Hi! This is my first post...
After hearing from some of you that many people you ride on the road with use the mountain bike shoes and pedals, I feel so much better! I bought my shoes and SPD pedals when all I had was my mountain bike. I told the salesman that I wanted some good clipless shoes and pedals for my MTB, and for a future road bike. He recommended me to the Bontrager shoes (local Trek store, naturally!) for mountain biking, and the SPD PD-M520 pedals, also for mountain. I didn't want to have to shell out for another pair of expensive shoes and pedals when I finally got my road bike!
Anyway, I hated the clipping in of the shoes the first day on the mountain bike trails. My youngest kept on stopping right in front of me, and over I went! I fell over with the bike all in one symphony, like I was really part of it. Actually, I WAS technically part of it lol. I got to thinking of more sprited riding in the woods... How many times have I put a foot down in a loose, sandy corner? A lot. Maybe not the best idea?
Anyway, fast forward a month, and I FINALLY got my dream road bike! Carbon fiber, minimum Shimano 105 components... Done. I tore the SPD's from my mountain bike and carefully threaded them to my new Shimano Hollowtech cranks. Away I go. Awesome! I haven't looked back. Comfortable, never any foot pain, unless I overtightened a strap, which is easy to fix, fortunately. I don't feel like I am needing more surface area, as the shoes seem plenty stiff, so much better than sneakers!
The input I wanted to throw in here, is maybe the MTB pedals and shoes are not as aerodynamic on the bottomside as road bike shoes are, and maybe that's why they aren't used as much?
Anyway, i like to walk in them too, even though there is a slight bit of cleat contact with the ground, which sounds like a roack stuck in my shoe tread lol. Maybe it's because I am over 200#? lol
Nice to meet you all! Love this forum so far!
Mark