Road cycling more and more now, but still riding with flats after having several disasterous attempts with mtb spd’s – I used to be able to clip-in OK, but could never get unclipped easily and eventually had enough of the bruises from continually falling sideways.

I’d like to try again (as I don’t think flats are the best for road riding!) – so what are people’s recommendations for the best road pedals for beginners – especially the easiest for clipping out?

I’d try some Time ATACs with well worn cleats to start with

not exactly a road pedal per se but ………. ok all the same

I found SPD SL to be pretty good. Then my bike got nicked and the LBS only had Looks which are terrible in comparison (IMO) I have trouble clipping in every time and once you get to a certain speed they spin round making it even harder to clip in.

Road pedals are typically more difficult to get in to and out of than mtb spd’s. I’d recommend sticking with the spds, backing off the release tension as much as possible (making sure you have pedals with adjustable release tension in the first place) and practicing clipping in and out.

speedplay are easy to use. lots of float for your knees and easy dual side entry

I feel quite qualified to answer this as this week bought my first ever road bike and clipless pedals/shoes….always used flats on my MTB previously.

I went for the 105 Pedals and some DHB road shoes. So far only been out for a 5 mile blast, but managed to negotiate traffic lights and junctions without tipping over.

The SPD-SL have 6 degrees of float, but only clip in from one side. Which in hindsight, mike make the post above mine a better option if you really are worried about falling over.

If you’re having trouble getting out of mtbs spds with the tension backed off, you won’t get on with anything else, including shimmy road spds. Can you get some worn mtb spd cleats to run for a while so you get used to them? These will slip in and out a lot easier.

SPD-SL is dead easy to get out of – just as easy as mtb spd … but if you can’t get out of those … the ‘scoop’ action to get into SPD-SL is tricker to get right.

Thanks for the replies – it’s good to learn the road clipless pedals are harder to get into / out of than mtb one’s before I went off and bought some!

Seems as though my best option would be to dig the mtb spd’s out from the back of the shed and try again with those (might see if they fit on the exercise bike I have in the house – at least that would give me a chance to practice without falling over).

And in the future to consider either spd-sl’s or speedplay (nver heard of these before – just had a quick look – any particular recommendations as to which version?)

Only ever used these

as I couldn’t be bothered clacking about in road shoes and they had cleats with lots of play (so I have never had any knee problems).

IMO .Whatever you go for ,it’s more to do with lots of practise (till you stop having to think about it) and not having them wound up too tight at first.

On the road side of things, Look and Shimmy are the big players – upsides being you can get spares anywhere. Speedplay sue people who mention that their pedals are serviceable. Eggbeater, crankbros and Time are all generally considered crossover from MTB clipless systems, but still have a vocal happy user group.

I only use SPD-SL becuase I use SPD on my mtbs and I’ve been very happy with them over the years.

I use Shimano A530s.. they use “normal” cleats rather than road ones and one side’s a flat pedal so you can use non-spd shoes if you’re just riding to the shops or something.

Another 105 user here. When i started riding clipped in years ago, i found that cycling around a car park/park practising clipping in and out helped lots (that was with mtb pedals) and i then put spds onto my commuter so i got used to riding with them more and more…nothing like the pressure of rush hour traffic to make you learn to unclip!

If anything, i think my time z freeride mtb pedals are harder to clip in/out of than my roadie ones.

If it were for road riding only, and you don’t go in for massive sprint finishes, you could try the multi-release cleats that shimano do.

They’re a bit of a death trap if you move around on the bike much, tend to unclip at unexpected moments, but if you’re mostly sitting/standing and pedalling smoothly, you’ll get the benefits of SPD with much easier release.

I’d repeat though, DON’T use them offroad 8)

I have to disagree I do not find road pedals any harder to clip in or out of than mountain bike pedals. I use Time RXS and xen on the road very good pedals and the cleats seem to last much longer than those on the wife shimano road pedals

I have trouble clipping in every time

I swapped to Shimano 105 SPD_SL pedals from my Shimano moutain bike SPD – I really miss double sided entry and may swap back (I fell in front of a line of traffic because I tried to sprint from some lights to find one foot wasn’t clipped in but was on the reverse of the pedal which is very slippy !)
If you are likely to do lots of stop / start road riding I’d consider if they are the right choice for you.

Shimano road pedals are pretty easy to get on with. You don’t need to get out in a hurry that often compared to mtb, as you generally see the traffic jam, junction or red light coming up compared with a random bush, rock or trail hazard.

P.S. I’ve got some spd sl 540s for sale £25 posted 😉