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Went out for first ride on my new Cube Nuroad Race yesterday. Really enjoyed it even though I got a puncture on first ride! Some of the lanes were pretty muddy and I was riding in Look Keos, not great when I had to get off bike. I have sold and this k I'll swap over to them. What do you use for your gravel riding?
SPDs for all offroad riding, usually M520 or M540.
Mtb spds, m540 for me.
Probably won’t be a popular option, but I’ve just replaced the SPDs on mine with flats 😵 Easier to get a foot down when it’s slippy, better for that walk to an interesting viewpoint and don’t get clogged with mud, snow, ice etc. Only two (40 and 50 mile) rides so far but can’t detect the supposed loss of efficiency yet either. It’s a bit of an experiment though and too early to say whether it is a success or not yet really.
Is there any difference in feel to the more expensive ones , I have the super cheap ones, which are ok , just wandered if it was worth investing in better quality.
M520 here, because already had then lying around. They are staying on over winter so I can wear (warmer) MTB shoes but I'm going to give road pedals and shoes a go next year as most of my mileage is road with the odd bit of bridleway and track.
I've broken the habit of a lifetime and put spds on my road winter bike this year. And the sky has not fallen in. Tightened up the springs a bit which seems to control the float a little. With that in mind I can't see why they would not be the default on a gravel bike too.
I rode Deltas and then Keos off road for years. I bought Look X-Track for the fat bike, and now have them on the gravel bike. I'd rather have Keos, if I'm being honest, but these are much easier to walk in. You need some different shoes though, ones with grips and stuff, so you're not walking on the cleat.
Time mtb pedals, use them in all my bikes.
M520 for me too ... cheap and reliable.
XTR Race SPDs
XT trail spd
Just put some XT 8100 Spds on my new gravel bike, slightly wider platform than 520's, reduced to £59 at Sigma Sports. Would have had these though if had seen them first (same price)....
https://www.evanscycles.com/shimano-xt-m8020-trail-mtb-pedals-non-retail-packaged-EV249159
Flats for me. Have some old XT SPDs that I might play with next year, but prefer the comfort of flat pedals.
I use pinned flats over the winter for a better chance of getting a foot down to stabilise a slide, but come spring, I'll be on Time ATACs on the fatbike and Time Xpro 10s on the road bike.
Boardman pro spd pedals. Light weight and amazing value
Candy 7s on mine.
Crank Bros Candys. Just because they are my favourite touring pedal and my touring bike *is* my gravel bike.
XT Trail spds, feet were freezing today but hate flats.
Dmr vault. I accept that the sprints will be slower
The key here is shoes, not pedals. I only now run a mountain bike and a gravel bike. I no longer own a road bike. Over the winter with guards and 38mm slicks. In the summer with deep section road wheels and 25mm road tyres. In all guises I now run XTR SPDs. With Sidi Tiger shoes I have all of the stiffness I need for putting down power on a long road ride without hotspots on the soles of my feet. Tigers are basically Sidi road shoes with a few replaceable rubber inserts. Double sided pedals for ease of entry. Grip and recessed cleats on the shoes for ease of walking. And all the connection and stability required when clicked in. Some people experience a lack of stability, painful hotspots and a less efficient pedalling stroke when using SPDs, but that’s usually down to the stiffness of the shoes. MTB shoes are typically designed with a mix of stiffness when clicked in and flexibility to hike-a-bike when not. That doesn’t make them particularly good at being dedicated road shoes when the need arises.
Boardman pro spd pedals. Light weight and amazing value
Just a shame they don't work properly. Had then on my cx bike for a while, but got fed up with them not releasing fully.
Back on shimanos now.
Flats on everything. So uncool it's uncool.
Flats for me. Superstar Nanos on the hardtail and drop bar bike.
I've got some Shimano M530s that I might try again, but I wasn't that keen on them when I used them last time round.
Flats for me. MG1s.
Shimano M324. Best of other worlds. Flat on one side, spd on the other. I’ve run them for years and they refuse to die. On the cross bike I run double sided XT spds. On the trike I use M324s. When I was learning off road, I liked the ability to use flat sides when I wasn’t confident then flip over for the easier bits. Now I am so confident so I swapped. I still have beginners start with the M324s.
MTB shoes from Specialized are basically road shoes with a tread to help walking. Buy with confidence.
Crank Brothers Candys on all my bikes except the fatty which has flats.
Love them - plenty of float, cheap and a bit of a platform for control. Never fail to clip in even in the deepest mud. I've had 10-12 or so pairs over the years and only one set failed on me so far.
Time XC8 and S-Works XC disco slippers.
Candy 7’s here too
jonnyboi
Member
Boardman pro spd pedals. Light weight and amazing valueI have a set of these I ran on my road bike for commuting last winter. Currently on summer road shoes with shimano spd-sls. I prefer the spds for ease of clicking in and out in traffic but e road shoes are much stiffer and nicer for going the long way to work / back.
The Boardman pedals are fine I think I’m terms of functionality but perhaps not as slick as shimano ones. I bought them for the light weight vs other spd pedals - you have to spend an awful lot to get lighter.
Time Atac xc8 on gravel bike, because they're cooler than spuds.
Shimano SPDs here. Dunno the serial number.
Have worn flats for a few shorter rides and as others have said you'd probably be hard pressed to notice the supposed lack of efficiency.
I don't like the 1-sided option that TiRed mentions though. The flat side is quite slippy and the non-flat side uncomfortable in flat shoes.
I used candies off road since they came out. Had a couple of pairs break and went to Time Atac XCs, but miss the candies. Safe to go back to crank bros?
Eggbeaters
M520 SPDs with Sidi or Spesh MTB shoes on road and gravel bikes. Flats on MTB.
Cheap Shimano SPDs - easy to clip in/out in the mud, loads of float.
Safe to go back to crank bros?
I've got Candys or Eggbeaters on all of my bikes. I have had a couple fail when the outer bearing collapsed, but it wouldn't have happened if I'd done even a little bit of maintenance. Both were fixed with the £16 service kit. So I'd say yes, it's safe.
I’ve got Candys or Eggbeaters on all of my bikes. I have had a couple fail when the outer bearing collapsed, but it wouldn’t have happened if I’d done even a little bit of maintenance. Both were fixed with the £16 service kit. So I’d say yes, it’s safe.
I have Time on all my bikes apart from my Brompton. Never done any maintenance on a single one of them. All still running perfectly!
it wouldn’t have happened if I’d done even a little bit of maintenance
The SPDs on my gravel bike have outlived 2 bikes and had zero maintenance. Maybe 8 years of fairly constant use.
LOL - the Candys on my Amazon are a similar vintage. I keep thinking I should do something about them, but....
OneUp composite flats. Because flats
Time single sided clips, so I can ride to the shops.
& they're dirt cheap.
How long before we get gravel specific pedals 😉
XTR race
I use SHIMANO PD-EH500. Spikey one side clip in the other.
CB Eggbeater 2s. Corroded bearing surface within half a dozen manky CX races but fixed with a new axle. No i'm not recommending even the the actual performance is very good
I use either eggbeaters or the one sided crank bros half flat half clipped pedal. Useful in summer on holiday, more relaxed riding and you want to pop to the shops in your flip flops etc.
I’ve got Candys or Eggbeaters on all of my bikes. I have had a couple fail when the outer bearing collapsed, but it wouldn’t have happened if I’d done even a little bit of maintenance. Both were fixed with the £16 service kit. So I’d say yes, it’s safe.
I don't think I've ever maintained a M520/m540 pedal! Quick squirt with GT85 to stop the outer bits rusting, and a dribble of chain lube if I'm feeling generous. Crank Bros, I think I was getting 6 months between either servicing them or the pedal falling off the axle (this was the good/bad old days circa 2012)!
Shimano cleats also last many many many times longer than the brass ones on time, CB etc.
My riding buddy and I ride about the same number of miles. Over the last 12 years, he's had two XTR pedals fall apart, I've had two CB pedals fail. He had to buy new pedals, I had to buy a service kit. I think I'm winning. Especially since I prefer the CBs while riding, rather than just while repairing.
SPDs currently but will be moving to flats when touring about in the summer so that i don't need to carry a second pair of shoes for evenings and mooching about.
I use EggBeaters and find they do last better than they used to. Better than most other options for same price as they are lighter and clipping in is easier (good for fixed gear)