Am sure this has been asked but SPD or SPD SL ?

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cambsno

Well-Known Member
Never used clipless and have a feeling that SPD would be the best option for me - aside from the obvious differences, is one 'better' than the other in terms of road bikes and general use. I do prefer the look of the SL pedal and how it hangs, but like the idea of being able to walk away from the bike for photo ops when out or to pop into somewhere for food/drink, hence the SPD.

My mind is pretty made up, but the fact that SL is supposedly for road and SPD is for MTB still bugs me!

General rides, probably up to 50 miles on road.
 

GetFatty

Über Member
I found you get a better power transfer from SL but it is at the expense of being able to walk easily. As power transfer isn't high on my list of requirements I've been using SPDs for years on all my bikes now
 
SPD everytime.
At our level any power transfer variations are theoretical at best.
SPD have the advantage of being double sided, making clipping in quicker. And you can wear shoes that you can walk about in.

Died in the wool roadies will disagree, but they tend to have closed minds when it comes to gear.
 

guitarpete247

Just about surviving
Location
Leicestershire
535095

To make walking easier and to protect cleats these are available for SL cleats.
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
Started off with SPD-L's but changed over quite quickly to SPD's.
I found there's absolutely no noticeable difference in the two types. Either in 'power transfer' orweight of pedals etc
SPD compatible shoes are just as stiff soled as roadie shoes now too. SPD cleats will outlast the shoes, SPD-L cleats, a few months.
If you want to go down the the full on roadie look, then go for SPD-L's, if not then SPD's.
 

raleighnut

Legendary Member
The A520 are an SPD single sided road pedal,


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Binka

Über Member
Location
Lincoln, uk
I use SPDs on my road bike. I'm not racing and don't think any slight improvement on power, etc is necessary for me. If I had a problem with numb feet/toes on a long ride I might reconsider as I believe a stiffer soled show may help with this but I currently don't have any issues.
 

GetFatty

Über Member
PITA things (as the clip always hangs down) , stick with double sided :whistle:
Ah ok. I do have a tendency towards hot foot/burning foot particularly on long rides. LEL was a killer for it as it started on day 2 and almost caused me to give up. Was thinking these may help
 

vickster

Legendary Member
You can only give them a try. Maybe look at your footwear too. If stiff enough I can’t see how the pedal makes a lot of difference?
I had what could have been a nasty off (if not for a plastic rather than metal or concrete bollard :eek:) as I couldn’t clip in and looked down at my foot and rode into the kerb of a chicane :ph34r:
Never had an issue with M520s
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
I use a stiff-soled shoe with SPD pedals - despite what some may say there is absolutely no difference in power transfer between the pedal types.

The key is the stiffness of the shoe of which road shoes tend towards - I've found that a slightly flexier shoe does give me a bit of hot foot on longer rides. A high quality XC race shoe will often have a very stiff sole and I've found that helps.
 
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