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Always rode mtb spds , but i asked the wife to get me some road shoes and pedals for christmas for the road bike, which she did 😀 .. thanks for that
Fitted them today and what a pain .... single sided , so a pain to clip in and trying to get the cleats in a position thats comfortable to ride with has taken me ages and they still dont feel right ...
anyone else had trouble going from mtb spds to road pedals ??
any tips on gettin the cleats right or is it trial and error ?
Trial and error for cleat alignment, took me a couple of months to master clipping in without looking down, persevere you'll get there.
I've never used road SPDs so can't comment on them, but many single-sided road pedals are great - Look Keos and Deltas always been my favourites.
Setting cleats up - as per mtb!
I find my road spds and pedal identical to my mtb ones - are you using spd-sl?
cynic-al - Member
I find my road spds and pedal identical to my mtb ones - are you using spd-sl?
Yeah Shimano 105 spd-sl
In time it'll become totally second nature. Only time it can be a little tricky is on a fixed.
Strangely, I found the cleat position easier to find but still hate having to take a foot out at junctions etc as its a pain in the arse to get clipped back in.
Feel better than MTB pedals on the road when you get them set up properly so persevere!
Also just got road shoes and pedals for christmas. After testing them in the garage for cleat position, unclipped and discovered the hard plastic cleat on the bottom of the shoe doesn't grip on concrete very well. ended up busting my a$$ on the floor and haven't even been out on the road yet!
I have to say for that reason, whilst by summer bikes have spd-sl cleats my winter hack has crank brothers quatro pedals. They are 2 sided but the main improvement for me is the cleat has a rubber "shroud" for road shoes which is easier to walk on ice with than the spd-sls. I can also use my mtb shoes when more walking is required or the weather is proper horrible and I want more warmth inside my overshoes.
1. Learn to track stand.
2. Think about changing to speedplays which are dual sided so easier to get in and out of.
Gave up and went back to Time ATACs on a mtb race shoe for road use.
They are better for long road rides, but it was roundabout that finally scared me off them.
I try to avoid the commute using road SPDs for all the reasons above. Carbon sole of shoe slides around when you stop
at junctions. Trying to clip in when setting off is a bit of a PITA. Great when you're actually riding though!
I tried SPD-SL a while back and didn't like them. As you say, hard to use and I didn't like the float at all.
Went back to regular spuds. You can decent ones for <300g and the carbon mtb shoes are plenty stiff enough.
As for getting used to roadie pedals over time. I'm sure that's true, but you could probably get used to a chubby wife too..... 8)
I felt comfortable with Ultegra's but I could never clip out of them from too much float even on loose setting.
Probably need a re-adjustment?
I ended up with xtr spds on my road bike.
1) Learn to trackstand - it's very rare indeed that I ever need to clip out on a commute
2) You get used to it and the difference between proper road shoes and MTB ones is huge, there's so much more power and stiffness on road shoes and the attachment is much more secure and solid.
3) Take a bit of time with the set-up, they can be quite tricky to get just right.
I've bean using carbon MTB shoes with touring pedals ([url= http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/bike-reviews/shimano-pd-a-520-pedal/2525.html ]A520[/url]) which are single sided and have a platform.
It's a good compromise for power transfer and abilty to walk off the bike.
Having said that I've got some SPD-SL pedals and shoes to try in the summer, just in case thay are better 😉
i found road cleats a bit scary at the end of a ride and having to unclip at a logn wait at a roundabout but for a decent length of ride i reckon they're worth it, tried them a couple of time riding fixed which was interesting 🙂
I found road pedals such a pain I gave up and switched to Speedplay. With various Look and Time pedals I found my nuts on the cross bar far too often. The Speedplays are of course double sided and are so good I have been thinking about getting some of their Frog mtb pedals. Yes plenty of people get used to single sided but it's not not worth the pain if you are clearly not one of those people.
Learn to trackstand, It really is the most useful skill and will help you in other traffic situations too- such as pulling away BEFORE other vehicles when at the head of the lights etc.
If I'm honest I'd attribute my near god-like trackstanding ability to fear of clipping back into Shimmy's old SPD-R pedals which were much, much more stiff( especially when worn)while commuting in rush hour traffic.