SPD pedal for the road?

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ANy suggestions for an SPD pedal to use on road rides? Both my wife and I are set up with SPD on our mountain bikes, I also threw Shimano PD-M520 SPD pedals on my road bike. Is there any pedal that would offer a little large platform to put on her road bike?
 
Aren't mountain spd pedals larger? My wife is an avid road biker and has egg beaters on her bike. I tried going clipless, fell over and felt like a fool. It doesn't make me any faster or more efficient so I put regular pedals back on my cyclocross.
 
Have you tried SPD-SL pedals? Unlike the MTB Shoes, those are dedicated road bike shoes won't flex during pedaling.

I'd recommend Shimano A530. It has clipless on one side, and platform on the other side. Great pedal for commuting/occasional riding.

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Aren't mountain spd pedals larger? My wife is an avid road biker and has egg beaters on her bike. I tried going clipless, fell over and felt like a fool. It doesn't make me any faster or more efficient so I put regular pedals back on my cyclocross.


Clipless needs some patience to get used to it. But once you get used to it, it makes difference especially during climbing hills.
 
I did that for a long while. I dont typically ride further than 40 miles, usually less.

But once I did a longer ride, and found that my knees started to hurt.

I went to speedplay pedals instead, and have been really pleased.

Have a look at Speedplay.
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
It doesn't make me any faster or more efficient so I put regular pedals back on my cyclocross.


Respectfully that's incorrect. Clipless pedals aren't something you put on and go out on a normal ride anywhere, road or dirt. Try them again set full loose, go to a park or parking lot and practice clicking in and out 100 times. The release motion becomes automatic. Being able to pull up on the upstroke and start earlier across the top is proven both faster and more efficient. Try them again.

The A530s have some surface, as do M424s and Mt50s.
 
Originally Posted By: buck91
ANy suggestions for an SPD pedal to use on road rides? Both my wife and I are set up with SPD on our mountain bikes, I also threw Shimano PD-M520 SPD pedals on my road bike. Is there any pedal that would offer a little large platform to put on her road bike?


More platform is going into road bike pedal territory, and difficulty walking. I prefer Speedplay over Look style pedals.

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Aren't mountain spd pedals larger? My wife is an avid road biker and has egg beaters on her bike. I tried going clipless, fell over and felt like a fool. It doesn't make me any faster or more efficient so I put regular pedals back on my cyclocross.


Gave up that easily? It's called practice makes perfect. Falling over is part of the learning process. Many cyclists fell over when they are learning clipless.

Clipless keeps you feet in proper position to maintain the fit geometry to be more efficient and put less pain on the joints.
 
I love crank brothers for two reasons, you can use their pedals with either road or mtb shoes, only difference is the cleats but they work with both types of pedals. The other reason, no other pedal unclips as easy, like a knife going through soft butter. Witch madness it faster, easier, and safer to unclip when riding. It's literally a split second to unclip.
 
Originally Posted By: JLawrence08648
I love crank brothers for two reasons, you can use their pedals with either road or mtb shoes, only difference is the cleats but they work with both types of pedals. The other reason, no other pedal unclips as easy, like a knife going through soft butter. Witch madness it faster, easier, and safer to unclip when riding. It's literally a split second to unclip.


Not always true. With their standard cleat, your road shoes need to have the SPD mounting screw bosses in addition to the Look pattern.

If you don't have the SPD mounts on your road shoe, then you need to buy an adapter, https://www.crankbrothers.com/collections/pedal-accessories/products/3-hole-cleat
 
No problems with completing Centuries using Issi flash triple bearings on my road bike. I appreciate the ability the walk "normally" with SPD shoes.
 
I like Crank Bros Mallets. Platform pedal with an eggbeater in the center. I primarily mountain bike and fat bike and the Crank Bros design is almost impossible to ice up.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I did that for a long while. I dont typically ride further than 40 miles, usually less.

But once I did a longer ride, and found that my knees started to hurt.

I went to speedplay pedals instead, and have been really pleased.

Have a look at Speedplay.


Front of knee or back? If front, seat is too low. If back, seat is too high. Learn to bicycle fit or get a pro set up.
I once had a very serious biking accident and blame clipless pedals as the major cause of the injury itself. Use platform exclusively now.
 
This thread is useless without pics.

As a reference M520 SPD pedals look a lot like this, and are the same on both sides:
5390_shimano_m520_spd_pedals.jpg



Some of the other pedals that people are suggesting look more like these, and are different from one side to the other:
s-l1000.jpg
 
After a few years of clipless I tried going back to toe straps, and promptly screwed up a knee. My foot would just wiggle out of a good location into a bad one. I like platforms but at the moment, they don't agree with me.

I run with the MTB SPD. Honestly, I'm not that fast, so being able to walk off the bike is a bit more desirable. I have noticed hot spots on my feet, but I've yet to try out different shoes to see if that would fix the issue (or not). Takes more than 20 miles to get a hot spot, and since I don't often have time for long rides, it is what it is.

I run the M520's. I have the M530's on my "fast" bike but honestly I don't think the extra body provided any more foot support--and again, I'm not that fast, so any aerodynamic advantage just doesn't exist. The '520's seem like a good deal. Clip in from either side. FWIW, you don't have to clip in to pedal--taking off from a light I often will make several rpm's before getting clicked in.

My biggest problem is finding a decent pair of shoes. Shoes tend to run narrow, but not narrow enough for me (hence the attempt to go back to sneakers).
 
Originally Posted By: supton

My biggest problem is finding a decent pair of shoes. Shoes tend to run narrow, but not narrow enough for me (hence the attempt to go back to sneakers).

Try out Specialized - while I despise them as a company and their bikes are the cycling equivalent of Hondas(their women's line would the Acura of bikes), their shoes tend to fit American and Asian feet better than the Europeans or even Shimano for the latter.

I'm pretty happy with these: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/expert-xc-mountain-bike-shoes/p/131530?color=228141-131530
 
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