More Mountain Pedal questions

[SalsaMTB]

My .02....

Road vs. Mountain Pedals:
Road pedals have a large clip in surface whereas mountain have a small. To me, the reasons are as follows. First, when road riding, you don't move nearly as much as you do mountain biking, so you have more of a tendancy to create a hotspot, so you you need a larger surface to distribute the force. Mountainbiking, you're moving around a lot so a hot spot just isn't as much as a problem. Also, for mountain biking, shedding mud is a HUGE priority. Road pedals would be awful at that, so mountain pedals have small cleat surface, more open design to allow mud to shed.

For mountain pedals,
spd vs. crankbros
Me, I'm a crank brothers girl. I don't think any pedal sheds mud as well as an eggbeater. I've ridden both and just like the feel of the clip in, clip out motion of the eggbeaters. This really comes down to personal preference. The only reason I would recommend the crank brothers to anyone over the spds is if you ride in muddy areas. Other than that, either will do, but I had a VERY bad experience with the entry level spds, so I would recommend going one step up (read the reviews on mtbr.com, they were impossible to clip out, no matter how much the tension was adjusted. This was a few years ago though, so the problem may be resolved). The spds do offer adjustable tension, but I find the tension of the eggbeaters to be perfect

Platform vs no-platform
Platform is great if you plan on riding without your clipless shoes. Personally, I never do, so I don't bother with the platform. DH uses his mountain bike for trail riding and commuting. His commute is short so he doesn't bother using his mtb shoes and likes having a platform (he has the mallets). I've tried the mallet and I find the clip in/out efforts a little bit higher. If you don't plan on riding without the clipless shoes, I honestly dont think a platform is needed.

Entry level vs. High End
Typically, when you go from the very entry level to the next step up, you get better bearings and it's definitely worth it. You can easily feel the difference when rotating the pedal. From there up, you are normally paying for weight. I know for Eggbeaters, the entry level pedals are not servicealbe, so I would start with the C, not the MXR. I'm not sure on the spds.

Shoes are all personal preference. If you like Sidi, get Sidi. They make great shoes!

Hope that helps a little!

Jenn

[Red Rock]

Checking in again...

SalsaMTB-thankyou for your explanations. I can better understand my "dumb" question of platform vs. hardly any.

I think Red Rock was referring to getting something stuck in the platform pedal.

This is exactly what I was thinking when I wrote this statement.

I checked out some of the Specialized Tahos, and they look "cool". I can understand with the "grippy soles" being nice. The sole is also firm too which is needed for cycling.

Has anyone used the Sidi mountain shoes? I know they have the tread on the bottom. How has that worked for the gripping situations? The specialized are not as expensive as the Sidis but as Zen has said many times, you get what you pay for. This is true with anything these days though.

Thankyou for your continued thoughts. You are all educating me on this.

Red Rock

[Irulan]

a few more thoughts on platforms, more properly called flats. Some people just prefer them over any kind of clip in, for comfort and security ( is, NOT being clipped in) Many mountain bikers that go this route often wear a shin guard as a flat will pretty typically take chunks out of your shins. What I see as the main difference is that you don't have the pedaling efficiency of being clipped in, but at the same time that gives you freedom of the feet.

As for shoes, find the style you like and then go for fit, that's important. SIDIS have tread shaped configurations on the bottom but it's not a terribly sticky plastic.

[bike4ever]

Red Rock - I've used Sidi dominator's for years. I absolutely love them. They have been completely covered in mud and would come clean just fine. I've not had any issues walking with them. Last summer when I went to Colorado for a 5 day mt bike ride, we had multiple hike a bike situations. No problems with the shoes for those hikes - it was just that we were so tired and the bikes became very heavy to carry.

[ima_bleeder]

I adore my Sidi's! And I do a fair amount of hiking. I find that the amount of traction on the bottom is just fine for that.

I'm curious to know if any of you have tried the Crank Brothers Acid pedals? It's got a smaller platform than the Mallet, so it's a bit lighter, and I think the smaller platform would be enough for the rare moments where I might be unclipped (getting back on the bike without any lead-up to the next technical section, basically). I do a lot of muddy riding, so I'm completely sold on the eggbeater style.

If you've got any experience with the Acids, do you find them any easier to clip in/out than with the Mallets? Any other issues?

[Duvers]

I'm a MTB girl who *just* bought a road bike a week ago. At the suggestion of my trusty mechanic, whose opinion I trust completely, I put Shimano M520 SPD pedals on the new road bike. These are the same pedals that I have on both mountain bikes. They are inexpensive, but I have had no problems so far, even with lots of miles and abuse on the mountain bikes.

I also bought a pair of Sidi mountain bike shoes that I'm using for both my new road bike and mountain bike. While I haven't used road shoes/pedals, I am very happy with the M520s and Sidi mountain bike shoes on the road bike. Already came in handy when I found a stray dog on the bike rail and had to walk with it and my bike a mile up the trail to its owner. :-) Really like being able to get off the bike and walk, when needed.

I've never tried Crank Brothers pedals, but have seen other riders bend/break them in situations where they shouldn't have been under undue stress. Also, while my SPDs don't have a platform, I can unclip from them and there's enough surface area to rest my foot on them and pedal if I need to.

[Red Rock]

Sorry I have not posted hear recently, I have had a test to deal with which is never fun.

Thankyou for your help and information Duvers. I am the opposite of you in this case. I have been a road rider for a LONG time and am switching to mountain or rather adding mountain to the collection.

I have been debating between a smaller pedal-crankbrothers, I think and the Shimano SPD.

Shoes, I found Sidi Bullets which look more like entry level shoes which are good. I have thought about having a second pair of the Specialized for seroius off roading. What do any of you think on this?

Thankyou,
Red Rock