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Just bought a roadbike and working out what to buy pedalwise.
Generally ride flats on the MTB, but have some old dx spds I'm quite happy on.
Are road spds that much better for road riding or will MTB pedals/shoes suffice and then I can use them on the MTB too.
you can use mtb pedals on a road bike, but there is an element of the right tool for the job, Road shoes are far stiffer than most mtb shoes, road shoes are also a pain to walk in, so if you are intending to walk don't bother.
The bigger pedals and cleats seem to hold your foot more steadily, they seem less prone to hot spots.
Other benefits, depending on pedal, you can get quite a bit more clearance for pedaling through corners, clipping pedals on the floor is not a nice experience!
I've been using A520 SPD's with my mtb shoes with no problems - more support than a standard mtb spd pedla. I've just decided to buy some road shoes and pedals now though, the mtb shoes are always caked in mud and the road shoes will be lighter and better ventilated 🙄
i use the same pedals on the road bike as well. Never had any issues hitting corners or sore feet. The mud just lets them know you are not one of the gang - well that the camelbak and the hair
Got eggbeaters on my SS road hack with Spec BG shoes. Seems to work fine.
I've also used A520 with Specialized mtb shoes without any problems.
I used Candy's for while on the road bike, got on ok with them but noticed a big improvement getting 'proper' pedals.
I use SPD-R on the road but before that I used SPDs and MTB shoes for years with no problem. In winter I still use SPDs and Shimano winter MTB boots.
I use PD-M647 with Specialized BG Comp MTB shoes on my road bike (Condor) and my, err, off-road going road bike (Peregrine). I went for MTB shoes as you can at least walk around a bit in them.
From past experience, pure road pedals & shoes are more suitable for straight-up road work, but my routes almost never work out like that these days. 647's are pretty big pedals too.
MTB pedals and shoes will work just fine.
One point i'd like to make first though, i bought some SPDs for the road bike when i started out, and they were fine. A few months in when my power started to increase, and the distances had started to increase, then i found that i started to get hotspots on the balls of my feet where the spds were. That's when i decided to make the change to SPD-SLs.
shimano 520 spd's with race style mtb shoes on my road bike.
100 commuting miles a week for the last 8 months and i'm still alive.
road pedals and cleats feel way more secure (imho!), If i've been on the road bike a lot then swap to the mountain bike, it takes me a while to get used to how 'sloppy' SPD's feel.
As mentioned before though if you think you'll do any walking, just use SPD's. I might stick mine on the road bike for the fred whitton in case i have to walk up Hardknott at the end!