Am I missing out by using Shimano (MTB) SPDs?

fisherman said:

Alright, newbie here - to the roading scene at least.

I am currently using Shimano SPD M747s, and M959s on my cross/roadbike, cannibalised from my mountainbikes.

Am I missing out by using these instead of SPD-Rs?

Thanks!

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Not at all. Many of us ride MTB pedals/shoes on our road bikes for multi-sided clip-in, better walkability of the shoes, and the ability to run one pedal/cleat system across all bikes. Search the archives and you'll find many discussions of this. SPD-SLs aren't my favorite pedal system, but if it works for you, that's what's important.

fisherman said:

Alright, newbie here - to the roading scene at least.

I am currently using Shimano SPD M747s, and M959s on my cross/roadbike, cannibalised from my mountainbikes.

Am I missing out by using these instead of SPD-Rs?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Well, all I can give you is my own anecdotal evidence. I ride Speedplay's with Specialized Road shoes on my road bike and M505's with Specialized MTB shoes on my cross bike. I have noticed that on shorter rides, ie; less than 1.5-2 hours, the MTB shoes work as fine as the road shoes and I don't notice much difference. AFTER 2 hours though, I seem to be able to maintain a more consistent higher speed over longer distances with the road shoes, and I don't tire as quickly. I think this is because they are stiffer and therefore have a theoretical advantage with power transfer. I have also noticed that I seem to be able to climb better and sprint better in road shoes. Of course, we are also talking about two different bikes, but they are similar in weight and both have shimano 105 components, but I digress. These are my own observations for whatever that is worth.

Thanks for the inputs.

physasst, I share the same experience between my Sidi Eagle (I think) and the other a Shimano touring/mtb shoe. Both SPDs and the Sidis had significantly better power transfer, largely due I think to the stiffer sole.

I wager that would be the same.

I was only wondering if the systems themselves are significantly different such as SPD vs SPD-Rs and other Shimano systems. I am happy with Shimano stuff <gasp!>, so I shall stay with them. Because I have not tried anything else other than SPDs, I was wondering if I am missing out on anything hence the initial post.

633, will do.

Thanks!

physasst's point is a good one about road shoes generally being stiffer than MTB shoes. I don't think that's true at the higher end, but inexpensive road shoes are usually stiffer than inexpensive MTB shoes. If you have better-quality MTB shoes, though, the difference goes away. I ride Sidi Dominators and Egg Beaters, so I've got a very small pedal surface to work with, and even on 100+ mile rides, I don't experience hot spots, loss of power transfer, anything like that. And the Doms have been worth every penny. I used to buy a new pair of shoes just about every year, but have been riding these for 2+ years now, and expect them to last me at least a couple more.

Quick probably dumb (very) question - roadie shoes, do they share the same "cleat mounting system" for say, a SH-51 (SPD cleat)? Or is the mounting system only for road cleats?

Depends on the shoe. Many road shoes can only accept road cleats, but some can accept either.