MTB Clipless Pedals on a Road Bike?

There's plenty of vids where flats vs road spd are no different power wise, so can't see mtb spd being any different either. Roadies are all about style, not substance. Look at how they resist real tangible benefits such as disc brakes, tubeless tyres, wider tyres, thru-axles, tyre clearance, 1 X, saddle bags etc They're more worried about how they look in their spandex.

My Road bike and MTB have identical white Shimano M520's. The road bike came with some sort of look clones. I found them hard to get into and harder to get out of no matter how much fiddling I did. Because of these atrocities, the road bike came close to being sold. I replaced them and the road bike has now clocked up 700 miles since end of January. As things stand I wouldn't swap back to road clipless pedals for all the sex goddesses in Hollywood!

I ride MTB clipless, as I have a plastic platform on the other side of the pedal making for an easy commute.

I bought a pair of candy c's and used them once, for about 30 miles. Hated them, too much float for me. If you want them, give me a message.

Surely functionality is the main consideration. Are they comfortable and do they work for you? Whilst I like the feel of SPD-R road pedals I don't find them practical for every day riding, Audax rides or touring, I find SpDs much more practical so now have them on all of my bikes. If YOU don't like the look of them then that too may be a consideration, but do not be swayed by bike fashion or the bike fashion police!

Use what you're comfortable with is my advice.

I have SPDs on both my MTB and my Road Bike so I only need one pair of shoes which are Mavic Razor MTB shoes, I find the raised grips of the soles are preferable to road shoes when needing to walk short distances.

Please don't shout me down for having an opinion.

i use road pedals (look Keo) on my commute/winter bike and summer bike. I've used SPDs in the past on my road bike and must admit to preferring the road pedals (platform, asthetics (the pedals and the shoes).It also helps the whole clipping in process when you;re doing it day in day out...rather than looking like an arse at the traffic lights sometimes trying to clip in to the wrong side of the pedal when you're only doing it at the weekends

When your riding your bike who takes notice of what style of pedal you have ? or better still who the hell can tell when you whizz past them - some "spotter" will no doubt reply.

I prefer SPD's on my road bike (Felt f5) dont know why, just do.

It's up to you and whatever you are comfortable with! I tend to use spuds for commuting, with them being double sided and quicker to clip into at lights etc. Though I do switch to platforms when the weather gets nasty like last winter. My road bike has road pedals and I find that the bigger platform allows for better efficiency IMHO It does mean two pairs of shoes though, but hey you can never have too much bling can you?

Loved the THW comment though

Use whatever suits you. I wouldn't worry about what looks right. I use spd's mainly because I used to do a lot of mountain biking. I tried road pedals when I got my road bike but didn't like only being able to clip in one side.

I've never had a problem with platform size, I have done loads of 100mile plus sportives and I have some pretty big climbs on my rides and never had any problems. Take time to setup your bike properly though and you should be fine.

The tryhard comment was funny.

Chris, it was clear and based on aesthetics or otherwise, it's still a daft comment - ie MTB SPDs look different to Speedplays in what significant way? It's just a pedal. Use what you like on what you like.

If you had MTB SPDs on a high-end road bike, some may say that shows you have thought about comfort or practicalities as well as what's normal for that type of bike, that you just know what you prefer and aren't abiding by some unwritten style / bike format rules. That kind of approach to your bkes should be encouraged.

Always used Crank Bros pedals on my road bikes, first Candys (which looked fine), now the road-specific Quattros (which I don't think they make any more).

Only problem with the latter is that they don't have clearance for my old MTB shoes, which is a bit of a shame for those occasions when I might want to ride somewhere and wander around in anything other than my road shoes...

This is not really a topic worth getting hot and bothered about. If you are happy with mtb pedals good luck to you, if you have any doubts then get a test ride on some decent road pedals.

Personally I much prefer my road pedals for proper road riding. To me they feel (much) better, the float is smoother and its a nicer platform. For commuting I cant even be bothered with SPDs. I ride quality flats.

I use SPDs on all my bikes except my TT bike. Mainly because the shoes are easier to walk in, I don't find the size of the platform makes any difference at all to me.

I use SPDs on my road, cross and MTB and I have a set of 'race' style MTB shoes which I share between them. I use A520 SPD touring medials on my road bike which are surprisingly good but not that light. I have been wondering about a specific set of road pedals and shoes though.

"If someone is going to get all the Assos-Rapha-Castelli kit, the Fizik saddle, the latest carbon fibre and then top it off with SPDs they may as well have Try Hard Wanker tattooed on their forehead."

A laughable statement really.. ride what works for you. If that THW rider then dropped you who's laughing then? : )

The OP says 'first road bike' - I'd say go MTB SPD here.

For winter and city riding, MTB SPDs work well too. For power transfer and best set-up, road pedals are better.

I know you didn't specifically ask whether it was a good idea to use MTB pedals on a road bike but I'd say not only is it possible - it's actually preferable. Apart from the (frankly rather ridiculous) aesthetic argument, the only reason I've ever heard for using road-specific pedals is that they provide a broader platform that's said to be more stable. I'm not convinced. I swapped from Time Atacs (MTB) to Time RXS (road) recently and although they do feel more solid I think a lot of that is down to the new shoes I got, which are far better than my old MTB shoes. I think if you have good quality shoes you'll struggle to notice the difference. And you'll be able to clip in *much* more easily.

Yes, they'll fit. I use SPDs on all my bikes, road , tourer, MTB and Brompton , means I dont have to faff with different shoes