Road Clips

[MartinGT]

Guys

I have been riding MTB clips for about 10 years now and have used them on my road bike as its something I am familiar with.

How different is it going from MTB Clips to road clips? I was looking at getting some Look pedals with some new shoes.

I like the fact on my MTB I have Crank brother egg beaters, so I can clip in quickly, is it that much different on road pedals?

 

[Master50]

Weight might be a reason but if the pedals work they work. Use what works for you.

 

[liftman]

Check out speedplay, they will be similar to your eggbeaters in that there is no top and bottom you just push down to engage and turn your ankle to disengage. I have been on them for about 10 years now and like them.

 

[marathon marke]

Martin, when I started reading your post I thought you were actually using toe clips. Back in the day, we would call them "clips", and the newer systems as "clipless". But if I understand correctly, you are asking about the differences between road and MTN clipless pedals. Here's my take:

I had been using Shimano SPD MTN pedals on both my commuter/winter bike for the past 3 years. I just got back into road riding last year (after a 20 year hiatus), and I liked the idea of the double-sided pedal for easy entry so I put the same on my road bike. I had been doing up to 100 (road) miles without any problems. But as I began increasing my mileage, I wanted to make sure I had a larger and more stable platform, so I ended up getting Time RXS pedals. I had used the original Time road pedals 20 years ago, and loved them. One reason why I stuck with Time was of their low stack height when compared to other systems.

The one thing I wasn't sure about was how easy it would be for me to click into the new pedals, as I had conditioned myself to not being concerning with the pedal being on the right side when using the 2-sided pedal. Well, I have to say that I've never had a problem, in fact it's been easier. And the wider and more stable platform has sure been a blessing as my mileage increases.

I've never used the egg beaters, but I believe their platform is even smaller than the Shimano MTN pedals. All I can say is that the longer or harder you ride, the more you'll notice a difference.

 

[Boeing]

Martin, when I started reading your post I thought you were actually using toe clips. Back in the day, we would call them "clips", and the newer systems as "clipless". But if I understand correctly, you are asking about the differences between road and MTN clipless pedals. Here's my take:

I had been using Shimano SPD MTN pedals on both my commuter/winter bike for the past 3 years. I just got back into road riding last year (after a 20 year hiatus), and I liked the idea of the double-sided pedal for easy entry so I put the same on my road bike. I had been doing up to 100 (road) miles without any problems. But as I began increasing my mileage, I wanted to make sure I had a larger and more stable platform, so I ended up getting Time RXS pedals. I had used the original Time road pedals 20 years ago, and loved them. One reason why I stuck with Time was of their low stack height when compared to other systems.

The one thing I wasn't sure about was how easy it would be for me to click into the new pedals, as I had conditioned myself to not being concerning with the pedal being on the right side when using the 2-sided pedal. Well, I have to say that I've never had a problem, in fact it's been easier. And the wider and more stable platform has sure been a blessing as my mileage increases.

I've never used the egg beaters, but I believe their platform is even smaller than the Shimano MTN pedals. All I can say is that the longer or harder you ride, the more you'll notice a difference.

shimano DA or ultrega

 

[kiwirider]

Guys

I have been riding MTB clips for about 10 years now and have used them on my road bike as its something I am familiar with.

How different is it going from MTB Clips to road clips? I was looking at getting some Look pedals with some new shoes.

I like the fact on my MTB I have Crank brother egg beaters, so I can clip in quickly, is it that much different on road pedals?

I've ridden Time, Look delta, Look Keo on the road and Wellgo/Coda/XPedo SPD, Eggbeaters and Look Quartz on the dirt for more years than I can count ..

Functionally, I'll doubt that you'll notice any difference in actually riding - other than the fact that the pedals wont slop around as much as Crankies do when the cleats get worn.

Clipping in and out will be as easy as on the road pedals once you get used to them. Only other thing to note on that is that road pedals clip in slightly more toe first than MTB pedals - which I'd categorise as more clipping in with the ball of the foot. If you ride one bike/set of pedals for a while and then change to the other, you'll be a bit clumsy for a bit until you get used to them again.

Also, the one sided thing with road pedals is generally not an issue. Every so often I have a clumsy start on the roadies (usually in the wet with a massive line of traffic behind me when I'm commuting!!), but they generally hang face up, so it's not an issue.

The biggest hassle is when you walk - since road shoes don't have the benefit of the cleated sole to protect the actual pedal cleat (if that all makes sense...). End result is walking around, toes up on a big lump of plastic - which can be a pain. So factor in if you're liable to do more than walk from the lounge to the garage and from the cafe terrace to the counter before you make the change ...

And of course there's the fact that by getting road pedals, you're now doubling the number of parts that you need since you can't just swap shoes, pedals, cleats, whatever between the bikes any more ...

 

[Archibald]

Guys

I have been riding MTB clips for about 10 years now and have used them on my road bike as its something I am familiar with.

How different is it going from MTB Clips to road clips? I was looking at getting some Look pedals with some new shoes.

I like the fact on my MTB I have Crank brother egg beaters, so I can clip in quickly, is it that much different on road pedals?

I have eggbeaters on the MTB, and shimano 540's on the commuter (ss roadie) with ultegra on the main road bike.
I have no issues going from one to the other - both easy to use.

 

[usedtobefast]

i too like a wide platform cleat. i still use original Look style pedals, although some updated ones. my favorite is still the PD7401 that Shimano built.

 

[MartinGT]

Thanks for the replies, its very much appreciated.

I will look into the pedals. I have noticed the speedplay ones, but I read soemwhere they are a pain to maintain?

 

[bc_hills]

Thanks for the replies, its very much appreciated.

I will look into the pedals. I have noticed the speedplay ones, but I read soemwhere they are a pain to maintain?

I used to have speedplays on my road bike but as kiwirider pointed out, it meant more gear and less ease of swapping shoes/pedals. There's a thread here on speedplay vs. the world and the maintenance issue seems to be debated with religious fervor, so I'll just let sleeping dragons lay.

Now I just ride different incarnations of spds on all my bikes. On my road bike I use M530's (they're the cheapo version of the xtr version) and when combined with mtb shoe soles you get a very stable platform.

The clincher for me is that it's easier to walk around in the pub pre/post or during the ride with mtb shoes. Speedplays are like a death skate when on a smooth/wet surface and all the click-clacking is supremely irritating to me.

Of course, mtb shoes are invariably heavier than road shoes, so if that's an issue there's no spd remedy.

Those shimano M530's I mentioned are pretty cheap... $70 CAD bucks or so. Crankbros' must have something similar no? New shoes and speedplays can be an expensive proposition and IMHO, not worth the 'upgrade'.

Just my 2 cents, but I'd take a penny!

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

I have noticed the speedplay ones, but I read soemwhere they are a pain to maintain?

They're not really if you're used to doing some maintenance on your bike. I've been riding Speedplay for over a decade, all I do is push new grease through the bearings about once a month and keep the cleats clean, that's all.

 

[MartinGT]

They're not really if you're used to doing some maintenance on your bike. I've been riding Speedplay for over a decade, all I do is push new grease through the bearings about once a month and keep the cleats clean, that's all.

Thanks for that, will have a look