What dual-sided pedals?

Just picked up a Genesis Day One Single speed.

It’ll be used for commuting, nipping to the shops, and mud-plugging / filthy gravel.

So, sometimes I’ll want to ride SPD. Sometimes I’ll just want to wear my trainers.

Any recommendations?

Seen these Gewage pedals on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/GEWAGE-Mountain-Function-Platform-Compatible/dp/B0B1HBSRQ7/ref=asc_df_B0B1HBSRQ7/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697312380182&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13891087086821365153&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046313&hvtargid=pla-1784170584637&psc=1&mcid=58c24e73f3e23d1191cf9748e9095886&gad_source=1

Also on Ali-Express for half that; I’m figuring that for £15, they’d be worth a punt?

I would say don’t bother. Just run flats and swap to proper spds for gravel days. I tried them on a mate’s bike and it’s a nuisance having to look down and flip the pedal the right way up. They are a worst-of-both solution not a well thought out compromise.

Have you tried dual sided pedals? I tried them once and swore never again. I totally understand the appeal, but the reality was terrible in my opinion. I spent more time looking at my feet than the trail.
It only takes 2 minutes to swap pedals, so that would be my recommendation.

Shimano M324 are indestructible. I have them on the recumbent trike and used them to learn to ride spd off road. I’ve switched from look to spd for my long commute as there are so many stops in central London, and I have to walk down metal steps with a bike at the office.

Just stick with two pairs of pedals. I’ve run dual sided and they are an absolute nightmare.

I got a set of PD-EH500 on my gravel bike for exactly that reason. work really well.

platform SPDs can normally be “nipped to the shops” on with normal shoes if thats the entirety of your non-spd use, otherwise I’d agree with 2 sets of pedals

Ok.

I have thought this through, and have also had dual-sided before. But the pedals I’ve had before have had a crap flat side.

Not sure what “the nightmare” can be? Finding the right side to clip in / or not isn’t really of ‘nightmare’ proportions IMO.

And the whole point of this bike is to just pick it up and go, not having to pre-plan and faff with pedal swapping …

Scenario:

I’m commuting to work. It’s a nice morning. I’ll take the longer route = SPD.

I’m working from home. It’s been pissing down. The trails are filthy but I want a quick lunch hour blast = SPD

I’m commuting, time is tight, I’ve a full rucksack with no room for a spare pair of shoes = flats/normal trainers.

Need a few bits from the shop for tea = trainers/flats

Going to the pub = trainers/flats

Getting a call at 3am from the telecare people to say my Dad’s had a fall, need to pop out and help him up / wait for an ambulance to decide whether or not he needs to go to hospital = trainers / flats.

Car is booked for a service, throw the bike in the car to ride back after dropping the car off, don’t want to drive in SPDs = flats/trainers.

So … I’ve given this a god bit of thought, and am clear about what I want. I accept they’re compromised … But I don’t want to be constantly swapping pedals.

So, what are the least compromised version?

trouble is, they will default to a specific position, so 50% of the time they wont be the correct orientation for what you are doing

On a mountain bike this was useless as it was impossible to dynamically clip in when doing anything remotely technical

that being said, i had some dual sided xpedo’s which did what they were supposed to do in that regard.. but the spd side was shocking and pronounced away from the platform, which gave me a hotspot/ or made my foot swim.. so i personally would go for platform spds with the mechanism fairly recessed so that normal shoes are an option, for example my nukeproof cs’s i feel fairly confident would be ok with a trainer in that situation

I wouldnt use them for mtb’ing anything techy, but the shimano ones are fundamentally no different to single sided pedals on my roadbike. except the back is flat with some shallow pins so I can ride to shop in trainers in comfort.

I have the Shimano pd t8000’s on almost all my bikes now and they are great. They always fall the same way up so you put either pull your foot back to hit one side of the pedal or push forwards for the other.  It doesn’t take long to get used to either

I have the Shimano M324s on my MTB and whatever the predecessor of the EH500 is on my CX commuter. Definitely prefer the latter, I find the the M324s are too short in the heel-toe dimension and they are really easy to accidentally flip over when putting down any power. The EH500-a-likes are also easier to clip into – downside might be that there isn’t too much in the way of pins etc for grip, but at least the pedals don’t randomly flip. I think there is a Boardman ‘copy’ of this pedal too.

The ones from Amazon look pretty good, guess the worry is the clipless mechanism +/- the bearings are poor as they are so cheap, at least Shimano are dependable in those respects.

Got the <edit> EH500 </edit> on the turbo, the GF likes flats due to knee problem, I like clips (on the turbo only)

have held up well to high usage in a corrosive environment 😉 but obviously no mud testing.

we both like our respective sides with no complaints, but we don’t have the need to take the foot off when riding indoors. How often on your urban rides are you needing to put your foot down? If it’s not a lot, I’d recommend these. If it’s frequent, I’d recommend a double sided clip with a big cage that’s good enough for your gentle trainer wearing rides.

At £15 from Ali Express, it does sound like a winner, but I’d still be tempted to go for Shimano. After +35yrs of riding countless versions of clipless pedals from Crank Bros, Speedplay, Look and various Shimano copies. I’ve always drifted back to Shimano. They just keep going, for ever.

I’ve used double-sided Shimano in the past and they can be a bit more fiddly than normal SPD’s, but it’s not the end of the world. I’ve also had a couple of sets of knockoff SPD’s where the cleats weren’t quite the same as Shimano. They looked exactly the same, but they would stick in the pedals if I mixed up my riding shoe / cleat combo!

Go on, treat yourself to the Shimano ones. It’s nearly Christmas!

I have Shimano M324s and they sound ideal for the OP’s use case. Mine are ancient but still work perfectly.

Aren’t all pedals dual sided?

Anything that isn’t a flat or an SPD is a compromise that I’ve never got on with – would it better at looking at getting some better looking clipless shoes for ‘flat’ pedal duties?

Got some flat/spd shimanos on my “not a mountain bike bike”. Does trips to the chippy and pub, turbo sessions, commutes (when they were a thing), Sunday road rides with unsuitable gravel diversions and etaps. Not a nightmare at all. Think I’ve had the same pair for my whole adult life but that can’t be right as they’d be a million years old.

I’ve found the Shimano M324 great also for a commuter/gravel/pub bike crossover as long as any non-clipped in riding is of the pootling about type as they’re not that grippy on the non-SPD side.

I would never have bought them as they’re very expensive but I recently acquired some DMR Versa pedals on a hardtail I bought and they’re really good for actually mountain biking with. Clip in for efficiency but proper grippy pins on the flat side for sections that you might want to be dabbing a foot but not wanting to worry about getting clipped back in afterwards.

Tried M324, bloody heavy

leffeboy
Full Member
I have the Shimano pd t8000’s on almost all my bikes now and they are great. They always fall the same way up so you put either pull your foot back to hit one side of the pedal or push forwards for the other. It doesn’t take long to get used to either

The PD-T8000 are amazing and exactly as leffeboy states. I use my bike for commute or pub run without a bother.

The PD-T8000s are what the M324’s evolved into. And are two gels lighter 😉 . I used to use the 324s on the tandem with the kids ans I’d anwap from anchool run to a proper ride. But off road I’d use the flat side for more technical bits before I switched to just plain XT as my skills and confidence improved.

I might try some of the T8000s on my gravel bike at 400g a pair. But the recumbent trike still uses 324’s because everyone “wants a go”. You soon get used to dragging your shoe across for the flat side of the pedal. It’s really not an issue and there is no need to look down at all. Just like other clipless pedals.

I don’t know what all the drama nightmares are about. I’ve had (the same pair of) M324s on my audax/road/lightweight camping/shopping/whatever bike since the late ’90s. You can actually pedal on either side with any shoe type (maybe some super smooth road shoes would slip off the flat side, but if you’re on SPD, chances are they’ll have some sort of grip on the sole); it can be a tiny little bit uncomfortable for a few strokes if you set off in trainers and get the SPD side but that’s a long way from a nightmare.

It’s a road bike though, so I’ve never tried clipping in and out on technical sections. But then I ride flats on my MTB anyway.

OP: they’ll fit your use case just fine.

For very similar reasons I went through the same thought process and ended up with DMR Versa

DMR Versa Pedal – Clips, Flats or Both?

DMR Versa Pedal Black

Based on some of the comments, I feel like I should explain the ‘drama’ or why dual sided pedals didn’t work for me. My problem was that I was riding them on technical, steep trails. I almost came a cropper on more than one occasion because, as I rolled into a technical section, I was having to spend too much time looking at my feet to get clipped in, since Murphy’s law seemed to dictate that the wrong side of the pedal was always facing my foot. I scared badly myself on several occasions.

For less technical trails, or popping down to the shops, no question – they worked fine.