The carbon sole is slippery.

This is the shoe that made me curious. Walking in them looks sketchy.

From my experience, walking in shoes such as those posted above is dangerous. I have a couple sets of road shoes with recessed spd cleats. The shoes I have that accept both styles are not being used due to my going to all spd. I used them 1 or 2 times with spd cleats, then relegated them to only spd-sl use. The bare metal spd cleats make for easy slippage.

I am imagining walking indoors. A sidewalk might be ok but think about hitting a tile floor.

I removed my dual pedals (flat one side/SPD on the other side) a few years ago and instead use Bedrock Sandals on flat pedals in warm weather. When it gets cooler/cold I ride using my Five Ten Trailcross shoes still on flat pedals. I'll never go back to SPDs.

Just get dedicated SPD shoes and be done with it.

On road/off road, walking, driving… they just work.

I have RockBros flat pedals with studs on them. I wear New Balance 610 training shoes since they have a fairly stiff sole. I have a pair of PD515 pedals I bought years ago and used very little. They are basically new.
I want to try riding with cleats. If I don’t like it I will go back to flat pedals.

I like using SPD pedals on my mtn. bike and the cleat is lower than the surrounding edges. They are ok for walking short distances, but you wouldn't want to walk very far as the sole is quite stiff.

A buddy of mine went down hard on the back of his noggin years ago. It was on a linoleum store floor. Very fortunate that he had his helmet on. It was still a serious whiplash. We’ve been in walkable cleated shoes since.

I've never quite understood the argument that shoes with stiff soles are uncomfortable to walk in, if the shoe is otherwise a good, comfortable fit. Some might prefer the feel of flexible soles, I guess, but combat boots and many hiking shoes have very stiff soles and yet are obviously designed for extended walking.

Chances are that, at first, you'll find using 'cleats' on clipless to be strange and 'uncomfortable', for some weeks of using them.
aside from the very first part of learning to ride a bike - the 'balance' part - going 'clipless' is the most difficult thing a rider will face.
Because it require so much attention in the initial 'getting into' and 'awareness' during riding and then 'stopping'...
There are a few who gravitate to it quickly, almost automatically. There are those who develop that skill over some time period. And there are those who never quite 'get it', and never find comfort...
I know a quite strong rider who uses only 'flats' on a group ride I did often - a very fast group ride. He did fine on the flats - couldn;t really get involved with the 'sprints', but otherwise 'pulled' or 'sat in' quite well, like the rest of us. He was happy...
If you're gonna use 2 hole SPD, get shoes which have cleat surrounding 'soles' - much safer.
Stiff soles are great - they distribute the pressure from the cleat attachment, throughout the forefoot much better than any normal 'walking shoe', yet thery are quite 'walkable', I did over 1 miles in them, once (too long a story to get into...) with no issues, shoes and I did fine.
And they do allow more efficient power transmission than any flexible 'walking' shoe.
Really make differnce when you're working to increase the cadence of your pedaling.... Cadence is important in the production of Power
If you decide to 'try' clipless, do so with the plan to 'make it work'... if you're just 'trying', the urge to not persevere will be great - one which many succumb to...
as Yoda said "Don't Try - Do!"
Ride On
Yuri
Mike- the guy I mention above, is a 'One of a Kind'. Only guy I know who rides solely clipless, and seems unaffected by the effort, regardless of 'intensity'.
There are many really strong mtb riders who ride with us, and ride flats on mtb - but all use clipless on hard rides... There prolly are others who are strong riders who ride flats exclusively on every bike/ride - Mike is the only one I know...

The first time I tried clipless, it took half a mile of me trying, to get my second (right) shoe clipped in. I thought "This is ridiculous!". I'm not sure why that first time was so difficult. Either I got better or the cleats got easier. I may have loosened the mechanism to make clipping in and out a little easier. You may want to do that too, at first.

I wonder if new cleats have relatively sharp edges making clipping in more tricky than after they wear from clipping in and out.

IKR. I tour with SPD cleats and end up walking on more different surfaces than I can think of.