Originally Posted by
rbrides
If you have experience doing multi-day bikepacking trips with flat pedals, and also some with SPD (or any clips, frankly), and can share your first-hand experience and comparison of the pros/cons of each, I would be greatful to hear from you.
Bike touring, not bikepacking experience.
I use SPD cleats for almost all of my bike touring.
But, there have been times when I chose to use something else on a platform pedal. Those consist of:
- Bike shoes were soaked, I wanted to give them a rest and dry out, rode with platform pedals for a day..
- Very difficult terrain where I might have to get my feet on the ground fast, being cleated in could cause a delay and I might hit the ground.
- Going to the camp store or showers from the campsite where the shower building or camp store is farther than I care to walk.
Bike touring, I typically carry a spare pair of shoes like trail runners or hiking shoes to use in the campsite. And I always bring ones that have a stiff enough sole that I would be happy to ride all day in those shoes instead of bike shoes.
The example below is from a day where I wore hiking shoes all day instead of cleated shoes, as I knew that this was going to be a rough road. When you see a rock in the road that is smaller than a tennis ball, so you do not bother trying to steer around it, that tells you what the road was like.
About 8 years ago I wrote up a comparison of Shimano A530 pedals and M324 pedals, as those were the primary pedals used for touring that had platform on one side, cleats on the other. The posting has not been updated, A530 pedals are out of production and several new competing models are now available, so this thread is not really valid any more. I am only citing this link to give you an idea of what I considered in comparing them, if you are interested in this type of pedal.
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1...l#post18306425
Since I wrote that, I have gained an appreciation for Shimano pedals that can be repaired with a Shimano TL - PD40 tool. The tool only costs a few dollars, but it allows you to open up the bearings to add more grease. If I was buying new pedals now, I would prioritize pedals that can use that tool to access the bearings. There are several youtube videos that describe how to use the tool. The A530 pedals (discontinued) use it, I have re-greased the three pairs I have of those pedals.