Mountain or Road Clipless Pedals

bigwillfrisco said:

I have a road bike that I ride quite a bit. Should I get a set of mountain or road clipless pedals or shoes, may be a dumb question but Ive seen plenty of roadies with ATB pedals and shoes, so Im wondering wat the pros and cons of both are. Thanks. -Will

Walking in MTB shoes with the recessed cleat is much easier. However road shoes usually have a stiffer sole, so power transfer is better. If you are riding a lot on the road, I would look into road shoes/pedals first. Just my .02.

PeterF said:

Walking in MTB shoes with the recessed cleat is much easier. However road shoes usually have a stiffer sole, so power transfer is better. If you are riding a lot on the road, I would look into road shoes/pedals first. Just my .02.

+1

A good summary

mikesbytes said:

+1

A good summary

Thanks a lot guys.

I vote the opposite. Get a fairly lightly treaded mountain shoe and mountain style pedals.

The shoes I got are Lakes, and I forget the model, but on their web site they are listed as trekking shoes or something like that. They have less aggressive tread than their other mountain shoes, but the cleats are still recessed.

Unless you are racing, they are probably plenty stiff.

But in summary, the real trade-offs:

Road shoes are a litttle lighter.
Road shoes are a little more aero.
Road shoes are a little stiffer.
Road shoes make you walk like a dork.
Mountain shoes look more like normal shoes.

So the choice is to gain 0.1 mph or walk normally... another choice is to be seen as cool by roadies and a geek by non-roadies or the inverse.

If you never walk in the shoes, the answer is easy.

If you walk in the shoes frequently the answer is easy.

If you are like the rest of us, somewhere in the middle, then it is really personal taste.

I know this probably doesn't help, but it really is a matter of taste based on the trade-offs.

As Mikebytes pointed out to me previously, by going with Crank Brother's pedals, you can interchange b/n your MTB shoes, road shoes, road pedals (CB Quattro) and MTB pedals (standard CB egg beater), and do any combination.

Pretty neat and logical strategy if you want the flexibility.

I've just replaced the SPD pedals from my road bike with a pair of Quattro and have been happy pairing it with my existing MTB shoes. Should I decide at some later point that I need to change, then it'll just be the cost of a pair of road shoes. 😉

The other piece of good news is, I've now got rid of the last Shimano component on my road bike. 😄

sogood said:

As Mikebytes pointed out to me previously, by going with Crank Brother's pedals, you can interchange b/n your MTB shoes, road shoes, road pedals (CB Quattro) and MTB pedals (standard CB egg beater), and do any combination.

Pretty neat and logical strategy if you want the flexibility.

I've just replaced the SPD pedals from my road bike with a pair of Quattro and have been happy pairing it with my existing MTB shoes. Should I decide at some later point that I need to change, then it'll just be the cost of a pair of road shoes. 😉

The other piece of good news is, I've now got rid of the last Shimano component on my road bike. 😄

Nice job on going with 0 shimaNo. My road bike is all Campy, but I'm trying to go Shimano-less on my MTB too. Not so easy, but worth a shot...

PeterF said:

Walking in MTB shoes with the recessed cleat is much easier. However road shoes usually have a stiffer sole, so power transfer is better. If you are riding a lot on the road, I would look into road shoes/pedals first. Just my .02.

I agree with your logic but disagree with your conslusion.

I think that what it comes down to is how you use your bike. If you're the kind of person who rides 70 miles without putting a foot down, road shoes and pedals are clearly the way to go. If you're a restaurant-to-restaurant rider (like me) recessed SPD shoes and clips ROCK.

Retro Grouch said:

I agree with your logic but disagree with your conslusion.

I think that what it comes down to is how you use your bike. If you're the kind of person who rides 70 miles without putting a foot down, road shoes and pedals are clearly the way to go. If you're a restaurant-to-restaurant rider (like me) recessed SPD shoes and clips ROCK.

+1. We gots lots o' riders here in the Tucson area, and often you can tell the tilt of a given group on a ride by their shoes. It's pretty common to see the casual groups sporting mountain shoes or touring shoes....even those Tiva-like sandal shoes with cleats. Such shoes fit their casual rides with stops at coffee shops perfectly.

PeterF said:

Nice job on going with 0 shimaNo. My road bike is all Campy, but I'm trying to go Shimano-less on my MTB too. Not so easy, but worth a shot...

not so tough, either -- the only Shim on my bike now are the hubs, which i could have avoided simply by buying a different set of wheels. i chose a little economy in an area that i don't have a problem w/ Shim. i will NEVER run a Shim drivetrain on my mtb's (SRAM ROCKS!), but the hubs have been good to me. azonic outlaws are on he list for next year,...