SPD or SPD-SL on Road Bikes

[Wrightstuff]

I was looking for a new pair of cycling shoes for my road bike, and I currenly have SPD pedals on my bike. I do lots of km's per year and don't have any real leg problems. I was thinking of getting some SIDI shoes and getting an adapter for SPD, but SIDI nolonger do this for their road shoes.

I was told that on a road bike if you use SPD pedals, it may cause knee and ankle and Achilles problems and there would not be one pro cyclist using this pedal system.

Has anybody encounted this as a serious problem, and if they went to SPD-SL did it overcome it,or is is this a part of cycling mythology ?


Whats the concensus among us pain junkies ?

 

[sogood]

Worth considering Crank Brother's range of pedals based on their egg beater design. Their Quattro is specifically designed for roadies while Candy can also be a consideration.

I have just converted after some poor experience with SPDs. CB pedals are really easy to use. And the two sided Quattro felt safe in stop start city traffic.

 

[Eden]

I started out with mt bike shoes and spd's on my road bike (was doing mostly touring an wanted to be able to walk easily). I started racing and got a pair of road shoes, but stuck with my spd's for a little while. Other than that I didn't like walking on the tiny and metal cleats and that I felt that racing I really could use a bigger platform for sprinting and such I didn't have any problems. For the mentioned reasons I switched to Crank Bros Quattros and I really like them. The cleats are totally interchangeable with all of the pedals so I can use the same shoes with my Quattros or with my Candies, and the way the cleats attach means the stack height is the same on all my shoes so I can use my road shoes or mt bike shoes with either pedal too. This comes in handy during the winter as when it is nasty wet and cold I can put on the mt bike shoes with a pair of waterproof socks, plus a pair of wool socks (which would never fit into my road shoes) and lastly my shoe covers and be very very comfy.

 

[steve46au]

Third vote for the Quattros

 

[sogood]

I think CB has an image problem with the roadie crowd. People associate them with MTBs and implicate the Quattros aren't road enough. After bitting the bullet, I really like the simplicity of their mechanism and their ease of use. I feel that I can accelerate off quickly and then wiggle a bit to clip in. None of those slow and very deliberate clip-in movements seen with all the other pedals. The alternate dual sided road pedal being Speedplay but the cleats are more complex and has a reputation for needing higher levels of maintenance.

Well, being a new convert, will see how it works out over the next few thousand ks. In the meantime, very satisfied.

 

[1id10t]

Another vote for the Quattros. I have Eggbeaters, Candy and Mallets on my other bikes and had Eggbeaters on the road bike as well. For a short period I decided to try SPD-SLs for the larger platform. I ended up giving them the flick. I'm just too used to being able to clip in without flipping the pedal over. Each bike can be used for commuting so getting clipped in quickly was an issue for me. That's not to say you can't with SPD-SLs, Looks or any other system but it's what you're used to.
Ended up buying Quattros and love them.

 

[sogood]

The only annoying thing with the Quattro is the size of their inboard bearing cover. Why is it so big? I ended up having to trim off some of the plastic on my Sidi MTB shoes to bring down the Q factor. Why couldn't they make them smaller?

 

[mikesbytes]

Good shoes are more important than the pedals. If you are paying for expensive Sidi shoes, then add a cheap pair of pedals to the price. Look or Time or Crank bros something, or Speedplay or SPD-SL or whatever. Plenty of bargains from online shops and ebay.

 

[thomas_cho]

I am currently using SPD-SLs, and like 1diot, I found that I have to flip the pedals to clip in. Sometimes, I have to stumble off when the lights change, as I miss clipping in first time.

I remember using the old Look pedals, and never had to flip the pedals as they were weighted such that I could just step into them.

Anyone used the Look KEOs? Are they weighted the same way?

I also use SPDs on the commuter, and they are dead easy to clip in, and with recessed cleats, its quite convinient to walk in the shoes.

 

[artemidorus]

I was looking for a new pair of cycling shoes for my road bike, and I currenly have SPD pedals on my bike. I do lots of km's per year and don't have any real leg problems. I was thinking of getting some SIDI shoes and getting an adapter for SPD, but SIDI nolonger do this for their road shoes.

I was told that on a road bike if you use SPD pedals, it may cause knee and ankle and Achilles problems and there would not be one pro cyclist using this pedal system.

Has anybody encounted this as a serious problem, and if they went to SPD-SL did it overcome it,or is is this a part of cycling mythology ?


Whats the concensus among us pain junkies ?

You would be unlucky to experience problems with long-term SPD use on the road. I know many people who do a lot of km on them.
Having said that, wide-platform pedals are more comfortable and secure. I use SPS-SL, and am very happy with them. Avoid the cheapest (-540) pedals, as they don't last long.

 

[sogood]

Avoid the cheapest (-540) pedals, as they don't last long.

M540 is actually their mid-range. M520 is the cheapest. Then there's XTR above M540.

 

[artemidorus]

M540 is actually their mid-range. M520 is the cheapest. Then there's XTR above M540.

I was talking about spd-sl. the 540 is the 105-level one, and the lowest quality.

 

[Wrightstuff]

There are some good ideas coming from your replys. I hadn't considered the CB quatro pedals, but I used to use CB candy's on my mountain bike and found that the bearings in the pedal didn't last very long, (<6000 km) so moved back to SPD on the mountain & when I got my road bike also went onto the SPD pedals. I was told by the LBS that I will wear out before the M959 pedals will. I have done lots of k's with the SPDs on the road bike and had no leg/ankle problems.

So I was surprised when I told the comments about the SPD's possibly causing leg problems as a thought any very experienced road cyclist would have had a word while riding along or my LBS would have mentioned it.

So here are my choices

• Stay with the SPD pedals and get good MTB shoes.
• Road shoes and change pedals.

Don't know what I will do yet. Both are good systems.

 

[mikesbytes]

Sogood, SPD vs Betta (or whatever it was you rode on yesterday). Drop some feedback.

 

[sogood]

Sogood, SPD vs Betta (or whatever it was you rode on yesterday). Drop some feedback.

My new pedal is a pair of Crank Bros Quattro 4Ti. The biggest benefit from my point of view is in the ease of clip-in and clip-out. I find that the bigger two sided platform permitted a quick non-slip step and push out, and a little wiggle later I am properly clipped in. So it's great for traffic stops and up-hill starts. As for clipping out, there's no snap as felt with SPDs. You feel it and just clip out silently. Otherwise, I didn't find any significant difference in terms of that so called stability and hotspot issue that people often talk about. Looking at the Quattro and SPDs (M540 and A515), all three had contact areas on either side of cleat. So it's either a case that my feet aren't big enough to highlight those issues or I don't generate enough power for them to show up.

A few other points,
- I had to shave a bit of plastic off my MTB shoes to accommodate the largish inboard bearing cover of the Quattro. It's no big issue and doesn't affect my ability to walk. This is obviously a non-issue for road shoes users.
- 4Ti has a 85kg rider weight limit. I still have a nice margin of safety there.
- I have read reports of bearing failure with the Quattro but I am comforted by the fact that I can easily get replacement bearing rebuild kits from my LBS. Compare that with the M540 which failed within the first two months of use along with two poor warranty repairs.
- I understand that it's virtually impossible to pull out of a CB pedal accidentally as the system self-tightens the harder you pull on it. In consideration for the number of people who had significant accidents as a result of pull-outs during sprints, I think CB is much better in this regard.

 

[Dave80]

When I got my new bike I made the switch from SPD to SPD-SL. For the first month there was a bit of swearing as i learnt the new clip in method. I now get in 90% of the time on the first shot and am almost at the stage were no thought is required (after four months). I say go the SPD-SL and be aware that some practise will be required.

Do not be like a friend and refuse to unclip if at all possible - practise makes perfect. The 'problem' of having to flip the pedal isn't as much of an issue as expected. I think its weighted to hang at a certain angle that means it rarely goes pear shapped and if it does a simple flick gets it the right way up in no time. I find the 'positive' click from the SPD-SL better than the SPD click in - I can remember a few occasions when I thought I was in on my old SPD bike but when force was applied my foot came flying out - not a very fun experience. The audible click from the SPD-SL leaves no confusion.