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I have started a little bit of road riding on my Specialized Roubaix (great bike and thanks for the advice I previously received on the all-knowing forum) but I am ashamed/proud to still be using Nukeproof flat pedals.
As clipless pedals seem to be part of the uniform, which type do I get? I’m a Shimano fan, as their stuff simply works, so do I just go with 105/Ultegra pedals? Are their disadvantages to MTB SPD pedals (an advantage is their easy to walk in)? Or do I try the budget Wahoo Speedplay pedal?
It’s a been a long time since I tried clipless (MTB SPD) pedals and I remember some discomfort under one of my kneecaps and the fact that unclipping never felt that natural to me. Comfort & ease of use are my priorities.
Thanks.
TBH if you are goin got be riding it year round I would just opt for MTB type SPD shoes/pedals:
M520 and whatever XC type shoe suits your foot shape and budget.
Agree, if ease of use is a priority then a one side pedal won't be your friend
I agree but...
I also think spdsl are my favourite of all pedals that I have tried if no walking or footdown is required. So comfy.
But if I had to pick one set SPD for sure.
do I just go with 105/Ultegra pedals?
Yes.
Make sure you've got the bike fit dialled though, saddle height/position and handlebar mainly.
having tried all makes of road pedals just get Shimano, they work and you don't need to get the cleats on a monthly subscription
their catchily named PD-ES600 single-sided SPD road/touring pedals are also really rather good if you fancy any kind of walking about on a recessed cleat and their platform means you don't get any of the yaw you can get on a mtb pedal
I agree but…
I also think spdsl are my favourite of all pedals that I have tried if no walking or footdown is required. So comfy.
But if I had to pick one set SPD for sure.
^^This^^
I should have said, I do use both, but SPD SL are reserved for the "nice" road bike in summer/dry conditions only. all of the rest (winter Road/SS/Gravel/etc) are used with cheapo M520s and MTB shoes, the advantage of not tumbling over on wet roadside grit far outweighs the marginal gain in power transfer...
I use Crank Brothers pedals on all of my bikes - Candys on the road and gravel bikes, with Shimano XC7 shoes. It's really the shoes that make the difference, and with the XC7s I get the road bike stiffness, but I don't have to walk like a duck (not to mention risking the painful falls on the tiled floor) at the café stop.
current running the XT trail SPD's (8020?) on my gravel bike but considering a set of these instead so I can easily ride in trainers as well.
used to run road spd's but IME the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.
Comfort & ease of use are my priorities.
I'm firmly in the road pedals for a road bike camp, and my reasons are what I've quoted from the OP's original post.
Comfort - The larger platform works well for long days in the saddle and the extra platform can help with knee pair.
Ease of use - Shimano pedals are designed to hang in a way that makes they easy to clip in to, single sided or not, they're no harder to clip into than MTB pedals.
Yes, MTB pedals are easier to walk in, but I don't do much walking on the roadie anyway.
Use mountain bike pedals on all my bikes, I'm not good enough to worry about any marginal gains from "proper" road pedals
Ease of use – Shimano pedals are designed to hang in a way that makes they easy to clip in to, single sided or not, they’re no harder to clip into than MTB pedals.
Disagree. Sir obviously doesn't live in an area of steep hills and traffic lights 😂
Normal spds are almost guaranteed if you stomp. Road ones are ah easy enough but you do have to place your foot it.
I’m not good enough to worry about any marginal gains from “proper” road pedals
It's less about gains and more about comfort for me.
Another vote for SPDSL pedals - they work great and they spread the load to avoid numbness. I did use MTB SPD pedals as I was already clipless on the mountain bike for a number of years and it works fine - also good if you are walking at all and using the road biking for fun, occasional use, commuting. But for longer rides that dont involve walking at all the SPDSL would be a good choice. Also dont go cheap on the shoes - decent soled comfy shoe - make sure they are wide enough - will pay dividends in the long run
Also dont go cheap on the shoes – decent soled comfy shoe – make sure they are wide enough – will pay dividends in the long run
Good point.
Carbon-soled shoes feel amazing with SPD-SLs.
These look like a pretty good deal...
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-aeron-carbon-road-shoe-dial
I changed from SPDs on both road and MTBs to SLs on the road bike with proper SL shoes. Big difference in how I cycle and certainly more comfortable on longer road trips.
For off-road/commuting, I love my old Specialized shoes, but they are finally dying and I need a new pair. SPDs FTW on both commuter and MTB though.
I use Look KEOs. If starting again, I'd probably go for Shimano since the bearings seem more robust. There's little in it for engagement. Power meter pedals have tended to first go Look because the patent expired first.
Use mountain bike pedals on all my bikes, I’m not good enough to worry about any marginal gains from “proper” road pedals
My club mate was at the pointy (read winning) end of Cat 2 races with spas and a peaked helmet. Good MTB shoes with a very stiff sole and double sided spds are fine. I use to ride them before I went Look KEO 15 years ago.
I use XTR pedals on all my road bikes.....
Proper road cleats are more comfortable as they have a greater surface area.
I find Look KEO are nice - pedals much lighter than Shimano and not too expensive
I use a mixture of speed play and spds on the road, can’t really feel any difference between them other than speedplay is a bit more friendly on my knees
I use MTB clipless pedals for most of my road and gravel rides. Only when going over 80km do I find that road SPDs and carbon soles make a difference. My outboard toes seem to get sore in normal SPDs where they don't in Carbon shoes and SPDs. Probably the extra support from the pedal and sole.
Disagree. Sir obviously doesn’t live in an area of steep hills and traffic lights
Oh contraire, they are used on my traffic light heavy commute. One simply needs to learn how to track stand and therefore never unclip. I do 13 miles each way from home to office and do more rides where I don't unclip than rides I do.
I think it's worth remembering the OPs situation, new to road bikes looking for comfort and ease of use. There's no denying that MTB SPD's are easier to clip into and easier to waddle about in.
And it's also worth remembering that the OP can always change pedals/shoes down the line if they get more into it.
Far more people (IME) use SPDs on road bikes than SPD SL or other road specific single sided clipless pedal system. Plus when you inevitably buy a gravel bike it's easy to fit another pair of M520
Yeah speedplays are kinder to your knees, feels a bit weird to begin with but great once you get used to them.
Shimano 105 - like you say, 'it simply works'. Nice wide cleats, very easy to walk in (not like Look). Never used Wahoo/Speedplay and never seen the attraction of having my feet floating around, but I don't have any knee issues either.
Speedplay have fully adjustable float, heel in/out independent - not sure if that's changed since Wahoo got hold of them.
Also double sided if you find clipping in to single sided pedals difficult, although the cleats are deeper and trickier to walk in for those who seem to struggle with the minimal amount of walking you're likely to do in road shoes.
By far the best road pedals I've used by a long way, initial cost is a bit higher but cleats are lasting well beyond Shimano/Look offerings.
If your shoes and pedals are in good nick and mesh together nicely, then mountain spd is fine and you have the walkability. However, personal experience says that as soon as the shoe/pedal interface gets worn they click and rattle, which isn't so much of a problem off road, where everything is getting rattled around anyway, but it's bloody distracting on road.
In terms of road single sided pedals - I've yet to see a reason not to use Shimano. Bigger platform is nice, and it generally feels like the shoe and pedal are one piece when clipped in. There's lateral movement, but its not "slop" like mtb pedals are. Aside from the walkability issue, the only real downside is if you end up trying to pedal on the wrong side of the pedal because you've cocked up clipping in, its bloody lethal.
When i first got a road bike, i used mountain bike SPDs for a while. my feet became quite achy on longer rides, and that was using some pretty fancy, stiff shoes. Maybe the latest xc race type shoes are stiff enough, but i think footache is quite likely.
the tiny mtb cleat isn't very stable, has a tendency to roll side to side a bit.
I really like Shimano road SPDs. Easy to clip into, the cleats last a long time, really comfy when pedalling and walking in them really is no big deal. how far are you likely to be walking anyway? a few steps in the cafe?
I understand walking on Speedplay cleats is a very different matter - pretty much the whole mechanism is in the cleat, not the pedal.
Clipping in is not difficult. the pedal hangs in such a way that you just put your foot slightly behind the pedal and move it forwards. the very large size of the cleat makes up the singlesidedness when it comes to ease of clipping in.
I don't use Shimano any more because i use Garmin Vectors instead.
The Garmin pedal is fine, but I really wish they had designed them around the Shimano cleat instead of the Look Keo, which is smaller, has a more vague clipping-in action, is less stable, and wears out much more quickly.
No real answer as we all have our preferences.
Road I use Look keo. Most roadies I know, and I’m predominantly a roadie, all use proper road cleats. I don’t know one actually who is on spd. That’s probably about 40 club and team riders.
We tend not to walk about too much when on a road ride. Apart from the coffee shop, but you soon get used to the waddling about and it becomes second nature.
My gravel bike has spd as has my XC bike. I do long rides on these and don’t tend to suffer hot spots. (Long rides can exceed 8 hours)
having tried all makes of road pedals just get Shimano, they work and you don’t need to get the cleats on a monthly subscription
This. My spd-sl pedals are well over ten years old, and need nothing more than a fresh squirt of grease once per year. Bulletproof.
I tend to use mtb spds for winter and touring, as I might be walking more or using my waterproof boots (much better than overshoes when it's properly mucky). I agree that they're easier to clip in to.
Time's iClic cleats are quite the widest out there and perfect for my requirements. Depending on the amount of walking you plan to do in the road shoes they last me around a year per set. The newer Time road pedals are less likely to bite your legs if you get the odd clip-in wrong.
If you're just going to be using the bike for casual rides that might include a bit of offroad or cafe stops etc I'd just use Shimano MTB SPDs, according to whichever fits your budget. I save my carbon Ultegra SPD-SLs and the carbon-soled shoes for the racy road bike.
i think volume of use and duration of rides is the crucial factor.
If it's less than a couple of hours, maybe once a week, then i'd have thought mountain bike cleats and shoes would be fine, but use the stiffest shoes you can.
Much more than that and i think you'd find benefit in the bigger cleats of a road pedal.
do I just go with 105/Ultegra pedals?
Yes.
I use MTB SPDs and road SPD-SLs on road. I find the road ones much more stable when pedalling - far less sideways rocking and the cleats don't wear front-to-back like MTB cleats inevitably do. The shoes too are better being totally rigid.
Obviously the downside is walking, and whilst it looks weird it's not particularly uncomfortable. The only real downside is that it knackers the cleats themselves. If you ride to work for example and then have to walk to and from the bike shed every day you will trash them in no time. The solution for that, if you still want the benefits of road pedals, is to get the cleat covers that you just pop on. I've never tried them but I would if I were doing that. Some people use them for cafe stops too but I don't do those either being a loner.
But any more than a few metres of walking, if you are gravel riding etc then definitely get MTB ones.
I had some of the entry level Look pedals and they fell to bits quite quickly. I replaced them with 105 and they've been bang on over the last ooh, 15 years or so. I think the bearings might be a bit worn now, I'll see if I can replace them.
Use mountain bike pedals on all my bikes, I’m not good enough to worry about any marginal gains from “proper” road pedals
It's not about speed, it's about comfort. I find road stuff much more comfortable.
I have foot issues, can't seem to find a road shoe that is comfortable, plus i'm lazy so I have the same mtb shoes with spds for road & mtb which are very comfortable, possibly due to more float? Never had a problem due to the platform size, but my mtb shoes are quite rigid.
Can't say i've noticed being handicapped by spds vs my mates on road pedals, although some of the purists tend to scoff, there may be gains, but too marginal by the likes of us as 'keen amatures' to notice, whatever feels best for you.
I'm not a Roadie, but if you do go for SPD's, get Shimano 540's rather than 520's - lighter and no spanner needed.