UKH

Had a road bike for a while now with flat pedals with cages. They are crap. Finally getting round to fitting some cleats.

I've got a pair of mountain bike SPD pedals already (Shimano M520 SPD Pedals), is there any reason not to fit these to a road bike? Most road bikes I see have the SPD-SL pedals/flats. Which I presume use different style cleats...is there any advantage to this style? (...can you still walk about in the shoes?)

like these - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-r540-spd-sl-sport-pedals/

In reply to Kemics: the basic answer is that spd-sl gives you a significantly bigger 'platform', or interface between the shoe and the pedal, for better energy transfer efficiency. The downside is that road-cleated shoes are less easy to walk around in as the cleat sticks out a lot. No real reason why you can't put MTB spds on a roadie, apart from the fact that it's just plain wrong of course

In reply to Kemics:

No reason not to swap onto SPDs as a start.

SPD-SL pedals/Look/time etc - Bigger surface area to put power through, lower profile pedals for less chance of a pedal strike, shoes tend to be better at delivering the power. They are crap for walking about in, but then you shouldn't really need to on road, tottering in to the cafe to buy a coffee and a cake isn't a problem though.

In reply to Kemics:

Problem is I use my bike mostly for city commuting, so will also be walking around in my shoes a lot. However, I have a 15 mile commute so perhaps it's worth just carrying trainers in a backpack. Switching from a mtb to a roadie gives me another 20 mins in bed in the morning :P ....seems like there's no perfect compromise. Is it significantly easier riding with the SL's?

In reply to Kemics: Use your spd's no problem with them at all. Loads of people use them and in winter the mtn bike shoes are usually warmer.

In reply to Kemics: Quite a few threads on this in the past, might be worth looking up. I think the main thing is "they look a bit funny", but if you are commuting I reckon SPDs will actually be better than SPD-SLs. I have SPDs on my cyclocross bike which is my commuter.

In reply to Kemics:

Leave your trainers at work? Assuming you trust your work colleagues that is.

SPDs are fine for use on road bikes, it's only convention that folk don't use them. My wife does 70 miles plus on her road bike no problem.

ALC

In reply to ripper:

I may be strange, but I find SPD-SL cleets much easier to walk in than metal mountain bike SPD cleets.

In reply to The New NickB:

with the MTB's arn't they recessed into the shoes so it's like walking in a completely normal pair of shoes?

In reply to Kemics:

Depends on the shoe.

In reply to Kemics:

I have spds on both mtb and road bike. I find they work great. I'm not really any slower than other club mates with spd-sl. Off the bike I can walk normally. I don't need seperate shoes for road and mtb. If it gets icy; walking in mtb shoes is fine, road cleats would be another problem altogether.

In reply to The New NickB: You must have really odd MTB shoes! I find even with my skate style shimano DX shoes I can still slip on the cleat and fall over in embarrassing ways, but it is MUCH MUCH harder to do than in my road shoes. If I'm on a pit stop on long road ride and buying things from a supermarket I've taken to walking around the shop in socks or bare feet due to the death combo of shiny Lidl floors and my road shoes/SL cleats!

In reply to Kemics:

I've got SPDs on my roadbike because I wanted shoes I could walk about in. They are way better than the cages I had before.

In reply to Kemics:

That's correct. It's all I've ever used, don't think I'd see a big difference in performance moving to the road shoes. The MTB ones are just convenient.

In reply to TobyA: my road shoes aren't that bad towalk in (shimano shoes and shimano yellow sl cleats) - there's a bit of rubber on the heel of the shoe and on the parts of the cleat that touch the ground, so they don't seem too slippy - still put your foot in an unnatural 'toes up' position when walking though, fine for short distances but not ideal if walking far.

In reply to Kemics:

Stick with the SPDs then.

E

In reply to Enty: spds get my vote.like you said keep some shoes in work you can then wear wot you like on the bike.
personally i like to wear high heels round the house although if my girl friend catches me i'll be in trouble.

In reply to Kemics: I have SPDs on my roadie as I wanted the ability to walk around. Not had any funny looks off anyone.

In reply to Kemics:
I used some MTB spds on a road bike along with MTB shoes which I still use on my own road bike with the spd pedals that came with it - the cleats seem to be the same. makes for much comfier walking!

In reply to Kemics:

No reason not to do it really, other than looks.

The only real difference between them is that the road cleats tend to be held more firmly, but you can adjust that just like with MTB pedals. I don't believe the stuff about a bigger surface area for better power transfer - it sounds sensible, but if your shoe has a stiff sole then I can't see how it can make a difference.

I prefer road cleats on the road bike, and MTB cleats on the MTB. for touring though, where I might have to do some walking, and I'm rarely giving it the berries like I might on the road bike, then I wear my MTB shoes.

Tim

In reply to Kemics: shimano A600 s were my choice. Billed as 'touring' pedals but looked lovely on my road bike, until it got nicked

The advantage of course is that I could walk around in my shoes

In reply to Kemics:

I'm another with mtb pedals on my road bike I think I have Time's, means I can wear my mtb winter boots when its cold and mtb shoes the rest of the time.

Done a couple of sportives like this, the pedals didnt slow me down just my spare tyre ...

In reply to Green Porridge:


The difference is more in the shoes, proper roadie race shoes are *really* stiff even compared with typical MTB shoes which usually have a little bit of give in them. Only makes a noticeable difference for me when you're climbing or sprinting out of the saddle at full gas though.

For commuting definitely stick with the SPDs.

In reply to Kemics: If youre commuting you'll have your foot down at lights, unless youre very good at trackstands (or run red lights). My right shoe is significantly more worn as a result of this. Ive always used SPDs on both my cross and road bike; it doesnt look strange, and its just easier all round.

In reply to Kemics:

Another vote for SPDs with MTB shoes here. I can walk about ok in them and on distances up to 80 miles haven't noticed discomfort or hot spots (not done any longer rides so can't comment on that). I did get really good MTB shoes though, with carbon soles, so they're pretty stiff. I got the SPDs as I was nervous about SPD-SLs as a newbie to cleats but just never got round to changing them as they're absolutely fine for what I use them for.

It is against The Rules though.

In reply to Kemics:

Well, I've got SPDs on an MTB, a fixie and a road bike. My shoes were a bit past it and so there was much humming and ha-ing. I've got one spare pair of SPD-SL pedals, but no cleats, so I could have bought some road shoes and SL cleats and made do with the old shoes for the MTB and fixie, and then bought another pair of SL pedals in due course for the fixie.

However, the fixie's a commuter and so that's not brilliant.

And - whatever my problem is, it's not being unable to put down enough power through SPD pedals. So I bought a very nice pair of new MTB shoes with carbon soles and stuff.

Shame I bust them after two days. Waiting for a replacement pair now.

In reply to climbingpixie: Ha, thats exactly like me. I bought SPDs cause I was new to clipless and they are easier to get in and out of, and ive become very adept at using them. Literlly TAP, and you're in and secure. I also have very stiff soled shoes. I reckon road cleats would feel very strange and not worth the increased platform.