hobkirk

It's time to replace my cycling shoes. The convenience of walking around in MTB shoes is fantastic. But I notice there are lots of very expensive cycling shoes for road riding. I assume

1. the soles are stiffer (more uncomfortable?)
2. and they are lighter (at 205# and 66 years old I'm not a weight weenie!).

So express yourself! What are the road shoe advantages? Thanx.

Chickenstrip

1-The shoes are often more stiff. This equals more comfort on the bike + better power transfer.

2- shoes and pedals are often, though not always lighter.

3- pedals are much thinner and therefore less likely to scrape if pedaling through a tight turn.

4- larger platform on most models allegedly offers better power transfer.

5- bling baby!

Stealthammer

Pedal-to-cleat contact area. Good MTB shoes can be as stiff as good Road shoes, but the larger contact area of a Road pedal reduces the chance of "hot spots" in your shoes and allow power to be applied over a larger area of the pedal. Also potentially better ground clearance in a turn.

lechat

You always hear about platform size, but Speedplay's are omnipresent. Despite the fact they don't allow discounting. I use Bebops, similar in design and style to Speedplays, but with 2 hole mounting. Most shoe mfr.s will offer corresponding mtb shoes for their high end rd. shoes. Same shoe, but with some rubber lugs attached. I'm using Lake MX401s, mtn version of their CX401 full carbon, heat moldable top end rd. shoe ( list is a crazy $4-500. I sniped them on eBay for around $80).

lungdoc

Separate the shoes from the pedals/cleats in terms of the argument. You can put either SPD (MTB) or SPD-SL (road) cleats/pedals on almost any shoe with adapters and you can get MTB shoes that are as stiff as road shoes. In addition to the answers above about the differences many road pedals allow more adjustment of float than SPD's. With a stiff enough shoe the argument about hot spots seems to lose strength as the entire sole should be taking the force. I use SPD's for my bikes due to ease of walking, even in a road shoe with an adapter the walking is easier, I am a recreational road rider who doesn't race however.

jdon

I am not discounting the stiffer, better power transfer, reduced hot spot stuff you always hear but, road shoes are normally better vented and lighter. No matter your weight and age, cooler and lighter is always a better ride.

johnny99

Stiffer soles are more comfortable if you pedal hard. Flexy soles will pinch your feet with every pedal stroke. For casual spinning, flexy soles are OK.

HMF

also, I've noticed that road pedals hold onto the cleat better, if you plan on doing any sprinting.

ultraman6970

IMO probably at your age wont do any difference. Since you are asking this is sure you have no intention to race neither raced before. So pretty much besides a couple of details somebody mentioned probably for your riding go with one of or the other wont make a single difference to pick one or the other system.

I really can't see you going more than 20 mph and to do that even with a pair of snicker and old style pedals can be done w/o any problem.

Bling bling is important anyways

Stealthammer

I use Shimano PD-540, PD-M780, PD-A530 or PD-A600 SPD or Ritchey WCS V4 pedals on all of my bikes because I can use the more casual MT-42 shoes that allow me to walk more normally, but they are quite a bit heavier than a higher end Road or MTB shoe. I also have a set of SIDI Dragon 2 SRS Carbon MTB shoes that I will put up against any road bike shoe for stiffness and light weight, and I also have a pair of SIDI Dominators as well as a pair of Bontrager RLs that have eight #7 sheet metal screws screwed into the soles for winter traction (think studded shoes). Both of these shoes are quite light as well, and a lot cheaper than the Dragon 2s.

I don't race anymore so I don't need the larger contact area of a Road pedal and prefer to be able to wear any of my shoes on any of my bikes, but if I were still racing I would definitely run SPD-SLs.

halfspeed

^This. The rest of the arguments are mostly crap.

calstar 

Stick with the mtbs, you know the convenience for walking(huge!) and you're saving what in weight, a few ounces? As far as stiffness goes 90%(at least) of riders couldn't tell the diff comparing the two, in the same price range, if blindfolded. A strong pro could probably smoke 99%(local club riders/racers included) of all riders over any distance wearing Tevas.

disclaimer: % cited are opinions only, not empirical data

Brian

hobkirk

OP Here -

Ah, I had neglected thinking about pedals! [Self-administered dope slap!]

Do SL* pedals keep your foot aligned straighter than MTB pedals?

This sport! I am a former lifetime runner, and I really miss the vastly lower demands of running for equipment and time.

--------------------
* I am using Shimano examples since that's what I happen to ride. I realize there are large groups advocating Look or Speedplay or whatever.

Stealthammer

You sir are an idiot. But thank you very much for contributing.

You can take your place under the bridge now.

Shimagnolo

+1

Stealthammer

u2.....

garciawork

I found no advantage at all using expensive shoes with expensive road pedals (both borrowed). I'll stick to my eggbeaters and super stiff Sworks MTB shoes.

Yo Spiff

I ride on what everyone seems to think of as "mountain" SPD's. They are just the shorter, original style SPD. The pedals I have on my road bikes that use them are most definitely road pedals. I'm sure the longer SPD-L pedals and shoes do have some advantage for racing and more serious performance, but I'm not a racer and I am frequently off the bike. So I prefer shoes that are roadish looking, but with plenty of tread on the bottom. My favorite shoes are Specialized Sport Mountain shoes. I recently wore out a 10 year old pair and after trying on a few different kinds, the current version of the same shoe was still the most comfortable. For even more casual use I have a pair of Garneau SPD sneakers that work great.

Another advantage is shoes and pedals are relatively inexpensive, so I can easily have all my bikes with a compatible system that all my shoes work with.

deacon mark

I use eggbeaters and I don't race but ride fine in them. I pass many in road shoes with all the bling. I use Shimano shoes m87s and they are stiff, eggbeaters are lighter than many road pedals. They can be had for less than $55 and I actually need the better material I ride all winter and my feet get cold easily.

halfspeed

Over the last decade, I've ridden extensively on two different MTB pedal systems and two different road pedal systems with more than a dozen different pairs of road and MTB shoes from low to high end. Based on that experience, it is my conclusion that alleged benefits of road systems including lower weight, increased stiffness, larger platforms and improved power transfer are illusory. It's nice to have firm retention in a tight pack riding at the edge of one's ability, but if that's not your bag, then maybe more practical concerns are worth considering.

If I were to give up racing and fast group rides, I'd be riding Speedplay Frogs all the time. As it is, I use them all winter and on some solo rides and more relaxed group rides in the summer.

Stealthammer

I started using LOOK clipless pedals both on-road and off-road in 1986 and have used just about every version of Shimano, LOOK, Time, Speedplay, Crank Bros, and even BeBops, both on-road and off-road and including FG and trials, and I have used a couple dozen shoes over the years from $40 casual Shimanos to $400 SIDIs. Right now I am using five different versions of SPD pedals and five different versions of SPD shoes including $50 casual Shimanos and $400 SIDIs, and I have given away or sold all of my clipless "road" pedals and shoes to establish a consistant and compatible collection. But, if I was racing again I have no doubt that I would buy road-specific pedals and shoes because even though they might only give me a 1-2% advantage over regular SPDs, thats enough to warrant using them.

I will agree with you that the perceived benefits of road systems such as including lower weight, increased stiffness, and improved power transfer are for the most part illusory due to available materials and designs, but the benefits of the larger platforms, fewer "hotspots", and better retension with clipless road designs are real. And of course noone else on thisthread has mentioned it, but the ground clearance advantage of road SPDs is indisputable. It might seem like a minor thing to some, but to anyone who races Crit will really appreciate the extra one of twu stroke they gain at both the entrance and exit of eah corner.

halfspeed

Can't agree there. The sole of the shoe is the platform, not the pedal.

One wonders why crit racers aren't all on Speedplay Zeros.

Stealthammer

If the shoes had absolutely no flex what so ever you would be right, but all soles will flex to some extent, even Carbon Fiber soles, so a larger contact area spreads the total pedaling load over a larger area. This reduces the amount of load transferred by each square mm of the cleat-to-pedal interface. Look at the cleat-to-pedal contact area of the two different systems. The shoe's sole attaches to a significantly smaller interface with SPD cleats than any road system. All you really need to do to understand this better is to use both system, then the different is easily felt.

Camilo

I don't disagree with the fact that road pedals have a measurablely larger contact patch. But, dont' agree with the highlighted statement. I regulary use both - SPD with good quality, stiff MTB shoes, and Time RXS with excellent Sidi Genius shoes with very stiff carbon/compsite soles. I cannot "easily" feel any difference, actually there is no functional difference for me. When either my RXS pedals or my Sidi shoes go tits up, I plan to just do away with the "road" pedals and equip all my bikes w/ SPD or some similar "two bolt" pedal.

Note: I'm not a racer, but a serious enthusiast rider. Probably like most road bike riders, even the most serious. Very few of us actually view road riding as a racing activity even though we ride a lot and spend a lot of money on the sport.

Now, I'm not saying the above lack of functional difference is true for you, but your statement implied that anyone could easily tell the difference if they were only to try both types of pedals. I'd be willing to make a friendly bet that if we polled those of us who actually use both with good shoes, the great majority would admit that there is no "easily" felt difference. But that's just a guess.

So, you may ask: if I feel this way, why do I own expensive road shoes and pedals? Three or four years ago, after having ridden road bikes since the 70s and having used SPD pedals and MTB shoes on road bikes since, I'm thinking, the mid-90s, I just wanted to try top of the line shoes and real road pedals. I really like the shoes and pedals, probably because they were also the best fitting and highest quality shoes I'd ever owned. Now that I have a high qualty and well fitting pair of MTB shoes as well, I now understand, it's the fit and quality of the shoes, not the style of shoes or pedals.

pallen

I didn't notice road shoes/pedal being any more expensive.

Totally agree about the shoes being the main thing. I switched to the road pedals in hopes to avoid the hotspots I was getting from my SPD mountain-style pedals. The issue went away after moving to road pedals, but I think the issue was mainly with the cheaper shoes with flexy soles I had started with and not a feature of mountain vs road pedals.

I also came unclipped a couple of times when cranking hard out of the saddle with my spd mountain shoes. Its not a pleasant experience. There is probably a way to adjust them so that doesn't happen, but after switching to road shoes, I have not experienced that.