[ilefkowi]

For years I've ridden my road bike using mountain bike shoes & spd pedals.
It is easy to push off because you can rest the shoes on top of the pedals,
then engage once you're going. Plus when you get off the bike you can walk around easily.
Now I went ahead & got a new bike with spd-sl pedals & sidi shoes.
I am finding it real tough to get going, you cant push off with the shoes on top of the pedals, they slip off. If you are trying to push off facing a hill, it is a real challange.
What is the trick to this?? Is this just something to get used to? I am ready to revert back to mountain spd shoes riding a Madone.
Advice anyone?

 

[Argentius]

Nothing wrong with Mtb shoes / spd pedals, regardless of ride, if you like 'em.

The trick is to be in a reasonable gear at a stop. Rotate the foot you keep clipped in to about 1 or 2 o'clock, start pedalling by lifting slightly out of your saddle, pedal with that food, and clip in on the next downstroke. If you miss, you should be able to pedal one-legged for a stroke or two while you find the pedal. If you're going up a steep hill and can't manage it ... well, it's like stopsigns on steep hills with stick, you just get used to it.

If you don't like it at all, but still want to have "road" stuff, for style factor or whatev, Speedplays are easier than Look-type pedals; you can sorta pedal not clipped in, like you say, plus they are two-sided.

 

[Carbonman]

I'm also a firm believer in being able to walk around in my biking shoes. I have used Ritchey mountain bike pedals for the last 7 years and am generally very happy with both the shoes and pedals.
I just bought an Argon 18 Platinum and still wanted to use my MTB shoes for both bikes, but didn't want to make my new ride look clunky. I also decided that the pedals were where most bikes add a lot of weight. My solution was Ritchey V4 SPD Road pedals. They are single sided, weigh 200g/pair, and only require cleat replacement for the new pedals. The good news is that the new cleats work fine with the older pedals. The pedals are so small and light that they don't automatically rotate to the proper orientation for clipping in. They are very easy to get in and out of as well.

 

[zooog]

practice and patience...good luck..

 

[Dereck]

For years I've ridden my road bike using mountain bike shoes & spd pedals.
It is easy to push off because you can rest the shoes on top of the pedals,
then engage once you're going. Plus when you get off the bike you can walk around easily.
Now I went ahead & got a new bike with spd-sl pedals & sidi shoes.
I am finding it real tough to get going, you cant push off with the shoes on top of the pedals, they slip off. If you are trying to push off facing a hill, it is a real challange.
What is the trick to this?? Is this just something to get used to? I am ready to revert back to mountain spd shoes riding a Madone.
Advice anyone?

The only real trick is practice! I had a similar experience - started riding in MTB shoes with Shimano SPD pedals, then tried Looks and went through what you're experiencing. What made me look for another solution was that the Look pedals placed my feet too close to the cranks for my taste. I then tried a pair of Crank Bros Eggbeaters - had a minor, but annoying issue with SPD that I eventually put down to me.

Long story short, have ended up with all four bikes, plus the new one coming, on Crank Bros pedals various, and happily ride all four in either my MTB or road shoes.

The Crank Bros road cleats aren't a solve-all for walking in road shoes - as you'd expect - but they are a lot easier to walk in than
Looks. Maybe they aren't the best on the efficiency scale for road use, but from where I sit, that isn't all that important.

If you like your SPD, there's cleats for regular road shoes available for them - they have hard rubber sponsons either side of the cleat so that when you walk, the cleat itself is clear of the ground rather being the first point of contact as your foot touches down. They'd allow you to wear road shoes with your Madone.

FWIW - I know a couple of riders who you'd have to put in serious effort to catch on the hills in order to explain to them that wearing lace-up MTB shoes on a road bike isn't fashionable. It doesn't seem to bother them

Hope that helps

Dereck

 

[slowdave]

im running Crank bros egg beaters on my TCR carbon, i have sidi dominator shoes and i swap between that and my ellsworth truth, i have no problems with walking to and from the coffe shop, or keeping up with or beating the local rodies around home. With my sidi's u can hardly tell that they are mtb shoes as they look the same as most of the sidi road range anyway. the pedals are lighter and much easyer to get into than all other peddles i have used. If u like the pedal and shoe combo u use then why worry just get out there and ride.

 

[XSarge]

It's nice to see that I'm not the only one that will be out there wearing MTB shoes on a road bike. It just made sense for the kind of rides I'll be doing.(Newbie)
And after a short discussion at a local store, I decided I could care less if anyone laughs. If it works for me is all that matters.

 

[djg]

It's just not that hard.

As Argentius said, there's nothing wrong with (at least some) mtb shoes, if that's what you want. At the same time, there's really not much of a trick to mounting and dismounting in road shoes, unless you are very badly geared on a very steep hill. It's really just a matter of getting used to the new pedal/cleat system--after a certain amount of clipping in and out it should seem more or less like second nature. If you are unsure of yourself and concerned, go ahead and do some laps on an empty parking lot with lots of stops and trials. As for stopping and starting on a slope--if you are in the small ring you should be fine. One foot stays clipped in of course. While you're waiting to start, you put the clipped pedal where you want for a push--1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, somewhere around there or so. To go: Push on the pedal and get on your seat. As the open pedal comes around, clip in. You should be able to do this on the first revolution the vast majority of times (once you are accustomed to your pedals, that is), but if you have to do a short one-legged drill, it shouldn't be too hard to turn the things over once or twice (again, we're back to the top, where I said it's fine unless you are way over-geared or on a very steep hill or both).