MTB clipless pedals on a road bike?

girv73

I've a pair of Shimano MTB shoes that I use for commuting with toeclipped pedals. Now that I've cleaned out the piggy bank and bought a road bike, and since I can't justify (afford) buying another pair of shoes just for it, I was wondering if there was anything really wrong with getting some MTB clipless pedals and fitting them to the roadie? I've another MTB that I could use clipless pedals/shoes on as well, so it'd seem like good sense / value to go that way.

I know there are different systems for the different bike classes, but what do the differences amount to really?

alfablue

Nothing wrong with this, I have two pairs of mtb shoes and Shimano SPD's on all my bikes (mtb/tourer/audax/carbon road bike). They work fine for me. The proper road pedals give a larger platform and with stiffer shoes a more rigid connection but I feel no disadvantage with my SPD's, and the ability to walk in the shoes is a big advantage for me.

lost_in_thought

I use MTB shoes and MTB clipless pedals (SPDs) on my fg, mostly because they're cheap and the shoes aren't like bloomin' ice skates so you can actually walk in them.

You should be fine! Enjoy!

Ooooh furthermore, I bought cheap (£10) imitation SPD pedals that weren't shimano and they're absolutely fine too.

ride_whenever

not much, the roadie ones are more comfortable for long distance but many are one sided. The mtb ones are usually multi-sided and take a lot more abuse. They are slightly less efficient than the roadie ones though. For novices there isn't a lot of difference. However the big bonus for the mtb ones is the recessed cleats for easy walking.

I do this, mtb pedals on my roadie and my xc bike.

girv73

Excellent, thanks. Sounds like MTB SPD all the way then.

kevinharley

Yep - same as all the above - my new BeOne Storm has been doing commuting duties for the last 2 days now, with Shimano M520's, available from a number of places for under £20!

Has your BeOne arrived yet?

girv73

Yes, but it currently looks like this :roll:

always_tyred

girv73 wrote:

Yes, but it currently looks like this :roll:

now look here, you said you didn't have time to assemble the bike. I can see clearly from that photo that the front triangle is already attached to the rear triangle and so there is no need for assembly!

girv73

Yeah, the nice man at BeOne did that for me before they posted it I think. But unfortunately he also attached the front wheel to the rear triangle, there's no saddle or pedals and the bars and cables are kind of just flapping around. So there's a bit of work for me to do yet.

always_tyred

girv73 wrote:

Yeah, the nice man at BeOne did that for me before they posted it I think. But unfortunately he also attached the front wheel to the rear triangle, there's no saddle or pedals and the bars and cables are kind of just flapping around. So there's a bit of work for me to do yet.

'Tis but 5 minutes work. Mere "roadside maintenance". Tell your beloved, "I have to quickly tighten a few bolts, it should only take 5 minutes." If it takes marginally longer, you may need to have a pre-prepared apology ready.

girv73

Always Tyred wrote:

If it takes marginally longer, you may need to have a pre-prepared apology ready.

Especially if I disappear off on a 4 hour "test" ride.

Looking at those M520 pedals on eBay ... cheapy cheap cheap.

always_tyred

girv73 wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

If it takes marginally longer, you may need to have a pre-prepared apology ready.

Especially if I disappear off on a 4 hour "test" ride.

Looking at those M520 pedals on eBay ... cheapy cheap cheap.

"I'm very sorry darling, it was much more difficult than I thought."

or "Is that the time? Gosh, how did it get so late?"

or "I dropped a really important part and it took me AGES to find it. Sorry."

Let me know if you need any others.

zanes

girv73 wrote:

Yes, but it currently looks like this :roll:

Strangest bike crash of evar!


or most typical delivered bike of evar

don_don

No reason why not to stick with SPDs, especially for commuting / touring.

The only thing you might find is that if your shoes aren't fairly stiff, you can get a bit of a hot spot under your foot on longer / harder rides. If the sole flexes too much this gets a bit wearing after a while. Road cleats like SPD-SL have a much larger surface area and don't suffer the same problem.

May be a good excuse to invest in some nice new mtb shoes though!

girv73

I've Shimano MT51 MTB shoes, very stiff soles.

Ian.B

I use Shimano SPDs (on Campag cranks too!) - no issues with them and much more convenient
Ian

Clever Pun

I do it... got me these on both fixed and road bikes



very light and allow you to walk too

biondino

Always Tyred wrote:

girv73 wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

If it takes marginally longer, you may need to have a pre-prepared apology ready.

Especially if I disappear off on a 4 hour "test" ride.

Looking at those M520 pedals on eBay ... cheapy cheap cheap.

"I'm very sorry darling, it was much more difficult than I thought."

or "Is that the time? Gosh, how did it get so late?"

or "I dropped a really important part and it took me AGES to find it. Sorry."

Let me know if you need any others.

"Have you lost weight?"

don_don

"I was servicing your bike for you and forgot the time"

"Those new trousers look nice on you"

"I'm all hot and sweaty, let me just get all my clothes off"

No guarantees on the last one..

MrChuck

No reason why not, and they might actually be a better call if you're commuting. I'd say there is a small performance difference with 'proper' road shoes but whether it's worth the cost/walking disadvantages depends on you really. Snobby roadies might frown at you though.

prawny

I've got the M520s on my roadie and I've had M424s on my MTB for a few years, I'm fairly sure the actual mechanism is the same so they can take a pasting and the MTB shoes are good for walking in.

It's handy only needing one pair of shoes too.

biondino

I am contractually obliged to recommend Crank Brothers Eggbeaters on this thread. Check'em out.

OldSkoolKona

kevinharley wrote:

Yep - same as all the above - my new BeOne Storm has been doing commuting duties for the last 2 days now, with Shimano M520's, available from a number of places for under £20!

Has your BeOne arrived yet?

Snap on the BeOne front - I got one over the Christmas break, very nice Looking forward to taking it out for a few laps of Richmond Park and beyond (the Kona is still very much on commuter duty, at least until the summer)

Mike Healey

I am appalled at the universal approval for this heinous style offence.

MTBers need to walk sometimes, so need recessed cleats. Roadies do not need to walk and are far more stylish, so their shoes need to be smoooooth, not to mention the superior aerodynamics.

On the other hand, since perfection in anything is impossible, it is not possible for a roadie to look smooooth all the time, so they are required to walk like ducks as a necessary balance to enable the universe to run smoothly... or smoooothly as the case may be.