Pedals for mixed terrain

[Spaghetti Legs]

I first gravitated toward the Crank Bros Candy many years ago for cross racing (in Memphis Brad704!) as I liked having the platform for pedaling before getting clipped in. I also like them for times JRA in regular shoes. I still use them for touring and all road riding. The older Candy's suffer from a reputation of poor reliability, and I've noticed bearing play in couple sets and had one pedal fall apart after I tried to tweak it. The newer models with alloy pedal body are nicer and I've been happy - these are Candy 3's. There isn't a sharp pop or click getting in and out, but not a big deal to me.

I have Candys on 4 bikes now but if I was starting from scratch I would seriously consider the Shimano MTB Spd pedals as they look to have a platform and people generally seem really happy with them. The current Candys are good though and I don't have reason to change horse mid stream so to speak.

[Turkle]

I use Shimano 2-bolt SPD for all my riding on all my bikes. I love that they are so incredibly easy to set up and I've never had any issue with the pedals. They also allow you to wear shoes where you can walk around normally when you stop for coffee / beer.

The other nice thing is that you really have a wide variety of shoes available in 2-bolt. I use 2-bolt mountain-bike shoes with a little flex in the toe for any rides where I'll have to get off the bike for an extended period of time, but I have a pair that has a nice stiff road-style sole for pure road riding. To me, it's nice being able to switch up and mix and match across my bikes without having to worry if a pair of shoes will fit the bike or whatever. Just grab and go.

It's also nice that they are ubiquitous. My old road shoes were straight up busted on a ride one time, and I was able to stop in at a random bike store on my route and leave with a great pair of upgraded shoes on a whim. I think that sort of convenience might be more difficult with other types of shoe.

Good luck!

[Tbof]

Originally Posted by SDJ

I would also try out the Ritcheys first

Eggbeaters had waaaay too much play for me but were great to start out with on the cyclocross in rough terrain - on the road I did not like them at all

even though they have had some production issues in the first generation I am very happy with my Time Cyclo "gravel" pedals - use them on my Road+ and find them great for mixed terrain

(Also switched over to Time atac mtb pedals on my cyclocross to have the same cleats replacing Shimano Spd and very happy with the atacs as well)

I wish I could find these pedals, I love my time pedals for the mtb

[party time]

For a more far-out option, MKS makes the 'solution' pedal which is flat bmx style one side, 2 bolt on the other. I have a set on my gravel bike because sometimes i like to ride in regular shoes

https://bluelug.com/blog/global/mks-solution-pedal/

[Gwerziou]

I use Crank Brothers Eggbeaters for every bike, for every application. Years ago they had some longevity problems but starting what, maybe 8 or 9 years ago they added enduro bearings. Mine have been absolutely bomb proof. I find that the durability, light weight, ease of entry and exit and the rotation allowed suits me really well, so they’ve replaced every other pedal for my XC, CX, and rough-road riding (which is all of my riding). I have a pair of Time ATACS on a shelf; they are good, kind of similar but a little more clunky to get in and out of. Time was casting the cleats quite crudely and I wonder if that was responsible for their relatively crude feel.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by jtakeda

+1 on time atac

It’s been a really long time since I’ve had the opportunity to crank bros bash so I’ll 2nd the nay on crank bros. Too much float for me and also incredibly unreliable. I’ve broken probably 10-15 eggbeater pedals and conceded and switched to time and since then I’ve broken exactly 1 time atac pedal.

The little spring in the crank bros pedal is not the strongest

I have Time Atac's on all my off road bikes. Beware, buying gray market pedals can be defective.

[shoota]

Originally Posted by Alistair

I have nothing good to say about Crank Bros. I had several sets fail over 4 years of use. The outboard bearing is a cheap bushing, not a real bearing - ****e design that can't take any abuse - and when the bushing fails, it tends to take the end of the spindle with it. If you go this route, plan to rebuild them annually and carry spares.

So, I went back to the tried and true Shimano SPDs. I use the XT level on most of my bikes, and XTR level on my gravel bike. I think the Ritchey is SDP-compatible - probably no reason not to use them, since you have them.

Same. Crank Bros can shove it as far as I'm concerned.

[herb5998]

Been using the Time ATAC XC6, really nice and so far very durable.

[Gwerziou]

TIME pedals also got bought by SRAM, which is probably great news as we can only assume that a fresh version, done right, will emerge in the future.

[Likes2ridefar]

I use current generation dura ace for all my riding which is rarely on the road.

I’ve never been deterred of walking on the shimano spd sl cleats. They are very durable and last a long time even when walking over rocks on trails in hikeabike sections.

The only reason I would use a mtb cleat is because stuff is sticking to my road cleats making it difficult to clip in. Fortunately this is almost never in the southwest.

And if that is the case, XTR pedals are on hand. Having used most every pedal out there, don’t really see any reason to use anything other than Shimano. Duraace and xtr are set and forget about it…I’ve toasted a few xtr pedals when I was commuting in NYC but they always warranty replaced them.

[Wunder]

I use Speedplay Zero on the road race bike and two bolt Shimano mountain SPD on everything else. Speedplays don't play well with dust and are kind of high maintenance so not a good choice for mixed terrain. Shimano SPDs are bulletproof and the pedals come in lots of variations (single sided, dual clip, clip/flat, and with or without shoe supports). I tried Crank Brothers Candy pedals for a while but didn't like them (clip in mechanism wasn't positive, platform never felt secure, also lots of reports of poor durability).

[sevencyclist]

I have Crank Brothers Candy 1 on three of my bikes. One MTB and two road bikes including on my most recent build of Colnago 64. They are cheap and light. I never got the heavier and more "durable" Candy pedals since I have only worn out down two pairs in my 20 years of regular riding. So figure $250 of pedal cost over these years is not bad. The Candy give you a small platform which is great when wearing regular shoes, and enough for you to crank along when trying to mount up MTB on an uphill.

[Waldo62]

I have Look MTB pedals that use Shimano MTB cleats. They're lighter and wider than Shimano MTB pedals, which I like for more-better ease of entry.