[Closed] what roadie pedals?

Not the answer you're looking for but I use mtb spd's on my road bikes, it means one pair of shoes fits all my bikes. I've a pair of carbon-soled spesh shoes which I think means I've never had a problem with hotspots on all-day rides whether touring or doing a 100 miler on my 'best bike'.

I use Time rxs pedals, but to be honest look, time and shimano are all comparable, each has their quirks all are crap to walk in..

As for shoes, i like sidi, but i would really really advise trying the shoes on. You will be wearing them a while and niggles will become a pain, literally. Something i have been meaning to sort out are proper insoles, i have used Confomable in the past and they do make a difference over the cheap crap most shoes some with.

As for action similar but different is the best way i can describe it, the thing to watch is you can only clip in on one side, but most road pedals are weighted to account for this.

Think ribble have got a deal going at the moment for shimano shoes and pedals, worth a look.

Shimano pedals are pretty great, but lots of others out there as well. 105s will be solid, but so are the models below, and they're proper cheap.

And of course specialized shoes are fantastic for comfort and performance.

To the mob: Not going to bother coming back on this thread so no need to spam it 🙂

to be honest, hf, that's a great answer. i've got xtr spds on my "proper" bike and it would be quite useful/economical if i could just use those and my current shoes. i wasn't sure if i'd get things thrown at me if i did, though!

edit - realman, you're not welcome here, but thanks for the tip about ribble.

+1 for using SPDs on both - just makes things easier and you can walk in the shoes. Haven't had anything thrown at me yet.

+1 headfirst same here I use same shoe I am comfortable in all day. Specialized mtb tahoe. Did 205km yesterday on road bike in pair spesh no problems whatsoever and I can still walk in them not like our duck feet roadie friends

Just bought a new road bike and have fitted some spds, on shop advice, even though it lost them a sale of a pair of new shoes and pedals !
Their reasoning was that there'd be enough to be getting used to without adding in new pedal system.

-1 for spd's on road bikes.

Time i-Clic here, the fibre-flex ones. Big improvement over the SPD's I used at first, easily the best upgrade I've made so far.

How much walking are you planning on doing?

Their reasoning was that there'd be enough to be getting used to without adding in new pedal system.

I don't buy that, it takes all of 5 minutes to get used to different systems.

don't know. not much walking!

on the basis that i do get new pedals, do we all agree that 105s are a good choice, then? as i could get shoes and pedals from ribble for <£100, which sounds tempting.

You can rule out the "harder/easier to walk in" argument out then.

I don't know why people drag that up, most I ever walk in mine is out to garage or to the bar and back. Admittedly it's more of a struggle carrying 3 pints, but the pro's far outweigh the cons 🙂

Dom't use spd's they just don't feel that secure compared to road pedals. So choose any road pedals. (Speedplay if you need lots of float for tricky knees).

i do have one slightly dodgy knee. is there not so much float available in road spds?

Check out the A600 pedal from Shimano. Ultegra quality single sided spd pedal. Had them for a little while. Lightish and easy to clip into.

Go for cheap Shimano pedals - they're great.

I mostly use R540s and can't see why I'd change them. I have also now bought some 105s which look better and are a bit stiffer I think.

Touring pedals are better than SPDs. I use A520 pedals in the winter so I can use my winter mtb boots and also use them for touring.

As someone who has relatively recently changed from mtb pedals and shoes (Candys and Spesh Elite) to proper road pedals and shoes (Shimano 105 and Spesh Elite) i will say that I won't go back: Road shoes are so much stiffer, and therefore feel so much better on the bike, and the pedals just feel alot more secure.

Walking is no problem whatsoever. I have heard that Shimano cleats are easier to walk in than Look cleats, but I have no experience of those.

The only downside is that they are single-sided, which I do occasionally find difficult to clip into when pulling away at a junction in a hurry, particularly if it's on a steep slope.

SPDs are fine on the road. I used them for years on my road bike. I now use Shimano 105 SPD-R. If you get the yellow cleats they have float. Look cleats have a reputation of being made of cheese and having poor wear even if you are just walking down to the bottom of your drive in them.

+1 spuds and carbon-soled MTB shoes

Tried roadie pedals but prefer spuds - float and practicality and shoe-swapability

ok, cheers for the more info. uponthedowns, do you get the floaty yellow ones as standard with the pedals or do you have to acquire them separately?

Mine came with the yellow ones as standard.

theflatboy - Member
i do have one slightly dodgy knee. is there not so much float available in road spds?

Go for Speedplay. Incredible amount of float.

I used to use the same system on all my bikes (mtb, road and cross). Great as you only need one pair of shoes (so why did I have three?). But I recently went for some road specific shoes and pedals ( Sidi and Speedplay). Upsides: The connection to the bike feels better. Loads of float. Downsides: Walking is a bit harder.

i may well do, matthew. which ones do you run on road?

+1 for Speedplays, they're pricey though. Zero's are the model to get (cro-mo version is fine) if you do go down that route.

105s are a good pedal

I swap to Time ATACs for the Winter so that I can use the same Winter boots but I never felt the need at other times as the large platform feels much better

I like KEO's, but Son1 rides SPD-R. They are easier to engage and the cleats are tougher. I rode with SPDs for years and still do on the tandem, because the the tread helps with grip when holding up a bike for two.

My first clipless pedal was a 757, which had a lovely mechanism, but the axle snapped (in answer to the Crank Brothers thread)

start with yr SPDs and change to roadie ones if

a) you start riding long distances
b) your feet start to hurt on SPDs

you might hate road riding anyway

Keep the spd's for MTB. Look keo classics here with s-works road shoes.

There is a massive difference in terms of power going to wheels using proper road pedals.

Get shaving, get Lycra, get road pedals and shoes.

I use to use SPD's then moved to Speedplays. Found them a great pedal with the float.

I use Keos, used to use SPD-SLs, and I'm very tempted to go back, cleat life on the Keos is shocking if nothing else.

SPDs just feel all sorts of wrong on the road, irrespective of how stiff your shoes are.

I had mtb pedals on my winter skinny bike all winter. They worked fine enough.
When they fell apart (crank brother candys of course) I put 105 pedals on ...there was a noticeable improvment.

As for walking in them...
Thats a mtbing thing ...roadies ride when out with bike..

I have Ultegra but the cleats are plastic, they tend to fail at the engagement points leaving you out on the road somewhere with a cleat you can neither walk in nor clip in with. I think I'll be switching to something SPD compatible so all my shoes, bikes and pedals will be on the same platform.

Whatever I do next, it won't have plastic cleats.

Me thinks you're doing something wrong, pro's cope fine with plastic cleats (or are you saying you've walked in them a lot and worn them down before they break?). Mind you Speedplay cleats have a lot of metal in them (although they aren't entirely metal).

Didn't walk in them much at all, and they ride fine, tho I am not the gentlest on kit. I had a pair where a sliver of plastic sheared off the key part of the cleat mid-ride and they wouldn't engage then, game over. Pros probably have new kit whenever they needed it, support vehicles and ride in bunches. I'm often out on my own.

From my POV there's no good reason to keep them and a good reason to get rid. (Want my pedals?)

I have Ultegra but the cleats are plastic

As they are on virtually all road pedals, except Speedplay, where the pedal is basically on the bottom of your shoe. And eye-wateringly expensive!

SPD's on a road bike?? Tssk.

Get yourself some nice carbon Ultegras, although the 105's are just as good.

105 Road pedals are good value -often on sale at CRC et al

stable feeling

the cleats are ok ish to walk in for short distances - but on a road bike you will mostly be riding..

if I have to walk any distance I just take shoes off like at work etc

Why are SPDs such a no-no for road?

the shimano touring system (mtb cleat and additional support cage/show interface is a good compromise - if you need to compromise.

I have all three systems in use - proper road systems just feel more stable.

SPD's just aren't as good as propper roadie pedals, I'd use roadie pedals offroad, but they probably wouldn't work in the mud.

I use outland copies of LOOK KEO's, working fine so far, if a little heavier than more expensive versions.

SPD's just aren't as good as propper roadie pedals

yeah but in what way?

Hmmm, I have SPD's on my touring bikes and tandems, SPD SL's on my roadbike and eggies on my MTB's.

I've done thousands upon thousands of miles on the tourer/tandems with SPD's and even had a pair of XTR's on my carbon roadie for a couple of months. Couldn't really tell the difference apart from SPD SL is more buggeration to get into away from the lights.

If you have the £££'s, spend them on pukka road kit, it is nice. If not, you won't die a horrible death just get the pi$$ taken by the roadies.

BTW, I had that last weeekend. Out on the road bike but with the MTB helmet (peak less of course) and some random fatty roadie wanabe took the pi$$. I politely told him to fek off 🙂

I always ride with my MTB helmet, peak on. It keeps the sun out of my eyes on bright days, and the rain on wet days. I only have 1 helmet, 4sure not buying another just for road. God I'm a style disaster!

But road's just training for proper riding, after all.

the missus is getting me the shoes and pedals as an early bday present, it was announced yesterday. so i don't need to use the mtb peds/shoes but probably won't be stretching to megabucks. sounds like 105s and some reasonable priced shoes will be the outcome.

in fact, the ribble peds/shoes offer is likely to be the outcome!