One Pedal Type for 3 Bikes? Opinions Requested

Newbie here. I searched for pedals and came up with a lot of names such as "SPD", "SPD-SL", "Eggbeaters", but no conclusion as to what brand I can use, or if what I am asking is even possible.

I am hoping to have 1 type of clipless attachment for these 3 bikes:

2008 Marin Mill Valley (on order)
2006 Giant Cypress DX (vacation bike out of state)
1988 Specialized Allez SE (still with the Breaking Away toeclips!)

I was thinking that there are different pedal types that use the same clip. Perhaps road pedals for the Allez, and road/MTB for the Mill Valley, while a platform pedal/clip combo for the Cypress?

Has someone done this or is this impossible? I would like to have a pair of shoes that I can use for all bikes AND be able to walk into a store without destroying their floors (like the old SIDI kangaroo leathers I have for the Allez). What have others done? And is there a better way?

Any advice on specific models within a brand line would be great, if you have a favorite.

Thank you in advance.

Your pedals in large part are driven by the shoe type. If you want to walk into stores, in essence, you need 'mtb' shoes that have rubber 'pontoons on either side of the cleat so you walk on the rubber part, not the cleat. Then the only cleat that will fit into that recess is 'SPD'(shimano pedaling dynamics)type cleat. Use a standard SPD pedal for the first two bikes mentioned and then a flat, platform pedal on one side and SPD on the other type for the last bike. Crank Brothers also has these types of pedal.

Peter, believe you forgot to mention Speedplay. Some people here use Speedplay "Frogs" with MTB shoes on their road bikes.

I think Crank Bro's pedals would be perfect for you. The cleats are cross compatible - you can use the mt bike cleats with the road pedals and vice versa. I have Candies on my cross bike and my utility bike and Quattros on all the other ones. I can use any pair of shoes with any bike no problems.

I do that with two bikes (soon to be three when we get a tandem).

I will make an assumption based on what you wrote, and please correct me if I'm wrong!

You want to use the same pair of shoes for all three bikes, and you want shoes that are reasonable to walk in.

My suggestion is to buy a nice, well fitting pair of mountain bike shoes as opposed to road shoes . With mountain bike shoes, you need a "two bolt" type of cleat and corresponding pedal. This is often referred to as "SPD-type" cleat, but Shimano SPD is only one type. Others are very similar in appearance and function, but not necessarily compatable with each other (some are, some arent' - you should check to make sure if you mix and match pedals). Brands to look at are:

Shimano
Ritchey
Crank Brothers
House brand of Nashbar, Performance, etc. and others -look for cleats with "two bolt pattern"

All three of the above have a variety of pedals, some called "road" pedals, some called "mountain bike" pedals, but the cleats (and therefore the shoes) will work on either. Frankly, for even the serious recreational rider, there is no functional difference between mountain pedals and road pedals and therefore you could literally have the same pedals on all three bikes. Also, in my opinion, for even the most serious recreational rider, there is no functional difference between good, well fitting mountain shoes and road shoes - therefore you wont' be losing anything there either.

For about 12 years I've been using Shimano SPD (two bolt) pedals and good quality mountain bike shoes on both my MTB and road bike. I happen to have single sided road pedals on the road bike and double sided pedals on the mountain bike, but both work exactly the same once I get clipped in. I have also used these shoes and cleats on a rental that had pedals that were non-clip platform on one side and clip-in SPD compatable on the other and they worked great.

I have ridden my road bike about 100 miles a week during the summer and have never had a shoe or cleat related problem with the mountain shoes.

Final advice: spend your time and money on the shoes. The type of pedal you ultimately pick is very trivial compared to fit and comfort of shoes.



These cleats sit inside the tread of a mountain bike shoe and therefore do not hit the ground when you walk

Shimano used to make a cleat with pontoons for road shoes. I have them: SM-SH71 is the number. I have the same pedals on two bikes.

When you walk, the rubber pontoon is on the ground and not the metal cleat.

I think these are obsolete now - they are getting hard to find.

Crank Brothers pedal models would be the top contender here. As pointed out, they all use a common cleat across their MTB, commuter and road models.

__________________
Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

+1. Plus, if you ever decide to get road shoes as well as MTB ones, Crank Bros make a cleat that will fit them. Thus you will have complete interchangeability between bikes and shoes.

Didn't forget Speedplay. He mentioned he wanted a platform type pedal/implied also with a clipless pedal 'feature', which SP doesn't have. I'm a big fan of Speedplay, just tryin' to answer the OP.

Thanx so much for the info. A lot to digest.

It seems that the Shimano and Crank Bros. seems to be the choices of the forums, perhaps with the Crank Bros. ahead by a bit.

When you say "eggbeaters", do you actually mean that EXACT model? I was hoping to wear normal shoes on occasion; especially with the Cypress and sometimes with the Mill Valley. Would the Crank Bros. work with that?

Thanx again. I'm going to the store to look around a bit and actually see what you are all talking about

You might be stuck with SPD's in that case - I think that's the only brand I've seen with pedals that are flat on one side and cleated on the other...
I've pedaled my CrankBro's pedals in regular shoes, just to get the bike from A to B for short distances, so its possible, but it wouldn't be comfortable to do it for long... the spring sticks up. (now Crank Bros cleats are relatively small and flat so if you are using mt bike shoes with pretty deep tread you might be able to walk around without banging the cleat on anything, but I wouldn't risk walking around on my nice tile floors with them on....)

Thanx for all your help

Just ordered:

SPD A520 - 2008 Marin Mill Valley
SPD M324 - 2006 Giant Cypress DX
SPD A520 - 1985 Specialized Allez SE

Not the most expensive pedals, but with some money left over I bought a pair of nice SIDI's ($239 for shoe's?!? Boy, I have been out of it for a while. But these shoes REALLY felt comfortable, more so than any of the others in the shops I went to. So i think I spent well)