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Which type of pedal?

05.01.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 14 Comments

Last weekend at Road 1, as we were sitting around on a break between practicing maneuvers, I glanced around at the pedals mounted on the various bikes in the group. Some were Look-style road pedals, like mine, but several riders had mountain bike pedals on their road bikes.

A “road” style pedal is usually patterned after the style developed by Look, the French bike & equipment company. It’s shaped something like a cradle. The cleat has flanges at front and rear that fit inside the lips of the pedal. Once the cleat is engaged in the pedal, it’s a solid, stable connection between the foot and the bike.

Look pedal

The original Look pedal.

But there’s a major disadvantage to the Look-style pedal. They attach to the bottom of the shoe’s sole, which means you’re walking with heels down, toes in the air, balancing on top of a large cleat under the ball of the foot. Very ungainly, and no fun to walk in for any distance.

Mountain pedals, typified by the Shimano SPD, are somewhat smaller than the Looks. They feature two metal grippers that the cleat clicks into. SPD pedals aren’t as good looking as the Looks, but they’re only bicycle pedals, so who cares about looks(!) anyway.

SPD pedal

Shimano SPD pedal.

The SPDs certainly have one important advantage — the cleats are recessed into the sole of the shoe. This means the wearer can walk around normally in them. A biking acquaintance of mine, who looks for functionality first in all of his biking equipment, will wear only SPDs for this reason. He can hop off his bike and walk around normally inside a store or restaurant. He can’t figure out why anyone would want to wear “road” cleats.

Repeated scuffing of road cleats when walking also contributes to wear. They get torn up quickly, and it’s actually more difficult to disengage the cleat from the pedal than when they’re new.

I never really thought much about cleats and pedals before. I have a road bike, so I have the Look-style pedals and clunky cleats. That’s what you do, right? But after watching some other bikers over the weekend, I wonder. What’s your preference?

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Comments

  1. Jared says

    May 1, 2008 at 10:30 pm

    I started out with Looks on my Fuji…same reason as you…”it’s a road bike.” And they’re definitely the “right” pedal provided that you never get off your bike…they’re a “no compromises” riding pedal. Decent amount of float, a nice platform, easy to get into/out of, good cornering clearance…Looks are great….unless you want to walk.

    I currently use a set of Time XS pedals on my road bike. They’re more of a mountain pedal than the SPDs (I don’t actually consider the SPDs a mountain pedal since they’re horrible at shedding mud.) The Times are great, use a smaller cleat than the SPDs, have more float than SPDs and Looks. However they have a smaller platform and slightly less cornering clearance. I have heard some people develop “hot spots” on small platform pedals…personally I think this is more the shoe’s fault for being flexible…I’ve never developed hot spots even on some fairly long rides.

    My road bike is also my commuter/errand runner so being able to walk is pretty important to me. If I was using it only for long rides and the occasional coffee stop after/before a long ride I would go with Looks.

    Reply
  2. Mike Weiland says

    May 1, 2008 at 10:36 pm

    I have SPD pedals on my road bike, they aren’t the style you show, they are more like the cradle type typical of a road style. My road shoes are typical road shoes, not good for walking. On my mountain bike I have the exact pedals you have pictured. I have another pair of shoes, more of a commuter pair, I use these for mountain biking and when I’m commuting on my road bike. The beauty of this system is I can wear my commuter shoes on my road bike and mountain bike since they are both SPD. Plus I have SPD pedals on my spin bike so I can use my shoes on all 3 bikes. I’ve thought about upgrading to SpeedPlay pedals on my road bike, but then I wouldn’t be able to wear my road shoes on my spin bike.

    One advantage of the SPD pedals you have pictured is that they snap in on both sides. I really like this feature, there’s no messing and flipping over the pedal to get it to clip in.

    Reply
  3. thePig says

    May 2, 2008 at 4:32 am

    I much prefer the SPD pedals and use them on both my mountain bike and road bike. Mainly due to the ease of walking around.

    I thought that road pedals were more effective (perhaps stiffer) but in my case the equipment is not the limiting factor.

    Reply
  4. joel says

    May 2, 2008 at 9:13 am

    My straight roadie (’76 Raleigh Super Course) has the SPDs you pictured and my touring bike (Surly LHT) has “campus” pedals – SPD on one side and platform on the other. I went with SPD because I had campus pedals on my old MTB, which I commuted on before it was stolen, and didn’t feel like buying new shoes.

    Reply
  5. Nick V. says

    May 2, 2008 at 9:41 am

    Like Jared, I use Time ATACs. I use them on all of my bikes just so I don’t have to worry about having the right shoes with me. It’s easy for me because I came from the mountain bike side of the family. I like the float of the ATACs and they are easy to get into. They do take some learning to get out of because they require a twist of the ankle, however once you get it down its very nice. There are also a huge variety of shoes available for SPD compatible cleats. Everything from sandals to winter shoes to full on racing shoes.

    Cheers,

    Nick V.

    Reply
  6. Arlyn Asch says

    May 2, 2008 at 9:45 am

    I love my Speedplays. I like that they allow my foot to rotate without coming out. When I’m climbing out of the saddle, that’s a lot more comfy for me than having my foot in a fixed position.

    Also, they have a very low clearance which can be nice in tight cornering situations.

    Reply
  7. Charles Cushman says

    May 2, 2008 at 10:08 am

    On my vintage Bianchi (my race by up to two weeks ago) I had SPDs and wore the tennis shoe version of shoes. They are great for walking around in and look like normal shoes.

    For my new race bike I went with speedplays zeros. the neutral float feels great.

    Reply
  8. Murali says

    May 2, 2008 at 1:19 pm

    I first got clip-in pedals for my commuter bike, so I got SPD because I needed to be able to walk around (since the commute involved taking my bike on a train).

    Then I got a road bike, and I decided to use SPD so that I could use the same shoes on both bikes. Then I switched my commuter to campus-style SPD, so that I could wear non-cycling shoes occasionally.

    I recently got a higher-end road bike, and stuck with SPD (the original ones I had on the commuter). Again, so that I could use the same shoes on all my bikes. But also because SPD has worked so well for me over the years that I have no reason to change. I won’t win any style points, but function means much more to me.

    Reply
  9. dvicci says

    May 2, 2008 at 2:00 pm

    I have SPDs on my Kona mountain bike, and X1 Speedplays on my Torelli road. I prefer the feel of the Speedplays while in the saddle, but I’m not a fan of walking around in the cleats. I would probably still go with Speedplays in the future. I get the pedals and cleats for when I’m ON the bike, not when I’m off. They’re not so bad to walk in that I can’t deal with it for the few minutes of off-saddle time while I’m out riding.

    On the other hand, if I’m traveling somewhere, and the point is my destination, rather than the ride, I’ll probably take my Kona so I can walk more easily once I arrive.

    Reply
  10. Dana says

    May 2, 2008 at 5:58 pm

    I only use Look pedals. I love ’em!

    Reply
  11. John says

    May 2, 2008 at 6:15 pm

    I haven’t used “road bike” pedals in years because of the exposed cleats. And it may not be long before I dump the SPDs for something like Power Grips or good old toe clips and straps…

    Reply
  12. Bryan says

    May 2, 2008 at 9:02 pm

    I have the look style. I’ve never tried SPDs.

    Reply
  13. Lazy Cike Commuter says

    May 5, 2008 at 9:07 am

    I’m changing all my bikes over to Crank Brothers pedals.

    I have Quattros on the road bike, Candys on the touring/commuter bike, and still have my Time ATACs on the mountain bike.

    Using MTB cleats lets me do something very handy–when I ride to work, I can wear my shoes all day! Diadora Bike Patrol shoes aren’t quite dress shoes, but they are nice enough that no one minds.

    Reply

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