SPD Pedals on a Road Bike

g0g · 03-05-2012 08:56AM #1

Having recently taken the plunge to upgrade to a Road Bike (Canyon Roadlite 6.0 - countdown to delivery is on!!!), I'm wondering what's best to do about pedals. I already have M540 (I think) double-sided SPD pedals and Wiggle/DHB M1 shoes which have done the job to date. In my excitement the other day I went ahead and ordered another set of the same pedals for € 30 so that the same shoes work for both bikes.

Now I'm begining to wonder if I should have "upgraded" to road pedals like SPD SL 105 or something like that... Looks like those pedals are around € 50 and another € 70-80 for the shoes to go with them. That said, that type of pedals look less comfortable to walk in when you get off the bike.

Do many other people with road bikes use SPD and have no problems at all? I can't imagine they'll cause me any problems but just wondering if the (apparent) bigger surface area on them makes them more comfortable?

smacl · 03-05-2012 09:00AM

I use SPDs on my road bike with no problems, more out of habit from previously using them on the hybrid. I like having double sided pedals and shoes that I can walk around in, so amn't tempted to change.

G rock · 03-05-2012 09:44AM

i have them on my road bike too.

never had any problems tbh, and at least you won't have to fork out for new shoes as well

Raam · 03-05-2012 09:51AM

It's whatever you prefer yourself really. I started out with spd on my road bike, and then switched to Look Keo just to see what they are like. For me, the Look were way more comfortable, certainly for longer distances. It just boils down to your own needs and wants.

Lumen · 03-05-2012 10:06AM

From my own experience...

- Cheap to mid-range road shoes give the same or better performance than high-end MTB shoes, due to the increased stiffness of the sole. Almost all MTB shoes are quite floppy due to the need to walk.

- High-end road shoes perform better than even the stiffest MTB shoes, because the pedal/shoe interface is better.

I'm currently using Specialized S-Works MTB shoes (which are probably the stiffest MTB shoe on the market) with Speedplay Frog pedals, and they're not as good as my S-Works road shoes with Speedplay Zero pedals.

Maybe make the transition as stuff wears out. You can buy road shoes from DHB and Shimano which accept both road and MTB pedals, so you could switch to those first and then switch to road pedals later on.

dave_o_brien · 03-05-2012 10:24AM

I think it comes down to what you need. If you're going to use the bike to commute, then mtb shoes and pedals make a lot of sense, due to their walkability. If this bike is only for long leisure spins, then road pedals make sense, for the reasons outlined. I had a set of spd's on my winter bike/commuting bike until I sold it, now commute on the cyclocross bike, which also has spd's. Have occasionally commuted on my Look Keo's, but all the advantages of the better pedals/shoe interface and stiff sole were not necessary for that particular use.

ChewyLuey · 03-05-2012 12:22PM

HI GoG

I bought the exact same bike at the exact same time last year.
I didnt have shoes at the time so got cheap mtb clipless pedals (€28) which could be used with runners in the short term. I then added shoes with mtb cleats later last summer.
After only a year the cheap pedals are pretty wrecked (bearings gone). I brought it to a bike shop and the first thing the guy commented was a decent bike like a canyon shouldn't have such crappy pedals on it.

I have now ordered these :
http://www.canyon.com/_en/shop/?category=F04&item=17217
(my shoes are road shoes that take both mtb or spd cleats).

Its quite a well spec'd bike for its price and considering its canyon's entry level model so might awell put nice pedals on it.

Just my two cents...

Wishbone Ash · 03-05-2012 01:27PM

I use SPD dual sided pedals and SPD shoes on my Ridley road bike. I do a lot of city centre journeys and prefer to flip the pedal over to the flat side when in heavy stop/start traffic. I don't think SPD SL pedals would be practical in such circumstances. If I was using the bike purely for leisure I'd probably switch to SPD SL.

g0g · 03-05-2012 02:43PM

Thanks all for the feedback, much appreciated!

It's purely for leisure spins - don't use current bike and won't use new one for commuting / shopping or anything like that.

I don't find the SPD pedals uncomfortable and there are no signs of wear and tear yet, so can't use that to justify a change.

There's also the fact that it's CTW so the bike is costing ~€ 500. Hard to justify spending 25% more on top of that for new shoes/pedals.

That said, I just can't resist shiney new gadgets!

When I had a hybrid people told me I was wasting energy with that type of bike and should upgrade to road bike etc etc and I guess I thought the same might apply to pedals.

Bottom line, from the replies I'm reading that new shoes and pedals won't make my life XX% easier....?

Eamonnator · 03-05-2012 03:49PM

http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

Rule no. 34 applies.

langdang · 03-05-2012 04:00PM

Work away for leisure cycling. Always used the same type of pedals on my road bike as my mountain bike, you don't have to think about engaging or disengaging when there's no change between the two. My emphasis would be on MTB tho, you'll obviously have the opposite point of view from people with an emphasis on Road.

wersal gummage · 03-05-2012 06:05PM

Another vote here for the SPDs.

My choice is more so because I have a little bit of walking to do when I commute to work after I park the bike. Then, out of being a cheapskate, I went with same pedals on good bike so wouldn't have to buy another pair of shoes.

I use a good pair of Sidi mtb shoes - they dont really look *that* different to road shoes to be honest. After a year or two of this set up, I went back to my usual bike shop and spoke to one of the lads about upgrading the shoes and pedals for my good bike and the guy working there - salesman - said NOT to bother - that I might notice a tiny % difference if I was out of the saddle, but for what I was doing (just plodding around for a few hours at a time on my own) that it was a complete waste of money given that the soles in the MTB shoes I have are so stiff....

SPD Pedals on a Road Bike

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