Toadmeister

Flat pedals for me. CrankBrothers Stamp 7s.

i used to run SPD pedals, but find the flats much more versitle.

qwkteg125

I purchased shimano pd-eh500 dual sided pedals and love them. I can run clipless on longer rides and still putt around the city with family or run quick errands on the platform side. The platform side has screw in pins that grip your shoes really well.

Wilbur76

Same here. Running for a month now with Giro Cylinder shoes for longer rides but local cafe stops just cruising in my Vans. Super versatile. Also slightly lighter in weight vs comparable Issi pedals (although I love their Thumps on my vintage mtn bike).

Toadmeister

Gotta laugh at myself, did the Snaggy Ridge 105 (I actually did the timid 25-miler) today in Tipton, Iowa and forgot my Five-Ten cycling shoes!

Good thing I'm using flat pedals, Crankbrothers Stamp 7s as I was able to ride in my hicking shoe/boots I'd worn out the door.

On about mile 18/25 I noticed my left metatarsal being angry at me. I adjusted my pedaling style some and finished without it getting too bad. Took some ibuprofen and feels fine tonight.

So a lesson in versatility for me and feeling stupid for being forgetful 🤪

pbass

Being able to make little micro-adjusments to foot position is to me the biggest feature of flats. Especially for long days on mixed terrain. That benefit greatly outweighs any benefit I ever felt from clipless.

sean.hwy

assimo power pedals for the road bike.

flat pedals for the gravel bike. RaceFace Chester pedals and 510 or shimano flat pedal shoes.

pbechard

I've always been a Crank Bros Candy rider on all my bikes - MTB, Gravel and Road! One set of shoes as well - keeps it simple and cost effective.

Cyclist0100

I'm another happy user of the Trailcross shoes. I can confirm that very aggressive pins in your flat pedals will eat into the soles, but less agressive (yet still grippy) pins work well. I'm currently using the Trailcross shoes with Shimano Saint flat pedals and really like this setup. I left most of the less aggressive pins in place, but replacing only two of the center pins with more aggressive pins adds a significant amount of grip with minimal impact to the Trailcoss soles. Even in wet weather this setup keeps my feet planted on the pedals.

Kapusta

My favorite flat pedal I have tried (other than very expensive TMACs) is the Diety Deftrap. Ginormous, flat, platform that is not beveled at the leasing and trialing edges, so you get more usable real estate towards the back of the pedal when it helps the most IMO. Also, they focused more on making a "true" concave platform with no nubs or axle pocking up in the middle like so many other thin and "supposedly" concave pedals do.. The only downside is being a bit thicker and without the beveled leading edge, they are a little more strike-prone, but this is really a non-issue for gravel riding. They grip really well.

I tried one pair, and and I just ordered another pair for my gravel/road bike.

As far as shoes go... I've been having mixed results with mtb-oriented flat pedal shoes for road/gravel. I have a pair of Ride Concept Hellions, which are on the stiff side for this kind of shoe, and while they work great for MTB, I am finding these are not stiff enough for long, constant pedaling. I get a pain on the middle of my foot. I have ended up going with some old hiking shoes as they are much stiffer under the arch of my foot. They have pretty worn down sole lugs, so they grip OK, but nothing like the Hellions (or probably any true MTB shoe). I may try something really stiff like the Northwave Clan next.

A large pedal like the Deftrap can help offset a softer soled shoe to some extent.

FWIW, was been a clipless user on the road for 20 years. It is in the past few years that I have transitioned to flats because... well clip-less was just not adding anything for me, and I learned that not all flats or shoes are the same.

Kapusta

Love frogs too, but can you get them anymore?

KJ43

I'm using Shimano XTR pedals and Specialized S-Works Recon shoes. I can't recommend this combo enough. Comfortable for long miles and the stiff sole really prevents hot spots on the soles of my feet and puts the power down.

xseal

+1 ....

DomaneS5

I don't know, but the last time I bought Frogs was in 2018. I have 4 sets of them. Nashbar had them for sale at that time. I haven't checked for Frogs anywhere for a while. If Frogs are discontinued, I hope replacement cleats are still available.

Kapusta

This is all a bit of a thread derailment, as the OP is not asking about clipless, he is asking about flats. But since it came up......

Both the pedals and the cleats are pretty hard to find right now. Speedplay discontinued the Frogs earlier this year. I thought the cleats were supposed to still be available, but that could just be a COVID-related delay.

SwampGrinder

Can't figure out how to include originally quoted message, but it is gwkteg125's post about loving his Shimano pd-eh500 dual sided pedals that allow you to use clipless and flat shoes (or any regular shoe)

Same here as well. Have been running them on my gravel bike for about two months. And have gone all-in with Shimano for the shoes as well: Shimano AMS shoes for the clipless side and Shimano GRS shoes for the flat side. The AMS and GRS models are exactly the same shoe except for the soles, so I feel like I am always wearing the same shoe. But to be honest, I got the GRS shoes for my MTB, which is flat pedal only. For quick non-clipless rides on the gravel bike, I will wear pretty much whatever is no my feet at the moment.

partyanimal

I've used these as well for probably the past 3/4 years. Had the on my SS in NYC as a commuter bike and when i left the city moved them to my touring/gravel bike.

Was never interested in clipping in but Chrome made these shoes with ppd mounts and found them on sale for about $40 and decided to give it a try and haven't looked back. I don't know if they make the spd versions anymore but I have 2 pair of these and they're pretty great, stiff shoe. Chrome also makes some shorts and other clothing, mostly geared towards messenger/urban cycling but i think it works well in for gravel stuff.
https://www.chromeindustries.com/pro...w_all_footwear

jp911

I ride flats on my MTB and the lack of stiffness in the sole (5.10 shoes) is noticeable and I definitely get more of a calf workout than I do with clipless on my gravel and road bikes. Personally, I wouldn't want to put in long miles on those flats. As an experiment, I tied a pair of heavy-soled hiking/approach shoes and the support was better, but the weight of the shoes was noticeable.

pipeliner

I like SPD pedals with MTB shoes. I fight foot cramps with any shoe that has flexible soles so carbon soled shoes are a must. I do run Freerider pros and flats on my FS mountain bike but for long hours cranking on my gravel bike, gotta be clipped in.
One word of advice, after several bent axles on Shimano XT pedals I had to get some XTR's. No more bent axles and would advise anyone to go with the XTR.
I've never tried eggbeaters.

kgcabs

I went with spds and Shimano RX 800 shoes. I'm on Tarmac 75% of the time. So far so good.

Chi_Z

there are a lot of fake Shimano stuff flowing around on the internet especially pedals, you regularly see XT pedals on eBay brand new for $60, all fake

JackR

Crankbros Candy here 🙋‍♂️

I used my gravel bike for getting around town too, as it's wider tyres and chiller nature made it more comfortable.

The crank Bros system for my MTB shoes (Rapha) work great and I had no issues clearing snow and mud to clip in. Plus the flat base supports those shoes well. They're still comfortable in vans or sneakers too.

Chi_Z

the rubber sole is not suppose to touch the platform, if it does you could develop knee issue due to restriction in the cleat float

Kapusta

The Candy is designed to work best with the sole just touching the platform on either side of the cleat. They even provide shims to fine tune this.

illjustride

I use SPD pedals and MTB shoes for gravel rides. I see lot's of others using road shoes but I personally wouldn't want to walk or hike-a-bike in road shoes on a gravel trail if I needed to. Check out the Pearl Izumi Gravel X shoes. I've been riding them and love them. Here goes a closer look at them in this video I made when I first got them