• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Going all SPD, all the time, on all bikes

martyg

Making fresh tracks
Industry Insider
Joined
Nov 24, 2017
Posts
2,216
With awesome shoes like Specialized’s Recon and Xpedo’s Ti M Force 8 pedal, there is no reason not to.

2458C698-5D41-445C-83F1-3E5373765E08.jpeg
C862E135-C4B4-453C-8DED-F2DE63E954FA.jpeg
 

scott43

So much better than a pro
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
13,549
Location
Great White North
I dunno I've been doing it for fifteen years. Some people complain about the platform etc but I guess I'm just not pro enough.. :huh:
 

Tom K.

Skier Ordinaire
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Dec 20, 2015
Posts
8,399
I've been all SPD since I sold my "real" road bike two years ago.

Last week we did a 140 miler on paved roads, so I put slicks and Speedplays on the gravel bike and.....I was glad I did!

But the SPDs are back on the bike now. You don't want to have to do any walking on a gravel road in Speedplay cleats.
 

Philpug

Notorious P.U.G.
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
42,624
Location
Reno, eNVy
I wsa a huge fan of SPD, I started back in the mid 90's and used them until 2 years ago out here. There is terrain I do miss them and am temped to put them back on...maybe I will play with them again this summer...it's not like I don't have the time.
 

Ski&ride

Out on the slopes
Pass Pulled
Joined
Mar 15, 2018
Posts
1,633
I dunno I've been doing it for fifteen years. Some people complain about the platform etc but I guess I'm just not pro enough.. :huh:
Same here.

Though a few years back, I switched out one of them SPD with a pair of flat downhill pedals on my dualie, which is dedicated for technical terrains (which I don”t do all that often).

Allows me to get more of the same shoe, different colors, so that I feel pretty. :)
I’m not sure it’s a real “saving”. Even though shoes last a long time, eventually they do wear out, especially the mountain bike one. Having two pairs of shoes simply means they last twice as long. :ogbiggrin:
 

scott43

So much better than a pro
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
13,549
Location
Great White North
Whoa the way back machine... :ogbiggrin:

And that's not to say that everyone who uses road pedals thinks they're pro... It's just that I'm clearly not! :)
 

scott43

So much better than a pro
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
13,549
Location
Great White North
And here I am thinking of going the other way after stubbornly hanging on to road SPD for several years. The SPD shoes give me a nasty metatarsal hot spot after about 90 minutes. Might consider staying for the S-Works Recons though :ogbiggrin:
Yeah that's what people say..I've just never noticed it. No power captain...not enough watts.. :-(
 

Tom K.

Skier Ordinaire
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Dec 20, 2015
Posts
8,399
And here I am thinking of going the other way after stubbornly hanging on to road SPD for several years. The SPD shoes give me a nasty metatarsal hot spot after about 90 minutes. Might consider staying for the S-Works Recons though :ogbiggrin:

I went a round with road SPDs a long while back. Could not get them to play nicely with my knees, and went the Speedplay route.

As far as mtb SPDs, I'm happy, but if I could do it over again, I'd go Time in a heartbeat. So smooth. But I've got too many bikes with SPDs to swallow the cost of changing them all to Time at once!
 

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
Skier
Team Gathermeister
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Posts
12,620
Location
Maine
Probably if I had had early experiences with XT or XTR SPDs, rather than knock-offs like Ritchie and whatever horrors they put on spin bikes, I would be part of the fan club. But I didn't, and I'm not. :huh:

I was SO happy, a long while back, when I went to real road pedals and shoes after a couple years on Crank Bros pedals on my road bike. No more hot spot. I don't think it's entirely about the stiffness of the shoes, because at the time I had a pair of Sidi Dominators, and my understanding was that this was the same sole as their road shoe, with some rubber bits glued on for show. (They certainly walked about that well - terrifying.)
 

Ken_R

Living the Dream
Skier
Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Posts
5,775
Location
Denver, CO
I love SPD's. I have them on my cross bike and my mtb. Solid system (Shimano SPD, no knockoffs).
 

Ski&ride

Out on the slopes
Pass Pulled
Joined
Mar 15, 2018
Posts
1,633
There’s no reason why mtb shoes cant be made as stiff as road shoes.

Ive had 2 pairs of mtb shoes. One pair had hot spot. The other didn’t. The difference between the two shoes were night and day. So I guess for those who are having trouble finding comfortable shoes with stiff soles, going road pedal could open up more shoe options.

I can also see the larger road pedal platform offers better stability for the feet.
 

zircon

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Posts
804
Location
I can’t believe it’s not England!
I went a round with road SPDs a long while back. Could not get them to play nicely with my knees, and went the Speedplay route.

Confession: I've actually never ridden on a real road pedal, but I've heard great things about Speedplays. The previous owner of my Emonda almost threw in a pair, but then decided at the last minute he wanted to keep them for his next bike.

I have an assortment of Shimano M540s and currently the truly horrific A600s on the road bike. I'd probably be happier with a super extra stiff top of the line XC shoe, but that'd compromise the running part of CX, which is the part I'm good at... Also when your shoes get trashed in a season of muddy racing, the second tier stuff's prices are painful enough.

Although, like Tony I'm not convinced it's a stiff vs. not stiff thing. The Shimano XC7s I currently have are only an nth of a percentage softer than the RC7s which are a perfectly fine road racing shoe.
 

Tom K.

Skier Ordinaire
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Dec 20, 2015
Posts
8,399
Confession: I've actually never ridden on a real road pedal, but I've heard great things about Speedplays.

I can't say enough good things about the Speedplay road pedals. I mostly ride mtb, but when I get on the road with the Speedplays and stand up, it just feels joyous. I think the near-infinite float -- with no spring tension whatsoever -- just allows my body parts to articulate more naturally. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it! :ogbiggrin:

I would kill for that feeling in an mtb pedal. Crank brothers is close, but I destroy their cleats in 20 hours max, and the pedals themselves in 40. Time mtb pedals also feel really nice (they are on my trainer), so if I win the lottery, I'll go that route on all bikes. In the meantime, it's hard to argue with the function and stone-axe reliability of SPDs.
 

Wonky

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Mar 14, 2019
Posts
13
Location
Canada
How about Speedplay Frogs if you like the road pedals? I've never used the road pedals but I have the Frogs on my commuter/gravel/cross bike. I love them for exactly the reasons you mention for the road pedals. I'd put them on my road bike as well if they weren't so pricey. As it is I swap them to my MTB.

Having said all of that, I'm not a fan of them as a MTB pedal....they gum up with mud too easily and you can get bounced out of them too easily if you hit a rock/tree (I realise you aren't supposed to do that....)
 
Thread Starter
TS
martyg

martyg

Making fresh tracks
Industry Insider
Joined
Nov 24, 2017
Posts
2,216
How about Speedplay Frogs if you like the road pedals? I've never used the road pedals but I have the Frogs on my commuter/gravel/cross bike. I love them for exactly the reasons you mention for the road pedals. I'd put them on my road bike as well if they weren't so pricey. As it is I swap them to my MTB.

Having said all of that, I'm not a fan of them as a MTB pedal....they gum up with mud too easily and you can get bounced out of them too easily if you hit a rock/tree (I realise you aren't supposed to do that....)

I was on Speedplay road pedals for a decade or more. Never went with Frogs for mtn / 'cross for the very reason that you mentioned. You just don't see Frogs being used here.
 

Sponsor

Staff online

Top