MTB >> Road cleat/pedal transition

andyeb

I currently wear Shimano MT42 MTB shoes and have the associated MTB-style cleats/pedals on my road bike. I know this is against http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/ but I started off with an MTB and then got into road cycling.

I've been thinking about whether to transition over to roadie-style shoes/cleats/pedals, as I've heard road shoes have a stiffer sole and are therefore better for putting down power and generally pedalling efficiently.

My question is therefore, should I also go over to road-style cleats/pedals as well? Doing some research, it seems it's possible to attach MTB-style cleats to most road shoes, but is this advisable? Do the road-style cleats/pedals offer other advantages for road riding? Are they lighter weight? More aerodynamic? Why should I spend the extra cash to switch systems on my road bike (other than being more compliant with The Rules, obviously!)?

Or to put it a different way, why are there two major styles of cleats/pedals at all?

FWIW I notice when it comes to getting going at the traffic lights, the guys with roadie cleats/pedals seem to take twice as long to get clipped in .

Thanks!

EdenCycles.com

With the stiff sole of a road shoe you do achieve a better power transfer, this also goes for the larger pedal area which will give you more support. All of this should give you more power although the one of the main pay off's is that with a stiffer shoe you are a lo less likely to get coldspots on your feet from your shoes flexing.

Two downsides to Road Shoes if you moving from MTB are, because there's no (less) flex in the shoe expect to get cold feet sometimes, your feet are not flexing either so expect to buy some shoes covers at some point. Secondly, They are just not the same when it comes to walking around, also stopping, make sure your not moving when you put your feet down and you will extend the life of your cleats dramatically.

As far as road shoes with MTB clips is concerned unless your going carbon on the shoes there will be some flex because the pressure point will be smaller, the shoes are generally designed for road cleats. Also if you are going carbon your going to scratch the hell out of the base of those shoes on SPD or equivalent. Id say Road Shoes and save you full MTB kit for your Mountian Bike.

Reasons for two varieties of pedal. For MTB, You have to do a lot to clog a MTB pedal. Walking in road shoes off road is not great as you have no traction whatsoever. Plastic Road Pedals would not stand-up to pedal strike for very long if. For Road, Far Better power transfer. Lighter shoes. Less Cold spotting. I'm happy to admit there are more comparisons to be drawn here, and all this being said I know plenty of people who ride MTB Shoes/Pedal combos on road.

To give an opinion id say you will be better off road cycling with the full road shoe pedal compliment, and probably have a better time doing so. They will be more supportive and comfortable on road.

Getting clipped in at the traffic lights on with road pedal can be harder at first as you only have one side to clip in on, obvious answer but your need to gets the initial pedal orientation right you cant just stamp down like with MTB pedals. To be honest if your used to MTB pedals, once you get to some lights its not rocket science but even the most practised hands do have their moments.

t4tomo

of if you think your moutain bike shoes don't look great on the road bike, get some "touring shoes" - look pretty much like road shoes but with MTB cleat fixings.

Yes they are marginally less efficient than a road shoe, but if you are just riding for fun / pleasure- does that really matter? Much easier to walk around in and both road and MTB are on same shoes/ system.

karlth

I moved from road pedals/shoes to SPDs because the very slight difference (very slight "hot spot" - occasionally noticeable) in comfort and zero difference in performance (for me anyway) was not worth the pain in the backside of trying to walk from the bike rack to the office in the things and the rapidity at which the cleats were worn away by the stop-start of commuting, and my commute's mostly rural. I know that was what was doing it because I always put the left foot down when stopped and it was the left cleat which bit the dust quickest.

unixnerd

I was in the same position as you. Went to SPD-SLs last year. First thing is that most SPD-SL shoes have mesh top to keep your foot cool. It also makes your foot freeze in cooler weather unless you wear overshoes and lets he rain in.

SPD-SLs are fine to get out of but harder to clip into, useless for a commuter or town bike.

Look at A520 Shimano pedals, they look a bit more roadie but are still SPD. Lighter that normal SPDs.

thescouselander

I think there's a lot of hype going on here. I use MTB shoes because I need to be able to walk quite a distance when I cycle to work but I haven't noticed any hot/cold spots, flexing or anything like that. It's not like MTB shoes are made of soggy paper - they can be quite stiff.

Get road shoes if you think they'll meet your requirements better but I wouldn't have though they'd actually do much for pedalling efficiency - not a the levels of power us mere mortals are putting down anyway.