Another pedal thread I'm afraid

simonl83

Hi all,

I am picking up my first road bike this week (Giant Defy 1) which I am mega excited about. I am currently using SPDs on my Hybrid which I get on with really well. Would I benefit from SPD SL shoes and pedals or would I be OK sticking with SPDs? What are the advantages of SPD SL over SPD? TBH After spending £1000 on my new bike I could do without the further expense of shoes and pedals.

marcusjb

As above.

SPDs on road bikes is pretty common - we can all fool ourselves and convince ourselves we are pro cyclists that need every last drop of power that SPD-SLs may produce, but the reality is the ability to walk to the cafe far outweighs this.

Stick with SPDs.

I, like many others, use them on very long rides without issue. The biggest improvement you can make to them is a really good shoe with carbon soles. But that is not something you need to rush out and buy (if your current shoes do not have a carbon sole), ride what you have and enjoy it. My experiences are that the shoe makes more difference than the pedal system below it.

markhewitt1978

simonl83 wrote:

Hi all,

I am picking up my first road bike this week (Giant Defy 1) which I am mega excited about. I am currently using SPDs on my Hybrid which I get on with really well. Would I benefit from SPD SL shoes and pedals or would I be OK sticking with SPDs? What are the advantages of SPD SL over SPD? TBH After spending £1000 on my new bike I could do without the further expense of shoes and pedals.

I use SPD on my road bike, although I haven't used SPD-SL for comparison but I don't believe there is much advantage in SPD-SL unless you're competing in a race. The disadvantage is marked, namely not being able to easily walk in them.

Assuming your pedals and shoes are already decent ones then I would stick to those. They are fine for long rides, I did 77 miles at the weekend.

In any case you can always change later on if you're not getting on with it.

keef66

Another vote for SPDs. I came back to road biking after a few years on an MTB, so was used to them. I bought some Nike touring shoes I found in a LBS sale; look like road shoes but with a recessed sole to take SPD cleats. Very easy to walk in. The sole isn't completely stiff, but I haven't experienced any foot discomfort on rides approaching 100 miles.

arthur_scrimshaw

I have spds on my commuter/bad weather bike as they are better to walk in and double sided (m520) so easier to clip in in town etc. However on my two road bikes I have spd-sl and do feel more 'planted' using these. Maybe it's in the mind .

simonl83

Thanks for the help everybody looks like I'll be sticking with SPD.

simon_masterson

The only real advantage to 'road' kit is the availability of good shoes, particularly in the lower price range - they're stiff because they aren't good to walk in anyway. SPD is a jack of all trades. But in terms of performance, you would think that Andy Wilkinson wouldn't use SPD if they were slower. As for the professionals, they use what they're given.

markhewitt1978

Of course many 'road' shoes will also take a 2-bolt cleat, it won't be recessed so walking will still be tricky, but at least you could have the option of two sets of shoes, one for if you're planning to need to walk off the bike and one not.

But like most things in cycling like life, you get up to a point where you get big benefits from paying up to a certain amount, but beyond there the price keeps rising but the benefit increase drops off massively. So for most people good enough is good enough.