Pedals. Clipless Road or MTB what is best

dragonontheedge

I have a Spesh Allez which I have owned for 4 years and on which I have done around 8,000 + miles.

As I do a lot of town riding on the bike as part of my commute I was advised that Shimano M520 SPD MTB pedals would suit me better as they allow for two sided access.

Having upgraded many aspects of the bike just about the only original components left on it are the M520 pedals. Not for the first time they recently played me up whilst I was on holiday in Spain. I have now stripped and rebuilt them for the third time and have been pondering their replacement.

I have to say that I am totally "at sea" over what to do for the best. Whilst my use of the bike has not changed my confidence in clipping in and out has of course improved massively and I therefore think that dedicated road pedals with one sided access would now be ok for me.

I have never riden a bike with dedicated road pedals and wonder if there are any disadvantages, for example, can you clip in to them quickly when the lights turn green or are they are PITA. What are they like to walk on as I have to dismount a few feet from the entrance to the office.

Are there any advantages to them over the MTB pedals such as better power transfer and comfort when putting the hammer down.

I do like Shimano so I was more or less decided on eaither 105 or Ultegra road pedals if I make the switch

Any thoughts and observations would be really appreciated.

Cheers

Al

monkeydan

I don't have experience with 'proper' road pedals but did compromise with 'touring' pedals on my new bike (Shimano A520s). They're one-sided with a bigger platform than the M520s (which I still have on another bike) but means I can still wear SPD shoes which don't grind the cleats down when you're off the bike.

Clipping in took a little bit of getting used to, but I get into them first try about 90% of the time now. Even if I miss, it's not a problem at all, I just get it next time round!

Something to think about anyway.

dragonontheedge

Cheers Mate, that was helpful.

navrig

I use both.

SPD 520s on the MTB and winter bike and Look Keo's on the best bike. Last winter I swapped the Keo's onto the winter road bike as I prefer the road shoes I have.

Clipping in is easier on the SPDs but not so much that it bothers me.

The road shoes are stiffer and less likely to give me hot spots.

Walking in the road shoes is a pain especially as our house has hard flooring in the hall then slate tiles in the kitchen and utility room and then a concrete floor in the garage. All slippy to a degree with hard plastic soles.
Walking on pavements/roads is a pain and if ever you have to get off an push any distance would be a nightmare.

I don't commute but if I did I suspect I might stick with SPDs.

dragonontheedge

Thanks Navrig, you confirmed what my main concerns were.

You dont highlight any advantages to using road pedals which is interesting. I assume that there are none or that what difference there is is not much.

Cheers

Al

jonomc4

I have used I believe about 6 different pedals over the past 2 years.

If you are cycling about town - I think MTB (SPD) pedals are best as you can get two sided. I prefer to use Shimano M780 XT SPD XC Race Pedals on my commuter bike. as they are lighter, dual sided and I find very easy to use http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shimano/m780-xt-spd-xc-race-pedals-ec029049 £50 ish.

On my sons bike as he doesn't use clipless often I use Shimano M545 SPD Pedals http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shimano/m545-spd-pedals-ec005287 - not as light but dual sided and with a large palfor that is comfortable to use in ordinary shoes.

On my road bike I use LOOK pedals (Keo 2 Max CroMo) - these are very light and easy to get in and out off but the downside is they are single sided and LOOK cleats wear out easily if you put your foot down when commuting - but I like the fact that you can choose a different cleat depending on how much float you want (zero for me as I had a full bike fit).

To be honest though - I wish I had gone for Speedplays (http://www.evanscycles.com/products/speedplay/zero-chromoly-pedal-ec023659) Prices from about £96 to £134 as these are light and dual sided but expensive - I will upgrade to them in the future. Also you need to take into account what type of cleat your shoes can take!

dragonontheedge

Thanks Jonomc4

I appreciate the time and trouble you went to with the links.

Yet more confirmation that MTB pedals are perhaps the sensible option for me.

Upgrading to a better quality MTB might be the way to avoid constant servcing of my pedals due to the bearings clicking.

Cheers
Al

declan1

Just get another pair of M520s. They're only 20 quid and they come with brand-new cleats!

SPOC

Shimano 540s ( I think) double sided MTB pedals for me do the job.

Lots of riding in town and lots of starting and stopping for lights etc. Set the clip tension to really loose for stopping and starting, even in that tension have never come unclipped whilst riding or even feeling close to, feel plenty secure in them.

So easy to clip in and out of, almost no chance of a 'clipless' moment that I read about, unless you forget what side you have clipped out of, like I did once much to my embarrassment!

dragonontheedge

SPOC wrote:

Shimano 540s ( I think) double sided MTB pedals for me do the job.

no chance of a 'clipless' moment that I read about, unless you forget what side you have clipped out of, like I did once much to my embarrassment!

Embarrassment is doing that in front of your teenage daughter and her friends

gezebo

dragonontheedge wrote:

You dont highlight any advantages to using road pedals which is interesting. I assume that there are none or that what difference there is is not much.

Al

Road shoes and pedals make a huge difference, the stiffness of the shoe and larger platform make pedalling much more efficient, particularly over longer distances. They are just as easy to clip into at lights etc especially when worn in as they hang in the correct orientation to clip.

However commuting? Stick with spds, once you start walking round on wet floors, oily roads and shops you will look like bambi! The exposed road cleats will wear out quickly too and at nearly £20 rrp it gets expensive.

Goodluck

bails87

You can get some very stiff MTB shoes too. Some of the racier ones are near enough a road shoe with a bit of tread stuck on.

dragonontheedge

I should have made it clear from the start, I do actually wear a road shoe which accepts either SPD or road cleats. They are Shimano R86 shoes.

The issue is that of pedals only.

There have been some great responses. On balance I am going to stick with SPD pedals

Thanks all

Al