Shoes

Eyon

Evenin'

As an established mtber, but new to road, I have a fairly decent (but not carbon) shoes with time ATAC pedals. Would I see any benefit from going to road style shoes/pedals? I'm not talking high end carbon sole shoes but mid level ones and most likely some time road pedals. I'm no weight weenie (could do with looking a few stone for that) so I'm not fused by saving 50g.

It's between a set of shoes/pedals or a new helmet, and I wouldn't want to spend the money on shoes if no benefit.

Thanks
Ian

zummerzet-lou

I'm also quite new to road biking ... and initially had MTB shimano pedals put on, so that I could continue to use my exisitng shoes.

After a few months, I decided to upgrade to road shoes / road pedals. Whilst they look more the part, I can't say they offer any noticable difference in pedalling power.

In which case, I'd suggest maybe stick with your pedals, and get that new helmet first.

Seb @ Slipstream

The main difference between MTB and Road pedals is that road cleats are much larger and the pedal base has a larger platform. This transfers your power better and removes hot spots in the foot which can be painful. You'll pedal longer, further, harder and more constant on the road bike so these issues become more important. So, wait until your mileage increases. If you are riding 60-100 miles each ride then you'll want road cleats and pedals.

MikeWW

In terms of performance not really much difference. Recently I bought some good MTB shoes Spesh BG Pro-so stiff that I'd be hard pushed to tell the difference between those and Spesh Expert road shoes with Keo cleats.

Eyon

OK great thanks, looks like I will stick with the helmet idea and keep my MTB pedals

Eyon

OK great thanks, looks like I will stick with the helmet idea and keep my MTB pedals

careful

Road padals give a slight improvement for riding imo, but this is offset by the great difficulty in walking in them. I wouldnt bother changing unless you are unhappy with the type that you have.

dulldave

Seb @ Slipstream wrote:

The main difference between MTB and Road pedals is that road cleats are much larger and the pedal base has a larger platform. This transfers your power better and removes hot spots in the foot which can be painful. You'll pedal longer, further, harder and more constant on the road bike so these issues become more important. So, wait until your mileage increases. If you are riding 60-100 miles each ride then you'll want road cleats and pedals.

I disagree. You'll be in exactly the same situation as you are now - wondering whether there is any benefit in getting road pedals. I may well move over to road pedals at some point but haven't found a convincing reason to do so. This has included rides of up to 165 miles at a time.

Mtb pedals have a couple of advantages for me. Firstly I can walk about in my shoes without looking like a duck. And when I ride a crit race I don't need to worry about finding a railing to hold onto as it's really easy to get clipped in.

My mountain bike, cross bike and road bikes all have similar pedals so I can swap bits around as and when I need. I don't have any fewer shoes though because I have specific shoes I use for my road bike. But when the weather is nasty I can put on the ones I use for my mtb instead.