Am I missing something?

napper

Why are Shimano spd M520 pedals (and similar ones) sold as MTB or for off-road? I'm mystified - I've used the same pair of pedals and cleats that I fitted 5 years ago to both my road bikes, with no issues at all, no wear, no sevicing.....hey, I can even walk in cleated shoes too.
I, and many people I ride with use these pedals/ cleats for sportives, audax, touring - I even wear them for time trialling.
The question is - what am I missing by not using road/ race type SPD SL/ Look type pedals and cleats?

Robert456

Fearing a back lash... not a great deal. I ride Time Ulteam ti/carbon on my best bike and shimaNo SPuDs on my vintage, get on with both really well. Generally road specific shoes are stiffer which gives some advantage. SPD float and walkability is good though

Monty Dog

I use both Time and SPDs - as a comparison I did some hill repeats the other day on my fixed with SPDs they rock too much it's easy to pull out. Swapped back to some Time Impacts and road shoes and they were rock solid. SPD are fine for bimbling about but the smaller platform means they don't feel as secure

Pretre

Most people's experience is that SPD's don't give as much support to the foot as road -specific pedals & they also create hotspots on the ball of the foot when pedalling for more than an hour or so - certainly did in my case.

OTOH no law says you have to use one or the other - do what you want to do

napper

Interesting replies.....

1. never had a problem with pulling my foot out of the cleats on exertion up hills, or sprinting.
2. never had a "hot spot" problem - certainly ok for rides up to 8 hrs.

My dilemma is that I'm going for a major spend on a new road bike this winter, and am undecided whether or not to move from spd to spd sl type pedals - will i notice any improvement in times/ comfort/ efficiency etc., is the spend worth it?

I guess the only real test is for me to beg/ borrow some pedals and shoes, and give it a go and see for myself

father_jack

I had M520, they're good as starter clipless and MTB pedals, but trust me once you get A520 or even better SPD-SL you will know why. I've had them all, and feel A520 and SPL-SL to be superior for comfort and stability.

cougie

I have mtb style time atacs on my winter bike- great pedals but not quite as secure as say,looks. But they do let me wear shoes that I can walk round in. For ultimate performance - go for a proper single sided road pedal. Less weight, wider area, more 'locked in'.

clx1

Everyone should use what suits them best but the reality is that road pedals are best suited to road bikes and SPD pedals are best suited to mountain and touring bikes. If you have experienced both types of pedal you will understand why!

oscarbudgie

I found switching from SPD's to SPD - SL an improvement in pretty much every department - comfort, power transfer etc, nicer looking compatible shoes etc. The one downside is that being one sided they're not as easy to clip in and out of when you're in traffic

JonEdwards

I'll agree with the others here. On paper it's difficult to quantify the differences, but once you actually try riding them, the road pedals are WAY better for road riding (bar the clipping in a hurry business). I commute and ride offroad in spds, but have spd-sls on the road bike.

Bigger platform, better power transfer, no slop, better stability. Overall just a better feel of being connected to the bike.

Pretre

JonEdwards wrote:

I'll agree with the others here. On paper it's difficult to quantify the differences, but once you actually try riding them, the road pedals are WAY better for road riding (bar the clipping in a hurry business). I commute and ride offroad in spds, but have spd-sls on the road bike.

Bigger platform, better power transfer, no slop, better stability. Overall just a better feel of being connected to the bike.

+1

TipsterStu

Pretre wrote:

Most people's experience is that SPD's don't give as much support to the foot as road -specific pedals & they also create hotspots on the ball of the foot when pedalling for more than an hour or so - certainly did in my case.

OTOH no law says you have to use one or the other - do what you want to do

I agree ... I have keo classics on my road bike but SPDs on my single speed commuter ... some days when I'm cycling home the balls of my feet ache like mad ... never get that with the huge triangle of plastic between me and pedal ... but the unclipping and clipping in of urban cycling not to mention walking about mean I'll put up with it

Bar Shaker

You are all confusing the shoe with the cleat. A carbon soled SPD shoe is in a different league to an SPD trainer.

SL or Keo shoes are all stiff. Not all SPD (non SL) shoes are. Some are very bendy, hence the foot hot spots.

The cleat is only the way of connecting a stiff or bendy shoe to the bike.

Essex Man

Stiff soled shoes on SPDs here. Never had hot spots, and can't imagine I could feel more securely attached.

mattsy666

I used to ride spd's on my road bike when I was first starting out and only had mtb shoes ... But always found my foot cramped up (something to do with my wide feet and my pedalling angle which the spd's allowed).

I then used spd-r's for about a year but they never felt very secure with the very thin cleat.

I used looks for about 3 years after that and they were fine with hardly any foot problems and a much improved feel of power transfer ( likely just my imagination, but still they felt like you were getting more out of your legs) ...

I then decided to get Crank Bros Quatros on a whim and have found them amazing ... They have sorted out my sticky-out feet issues and I never have any foot pain even with my Candys or Eggbeaters ...

I do still ride Looks on my spin bike and would never ride anything else as they just give a very secure feel which you need outputting all that power on the same spot ... I also used Looks last year while on holiday in Switzerland and they got me up a 20k climb better than my Crank Bros likely would have ... And the single sided pedal gave no probs engaging/disengaging even when I was nervous about cycling on the right hand side of the road for the first time ever ...

I still stick with my CB's for now tho as they just work for me and the cycling i currently do ...