What is the point of the road clipless systems?

Mate has just gone clipless and has Look pedals with huge stupid plastic cleats on the bottom of completely treadless shoes, the consequence of this is that he can't walk properly from the bike to his desk or to the bar.

I on the otherhand have an old pair of Spec Sport mtb shoes and Time Atac pedals on my Pompino, I can walk just fine, no sliping or click clacking for me.

Wtf is the point of 'road' shoes and pedals?

They are better for when you are riding your bike. You're not really using them to their full potential while walking to the bar. 😀

your on a road bike, why do you need to walk?

road systems are more efficient, stiffer, better load distribution etc. They aren't easy to walk in, but if you are riding a bike, then why are you walking?

How much of the average ride/walk do you spend walking/riding?

In what way are they better though? And why would anything be more important than walking to the bar?

If your asking this question i think you would be better off with flats and a nice beer garden 😀

road systems are more efficient, stiffer, better load distribution etc.

Must be minute if anything

Difficult to explain, but it's night and day when you atcually try it. The connection between road shoe and pedal is just so much more solid and secure feeling than on a MTB set up.

It isn't minute but I guess you must know even though you asked 🙄

I admit I've got my preconceptions 🙂

Yeah, I use the specialized bg MTB shoe (ones with carbon sole and ratchet) for both road and mtb, with shimano xt spd pedals on the mtb, and the lower end ones on the road bike. Although it feels great on the mtb, theres a looseness that isnt what you want on the road bike. Been thinking of upgraded to proper road pedals, but the bikes so rubbish I dont think its worth it. And I dont fancy having to buy another pair of shoes.

The contact patch is so much bigger so it it's far far more stable. It's a vast difference. They're not great if you're walking or clipping in/out constantly admittedly, as they're not as easy to clip in to. The only thing to use for proper road riding though!

If you race they are worth it, for the above reasons.

If you don't, stick with one pair of shoes and the same pedals on each of your bikes.

Having relatively recently transferred from an mtb system to SPD-R the difference in stability is remarkable. Whereas there I always felt that the spds rattled around a bit and there was a significant lag between pulling hard on the pedals and power being transferred there is no lag with road spds. You hammer down on the power, for example when jumping off the front of a group or chasing down a break, and the bike responds instantly. The wider platform also allows you to put more power in – I can't quantify how much but my acceleration with the SPDRs is much better.

I have a long standing ankle injury as well and the level of support provided is streets ahead of a standard spd.

If you're worried about walking them get some cleat covers. About a fiver and easily carried in your rear pockets.

Where do speedplay pedals come into the mix then?
Small platform, similar to MTBs I guess.

Used by loads of pros, so they can't be rubbish.
Personally I think its mostly rubbish and I will continue to use Crank bros candy pedals on my road bike no matter what rides/races I end up doing.

speedplay do have a fairly large contact area though and that is what matters. you have to remember that speedplay have the "cleat" on the bike and the mechanism on the shoe unlike most.

The speedplay pedals essentially switch the cleat/pedal relationship – with a HUUUUGE cleat and tiny pedal. One of my riding colleagues uses them as he has ridiculously splayed feet. Apparently they give very good float.

You hammer down on the power, for example when jumping off the front of a group or chasing down a break, and the bike responds instantly. The wider platform also allows you to put more power in – I can't quantify how much but my acceleration with the SPDRs is much better.

You must have been using pretty soft mtb shoes if that's the case. The difference between the better stuff is not as great.

Road clip ins are easy to master after a ride or two, push the pedal forward with your toe as you rise the foot up, and clip forward and down into it.

I hate roadie spds! (yes I've got em, and I'm used to them but I still hate them)

They're harder to clip in and out of when used with proper carbon soled shoes as you just slip off if you dont get it bang on – not ideal at traffic lights etc.

On the road their efficiency benefits tend to come from stiffness of the shoe/pedal combo. However you can almost replicate this with say, candys and a proper carbon mtb race shoe – which has the benefit of not making you walk like bambi on ice and is easier for frequent clipping in and out.

And look cleats especially seem to be made of cheese – you'll be lucky to get 3 months out of them even if you avoid walking on them.

Personally I reckon that if you're doing a lot of miles, not stopping at traffic lights, won't walk anywhere and want maximum efficiency at the expense of day-to-day useability then roadie spds are fine.

If you want 99% of the benefits with 10% of the feckery factor then get some decent spds and some good stiff mtb shoes… (These figures are advisory only!)

I love the roadies SPD for all the stiffness/efficiency reasons outlined above, but I only use them on the "fast" road bike. The tourer/commuter gets Shimano A520s (MTB style cleat) coz with that, I'm more likely to want to get off and walk around a bit.

road pedals are great unless you've got loads of traffic lights then, as they're invariably one-sided, you find yourself doing comedy falling over/slipping off the undersides of the pedals as you fail to get in/out of them. Road shoes also tend to have slippy soles and I also got fed up falling over on the station platform in the rain / wearing huge chunks out of expensive shoe soles walking on/off the train and in/out of the office.

I used Look Keos on my commute and there was a notable difference in my times compared to using eggbeaters / Speedplay x5's. Just seemed easier to get the power down.

But, as mentioned, they're a major PITA if you have lots of stop/starts, if you have any distance to walk (or more accurately, hobble) if you're on road pedals. It's also a pain having to maintain two sets of shoes / pedal systems.

road pedals are great unless you've got loads of traffic lights

Learn to trackstand!

Roadie pedal/shoe combo is WAY stiffer than MTB, much more efficient and comfortable especialy over longer distance.

I find track standing infinitely easier on SPDRs than in normal spds. Unless I'm very tired I can trackstand for ages, certainly long enough for all but the longest red lights.