Pedals for a road bike

nbuuifx

I currently use Shimano R540 SPD-SL pedals on my road bike. However I have started to commute some of the time and this involves walking around for a bit at work this has led to me getting annoyed with the SL shoes I have with the big cleat making me walk in an awkward fashion.

I have a pair of mountain bike pedals not currently on a bike. They are M770 deore XT pedals. I seem to remember that they were easier to clip into with them being double sided. They seem to be the same weight as the SL pedals.

So my questions...

Am I fine to put them on the road bike? Am I missing anything that makes them less desirable on a road bike?

Shoes, I don't have any does to go with these pedals any more. Is there any particular type I need to look out for to have the right cleat system? Are they called anything particular when they have the recessed bit for the cleats to go in so that you can walk in them?

Thanks

figbat

They will work fine on your road bike - I use MTB SPDs on all my bikes (MTB, road and gravel). The main difference from SPD-SL is that they have some float (wiggle room) and the shoes tend to be less stiff, robbing you of milliwatts of power.

The shoes you need are SPD-compatible ones that take 2-bolt cleats. The cleats usually sit recessed into the sole, making walking in them much easier (and less damaging to the floor you’re walking on). You can get road ‘style’ shoes with SPD cleat holes if that is important to you.

nbuuifx

figbat wrote:

They will work fine on your road bike - I use MTB SPDs on all my bikes (MTB, road and gravel). The main difference from SPD-SL is that they have some float (wiggle room) and the shoes tend to be less stiff, robbing you of milliwatts of power.

The shoes you need are SPD-compatible ones that take 2-bolt cleats. The cleats usually sit recessed into the sole, making walking in them much easier (and less damaging to the floor you’re walking on). You can get road ‘style’ shoes with SPD cleat holes if that is important to you.

Thanks, no it isn't important to be road style, trainer style will be fine. I might need some cleats too as I have no idea where the cleats are for those pedals!

I've seen a few that look like the ones in this link:
https://cdn10.bigcommerce.com/s-htsqkgz ... 50.png?c=2

They seem to have a big bit of plastic where I expected the clear to go. Are they a different type or are they ok? Will the clear be recessed on those? The only important thing to me is that the clear is recessed so I can walk in the shoes properly!

landmannnn

I did that swap a couple of weeks ago, much happier now that I can actually walk and cycle in the same shoes!

In the picture there is indeed a bit of plastic in the hole, you just take it off.

manglier

nbuuifx wrote:

Thanks, no it isn't important to be road style, trainer style will be fine. I might need some cleats too as I have no idea where the cleats are for those pedals!

I've seen a few that look like the ones in this link:
https://cdn10.bigcommerce.com/s-htsqkgz ... 50.png?c=2

They seem to have a big bit of plastic where I expected the clear to go. Are they a different type or are they ok? Will the clear be recessed on those? The only important thing to me is that the clear is recessed so I can walk in the shoes properly!

You remove the piece of plastic and mount the cleat into the recess. Just make sure you get Shimano cleats.

nbuuifx

Wonderful, thank you everyone. I'll give it a go and see how it goes. Hopefully the reduced rigidity won't be too noticeable.