Road bike pedals compatible with SPD cleats

pitcarity

Hello - I don't know whether this question has been asked before. Does anyone know whether there any road bike pedals that are compatible with Crank Bros cleats? All my MTB shoes have these cleats and I'm thinking of joining the Road Biking fraternity. Cheers...

chris_bass

you could just put the mtb pedals on the road bike, a lot of people do.

pitcarity

Thanks for your reply but I run egg-beaters and probably need more support for road riding.

imposter2.0

Unless Crank Bros make a road pedal with that cleat fitting, then nobody else will.

pitcarity

Thanks for that Imposter - if all else fails I might try the Crank Bros Candy, at least they have a small platform around the cleat mechanism.

lakesluddite

pitcarity wrote:

Thanks for that Imposter - if all else fails I might try the Crank Bros Candy, at least they have a small platform around the cleat mechanism.

I think you should be fine with that option. I use SPD's and something similar to this:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-m520-pedals/

And I have not felt the need to go with anything with more of a platform - plus I like the ability to be able to clip in on both sides.

Anonymous

Candy (1's probably) are the way to go if keeping MTB shoes. They will be fine unless your mtb shoes are the 'trainer' type with zero stiffness.
If you do not already do so, use the shallow release angle.
Just make sure the shoe engages with pedal shoulders correctly. Not too far away, not too close (that it stops cleat engaging) but just right.

Road shoes/pedals/cleats do feel/perform better if you ever get the opertunity to change though.
I ride with both and prefer road even though both my MTB shoes are pretty good ones.

MisterMuncher

Crank Bros Quattro, but good luck finding them.

Anonymous

MisterMuncher wrote:

Crank Bros Quattro, but good luck finding them.

They are for road shoes though arnt they?

You can get the Quattro cleat at evans, but all it does is enable you to use a road shoe with what is basically an MTB pedal.

pitcarity

Thanks for all your advice, I think that I will try the Candy's and take it from there. Cheers everyone.

MisterMuncher

Carbonator wrote:

MisterMuncher wrote:

Crank Bros Quattro, but good luck finding them.

They are for road shoes though arnt they?

You can get the Quattro cleat at evans, but all it does is enable you to use a road shoe with what is basically an MTB pedal.

They work fine with regular 2-bolt CB cleats provided the cleats clear the shoe. Maybe not all MTB shoes, but they definitely work with some.

Wheelspinner

Or you could use Shimano A600 pedals which are single side SPD, aimed at road use, allegedly "Ultegra" spec level in terms of finish and bearing quality.

These:



ALthough usually sold as a left/right pair unlike that photo

Anonymous

Wheelspinner wrote:

Or you could use Shimano A600 pedals which are single side SPD, aimed at road use, allegedly "Ultegra" spec level in terms of finish and bearing quality.

Shimano and Crank Brothers are not compatible cleats so the OP would have to assign a pair of his MTB shoes to road use only if he went for those.

They are touring pedals arnt they? Designed for touring shoes (horrible things lol).
Using MTB shoes on a road bike is fine but you have to ensure that the shoe tread actually contacts the cage/platform correctly otherwise it's pointless going for one with a platform in the first place.

Even if you get them to contact the side/shoulders, the front and back will probably not touch at all.
Touring shoes are soft and probably fit the A600 well.

A lot of this depends on what shoes the OP has.
I did 50 miles on candy 1's yesterday, but my shoes are super stiff so I could probably have got away with bare Egg Beaters anyway. All I am gaining from the Candy's is the side shoulders.

How much are those Quattros (the nearest CB make to the OP's) original request.
You are probably better off just getting some cheap road pedals (http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shi ... --ec054688) and putting the difference towards some road shoes (http://www.evanscycles.com/products/lou ... s-ec046264).
It will feel/work much better. A lot of people that say otherwise have probably never used road shoes/pedals.
Road shoes/pedals are the only way to get a decent contact area with the pedal.

The Quattros list price is £99 I think and may not be discounted even if you can indeed get them at all.
They are designed to be used with a Quattro cleat (although the cleat can be used with othe CB pedals) which only fit a road shoe anyway!

noodleman

I use crank brothers candy on all my bikes. Sidi dragon carbon soles, and no issues with lack of stiffness at all.

Schoie81

I use eggbeaters on my road bike and my mtb - don't have a problem.

Anonymous

Candy 1's (they are quite light and come in different colours) are the way to go with minimum fuss and expense.

Road shoes/pedals are a significant step up though. Completely different connection/feel.
Engagement is a lot nearer front of shoe apart from anything else.

diy

I use SPD's and my road shoes are Road touring (Shimano RT82) which are compatible with SPDs. A lot of road race shoes don't support SPD any more. I like the convenience of a consistent pedal action across all my bikes and will lose a bit of platform "solidity" for that.

Bar Shaker

It's all about the quality of the shoe and nothing to do with what shape cleat the shoe is connected to the pedal with.

Nothing wrong with using egg beater peddles on your road bike.

Just make sure you have good stiff shoes. If the sole can bend or if the cleat area can flex, they won't be up to it. Carbon soles are the way forward and are now very affordable.

debeli

My daughter, my elder son and I all use Candy or Eggbeater pedals on road bikes.

Eggbeaters are an acquired taste, but the Candy is a wonderful thing and offers a simple clip-in/clip-out and just the right amount of float.

As someone above says, the trick is to have a very stiff sole on the shoe. Many, many MTB shoes are stiff-soled.

Another vote for Crank Bros pedals on road bikes and you'll also be able to walk with style from the bike to the house.

pitcarity

Thanks to everyone for their input. I have carbon soled MTB shoes anyway so as a start I'll try one of my eggbeaters on the road bike. If that works then its just as easy for me to buy another pair and use them across all of my bikes. Cheers...

MisterMuncher

A600 and A520 work fine with good MTB shoes. They might be sold as touring pedals, but as the mechanism sits a little proud from the platform, there's no need at all to use touring shoes.

Wheelspinner

Carbonator wrote:

Wheelspinner wrote:

Or you could use Shimano A600 pedals which are single side SPD, aimed at road use, allegedly "Ultegra" spec level in terms of finish and bearing quality.

Shimano and Crank Brothers are not compatible cleats so the OP would have to assign a pair of his MTB shoes to road use only if he went for those.

Correct, my bad. :oops:

But why is the title of this thread "... compatible with SPD cleats"???

Given that SPD = "Shimano Pedaling Dynamics" or something, I assumed that meant he wanted Shimano pedals?

Anonymous

Yes, Its a confusing title so don't beat yourself up about it. You were not the only one in Shimano mode
Sorry to correct you. OP probably knew it but thought it was worth clarifying as more than one person was saying a similar thing.

People (including myself sometimes) often generalise things and guess SPD is just seen as the 'two bolt ones'.
The main problem with the title is the word 'cleats' not 'SPD' though.

'Road bike pedals compatible with SPD shoes' would have been better.
'Road bike pedals compatible with Crank Brothers cleats' would have been best.

andrewjoseph

pitcarity wrote:

Thanks for your reply but I run egg-beaters and probably need more support for road riding.

no you don't, unless you have soft soled shoes. the support comes from the shoe, not the pedal. CB themselves say they only made the candy to satisfy some people who thought the eggbeater gave no support. the extra material gives very little support.

i've used eggbeaters on my road bike, then switched to time attac, that was only because i got fed up of replacing bearings on the eggbeaters.

i also tried CB quattro pedals, both my wife's and mine disintegrated on first ride.

Anonymous

andrewjoseph wrote:

pitcarity wrote:

Thanks for your reply but I run egg-beaters and probably need more support for road riding.

no you don't, unless you have soft soled shoes. the support comes from the shoe, not the pedal. CB themselves say they only made the candy to satisfy some people who thought the eggbeater gave no support. the extra material gives very little support.

i've used eggbeaters on my road bike, then switched to time attac, that was only because i got fed up of replacing bearings on the eggbeaters.

i also tried CB quattro pedals, both my wife's and mine disintegrated on first ride.

very true that here is not much difference between the contact point on eggbeaters and Candy 1's.
The eggbeaters have round metal shoulders, the Candy's square plastic/nylon.

I would still go with the Candy 1's though as a square grippy nylon area is still seems slightly better than a rounded slippy metal one.
They will also look better on a road bike IMO and are still quite light.
CB's metal shim plate is well worth considering for use with their pedals too.
Oh and may as well buy the rebuild kit so you have it ready when needed lol.

Crank Brothers are MTB, so what they say does not have much bearing on road riding does it?.
Still seems an odd thing for them to say given the type of riding and shoes some of their users will do/have.

Road bike shoes/pedals are a much much bigger difference than the small one between eggbeaters and Candy though. If the OP has multiple high end MTB shoes, that seems the best route for him to ultimately go if he gets into it.

andrewjoseph

Carbonator wrote:

...
Crank Brothers are MTB, so what they say does not have much bearing on road riding does it?.
Still seems an odd thing for them to say given the type of riding and shoes some of their users will do/have.

Road bike shoes/pedals are a much much bigger difference than the small one between eggbeaters and Candy though. If the OP has multiple high end MTB shoes, that seems the best route for him to ultimately go if he gets into it.

I don't understand the bold bit. CB are talking about their pedals, what does it matter what bike they are on?

I can't find it on their website any longer, but it was along the lines of 'we developed the candy as riders were concerned there was not enough pedal, the contact area is the same but the extra plastic gives them a bigger area to aim for. the effect is psychological.'