Clipless Pedal Question
 

Not sure this is the correct Forum but..
I ride with SPD pedal on our bikes and have a question.
How much more "efficent" are the non SPD pedals? The kind that the road bike crowd uses?
Thanks!

SPD is good. However, I have since switched to Look KEO Carbon, simply because it's light, very stiff and I feel all my pedal power goes straight to the crank. YMMV...

I don't think road pedals are more efficient than mountain pedals per se, but the stiffer the shoe, the more efficient, and the less likelihood of getting cramping/muscle issues during a ride. You can find some mountain shoes that rival the stiffness of a basic road shoe, BTW, but some mountain shoes tend to be more flexy, just my experience. I use Specialized mountain shoes right now, I like them.

I raced for a while on SPD (well Ritchey mtb) pedals on the road. I did this because I had winter mtb shoes but not winter road shoes. I had no problems. I like the road pedals better but I don't think there is a difference performance-wise. I feel the wider pedal is more stable, the road shoes tend to be lighter for a given model, but overall that amounts to little.

There is no efficency difference- you won't pick up a mph in average speed on your regular loop.

But the road pedals are more comfortable since more of the foot is supported. Also, road shoes are often stiffer than MTB shoes, which makes them more comfortable for pedalling, but less suited for walking.

None more efficient. (Yeah Spinal Tap)

I used SPDs before and have since moved to SPD-SL (similar to Look) mainly because I got regular road shoes which were lighter and don't work well with the 2-hole SPD cleat. Also a bit more platform to stand on which is nice. Pedals are probably similar in weight.

Regarding soles, many shoe lines have complimentary models where the road shoe shares the sole with the mountain shoe. The mountain version just has stuff attached to it, knobs and whatnot. My mtb and road shoes have what appear to be identical rigid soles, with the difference being the extra mtb stuff. Doing a "in my hands" flex test showed little perceptible difference. (Sidi models, with similar uppers, like the Genius road shoe and Dominator mtb shoe).

I did have "comfort" SPD shoes and those typically have a hard rubber sole instead of a thick plastic rigid sole. The comfort SPD shoes definitely feel more flexible, to the point where the arch of my foot would cramp.

Agree 100%

In my almost four years reading through BF posts, this one comes up often.

TT, you're question is a little like, "Do you still beat your wife?" A better question might have been to ask if road pedals are more efficient than mt. bike pedals.

From my own limited almost four decades of road cycling, I'd say there's insignificant differences between the types of pedals. I think tradition has a lot to do with the choice of "road pedals" by roadies. Like leg shaving for the truly committed cyclists, road pedals offer a way to identify with a specific group.

I've had problems unintentionally releasing from SPDs in sprints. I've never had the problem from Look pedals. (Delta and Keo)

In the past I have ridden with road shoes and spd's and there was no discomfort at all. I now have 105's and prefer them by a great deal because clipping in and out is 10x faster to me.

I like your comment... where is the like button...

My comment is of course off topic because the answer has been beaten into this thread already.

Thanks for all your replies. I have been using SPD's and I guess for the time being I will remain with them.