Cycling Thread

These are MTB pedals:

SPD:

Eggbeater:

Time:

The above are all technically mtb pedals. Double sided for ease of entry, big open spaces to stop mud build up ruining the action of clipping in or out. These are all perfectly acceptable to use on a roadbike. As are mtb shoes and baggies!

These are road pedals:

Shimano:

Look:

Only one sided, lighter and have bigger cleats that spread the load out across the base of your foot. Coupled with stiffer shoes in general people reckon these transfer power more efficiently.

Now i'm no road cyclist but as Stu says i have SPDS on all my bikes so i can grab whichever shoes i fancy wearing (dry/clean) on any bike and know they will work. I have never experienced the hot aches some people reckon you get from the small contact point of SPDS on road bikes (more constant pedalling than MTB'ing) so will probably stick with what I'm doing. My MTB shoes are probably stiffer than most though.

What is the difference between MTB shoes and road shoes? What is the actual difference between road and MTB pedals? Surely clipless pedals are just normal flat pedals?

I can't afford to buy 2 sets of shoes and pedals. Why would MTB shoes look stupid on a roadie? Whats wrong with SPDs? I think the pedals I was looking at were the M520 SPDs. Am I going to notice any real difference, my pedals at the moment have little plastic toe hook type things on.