Spd or spd sl? (Sorry)

bikemanspen

Ok so I've been using my mtb spd for about 15 months on the road bike without any real problems!
But I can't help wondering would the sls be more beneficial as that's what most people seem to wear?
I'm sure it's been don before but what are your experiences?


My budget would be around £100 for the shoes

Cheers Ben

ai_1

This debate has been repeated again and again and I'm pretty sure this will go the same route. However the general consensus is that SPD pedals are perfectly usable for road biking. There's no major down-side. Some would claim that road specific pedal systems are a little more efficient, stable, comfortable. Many others will strongly disagree. It's a contentious but largely unimportant issue!

Me? I never used MTB pedals so can't comment but they seem to work absolutely fine for others. I origianally used SPD-SL but wasn't overly fond of them. I wanted more free-moving float and ideally easier clip in and clip out. I soon switched to Speedplay Zeros which I've been very happy with for the last 2.5 years.

I don't think you need to move to "road" pedals but if you do I wouldn't be inclined to assume SPD-SL was the best choice. I much prefer Speedplay Zeros and others like Look Keo and Time will have their merits.

buckmulligan

bikemanspen wrote:

...I'm sure it's been don before...

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slowbike

Ai_1 wrote:

This debate has been repeated again and again and I'm pretty sure this will go the same route. However the general consensus is that SPD pedals are perfectly usable for road biking. There's no major down-side. Some would claim that road specific pedal systems are a little more efficient, stable, comfortable. Many others will strongly disagree. It's a contentious but largely unimportant issue!

And others will also say that one advantage of the SPD over the alternatives is the shoes with recessed mounting allowing you to walk around without looking like a duck. No great biggy if you don't do much walking, but very helpful this last weekend on our trip to Paris and back.

there's at least 2 of us (the other chap is bluddy quick) who are TTing on SPDs so they can't be that bad ...

bikemanspen

Ok guys ive been trawling the archives and i think ill stick with my spds thanks for your replies

DavidJB

But wait...the thread can't be resolved...no ones argued over road pedals being 0.876% more efficient at power transfer??!?

ai_1

bikemanspen wrote:

Ok guys ive been trawling the archives and i think ill stick with my spds thanks for your replies

Quickest resolution ever!

Now hurry and ask a moderator to close this thread before everyone else arrives....