MTB pedals on Road bikes

[Serottarider]

Just curious to know if anyone uses MTB pedals on their road bikes and if they like the results.

I've got knee issues and they only seem to bother me when I'm on my road bike. I'm using the Look Keo pedal system. I use Shimano 540's on my MTB and Crank Brothers Candy's on my 'Cross bike.

I'm thinking about switching to MTB pedals because of my stance width.


Beth

[pumpkinpony]

I have Shimano 540's on my mtb and road bike. Partly because I don't feel the need to buy 'road' pedals and shoes, partly because I'm cheap, and mostly because I have knee problems and these work (so why change). Nobody has given me funny looks yet or asked about it. :)


Just curious to know if anyone uses MTB pedals on their road bikes and if they like the results.

I've got knee issues and they only seem to bother me when I'm on my road bike. I'm using the Look Keo pedal system. I use Shimano 540's on my MTB and Crank Brothers Candy's on my 'Cross bike.

I'm thinking about switching to MTB pedals because of my stance width.


Beth

[Kelly728]

I did have Shimano SPDs on my road bike, not a think wrong with it! I switched over to Speedplay Light Action pedals since I noticed hotspots very quickly. It offers me the easy clip in and double-sidedness that I loved on the SPDs but I get a bigger platform and a lot of float out the of deal. My knees LOVE the float. :D It seems that you don't have the issues I had with hotspots so the SPDs will likely be a perfectly fine move for you.

[Owlie]

One of my friends uses MTB pedals on her road bike and loves it. (She also likes being able to walk in the shoes.)

[MartianDestiny]

I use Shimano's XT level pedals exclusively with no problems. My reason is for convenience and not having to buy more shoes (I don't have one nice pair now, let alone two), but I'm perfectly happy with the mountain pedals on my roadie.

[Tuckervill]

Use Speedplay Frogs on all my bikes (road, touring, mountain). One pair of shoes, that I can actually walk in, and I can ride whatever I feel like riding!

Karen

[Cello]

I have been riding with clipless pedals since 2002 and had bought only 2 pairs of cycling shoes until about a month ago when it became necessary to buy a new pair of cycling shoes. In all that time, I have used only Shimano SPD cleats. My worn out pair of shoes are Sidi mountain shoes. It was only when I bought my new shoes that I found out that most road shoes do not accommodate SPD cleats! Was I ever surprised!

I ended up buying the mountain version of this Shimano shoe:
http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSN_WR40.html

The above shoe is the only road shoe I am aware of that accommodates SPD cleats.

I have 3 bikes, a Litespeed Bella road bike, a Gunnar cyclocross bike which I use primarily for commuting, and a Trek mountain bike. All of them have Shimano pedals and I wear the same shoes on all of them. No one has ever made fun of me for riding my road bike with mountain shoes!

I had originally planned when I bought new shoes to buy road shoes instead of mountain shoes. One of the primary reasons I did not pursue this was that I did not want to research and purchase a new pedal system for my road bike.

[deeaimond]

I have crank bro Candy's on my road bike and I like wearing the mtb shoes. I've never used road pedals so i'm not sure about the comparison, but I like the metal contact bits of the candy pedals/ crank bros system since its hardier, withstands rougher use.

Also I feel safer about walking in my shoes when I ride on my own and I need to stop anywhere on the roadside/ if its raining etc. I've seen people slip and fall quite nastily. I've slipped on the pedals myself from wet grass (waiting at a traffic stop) it's quite painful, and if its a bad one, can be really dangerous, being on the road and all.

[Tri Girl]

I had speedplays on my tri bike, but when I got my Keen sandals and found out how much I love to ride in them- I put the SPD's on my tri bike so I can wear my Keens any time. I can walk in them, too, which is super nice for a super klutz like me. :)
Sure, it might be "taboo" to some, but who cares? I love it, and if you do- go for it! ;)

[andtckrtoo]

I will only ride mtb pedals with my road bike. Makes life easier. I only wear mtb shoes, too.

[nscrbug]

I have been riding with clipless pedals since 2002 and had bought only 2 pairs of cycling shoes until about a month ago when it became necessary to buy a new pair of cycling shoes. In all that time, I have used only Shimano SPD cleats. My worn out pair of shoes are Sidi mountain shoes. It was only when I bought my new shoes that I found out that most road shoes do not accommodate SPD cleats! Was I ever surprised!

I ended up buying the mountain version of this Shimano shoe:
http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSN_WR40.html

The above shoe is the only road shoe I am aware of that accommodates SPD cleats.

I have 3 bikes, a Litespeed Bella road bike, a Gunnar cyclocross bike which I use primarily for commuting, and a Trek mountain bike. All of them have Shimano pedals and I wear the same shoes on all of them. No one has ever made fun of me for riding my road bike with mountain shoes!

I had originally planned when I bought new shoes to buy road shoes instead of mountain shoes. One of the primary reasons I did not pursue this was that I did not want to research and purchase a new pedal system for my road bike.

Actually, Specialized makes a bunch of road shoes that accomodate SPD cleats. Two that come to mind, are the Spirita and the BG Torch. I think Lake makes some, as well.

Back on topic...I used SPD cleats on my Trek 2100 for my first full season of riding. For the most part, they served me well. I even did 2 triathlons using the SPD cleats and a pair of Specialized MTB shoes. Was able to jog through the transitions wearing the MTB shoes, with no problems. I did, eventually, start to suffer from the dreaded "hot spot" issue...and ended up swapping out the SPD pedals with a set of Time road pedals. The road pedals have a much larger contact surface, which distributes the weight more evenly across the balls of your feet. But if you don't have the "hot spot" problem, then I'm sure the MTB pedals will do fine for you.

[missjulied]

I have a pair of Sidi Genius road shoes that accept SPD cleats, and I love them. I have SPDs on all my bikes, and it works well for me.

[Fredwina]

I also have Spd's on everything. makes it hard to bring the wrong shoes

[aicabsolut]

Changing to SPDs probably won't change the width, or Q factor of your road bike, because that depends on the cranks and not so much on the pedals. You might want to put shims in your pedals to accommodate that. Also, have you tried just moving your cleat position for the KEOs? It could be more a question of fit (angle and lateral and fore-aft alignment). That said, if you are using KEOs with cleats, some people will have knee problems because of the float (though the opposite is more common--having knee problems with fixed pedals). There are 3 different levels of float that you can try, red being highest, gray in the middle, and black is fixed.

[msincredible]

I had knee issues with Look KEOs that went away when I went back to SPDs on everything.

Love having the SPDs! :)

[merlin]

Cannondale road bike, Sidi MTB shoes--dominator?, Crank Bros eggbeaters: fewer opportunities to slip and fall when I stop in Old Orchard Beach for pizza or ice cream.
When I went clipless a few years ago, DH, who knows me oh-so-well insisted that I only get MTB shoes--perhaps knowing that in road shoe, I'd be at greater risk walking around than riding in traffic! :D
beth