So, I have my first road bike on order. It needs pedals and I have a spare set of spds - will they fit so I can just use my mtb shoes?
What is the main difference between road spd/cleats and mtb ones - other than the design obviously!
And finally, if I am to buy road pedals which ones should I look at?
Course they will! Thats what I use
Road pedals are larger so should offer more support. I think they also have less float for maximum power transfer.
yes - it'll work. Many riders prefer MTB style pedals and shoes (for one thing, they don't clomp around so much when you are walking to the cafe).
"Proper" road pedals seem to give you a better connection to the bike, enhancing power delivery. Road shoes tend to have stiffer soles for the same reason.
As for "which" pedals, you'll not go wrong with Shimano or Look.
other roadies wont talk to you or acknoledge you when passing --
so same as normal really
Mtb-SPDs will be fine ,and you will not die in a, head meets the corner of a cafe table.
However ,buy a set of clicky clacky road shoes and pedals ,walk in to a cafe with a wet floor,anything could happen .
Have you seen Bambi on ice ? 😆
Road pedals are great for getting the power down and the shoes are stiffer as a rule of thumb. Commuting is a lot better on spd's as you can just clip in with ease at junction and lights unlike road pedal which take a fair bit if getting used to.
Use what you feel comfortable with - I use MTB spuds on my road bike (with carbon soled shoes), as I'm not a racer anymore and I like to be able to walk without looking like a penguin!
Flexible soled MTB shoes would be OK as a stop gap, but generally for road riding the stiffer the sole the better.
I've used most types of road pedal over the years (look, Time and road SPD), and there really isn't a 'best' they're just slightly different from each other. I preferred the Shimano road SPDs out of all of them.
I use the Specialized BG Sport Touring shoes for, err, touring. They feel much like a road shoe and are pretty stiff, but avoid those slippy-slidey moments.
DON'T DO IT
YOU WILL TURN INTO A ZOMBIE
WHAT WERE YOU THINKING !?
DON'T BELIEVE WHAT THEY SAY
YOU'VE BEEN WARNED....
Slightly concerned that I may become undead by the use of mtb spd's on a road bike. Sounds like an unfortunate side effect.
Think I'll start out with mtb spds, helps save me a few £££'s too.
Very popular with beginners. Nothing wrong with it at all, provided you can get a sufficiently tarty looking shoe to match your lycra onsie then you're golden.
I've ran CrankBros Candys on my road bike since I got it. No real rush to move to road pedals tbh.
Keep being told to get some road shoes/pedals, but I don't see the point until I want to push my riding on/I start racing and only then I see it as an upgrade and not a necessity.
(Would buy Shimano pedals if I was buying some now though)
i tried road pedals but my toes turned upwards and i started to enjoy catching the sight of myself in lycra.
i'm alright now. i went back to mountain bikes.
I have ridden plain old first gen egg beaters for nearly 10 years.
Only becuase I am a cheap ass mofo and don't want to have to buy new shoes or break them in for that matter....
I regret not buying LOOKS earlier. There is a reason there are road and off road pedals! Don't make my mistake.
My SPDs and shoes are far, far more comfortable than my Specialized BG road shoes, which I use with Keo pedals. With the road shoes after 3 hours in the saddle the balls of my feet are agony, but that may just be because I've been riding for 3 hours.
However the SPD setup weighs more than double the road shoe setup.
I use BG road shoes and Keos and I've ridden for 12 hours but not had that problem. Could be your cleats are in the wrong place?globalti - Member
My SPDs and shoes are far, far more comfortable than my Specialized BG road shoes, which I use with Keo pedals. With the road shoes after 3 hours in the saddle the balls of my feet are agony, but that may just be because I've been riding for 3 hours.
Saying road shoes are stiffer than MTB shoes is a red herring. Yes, a pair of tracking style MTB shoes are going to be more flexible than a carbon soled road race shoe but they are intended for different things. The sole stiffness of road and MTB race shoe at a particular price point is going to be very similar, if not the same. A Specialized BG Comp road shoe shares the same sole as the BG Comp MTB shoe but the latter has some tread on it.
Wear your MTB shoes, keep your peak on your helmet, ride your bike.
a pair of tracking style MTB shoes are going to be more flexible than a carbon soled road race shoe
And they will reduce your carbon footprint...
Why stop with the spds? Wear your hydration pack, baggies and a peaked helmet as well for that proppa 'messed up' look
Ignore all this crap about walking in them, they're not that bad.
If you're doing so much walking that this becomes an issue then you're doing it all wrong.
i went through this same process a few weeks ago. in the end i opted for road spds and shoes for the road bike. no problems at all adapting to them, the only thing that is a consideration is it is slightly trickier lining up the correct side of the pedal to engage.
the issue isn't really that it's that much harder to clip in, more that you soon realise that the combo of totally smooth hard sole of shoe and metal pedal means you basically can't pedal at all unless you [i]are[/i] clipped in!
MTB spds will work just fine, and you'll save on the cost of having to buy new road shoes! I've got XT clips on my road bike and the MTB.