I have always used my off road shoes when riding my road bike. I can’t see the point in having road specific shoes.

am I missing something and is there any point in having specific shoes for riding on the road?

My current shoes are specialized bg comps so pretty stiff soled.

Cheers

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Proper road shoes and cleats are stiffer and more ‘solid’ or something, but unless you’re being competitive and/or need the extra security of road cleats, then SPDs should be fine.

I have SPDs on my road bike, and just do the tension up a good bit more than on my mtbs.

I use these, which are single sided and nice and light:

I use a stiff soled pair of mtb ‘race’ shoes wit them. Seems to work ok.

Road shoes for sale here

Personally I do – road pedals usually have a broader platform than XC SPDs which is good when you’re pedalling away for hours – less likely to get a hotspot.

Race MTB shoes like you have are pretty stiff but I think the grips on the sole would get in the way of a dedicated road SPD.

I am having the same quandry, and considering selling my SIDI winter road boots, and putting mtb pedals on my road bike.

Currently using ultegra pedals & SPD-SL on the road bike, but the shoes/road cleats are a PITA to walk in.

Anyone want some SIDI Hydro gore-tex road boots? email me if interested.

organic, YGM

Well I went for XT SPDs on my road bike and am pretty happy with them. That said I haven’t tried road specific shoes and cleats, can’t afford the extra shoes.

would you wear a road pedal/ shoe to do mtb’ing?

I personally think there designed for a purpose and originally rode mtb shoe/pedal road and off road. There is a difference having the correct equipment, how much though is questionable.

Its upto you obviously but i prefer using road equipment on the road and off road equipment on the mtb.

Oh, and apart from a small amount of shoes ( i’e s-works shoes, and only the soles are different), then road shoe design looks alot better than mtb design

I run time atacs on mountain and road bikes. Obviously some mtb shoes aren’t as stiff as they are designed to be walked in on occasion, but I bought a pair of nice, stiff mtb race shoes (specialized pro 2nd hand) rather than a cheaper pair of each type. I’ve not had any hot spots or other problems on long road rides and can walk around in cafes etc more easily!

proper road shoes for road riding
mtb for mtb
mtb spd for short stop/start commute trips

it doesn’t matter how stiff the mtb race shoes are when the pedal interface is so small (on spd’s)
road shoe cleats/pedals are far more stable as they are wider and longer.

muddy spesh mtb shoes with eggbeaters for the mtb.

lovely clean light stiff spesh road shoes and road pedals on the road bike.

but i do use eggbeaters and the muddy shoes on the cross bike in the winter on the road. road shoes on the road nicer though.

road pedals usually have a broader platform than XC SPDs which is good when you’re pedalling away for hours – less likely to get a hotspot.

Except if you have carbon soled race shoes, they do a pretty good job of spreading out the pressure no matter how small the pedal.

Race MTB shoes like you have are pretty stiff but I think the grips on the sole would get in the way of a dedicated road SPD

Not my experience – I have road specific SPDs on my race bikes (road/TT) and not a problem using them with MTB shoes. I do also have proper road shoes with SPD cleats on though (unfortunately that currently means adapters and I’ve just bust one of those – must get round to redrilling the soles).

it doesn’t matter how stiff the mtb race shoes are when the pedal interface is so small (on spd’s)
road shoe cleats/pedals are far more stable as they are wider and longer.

If your problem is keeping your feet stable, pedals aren’t going to help as between cleat positioning, bike setup and correct pedalling you shouldn’t have issues irrespective of size of platform. I use eggbeaters on the road bike as I really can’t justify more footwear. I’ve got pretty stiff MTB shoes (spec something or others I’ve had for an age) and I don’t get hotspots. I’ve got a pair of Look pedals in the shed for when the shoes wear out but that’s likely to be an age away.

My guess is if you’re serious, road pedals and shoes are lighter but not by enough to make a difference to me. Of course I ride in a peaked helmet and baggies so I’m already dubious in the eyes of roadies.

If your problem is keeping your feet stable, pedals aren’t going to help as between cleat positioning,

i use shims and footbeds for that, i’m talking about the cleat moving, road cleats have float but do not rotate along the axis of the foot like spd’s do (they don’t lift on the upstroke either)

nothing wrong with using unconventional equipment if you think it suits your riding but i’m happy to use shiny disco slippers for long road riding when they are so well suited to the job.

I’ve just gone back to mtb spds after a brief foray onto road spds (Shimano). For the riding i do, i prefer the double sided mtb pedals, and the durability of mtb cleats (yes I do sometimes need to get off and push).

I may give them another go sometime, but to me its just not worth the faff.

Thought about this long and hard, but for the type of road riding I do, owl sanctuaries, stopping to look at interesting places along the way etc, I’ve decided to stick with mtb spuds and shoes.
In fact, I’ve just bought a pair of Shimano MO77’s for touring and day rides – very comfy on and off the bike.

Used to use M51 boots on the road bike, but they’re a bit flexy and my feet hurt after about 50 miles.

Except if you have carbon soled race shoes, they do a pretty good job of spreading out the pressure no matter how small the pedal.

Pretty good yes, but not as good as road shoes and pedals. I’ve got S-Works MTB and Road shoes, among the stiffest out there, and the MTB shoes aren’t as comfy for long road rides. I’ve tried Dura Ace SPDs, SPD-Rs, SPD-SLs and Keos, with the former it made little difference, but the bigger platform of modern pedals makes a bigger difference than a stiff shoe with a small pedal.

If you’re walking around then perhaps stick with MTB shoes, but if you’re actually riding your bike then road shoes and pedals are better.

Road specific shoos look nicer.

There’s no better reason for having them. And they can be white

I have road shoes and pedals for my road bike but have spds on my winter road bike so I can wear my warm, waterproof mtb boots .

I use mtb pedals and shoes on the road bike, but it is a compromise
the Specialized BG Comp shoes do not have a stiff sole, even for an MTB shoe – maybe compared to MTB trainer-type shoes – I recently change from Spec Comps to Giros with a carbon sole and the difference is big

And they can be white

racist

racist

Knob

Until a couple of weeks ago I would have said ” No ” MTB shoes and pedals will be fine…

BUT

I have now got road shoes and pedals and the difference is truly amazing, I would now say ” YES ” get road shoes and pedals, if nothing else the contact point is larger and as such helps prevent those pressure points caused by SPDs

Been using my carbon soled mtb shoes on all my bikes for the last 4 years. This includes multi day road touring, 100 mile sportives, etc. Never had any problems with hotspots. My only concern is what I’ll do when they eventually fall to pieces! In fact I now only wear then on my road bikes as I’m currently giving flats a go on the mtb.

im very new to road biking (9 weeks in)….. ive not gone for spd,s … im used to flat pedals now (from mtb,ing,,,… 😉

Currently using ultegra pedals & SPD-SL on the road bike, but the shoes/road cleats are a PITA to walk in.

No kidding… 😕

Used SPDs for a while. Just cheep ones, not even particularly stiff. Never had a problem. Done some 100 mile + outings.

Then I got some road shoes and cleats, entry level shimano. Only got them cos I was fed up riding in filthy wet shoes the morning after winter mtb rides.

Big improvement. Well worth it. Much more secure. Much easier to get a nice smooth pedalling style going on.

Find them tricky to get in and out though, but its something you need to do less than mtb.

Keo’s go ‘Click’ when you clip into them – Briliant 😀

thanks for the feedback all. ended up getting another pair of mtb shoes, as they had 25% off 🙂

My pedals are Crank Bros acids so wide platform, and first ride today they were good

If I start doing big miles I might think about changing

Cheers

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