benefits of spd pedals on mountain bike...?
Discussion
been doing a fair bit of mountain biking and was thinking about getting some spd pedals for it. what are the benefits? one thing i can think of is that it's easier to keep feet on the pedals! i've done some really rocky sections or when i ride down steps i find it hard to keep my feet on the pedals..i guess i wouldn't have that problem with spds? what about making it easier to ride up hills etc...more efficiency? is it worth getting double sided pedals, or could i just get away with the cheaper, one sided clip ins? when i used to have a road bike i used cleats which were only one sided and never had a problem, but spds look odd 
they easy to use and adjust? would start them off quite loose until i get more confidence.
they are a lot of money, inc. shoes you look at £100 or so minimum, is it a worthwhile upgrade?
cheers.
they easy to use and adjust? would start them off quite loose until i get more confidence.they are a lot of money, inc. shoes you look at £100 or so minimum, is it a worthwhile upgrade?
cheers.
I've been using SPuDs for over 10 years off road.
Would never go back to flats for XC/Trails/Single Track.
As soon as you are confident, you can pedal with more power, lift with your feet.
I found, at first I felt a bit unsafe on more technical sections, but experience lets you use the connection with the bike to your benefit.
It's easy to bale out with SPuDs too.
Would never go back to flats for XC/Trails/Single Track.
As soon as you are confident, you can pedal with more power, lift with your feet.
I found, at first I felt a bit unsafe on more technical sections, but experience lets you use the connection with the bike to your benefit.
It's easy to bale out with SPuDs too.
smifffymoto said:
Efficiency,security and alot easier up hill.Once you get used to them you will wonder why you didn't get them earlier
In a nutshel yes 
There is one caveat though; it takes a while to build enough confidence to jump and or do skids 'n' s
t with them.Best start with them very loose so that should the need arise, you can pull out in the normal way you'd extract your foot from a flat pedal.
If you want a bit more float than SPDs, I can recommend Time Atac pedals (I have the ROC Carbon S Model), they have loads of float and it's independent of the spring tension, so you'll get more freedom without the worry of unintentionally unclipping at the wrong moment, which can happen if you back off the spring tension on SPDs. They are a bit more expensive than SPDs though.
gradeAfailure said:
I'll echo what's been said - I hate riding offroad without SPuDs, they're totally worth it. Like has been mentioned, just run them fairly loose to start with, and the M520s from Shimano are cheap enough and require virtually no servicing.
Agreed, I go for cheap Shimanos. Cheap to replace.Mainly, I find with SPDs you can go faster (as you have the pulling motion on the upstroke as well as the pushing motion on the downstroke), and it also just makes you a better rider because you cannot just easily put your foot down on a technical trail - instead you actually have to ride the trail.
Bad point is that if you're going at high speed and don't have time to avoid something in your path, for example a rock, and hit it, you quickly get that "oh st I'm going to fall off and there's nothing a I can do about it" because you're attached to the pedals. They do (usually) come off when you crash though.
Bad point is that if you're going at high speed and don't have time to avoid something in your path, for example a rock, and hit it, you quickly get that "oh s
t I'm going to fall off and there's nothing a I can do about it" because you're attached to the pedals. They do (usually) come off when you crash though.Just thought I'd add my input here!
I was very sceptical about SPD's and after buying a pair of decent shoes, I gave them a go.
To begin with, I tried with a pair of Shimano M520's which were utter crap. I felt too locked in and although I was massively more efficient up the mountains, I lost a huge amount of confidence coming down hills and ended up coming off my bike several times.
I then ended up buying a pair of Crank Brother Mallet 2's and they are absolutely superb. I find them much more comfortable than the SPD's. They also clip in easier and the large platform offers masses of support when caning it down steep trails.
It's got all the benefits of SPD's but with more movement (therefore better balance), an easier clip-in mechanism (for me anyway), and a nice large platform to work on.
They also look the part too!
Just thought I'd add that shoes and pedals were a £200 investment but seriously worth it. It's pricey but when you're overtaking everyone up the hills where before you didn't, you realise what the fuss was all about!
These are the shoes I got:
I was very sceptical about SPD's and after buying a pair of decent shoes, I gave them a go.
To begin with, I tried with a pair of Shimano M520's which were utter crap. I felt too locked in and although I was massively more efficient up the mountains, I lost a huge amount of confidence coming down hills and ended up coming off my bike several times.
I then ended up buying a pair of Crank Brother Mallet 2's and they are absolutely superb. I find them much more comfortable than the SPD's. They also clip in easier and the large platform offers masses of support when caning it down steep trails.
It's got all the benefits of SPD's but with more movement (therefore better balance), an easier clip-in mechanism (for me anyway), and a nice large platform to work on.
They also look the part too!
Just thought I'd add that shoes and pedals were a £200 investment but seriously worth it. It's pricey but when you're overtaking everyone up the hills where before you didn't, you realise what the fuss was all about!
These are the shoes I got:
Edited by beanbag on Monday 25th May 15:20
Edited by beanbag on Monday 25th May 15:25
Darkslider said:
I use grippy flat pedals and 5.10 climbing shoes. All the benefits of SPDs and none of the downfalls 
However my bike doesn't go up hills so that may affect matters.
I was going to say....SPD's make a massive difference going up hills. It's astonishing what they do for you....However my bike doesn't go up hills so that may affect matters.
beanbag said:
Just thought I'd add my input here!
I was very sceptical about SPD's and after buying a pair of decent shoes, I gave them a go.
To begin with, I tried with a pair of Shimano M520's which were utter crap. I felt too locked in and although I was massively more efficient up the mountains, I lost a huge amount of confidence coming down hills and ended up coming off my bike several times.
I then ended up buying a pair of Crank Brother Mallet 2's and they are absolutely superb. I find them much more comfortable than the SPD's. They also clip in easier and the large platform offers masses of support when caning it down steep trails.
It's got all the benefits of SPD's but with more movement (therefore better balance), an easier clip-in mechanism (for me anyway), and a nice large platform to work on.
They also look the part too!
Just thought I'd add that shoes and pedals were a £200 investment but seriously worth it. It's pricey but when you're overtaking everyone up the hills where before you didn't, you realise what the fuss was all about!
These are the shoes I got:
An odd combination of DH pedals and race shoes, if you don't mind me saying so!I was very sceptical about SPD's and after buying a pair of decent shoes, I gave them a go.
To begin with, I tried with a pair of Shimano M520's which were utter crap. I felt too locked in and although I was massively more efficient up the mountains, I lost a huge amount of confidence coming down hills and ended up coming off my bike several times.
I then ended up buying a pair of Crank Brother Mallet 2's and they are absolutely superb. I find them much more comfortable than the SPD's. They also clip in easier and the large platform offers masses of support when caning it down steep trails.
It's got all the benefits of SPD's but with more movement (therefore better balance), an easier clip-in mechanism (for me anyway), and a nice large platform to work on.
They also look the part too!
Just thought I'd add that shoes and pedals were a £200 investment but seriously worth it. It's pricey but when you're overtaking everyone up the hills where before you didn't, you realise what the fuss was all about!
These are the shoes I got:
Worth pointing out that Crank Bros stuff wears out pretty quickly - I can't recall how many pairs of Eggbeaters I've got through in the last five years. I still go back to them though - they work well regardless of mud levels, and I never feel as figidly attacjed as I do with Shimano stuff.
To the OP: Merlin Cycles will sell you a pair of basic Eggbeaters for £35 or so, by the way. They work just as well for general riding as Mallets or Candys and are a bit lighter as well.
I was recommended SPD's by some friends after watching them take off up a hill! I finally invested in the pedals with cages (Shimano) and shoes about 5 months ago. What a difference! Those hills where I dropped to the granny gear 
are no more!
Nonetheless I've had some moments (main crank grounding on a tree stump - instant dead stop, wrong gear on a new trail - grab a handy tree when stopping only to find it's dead and collapses)when you just can't break out quick enough but no serious injuries.
are no more! Nonetheless I've had some moments (main crank grounding on a tree stump - instant dead stop, wrong gear on a new trail - grab a handy tree when stopping only to find it's dead and collapses)when you just can't break out quick enough but no serious injuries.
beanbag said:
To begin with, I tried with a pair of Shimano M520's which were utter crap. I felt too locked in and although I was massively more efficient up the mountains, I lost a huge amount of confidence coming down hills and ended up coming off my bike several times.
So what you mean is... You were utter crap. 
I've ridden SPD's since starting mtb'ing again (from a 10 yr BMX stint) last November. Last week I decided to buy some DX flatties so that I can get back into some freeriding and general larking around whilst it's fairly dry out.
Stupidly, over the weekend I agreed to go out with my 'XC racing whippet' of a friend for a hoon at Swinley, and my god did I suffer not having SPD's.
Going back onto flatties, you firslty notice how 'unsecure' your feet feel on the bike with your feet slipping around everywhere. Then, once you've got used to your feet slipping around on dh runs, you notice you can no longer go up hills!
It's odd how such a simple thing like SPD's can improve your effiency!
Stupidly, over the weekend I agreed to go out with my 'XC racing whippet' of a friend for a hoon at Swinley, and my god did I suffer not having SPD's.
Going back onto flatties, you firslty notice how 'unsecure' your feet feel on the bike with your feet slipping around everywhere. Then, once you've got used to your feet slipping around on dh runs, you notice you can no longer go up hills!
It's odd how such a simple thing like SPD's can improve your effiency!
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