Cowboy905

I just too my friends CX Bike off his hands (perfect condition Kona Jake) as I want to start doing some light gravel / trails. Nothing serious, but i need to change the pedals (they're platform) and bar tape.

Does anybody see anything wrong with throwing some Look Keo Classic pedals on there so I can use my Road shoe on this bike? it would save me money rather than getting SPD pedals and having to buy some SPD shoes. The only disadvantage I can think of is I can't buy a mountain bike style shoe.

Does anybody do this or do you keep them separate?

mattcalifornia

It's probably fine if you're only going to ride on relatively flat, hard-packed dirt roads. I wouldn't want to be wearing road bike shoes on a single track trail, steep road or loose gravel or sand. The issue isn't while you're riding. The issue is if you have to get off the bike. You might slip. You'll definitely ruin your shoes and cleats pretty quickly. Get a pair of cheap SPD pedals and shoes.

Cowboy905

thanks! this is exactly what i'm looking for. maybe i'll go that route. I wanted everything to be interchangeable but it's just shoes at the end of the day, it's not like i'm swapping vector pedals or anything of the sort.

Zaskar

I switch between Keos and EggBeaters. If the off-road sections of the route aren't muddy and/or overly technical, I like the Keos. Really, it comes down to whether or not you expect to put a foot down.

Seattle Forrest

I do this, I had to go with the Keo system to use Vectors. And you're really limiting your riding options if you can only do pavement.

I wouldn't recommend it. Get cheap SPD pedals, and good shoes.

Dirt, pebbles, and especially mud get clogged in that space between the cleat and the shoe where the pedal engages. Sometimes it will go in with difficulty and feel really sloppy, other times you can't clip back in until you clean that space out. Which isn't as easy as it sounds on the side of the road or trail.

Now I don't know about you, but gravel roads here tend to be pretty scenic, which means stopping for pictures, which means clipping out and exposing your shoe to the ground. Some sections aren't rideable, one route I like a lot involves a washout, you get off the bike, go down a 4 foot dirt cliff, lift the bike down, climb up the other side 20 yards away, and then go back to riding. No car traffic beyond that point. This stuff works with Keo, but it can be an exercise in frustration. With SPD, it's not a problem. And a bonus is it's easier to walk on normal surfaces too.

SPD pedals are a smaller platform than Looks. You need stiff shoes. My first SPD shoes were cheap and floppy, and I would get painful hotspots on the bottoms of my feet after long rides, especially hilly ones. The day I got stiff shoes, that went away. A lot of people will tell you SPDs aren't as comfortable as road shoes, and this is why. So do yourself a favor on this front.

mattcalifornia

You can get combination SPD/platform pedals. I have a set of these on my old mountain bike. Nashbar has them in a wide range of prices.

tigat

I have a similar dilemma: I picked up a second set of wheels with gravel tires for my Domane SLR, which allows for great big tires (in this case 40s). Off pavement, even on pretty smooth dirt and gravel, I have not done more than a couple of rides where I did not clip out and walk about a bit. It always causes a problem clipping back in. And once in, they don't seem to want to come back out, which has led to some major twisting and near tipovers. I'm in the market now for a SPD set-up when the gravel tires are on.

datlas 

I have done this. TBH it depends on the terrain. If you are going to be dismounting/walking rarely, I think it's fine. The more you will be getting off/walking, the more you will want a MTB/SPD setup.