Pedals

[Bentley]

I’m sure I’ll get flamed for this but I am gonna do it anyway. I won’t argue that there are plenty of functional road pedals, personally I like Speedplay but I take no issue with the other brands, basically they work for their intended purpose, riding a bike. But that is the problem. Generally a ride for me includes some walking, and I have yet to find the road pedal that really works well when you walk. The Speedplay walkable cleats are ok, but frankly I find using MTB SPD pedals and an appropriate shoe works way better.

I get it, it is not what is done, but it makes getting a coffee, or stopping for a bathroom break very easy.

Thoughts.

[cinema]

it's fine... been doing it for years. i wear 5 year old terraduros, ride a surly, and just wave hi to people on pinarello dogmas as i pass them.

[AngryScientist]

i'm more comfortable in road pedals personally, but nothing wrong with mtb pedals for road riding.

for example, i ride road pedals almost exclusively, even on my gravel bike, but last years D2R2 was so wet that i decided to swap to SPDs, for the mud shedding. i thought i might be less comfortable, but 180k later, i barely noticed a difference.

ride what works for you IMO. life is too short to care what other people think of your pedals.

[mwynne]

100% thinking of going that route myself soon. Just debating which pedals to go for...

[jtbadge]

No noticeable performance difference, especially when you get carbon-soled MTB shoes. Love my Giro VR90 + XT pedals combo.

That said, I don't really have a problem walking in road shoes until the little rubber feet on the Look Keo cleats wear out.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

ride what works for you IMO. life is too short to care what other people think of your pedals.

I still use old-style Look Delta cleats, so I heartily concur.

The only significant issues for me have been:

1) Unexpected walking on gravel, which tears the heck out of the cleats. It doesn't happen often, but enough to be an issue.

2) Old-style country stores that have wooden or soft linoleum floors and are accustomed to getting roadies sometimes get upset that the cleats will be leaving lots of little dents on their floor and ask cyclists to not enter with their shoes on.

[rwsaunders]

Originally Posted by mwynne

100% thinking of going that route myself soon. Just debating which pedals to go for...

Just make sure that your pedals have a slot for an Allen wrench as well as the capability to be removed with a pedal wrench. I learned the hard way as I had a pair of Shimano pedals that could only be installed/removed with an Allen wrench...not fun to remove after riding through a Winter’s worth of muck.

[Ken Robb]

And if you like mtn. pedals you might also like flat pedals and rubber-soled street shoes too.

[KidWok]

Been doing this for years as well. Lake MX331 cross with SPD's. Have dual-sided XT's on the all-arounder and fendered road bike. Have single-sided A600's on some fancier road bikes. The Colnago C50 keeps the last set of SPD SL's I have...sold off all the other ones. The De Rosa Neo Primato keeps the Campy Pro-Fits. I don't ride these two more than a couple of times a year each.

Before this, I stopped shaving my legs and sometimes wore a MTB helmet with visors on all-day rides. The things you do when you give up being a slave to fashion.

Tai

[duff_duffy]

I’ve moved onto big mountain bike style flats and never going back! Have 5 pairs of Speedplay, 1 Campy, 1 Look, 1 set of Shimano doing on classifieds soon.

[Hilltopperny]

I've been using speedplay frogs for the past two years or so almost exclusively. I still have road pedals around and even attached to a bike or two, but the majority of my riding is solo and in places that may involve walking at times.

I had a severe foot, ankle and leg injury a few years back and have preferred mountain pedals since using them. I originally tried them out after a slip and fall in the winter with my road shoes and pedals.

The frogs took some getting used to and I still feel that traditional road pedals transfer power a little better, but I'm not racing anybody and could give two $#its what anybody else feels is necessary for my bikes and the way I ride. The ability to walk sure footed trumps looking cool.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[Doug Fattic]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

And if you like mtn. pedals you might also like flat pedals and rubber-soled street shoes too.

Lately this is the most popular option for those making randonneuring bicycles in my framebuilding class. There have been enough setting up the fitting bicycles with flat pedals I realize this has swelled into a fad now. I've never tried them myself but I might give them a go because this trend obviously has some merit with the number of converts using them. Obviously the type of riding they do with flat pedals is not following wheels in a peloton

[R3awak3n]

Ride what you like!

I have bikes with SPD and bikes with SPD SL. Personally I think SPD SL aka road pedals are more comfortable for long rides. I attribute that to a bigger platform and stiff shoe sole. That said, my new SPD shoes are very stiff too but I need to get some SPD pedals that have a bit more platform..

Any ride I do that sees a gravel for more than a few miles, or mud or snow or whatever, I will use SPD... Road shoes suck for anything but road. Even getting out of the house with them is a task. I hate going inside shops with them. They are silly things. I always think, if I leave my bike outside a cafe and someone comes and grabs it, no way i will catch em with these silly clicky clacky shoes.

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

Ride what you like!

Seconding (or nth-ing) this. I've ridden bebop pedals on "racing" mountain bike shoes for a decade or more on my road bike. They're like speedplays but with better walkability off the bike. They work great; I'll only give them up because the bebop cleats are unobtanium at this point.

[d_douglas]

Originally Posted by Bentley

I’m sure I’ll get flamed for this but I am gonna do it anyway. I won’t argue that there are plenty of functional road pedals, personally I like Speedplay but I take no issue with the other brands, basically they work for their intended purpose, riding a bike. But that is the problem. Generally a ride for me includes some walking, and I have yet to find the road pedal that really works well when you walk. The Speedplay walkable cleats are ok, but frankly I find using MTB SPD pedals and an appropriate shoe works way better.

I get it, it is not what is done, but it makes getting a coffee, or stopping for a bathroom break very easy.

Thoughts.

I totally agree - I am thinking of switching all my bikes to Time ATACs - Speedvagen road included.

I have a pair of beaten terraduros (my gold standard) and recently bought a set of used Codes - they’re virtually as stiff as carbon road shoes...