Discussion
Donbot said:
My road bike was fitted with an Ultegra groupset. Being a tart I bought the pedals to match.
I wouldn't say they are massively better than the £20 Shimano ones I have on my other bike.
I've always bought the "non groupset" Shimano pedals (currently running RS-500s which are ~£40 cheaper than the R7000s)I wouldn't say they are massively better than the £20 Shimano ones I have on my other bike.
I've always been interested in what extra you get for the money, slightly lighter, little bit better looking but do they perform better?
I'm going to go against the grain here......I use crank brothers Mallet E on my mtb, love them, big wide things, really supportive. So for my road/ commute/ gravel use, I wasnt going to use different shoes as already have a few pairs of five tens. So that bike is now wearing candy 3 pedals, again super easy to use and happily do 50 odd mile trips without numb feet.
For me, once I have something I am happy with, then I dont see why i should fork out a fortune for a whole different setup on another bike.
For me, once I have something I am happy with, then I dont see why i should fork out a fortune for a whole different setup on another bike.
flight147z said:
Donbot said:
My road bike was fitted with an Ultegra groupset. Being a tart I bought the pedals to match.
I wouldn't say they are massively better than the £20 Shimano ones I have on my other bike.
I've always bought the "non groupset" Shimano pedals (currently running RS-500s which are ~£40 cheaper than the R7000s)I wouldn't say they are massively better than the £20 Shimano ones I have on my other bike.
I've always been interested in what extra you get for the money, slightly lighter, little bit better looking but do they perform better?
I haven't accidentally unclipped from either, so as far as performance goes I'd say they are the same.
At least they look nice
Donbot said:
flight147z said:
Donbot said:
My road bike was fitted with an Ultegra groupset. Being a tart I bought the pedals to match.
I wouldn't say they are massively better than the £20 Shimano ones I have on my other bike.
I've always bought the "non groupset" Shimano pedals (currently running RS-500s which are ~£40 cheaper than the R7000s)I wouldn't say they are massively better than the £20 Shimano ones I have on my other bike.
I've always been interested in what extra you get for the money, slightly lighter, little bit better looking but do they perform better?
I haven't accidentally unclipped from either, so as far as performance goes I'd say they are the same.
At least they look nice
[/quoteAgree they look better
For me "security" comes from the shoes. I had a pair of £50 Shimano shoes for years. Upgraded to a decent pair of fiziks with stiffer soles and the difference was enormous!
J4CKO said:
Think I will stick with the tried and trusted, jut wanted to check when I have the opportunity whether its worth a change and doesnt seem like for me it will make any difference, been dead happy with the MTB pedals and shoes so will stick to that formula.
Sounds like a plan. For years I persevered with toe clips and running shoes. Then I bought a fancy new road bike for my 40th and got a deal on some old Look Delta cleats with some Shimano road shoes. When that died (hit by a van) the compensation payment bought a nice new Trek Emonda, and the 'Podium Points' deal at Pedal On cycles ensured I got a s
tload of kit with it. Which included Ultegra SPD-SL pedals and Bontrager road shoes.Come the winter, though, I got fed up with overshoes on the road bike, and started using my North Wave winter MTB boots on the road bike. Initially I'd switch one set of MTB pedals between bikes, but now I have M520s on the road bike, and M530s on the MTB so I can just get on either bike in the same boots.
Come the summer I'm sure the road shoes and pedals will come back out again, but only because I already own them. If I didn't have road shoes and pedals then I'm not sure I'd bother getting any now. I can happily do a 100+ mile road ride using the MTB boots and pedals. Like others have said, for me I'm not at a level where I need specialist road shoes for any performance benefit. I only took the road pedal plunge because the do look better on a road bike than MTB pedals. Or at least I was persuaded by bike shop owners that they do...
SPD on cx bike, SPD-SL on road bikes.
To be honest if I could go back I’d just use SPD on all. Much, much easier to clip in. And having both means you need 2 x everything. Ie 2 sets of summer shoes, 2+sets of winter boots,
Really IMO make little difference to speed it’s all in the aesthetic and comfort as road shoes look better on road bikes, and wider platform makes them more comfy over longer distance.
M520 are fine pedals that last forever, but pay a little more, M530 look better on a road bike, and give you a bigger platform to transfer power, to avoid hot spots on your feet.
To be honest if I could go back I’d just use SPD on all. Much, much easier to clip in. And having both means you need 2 x everything. Ie 2 sets of summer shoes, 2+sets of winter boots,
Really IMO make little difference to speed it’s all in the aesthetic and comfort as road shoes look better on road bikes, and wider platform makes them more comfy over longer distance.
M520 are fine pedals that last forever, but pay a little more, M530 look better on a road bike, and give you a bigger platform to transfer power, to avoid hot spots on your feet.
I'm glad I'm not the only one with spds on a road bike. The only issue I've got is getting overshoes that fit easily.
I bought some seal skinz years ago which fitted no problem. After they wore out I bought some Castellis but, christ, it's a mission to get them around the blocky treads in my Giant shoes!
I bought some seal skinz years ago which fitted no problem. After they wore out I bought some Castellis but, christ, it's a mission to get them around the blocky treads in my Giant shoes!
SPD on all bikes apart from the Tarmac. I do around 7000-8000 happy miles a year, outside, on SPD's & 500 miles a year on SL's......... Guess which ones I prefer...... ?! 
There's never any issues, SPD pedals and cleats go on forever and I can walk into a cafe normally and order coffee and cake...... I care not a jot what the pedals look like, or whether they are on the 'wrong kind of bike'....... I'm too old, fat & slow to worry about any of it......... Just get out and get the miles in, whatever you're wearing on your feet or whatever you're clipped into !
There's never any issues, SPD pedals and cleats go on forever and I can walk into a cafe normally and order coffee and cake...... I care not a jot what the pedals look like, or whether they are on the 'wrong kind of bike'....... I'm too old, fat & slow to worry about any of it......... Just get out and get the miles in, whatever you're wearing on your feet or whatever you're clipped into ! SPD-SL's on my road bike, crankbrothers candy (small platform) on the cx / mtb.
If i were buying again, I'd just stick another pair of candy on the road bike, wear touring shoes and bugger it. If I'm on the road bike though, I'm not usually getting off for a walk...that's the massive advantage of spd over spd-sl, much easier to walk in.
Not a massive difference in feel once pedalling.
If i were buying again, I'd just stick another pair of candy on the road bike, wear touring shoes and bugger it. If I'm on the road bike though, I'm not usually getting off for a walk...that's the massive advantage of spd over spd-sl, much easier to walk in.
Not a massive difference in feel once pedalling.
dura ace spd sl on posh bike - carbon road shoe
105 spd sl on the TT rig - carbon road shoe or lake triathlon shoe
spd on steel commuter - giro leather, sidi mtb or shimano winter boots depending on the season
mtb spd on mountain bike - sidi or winter boots
cheap generic flats on the turbo bike for genral garage gym work/HIIT
flats on the BMX
no pedals on the 1995 kona fire mountain at the moment but i would put standard spd
i would defo use spd sl on road bikes, i find them much more stable, but if you are going to be doing any walking apart from in the cafe then go spd, if you want to use normal shoes then the wide body spd are ok to use with them for short distances
another thing is if you do spin classes at the gym quite a lot have the double sided flats/spd so you could use your shoes in the class
hope this helps
105 spd sl on the TT rig - carbon road shoe or lake triathlon shoe
spd on steel commuter - giro leather, sidi mtb or shimano winter boots depending on the season
mtb spd on mountain bike - sidi or winter boots
cheap generic flats on the turbo bike for genral garage gym work/HIIT
flats on the BMX
no pedals on the 1995 kona fire mountain at the moment but i would put standard spd
i would defo use spd sl on road bikes, i find them much more stable, but if you are going to be doing any walking apart from in the cafe then go spd, if you want to use normal shoes then the wide body spd are ok to use with them for short distances
another thing is if you do spin classes at the gym quite a lot have the double sided flats/spd so you could use your shoes in the class
hope this helps
I did a year on Look Keos before fitting some SPDs that I’d got from a mate as an experiment.
For the sort of riding I do which involves faffing around in traffic before getting into the country and going to a pub or cafe I don’t think I’d go back.
The wide, double sided, pedals I’ve got give a stable platform and my shoes look like road shoes.
But I’m old and slow. If you’re a serious club cyclist you might take a different view.
For the sort of riding I do which involves faffing around in traffic before getting into the country and going to a pub or cafe I don’t think I’d go back.
The wide, double sided, pedals I’ve got give a stable platform and my shoes look like road shoes.
But I’m old and slow. If you’re a serious club cyclist you might take a different view.
Went to get a new set of M520's, £39.99, no I seem to remember them being £20 or so in my head but though they couldnt be, I checked back through my emails for my last purchase of them which was in 2014 and they were £16.45 delivered.
What has happened ?
I had a look on eBay and an advert for two pairs of used ones popped up, one pair of 520s and one pair of 540s for £25 including delivery.
Dont normally buy SH stuff but they look ok and they end up looking grotty pretty quickly anyway, will spend a happy hour cleaning the up in my man cave with the radio on and beer, and I have a spare pair.
Just annoying how prices have gone, hopefully will settle down post Covid as supply increases and demand drops back a bit, thou part of me hopes it doesnt and the bike takes a much bigger role in the UKs transport mix.
What has happened ?
I had a look on eBay and an advert for two pairs of used ones popped up, one pair of 520s and one pair of 540s for £25 including delivery.
Dont normally buy SH stuff but they look ok and they end up looking grotty pretty quickly anyway, will spend a happy hour cleaning the up in my man cave with the radio on and beer, and I have a spare pair.
Just annoying how prices have gone, hopefully will settle down post Covid as supply increases and demand drops back a bit, thou part of me hopes it doesnt and the bike takes a much bigger role in the UKs transport mix.
J4CKO said:
Went to get a new set of M520's, £39.99, no I seem to remember them being £20 or so in my head but though they couldnt be, I checked back through my emails for my last purchase of them which was in 2014 and they were £16.45 delivered.
What has happened ?
I had a look on eBay and an advert for two pairs of used ones popped up, one pair of 520s and one pair of 540s for £25 including delivery.
Dont normally buy SH stuff but they look ok and they end up looking grotty pretty quickly anyway, will spend a happy hour cleaning the up in my man cave with the radio on and beer, and I have a spare pair.
Just annoying how prices have gone, hopefully will settle down post Covid as supply increases and demand drops back a bit, thou part of me hopes it doesnt and the bike takes a much bigger role in the UKs transport mix.
It may be worth biding your time. I bought a pair of M520's, silver (unused) a few weeks ago for under £24 off Ebay - guy had clearly bought them and then changed his mind for whatever reason. Auction ended on a weekday. pedals were perfect and unboxed, with sealed-in-a-little bag cleats etc, in my spares cupbord now (and sorry, I don't want to sell them!)What has happened ?
I had a look on eBay and an advert for two pairs of used ones popped up, one pair of 520s and one pair of 540s for £25 including delivery.
Dont normally buy SH stuff but they look ok and they end up looking grotty pretty quickly anyway, will spend a happy hour cleaning the up in my man cave with the radio on and beer, and I have a spare pair.
Just annoying how prices have gone, hopefully will settle down post Covid as supply increases and demand drops back a bit, thou part of me hopes it doesnt and the bike takes a much bigger role in the UKs transport mix.
I now use 2 bolt SPD on all of my bikes. 2 sided, other than on my commute/errand cross bike, which has platform/SPD pedals.
I use Specialized MTB shoes with recessed cleats.
Adjusted correctly, they work fine for me, are easy to walk in, and in the event of road rage would be a bit more suitable whilst defending myself than skating about on road cleats.
I use Specialized MTB shoes with recessed cleats.
Adjusted correctly, they work fine for me, are easy to walk in, and in the event of road rage would be a bit more suitable whilst defending myself than skating about on road cleats.
Barchettaman said:
Those are pricey.
I know you’ve just bought them, but I would’ve gone for the platform/clip double sided MTB SPD pedals. It just makes the bike so much more versatile with a platform on one side. I love them.
(You can still buy an aftermarket clip-in platform for your pedals)
I have tried those in the past and they drove me insane flipping to the heavier side, never ever use flat pedals so am sticking with what I know. Have some flat ones I can swap in, 2 minute job, currently on my MTB as the kids use it.I know you’ve just bought them, but I would’ve gone for the platform/clip double sided MTB SPD pedals. It just makes the bike so much more versatile with a platform on one side. I love them.
(You can still buy an aftermarket clip-in platform for your pedals)
Now need some shoes, been wearing mine on the Turbo sans socks, bad mistake, smells like there is a dead Badger in the shed when I take them off.
Still think of them as my new cycling shoes, purchased in 2014.
Hmmm?
Clipping in? Clearly overrated. Because today, on my way to drop the road bike off at the shop for some work, I was wearing some Decathlon trail running shoes with my SPD pedals and I somehow managed to knock 10 seconds off my PR on a 5 mile Strava segment. And that's with me being 15 months older, and considerably less fit than I was when I set the previous PR. "Improved power transfer" my hairy 'arris...
https://www.strava.com/activities/4930182590/segme...
I might well go back to flat pedals on all of my bikes if this is the end result...
...in fairness though, I was hustling to get my bike into the shop before it closed (1pm daily closing during "lockdown" to let them get the jobs in the workshop done without pesky customers on the shop floor). The decision to run the 12 miles back to Bournemouth from Ringwood was, in hindsight, a very silly one, though. I think I'll drive the bike back when it's ready to collect.
Clipping in? Clearly overrated. Because today, on my way to drop the road bike off at the shop for some work, I was wearing some Decathlon trail running shoes with my SPD pedals and I somehow managed to knock 10 seconds off my PR on a 5 mile Strava segment. And that's with me being 15 months older, and considerably less fit than I was when I set the previous PR. "Improved power transfer" my hairy 'arris...
https://www.strava.com/activities/4930182590/segme...
I might well go back to flat pedals on all of my bikes if this is the end result...
...in fairness though, I was hustling to get my bike into the shop before it closed (1pm daily closing during "lockdown" to let them get the jobs in the workshop done without pesky customers on the shop floor). The decision to run the 12 miles back to Bournemouth from Ringwood was, in hindsight, a very silly one, though. I think I'll drive the bike back when it's ready to collect.
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