problem w/ using road pedals on a mountain bike?

nevusofota
nevusofota Posts: 9
edited April 2013 in Workshop
Ok, I am usually a road cyclist but ride a mountain bike on occasion during the week. I would like to use the same shoe/pedal combo on my mountain bike that I use on my road bike, if possible. The reason is because I am used to my road cycling equipment and want to retain the pedaling/unlocking muscle memory when I use my mountain bike.

Background: My backyard backs to a well maintained county owned trail (dirt and gravel, fairly flat, not too extreme). I don't have to dismount and walk while on the trail. The roads around my area are very busy during the week so I tend to train on the off-road trail; its just safer. My mountain bike is a Cannondale F5. I have Look Keo clipless pedals on my Specialized road bike wearing Specialized Sport shoes with Keo cleats. I would like to install these same pedals on my Cannodale F5 so I can use the same shoes that I wear with my road bike.

Are there any technical/practical reasons why this may NOT be a good idea?

Thanks in advance.

Steve

Comments

  • TheRealGuybrush
    TheRealGuybrush Posts: 125
    You will have absolutely no grip from your shoes should you need to put a foot down. Also, MTB pedals are designed with 'mud shedding' in mind. Your road pedals could get clogged up with dirt.

    Your road pedals won't be able to take nearly as much of a beating as MTB ones will either.
  • nevusofota
    nevusofota Posts: 9
    TheRealGuybrush wrote:
    You will have absolutely no grip from your shoes should you need to put a foot down. Also, MTB pedals are designed with 'mud shedding' in mind. Your road pedals could get clogged up with dirt.

    Your road pedals won't be able to take nearly as much of a beating as MTB ones will either.
    Thanks for the reply!

    Then the next question would be do you think my road shoes/cleats (Look) work with Look Quartz MTB pedals?
  • TheRealGuybrush
    TheRealGuybrush Posts: 125
    They would not. You need specific MTB shoes as the Quartz pedals will use a 2-bolt MTB specific cleat (for the exact same reasons that there are MTB specific pedals).

    2-Bolt designs mean a smaller cleat which can be recessed within the sole of a shoe so that the shoe still has grip and you can walk on them. It will also be made out of metal so that it can withstand knocks from rocks. The pedal will have a mud shedding design, and also be double sided to ease clipping in.

    3-Bolt design (Road specific) will give you a wider cleat for better power transfer. It will be made of plastic to reduce weight, however this will mean that it isn't as strong. However you shouldn't be worried about hitting it on rocks while riding on the road. Due to it being wider, it will sit proud of the shoe as you can't fit any tread on the sides. (Again, you don't need it while road riding) They are also single sided to reduce weight as you only need one spring assembly.

    2 specifically designed cleats for specifically designed pedals for specifically designed shoes. You won't be able to interchange them.

    2 very different designs for specific tasks. You can easily get away with MTB on the road but you would be 'silly' (an understatement) to use road on an MTB.
  • declan1
    declan1 Posts: 2,470
    TheRealGuybrush wrote:
    You will have absolutely no grip from your shoes should you need to put a foot down. Also, MTB pedals are designed with 'mud shedding' in mind. Your road pedals could get clogged up with dirt.

    Your road pedals won't be able to take nearly as much of a beating as MTB ones will either.

    This.

    After about two feet of walking in sand my road pedals won't let me clip in anymore...

    Road - Dolan Preffisio
    MTB - On-One Inbred

    I have no idea what's going on here.
  • nferrar
    nferrar Posts: 2,511
    I did my first MTB race in my road shoes/pedals, was great until I had to get off and push up a rocky steep hill :( If you can afford it then just go for MTB clipless pedals and new shoes, (Shimano 520's are cheap and have a good rep, be aware some places doing them very cheap remove the cleats and sell those separately so check first if they're included - they should be unless specifically stated otherwise).

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