[Closed] Why do road pedals take plastic cleats?

It's just Keo cleats that are crap, SPD-SL ones last forever!

Metal ones would weigh a ton and cost a fortune I'd guess. SPD-R cleats used to be metal, but all that Look style cleats have always been plastic.

I'm guessing weight as you don't walk in them as much, and also less chance of them scratching the floor on a track if thats your thing?

Weight mostly I would guess. A lost of people use MTB style peddles and shoes on road bikes if they plan on walking about a lot.

Try Time. Brass, last for years - with walking.

I use CB Candys on my current tourer, Shimano A520s (i.e .MTB-style cleat) on my last one. Road cleats like SPD-SLs and Look Keos don't have to be robust as you're not really supposed to be walking about with them.

It's because with a road pedal you want more stability than with a mountain bike pedal. Therefore, the contact area needs to be greater hence the larger cleats. As about, giving this contact size with alloy would be heavy and costly. Have you considered getting some of those rubber cleat covers to carry with you? Saves the cleat and adds some much needed traction if you need to walk anywhere.

[i]It's because with a road pedal you want more stability than with a mountain bike pedal....... [/i]

uhuh.

It's a financial move, plastic is cheaper than metal. And people who screw up their plastic cleats keep coming back on a far more regular basis.

I've yet to find a road cleat/pedal that is as good as a standard SPD.

Erm because plastic works - and if you are a roadie you should be pedalling and not walking... If you need to walk lots go for recessed mtb or touring clip ins

I always assumed it was so the cleat wore before the pedal.

Remember also because of the larger contact area on road cleats they bend slightly to the shoe when fitted as not all shoes are the same. Cast them out of metal and you'll have problems with cracking cleats or damaged soles... That said it is mostly about weight

I've yet to find a road cleat/pedal that is as good as a standard SPD.

Each to their own I suppose but I find the Shimano road SPD-SLs better on road than the MTB SPDs. I've got Ultegra SPD-SLs on my 'proper' road bike and M540 SPDs on my 'commuting' road bike. If I do much more than commute on that bike I find myself feeling the pedals - it's far from unbearable but I'm aware that the connection is smaller and not as secure.

Higgo +1

I found using MTB shoes on the road bike felt horrible, even with very stiff shoes, there's lots of float and they just feel awful. Used to use SPD-Sls, had Keos for about 4 years, thinking about going back to SPD-SLs to get away from clicking pedals and cleats that last 5 minutes.

njee20 - Member

Higgo +1

I found using MTB shoes on the road bike felt horrible, even with very stiff shoes, there's lots of float and they just feel awful. Used to use SPD-Sls, had Keos for about 4 years, thinking about going back to SPD-SLs to get away from clicking pedals and cleats that last 5 minutes.

+2 Even on my CX bike I start to notice SPD's after about 30 miles. Got some Keo carbons at a bargain price last year to replace my 1st gen Looks (after 20+ years they wore the cleats out but I can't find spares) and its really annoying having such a cacophony of clicks and squeaks on a road bike that is usually silent.
Might give the Shimano road pedals a go.

+3

No comparison between MTB clipless and road clipless from a performance perspective. I ran SPD-R for a while (a single-sided MTB SPD compatible road pedal) before switching to SPD-SL. No way I'd go back (and I'm much more of a casual rather than serious road rider).

i use speedplay zeros, they have a metal, unrecessed cleat and it's a ****ing nightmare to walk on, even if it's just going down the stairs from the flat, or stopping off to fill a water bottle. i've gone down like a sack from doing both.

I definately agree about the larger platform for pedalling, tried MTB pedals on my roadie and they were awful imo.

Main reason I brought it up is I'm gonna be touring for a few weeks over summer and want a cleat that's gonna last all 3 weeks. With using them for touring I'll be having to walk in them a little I reckon, I'm taking flip flops so I can change between the 2 quickly but doubt I'll want to change every time I get off the bike. My shoes (Shimano RO86) will take MTB cleats too so these might be an option with some slightly bigger MTB pedals. I've got walking with the road cleats to a fine art now so that's not gonna be a problem, but that may be due to the rubber strips on the plastic cleats.

Cheers for the feedback, something to think about!

bitd - didn't look do aluminum versions of their cleat for cyclo-cross - heavier and expensive but lasted well(?)

Main reason I brought it up is I'm gonna be touring for a few weeks over summer and want a cleat that's gonna last all 3 weeks.

Unless you're a million miles from anywhere surely you could just get some more if the worst happened? (Or even take some spares, they're not exactly heavy...)

Another suggestion would be something like the Shimano A520. That's a single-sided pedal, uses an MTB cleat and has a wee bit of a platform on it. However, you're only really going to get an advantage if you use a "touring" shoe - one which has a decent amount of tread and a recessed cleat point - otherwise you're still clicking around on the cleat all the time you're walking.

btw - I've just come back from a 350 mile tour using Crank Brothers Candy pedals and Specialized Sonoma shoes. No problems doing a bit of off-road walking and no hot-spots.

Just swapped from spd to keo carbons due to the spds are difficult to get in to and first impressions are really easy to get in to but horrible feeling of standing in a marble, huge amount of float even though I'm using the grey cleats and signs of wear after one ride. Not impressed.

I swapped from Ultegra SPD-SLs to Keo Carbons and can't really say I've noticed much difference, other than a more positive "click" using the Ultegras.