Got myself my new road bike and need some pedals.

Is there any point in buying new road shoes and pedals or should I just get some Shimano road pedals compatible with MTB cleats like these –
Shimano Road Pedals

I realise that a road shoe will be stiffer but is that the only real difference?

Road shoes are stiffer, but as the contact area with the pedal is much larger, the foot is more stable on the pedal. On a MTB pedal, there’s play to allow the foot to rock side to side, great off-road, not so good on road.

depends what mtb shoes you have at the minute i’d say, stiff soled shoes are a huge step up,but you don’t necessarily need a road specific shoe.i alternate between my black sidi mtb shoes and white sidi road shoes depending on the weather.

I’ve used specific road pedals in the past, look keo’s of various models,and they are very good, but for ease of swapping shoes etc im using egg beaters as thats what i run on my other bikes.

I use Look Keo on my road bikes, and they are great, however, I still think normal spds and stiff mtb shoes are fine. I tour on mtb pedals and shoes just for the fact they’re comfy enough off the bike.

IMO stiff MTB shoes are still no comparison, would rather have cheap road shoes and pedals than top end MTB shoes.

SPD-SLs are great pedals, and would be my recommendation. I’ve been using Keos for the last few years and both bearing and cleat life is attrocious.

By the way, I have those pedals, and to be honest, you’re better of with double sided.

I’ve recently switched to using SPD-SL with proper road shoes on my road bike, and it’s a worthwhile switch, but I’m still getting used to single-sided pedals.

I’m not sure what advantage the pedals that you link to would offer over standard SPDs. Would a stiff road shoe even make contact with the outer cage of that pedal?

The A520s are great pedals and were (until recently) my favourite for commuting and touring.

I like to have “proper” SPDs on my faster road bike – the one I use for training, Sportives etc as I’m convinced they are more efficient. However, they are a faff for walking about in.

An MTB-type shoe and cleat is much better for commuting (if you have to stop-start and your track-standing is pants) and also for touring when you want to get off your bike and walk about a bit, visit cake shops etc. The cage on the A520 will give your foot a bit of support and might help prevent a hot-spot on your sole from all the pressure being on the cleat nut.

Last year, I converted to Crank Brothers Candys for commuting and touring.

Winston just stick normal SPDs on the road bike and use your MTB shoes. Assuming they are decently stiff shoes there won’t be much difference in comfort or power transfer and you’ll have the advantage of double sided entry- ooh err. There’s not a great deal of difference IMHO between carbon soled road shoes with SPD-R and decent MTB shoes with SPDs. I’ve used MTB shoes and SPDs on my road bikes for years then went to SPD-R last year and haven’t noticed any significant improvement in comfort or power transfer- the shoes are a bit lighter though. I still revert to SPDs in winter because I can then use my Shimano winter MTB boots to keep my feet warm and dry.