Road Pedals v MTB Pedals

oldgit

What, if any, is the advantage of a roadie cleat/pedal e.g. SPD-SL, to a MTB cleat/pedal for road riding?

I'm fully aware of the differences between the types of cleat and pedal, but what I'm after is why the road cleat/pedal is different and what is the advantage?

Ta.

dombo6

Having used both I'd say no advantage. 100 miles of South Downs Way in a day and same distance Dragon Ride on the road with mtb shoes and spds. Some cliam that the bigger platform of road pedals eliminates "hot spots" but a decent carbon soled mtb shoe would do that. Also the thinner road shoe sole puts your foot closer to the pedal axis which enhances biomechanical efficiency, apparently.

Road pedals are certainly lighter; my Look carbon Keos are around half or less the weight of my XTR mtb pedals, but not enough that I'd notice at my level of riding.

MTB shoes are easier to walk in but then the essence of road riding is that you never walk. Ever. Unless you have to, and then you'll walk in your socks over gravel rather than mince along in road shoes.

The main advantage is you get to buy two pairs of bike shoes. And you can never have too much bike kit. More is always better.

gavintc

IMO, if you choose the MTB styled pedal system; SPD then if you use MTB shoes you will not have a problem. I tried using road shoes with SPD and found the lack of lateral support wss not successful. I have a reasonable pair of Spec BG MTB shoes for commuting in. There is no (or very limited) float. Personally, this is not an issue for me.

maddog 2

I'd agree with all that.

The main difference in use is the wider platform and the amount and nature of the float. The SPD-SLs I've used had less float than spuds, and the platform does feel wider. Neither of which I actually preferred.... The road pedals were also harder to disengage and less likely to pop free under serious welly, although you can obviously adjust this to some degree.

roadie pedals are lighter but you can get spuds which are 300g or less, so it's not a big difference.

Hot spots are not an issue with decent carbon-soled mtb shoes.

softlad

agreed there is not much - if any - difference in the 'pedalling experience'..

However, I think road pedals, because of their generally single-sided nature make it easier to get the foot closer to the pedal axis, but we are talking a couple of millimeters at most. Ride with what you prefer..

gandhi

I find my SPDs have a tiny bit of play between cleat and pedal. There is none at all in my road pedal, so when out of the saddle sprinting, or honking up a hill, the road pedal feels a lot more connected.

JonEdwards

I'm with gandhi on this.

There's simply a more solid connection between you and the bike with road pedals rather than MTB spuds. All my spuds have a lot of "loose" float, both twisting, but also rocking side to side, and a small amount of play when pedaling through from pushing down to pulling up. The road pedals have a stiffer float, and just feel so much more direct when you stamp on the pedals.

oldgit

I ride Spesh BG Comp for road and MTB - it's just less faff to have one pair of shoes for both, and as you say, they are a lot easier to walk in. And I can walk across the wood floor at home without being killed for gouging it.

All well and good.

As to the points raised, you can get fairly light, large platform SPD's - e.g. Acid pedals are within a few 10's of grams of Ultegra - and you can also get SPD cleats with zero float, if that's your bag.

I can see that a flatter roadie style puts your foot closer to the axis, for whatever benefit that delivers (if any?) I still don't see the big advantage that I'm expecting to be there. I was toying with the idea of getting some roadie shoes and pedals, but when I actually thought about it, other than convention, I couldn't come up with a compelling reason why I should.

alp777

I use the same setup as Oldgit, Spesh BG Comp's and spuds, i use my shoes for road riding, mtb'ing, commuting and touring!

The only niggle i do have is the grating noise that my cleats/pedals make, not an issue this time of the year when it's wet but can be a little annoying.

doyler78

I can't really explain what the difference is but there is quite a noticeable one for me. I got on fine with spd's until I tried spd-sl (ultegras) and I've not been back out on the spd's since. I use them everywhere now, including my commute, and I feel considerably much more at ease in heavy traffic than I ever did on spd's. I don't why it is. Perhaps it is what others have been saying in that I feel more connected to the pedal therefore feel more confident about what I'm doing when I hit heavy traffic.

The whole walking thing isn't really a concern for me as I park my bike in the foyer right outside my office and when I get home straight into the store so real walking to be done. Perhaps if I had more walking to do I might reconsider but I can't see it as I just feel considerably more confident riding them.

JonEdwards

"but when I actually thought about it, other than convention, I couldn't come up with a compelling reason why I should."

Absolutely - it took me a long time to justify the expense to myself too. That said, once I'd actually tried riding in proper road shoes, I was thoroughly converted within about 100m (with the exception of clipping into single sided pedals when trying to sprint away from the lights)

Try it. They're good.

doyler78

JonEdwards wrote:

"but when I actually thought about it, other than convention, I couldn't come up with a compelling reason why I should."

Absolutely - it took me a long time to justify the expense to myself too. That said, once I'd actually tried riding in proper road shoes, I was thoroughly converted within about 100m (with the exception of clipping into single sided pedals when trying to sprint away from the lights)

Try it. They're good.

Hills are the absolute curse. Getting out of the pedals and then back in again is an absolute nightmare on anything over about 8%. I get my foot in at lights now and then sprint as I have bounced off the saddle too many times when my cleat didn't engage right and slipped off and then saddle invariably goes southwards making for an uncomfortable finish to the ride :shock:

oldgit

Cheers guys - I'll do some thinking and then maybe some sale hunting (once I've recovered from the thinking).

il_principe

I would fancy a long ride in spuds. I use em for commuting for the ease of walking factor but the connection never feels that solid, I'd not want to do a balls out sprint in them and the platform is tiny. I use Speedplay Zeros on my roadie, the have plenty of float but the connection between pedal and cleat is rock solid (double sided entry too).