Double Sided Pedals.........anyone have them???

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Dave7

Legendary Member
Location
Cheshire
Just got my new road bike and decided to go with Shimano double sided pedals..........you know.........SPD one side & flat the other.
I've not ridden it yet (bad back).
Just wondering how others get on with them (confidence builder really).
On my last (recently nicked) bike I had SPDs which I like but.......I enjoy cycling in with walking/site seeing and SPD shoes are definitely not uilt for walking.
I recall cycling to Dunham Massey last year and finding out they dont allow cycling in the grounds......walking was not enjoyable.
 

raleighnut

Legendary Member
I've got em on 2 of mine (the tourers) and they're great.
There is a trick that eases clipping in, once you've got the crank turning if you lift you're foot off the flat side at the bottom of the pedal stroke then replace it at the top the weight of the clip mechanism keeps that side on the outside so that the clip is now under your cleat ready to engage without trying to 'flip' the pedal over. It happens almost by magic provided you keep the crank rotating.
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
Just got my new road bike and decided to go with Shimano double sided pedals..........you know.........SPD one side & flat the other.
I would call those single-sided pedals since the SPD part is only on one side.

I don't like them because you are back to faffng about to choose which side. Ordinary (what I would call) double-sided SPD pedals are very easy to clip in to because you can forget which way up they are and just stomp on them.

I would rather use cycling shoes on the bike which are ok for short walks, than walking shoes/boots which are ok for a bit of riding. I don't have any problem walking in SPD shoes. You have got the type with recesses for the SPD cleats, haven't you? If you put SPD cleats on ordinary road shoes then I can understand why you struggled to walk in them!

Scores of people will probably now come out of the woodwork and say that they cycle thousands of miles a year in walking boots ... Fine - don't bother with SPDs then! :thumbsup:

A friend of mine who cycled in walking boots for nearly 40 years recently converted to SPDs and loves them.
 
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Dave7

Dave7

Legendary Member
Location
Cheshire
I would call those single-sided pedals since the SPD part is only on one side.

I don't like them because you are back to faffng about to choose which side. Ordinary (what I would call) double-sided SPD pedals are very easy to clip in to because you can forget which way up they are and just stomp on them.

I would rather use cycling shoes on the bike which are ok for short walks, than walking shoes/boots which are ok for a bit of riding. I don't have any problem walking in SPD shoes. You have got the type with recesses for the SPD cleats, haven't you? If you put SPD cleats on ordinary road shoes then I can understand why you struggled to walk in them!

Scores of people will probably now come out of the woodwork and say that they cycle thousands of miles a year in walking boots ... Fine - don't bother with SPDs then! :thumbsup:

A friend of mine who cycled in walking boots for nearly 40 years recently converted to SPDs and loves them.

BUT..........have you actually used them???
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
BUT..........have you actually used them???
Yes. I didn't like them, for the reason stated above, so I sold them!

PS But ... If I were going to wear normal footwear on the bike, then obviously normal SPD pedals would be pretty lethal, but in that case I would choose double-sided flat pedals! (You can buy cheap SPDs for well under £20 so it wouldn't hurt to have one set of each and swap them over when necessary.)
 

mcshroom

Bionic Subsonic
I have A530s on one bike which allow me to go shopping/to the pub in non-cycling shoes.

My SPD touring shoes have Vibram Soles and are perfectly good for waking distances in though (and look like walking shoes) so I spend most of the time just wearing those as I prefer being clipped in
 

raleighnut

Legendary Member
BUT..........have you actually used them???
Quite :giggle:
The other advantage is that if you're off to a mates house to head off for a couple of beers together and don't want to sound like an out of work tap dancer in the pub you can still ride that bike in normal footwear (though stiletto heels might be pushing it a bit. :whistle:)
I'd should also point out that 3 of my other bikes have single sided (600) pedals so I have to wear SPD shoes if I use them.
 

deptfordmarmoset

Full time tea drinker
Location
Armonmy Way
I have A530s on one bike which allow me to go shopping/to the pub in non-cycling shoes.

My SPD touring shoes have Vibram Soles and are perfectly good for waking distances in though (and look like walking shoes) so I spend most of the time just wearing those as I prefer being clipped in
Pretty much the same here. Have them on the tourer but am comfortable walking in SPD type shoes so rarely use the flat sides (and because I'm now so used to lifting the foot on the upstroke I end up flapping around). They're no problem if you occasionally end up on the wrong side - one lift of the foot and by the time you catch the pedal on the next time the pedal comes round it's turned itself over.
 

helston90

Eat, sleep, ride, repeat.
Location
Cornwall
Don't use them myself but a mate has them on his MTB- says he can then ride his bike to the shops/ errands just as easily as he can chuck on his SPD's and hit the trails.
I personally told him to get another bike but hey.
 

chewa

plus je vois les hommes, plus j'admire les chiens
I would call those single-sided pedals since the SPD part is only on one side.

I don't like them because you are back to faffng about to choose which side. Ordinary (what I would call) double-sided SPD pedals are very easy to clip in to because you can forget which way up they are and just stomp on them.

I would rather use cycling shoes on the bike which are ok for short walks, than walking shoes/boots which are ok for a bit of riding. I don't have any problem walking in SPD shoes. You have got the type with recesses for the SPD cleats, haven't you? If you put SPD cleats on ordinary road shoes then I can understand why you struggled to walk in them!

Scores of people will probably now come out of the woodwork and say that they cycle thousands of miles a year in walking boots ... Fine - don't bother with SPDs then! :thumbsup:

A friend of mine who cycled in walking boots for nearly 40 years recently converted to SPDs and loves them.

I too use them on my MTB ( I use clipless on all my other bikes) as I am not too confident off road (wussy boy as my wife puts it!), but I'm going to swap to normal double sided SPDs as I also find it a real faff trying to spin them round.
 

vickster

Legendary Member
BUT..........have you actually used them???
I have both types, much prefer the M520s, as the clip in side is never upright on the other types (and one of these are costly a600s). The cage is also too small for use with shoes. I have m324 on the single speed, but in normal shoes you have the age old problem of slippage
 

Hacienda71

Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
I have some Shimano PD m424's on my MTB good with flats or clipped in.
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