MTB Shoes on road bike

Commuting Charlie · May 2015

Hello all!

First post in your wonderful community just hope I don't break any rules or ask too often an asked question. Tried to search but at work on mobile keeps kicking me back to the home page..

On my way to work today waiting to cross into East lane from south at a cross Road, a car comes and overtakes me on my right side then complains when I stop confused as he sits there waiting to turn right off of the East lane an I'm in the middle of the road between two lanes of traffic. Ugh.

So my question is regarding SPD. Been content with flats for some time now and have experimented with toe clips, they grind the floor and catch my mudguard. For my bike I can only really afford one set of pedals/shoes and although I plan on riding some 60-80 mile sportives commuting 5 mile stints multiple times a day is my main thing. With working in between in various settings. No space to take additional shoes so I need something that will perform as a versatile trainer as well as clip me in for that extra power/train the back of my leg up for sportives.

So far I've found the Shimano M324 MTB pedals http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobi ... p-prod5937 and the Shimano MT34 Lifestyle Trail shoes http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobi ... prod115133

What's all this about cleats is that the part that locks in to the pedal orr? They come included orr?
Anyone any reasoning why MTB Shoes will not be very nice on an 80 sportive or have any recommendations of better/more appropriate shoes/pedals or any feedback on these ones I've listed please get in touch

My bike is a Fuji Sportif 1.3D if it matters :B

Good day!

ugo.santalucia · May 2015

I use XT pedals and MTBike shoes on my road bike... nothing wrong with that, especially for urban riding.

The only downside of MTB shoes is that they are pretty rugged and heavy, but it is not the end of the world and I have done 200 + Km days on the bike with them

sirmol · May 2015

I started off using mtb pedals and shoes and have just really changed as i prefer the look of SPD's and road bike shoes. I did ride with mtb ones for 2 years without any issues!
Do you still want to be able to ride the bike with a non clip in shoe? If not these are brilliant;
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-essent ... mtb-pedal/
Your shoes (and someone would correct me i am sure) will fit perfectly with those pedals.

Commuting Charlie · May 2015

Would be nice to be able to ride with normal shoes on occasion. The biggest demand for the shoe is it must be practical as will be spending 90% of time in people's houses, walking about town, trekking through fields etc. At work.

Thanks for the input guys appreciate it will reply properly when I've more time to check your links.

EDIT: wiggle pedals nice and cheap! Guess buying flat/clip in is a premium.

Are SPD only referring to road pedals then..

Mad_Malx · May 2015

Commuting Charlie wrote:

Are SPD only referring to road pedals then..

SPD-SL are Shimano's 'road' cleat - three bolts and a big cleat. Claimed better for road, but not so much it matters to most people. You don't want these, you won't be able to walk in the shoes.

SPD are the 'mountain' cleat - 2 bolt small metal cleat, usually recessed into the sole so you can still walk in the shoes. As said above, lots of roadies and commuters use this one, for convenience. You will forget though when you first use them, and lie in the road looking stupid. It has happened to almost all of us. There are some shoes with this fitting which look like ordinary shoes, and reasonably comfortable.

The cleats are usually supplied with the pedal, not the shoe.

The shimano M520 are very good, double sided and easy to clip in and out.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-m520-pedals/ and similar to the ones linked above.

Giraffoto · May 2015

Commuting Charlie wrote:

Are SPD only referring to road pedals then..

In general, SPD is the two bolt, MTB and trekking variety, SPD-SL is the three bolt road one. Except that lots of people use two-bolt SPDs on their road bikes, including me. Most importantly, any sort of SPD is better than none. A minor advantage of the two bolt SPD is that the pedals are often double sided - that's quite handy when you're commuting in town.

bendertherobot · May 2015

My best road bike is a cross bike. Ritchey Swiss Cross disc. My other 2 bikes are cross bikes. As such it makes sense for me (and I commute every day) to have MTB shoes.

I run a black pair of Sidi Drako in the wet/mud and a white pair in the dry. The white pair are, essentially, Sidi Wire with some tread. And lush.

keef66 · May 2015

I have the MTB type pedals on both my road bikes, M520 on one and M540 on the other. I found a good compromise in touring shoes; look like road shoes but take the 2 bolt MTB cleats in a recess in the sole so they are comfortable / safe to walk in. Stiff enough to provide a comfortable pedalling platform for day long rides.

ayjaycee · May 2015

I've got some Shimano A530 pedals on my Hybrid and they work well being SPD on one side and flat on the other so you can use both SPD and 'normal' shoes. I also have single sided SPDs on my road bike, specifically Shimano PD-A600s.

I use Shimano MT44s shoes on both bikes (as well as trainers on the flat side of the hybrid pedals) and find that they work well over long (to me anyway) distances even though they would probably be regarded as rather heavy and cumbersome by a lot of the hardened roadies on this forum. That said, whilst the MT44s do work well for the short walks, don't be fooled into thinking that you will be able to go trekking or marathon running in them - I suspect the same would apply to the MT34s that you linked to as they look very similar.

Monty Dog · May 2015

Many MTB 'race' shoes are simply the same shoe as the road version but with a few bits of rubber tread glued-on - apart from a minor weight penalty, you'll find little disadvantage from a performance point of view.
I'd go with a double-sided SPD pedal like M520 or M540 as once you get used to clipless, you'll find little need for the 'flat' side of the pedal and the hassle of flipping is over.

Commuting Charlie · May 2015

The ks for the feedback.. Considering now just going for some nice Road shoes and some SPD-SL pedals and just changing them over for sportives/training & commuting. Rather than compromise.
Replies have definitely opened my eyes to this market touch, hopefully it's the last market I discover for a while. My wallet can't take it!!

janwal · May 2015

An alternative to your straps are Powergrip straps.Google the name.Evans sell them.I used them for a couple years.You can use any shoe with and they fit any caged pedal.You get much the same pull up with as you do with cleated shoes and are very easy to get in and out of.Just twist your foot slighlty.

70\ʹspenguin · May 2015

NorthWave do really nice touring shoe called the Fondo. I have a pair. Use em with spd. They are not as rugged looking as the MTB shoes with less aggressive spikes but have enough extra soul to walk in comfortably whilst being stiff enough for all day riding.

Had mine a couple of years now and love em. Set of shimano M520 pedals and your ready to go.

MTB Shoes on road bike

Comments

Categories