Tell me why I need road pedals!

[Globalti]

I'm not new to cycling but newish to road riding. I have SPDs on my MTB and my road bike but the limitations of these pedals on a road bike are becoming apparent.

The rubber soles of the shoes squeak on the pedals and when I'm out of the saddle and pulling upwards I can feel the soles of the shoes deforming downwards. Also I find that over a long spell in the saddle the outside of my left foot begins to ache, which I think may be due to lack of support.

So my long term plan is to get some road shoes and pedals. Any thoughts, hints, suggestions? Will I have to walk around with my toes in the air or is there a cleat, which is recessed for walking like an SPD cleat?

 

[Speck]

I use Specialized Taho's when on my Hybrid but use Specialized Comp on my road bike. A lot stiffer

http://www.primera-bournemouth.co.uk/Template.aspx?prodID=2846

 

[domtyler]

When I bought my first pair of road pedals and carbon soled shoes it was an absolute revelation and indeed a revolution of my cycling; coming from rubber soles and spd's. Whichever brand or model you go for you can be sure that little you ever do in the future will have such a massive impact.

 

[DaveM]

Get yourself a good pair of MTB shoes with stiff soles which will be the same as road shoes with stiff soles, with the added benefit that you will be able to walk in them.

 

[jasper]

I used to use Look pedals but the cleats wore out when trying to walk/hobble in them. So now I use Ultegra SPD-R pedals and the shoes I wear are Carnac Impact. The soles are very stiff, well supported. With these shoes, it's not a case of just bolting on the type of cleat to suit your pedal, but also, part of the sole to accept the various cleat types. I'm not sure you can get these anymore though but they're the comfiest shoe I've had and great for Tri/Duathlon transitions as they fasten with one velcro strap. I'll throw some pics up later.

 

[Baggy]

Get yourself a good pair of MTB shoes with stiff soles which will be the same as road shoes with stiff soles, with the added benefit that you will be able to walk in them.

Seconded. That said, my carbon soled MTB shoes (similar to Speck's) are pretty difficult to walk in, but at least I don't feel as if I'm going to slip over.

 

[shimano]

I'm even less convinced to go clipless now - after today's unrepairable blowout I had a 5 mile walk, doesn't sound like that would have been viable in 'proper' cycling shoes.

 

[gavintc]

I'm even less convinced to go clipless now - after today's unrepairable blowout I had a 5 mile walk, doesn't sound like that would have been viable in 'proper' cycling shoes.

You are missing the point. SPD shoes generally have the cleat recessed and allow normal walking.

The traditional road pedal does not and sits proud. Some shoes have a built up heel to allow a less than penguin styled walk and Look Keo cleats can be protected with a cleat cover allowing short distance walking.

If walking is your thing, have a good look at the SPD option - much better than flat pedals or those silly strap things.

 

[Globalti]

Er, I don't plan to do much walking when out on the road bike. If it became truly unrideable (something broken and not repairable/bodgeable) I would probably call out the family breakdown service or a taxi.

 

[wafflycat]

I used to use Look pedals but the cleats wore out when trying to walk/hobble in them. So now I use Ultegra SPD-R pedals and the shoes I wear are Carnac Impact. The soles are very stiff, well supported. With these shoes, it's not a case of just bolting on the type of cleat to suit your pedal, but also, part of the sole to accept the various cleat types. I'm not sure you can get these anymore though but they're the comfiest shoe I've had and great for Tri/Duathlon transitions as they fasten with one velcro strap. I'll throw some pics up later.

On such cleats you can buy cleat covers, which not only make it easier to walk, they protect the cleat from wear. Of course, I happen to have Look footwear where the cleat is recessed into the sole of the shoe

 

[gavintc]

On such cleats you can buy cleat covers, which not only make it easier to walk, they protect the cleat from wear. Of course, I happen to have Look footwear where the cleat is recessed into the sole of the shoe

Waffly - are these Look Keo cleat compatable shoes with a recess? If so, this seems like an interesting option.

 

[wafflycat]

Waffly - are these Look Keo cleat compatable shoes with a recess? If so, this seems like an interesting option.

Alas no. What I've got is an old discontinued model. They were being sold off at Mildenhall Rally a few years ago at... £6 a pair (including the cleats), so I bought three pairs! They'll keep me going for years and years... IMO Look made a huge mistake when they didn't keep this sort of footwear going.

 

[GrahamG]

It's the shoes that are the issue, not the pedals. Whilst road pedals are nice, in practical terms (i.e. if using for commuting, touring, urban cycling with lots of stop/start etc.) they don't score too highly in my book, opinions vary of course. I'm going back to mtb pedals on my road bike as I found myself avoiding making certain journeys by bike (like the stop/start hilly city journeys) where single sided cleats are a nightmare.

 

[John the Monkey]

The plus of road shoes/pedals/cleats for me is the larger area of the cleat - the force seems to be spread more widely, and I find them much more comfortable on rides of an hour plus. I don't find them hugely more comfortable that SPD on short rides, but I prefer the feel of them.

I do wear SPDs in the week because my commute involves a couple of longish walks I wouldn't like to do in road shoes.

 

[wafflycat]

Personally, I can't get on with spds. The cleat area is too small for me to be comfortable using - firstly it's so small I never got the hang of locating cleat to pedal accurately quickly. Plus with the force being located in such a small area I ended up with 'hot foot' which was darned painful. Look pedals, on the other hand I've been comfortable with from day 1. Bigger cleat means bigger area the force is pushed through - so no hot foot and I've never had problems clipping in and out qucikly and reliably.

On the other hand, my offspring switches between spds, Shimano spd-sl and Speedplays with no hassle at all.