It’s tricky to find a shoe that fits well (48W in Fizik or 49/49W in other brands) and my prior SPD shoes were a bit long in the tooth, so I picked up some Fizik road shoes a few weeks ago. There seem to be more options in the size I need in road shoes vs 2 bolt off road shoes.
I was in SPD’s for 5+ years but thought maybe I “should” use road cleats for my road bike. I’ve only done 3 hours outside but about 25 inside with the new shoes/cleats over the last 3 weeks or so and it’s just not clicking (see what I did there ). I fumble every time I try to clip in. Do I need some more time to get used to it or do you think it makes sense to go back to SPD?
In my limited experience, I don’t think I felt a huge difference between SPD/SPD-SL with decently stiff shoes.
but if you are happy with your spds, you can go back to them.
myself for example i hate spd cleats and pedals, they are to lose for my taste so i use road pedals on my gravelbike as well.
it really comes down to personal preference. if you keep them on, you will get better and better with clipping in and out.
The problem is availability of good, stiff SPD shoes in my size. I’ve been having some foot pain and numbness and I think my prior shoes were too narrow.
The Fizik 48W fit great, so it’s either cross my fingers and hope I just need more time to adapt or continue the search for the goldilocks SPD shoe.
I find that with SPD-SL or Keo road pedals, I need to be a little more deliberate clipping in than with SPDs, but with some practice, it becomes more automatic.
Have you set the tension to the minimum? This can help. I will smear a dab of silicone grease on both the pedals and cleats where surfaces meet when new.
I don’t think the tension is the issue because actually clipping in/out isn’t so bad. It’s more like I can’t seem to find the right spot on the shoe vs the pedal so I’m kicking around a few times trying to line everything up
Go on a group ride, sit in the back, and watch everyone clip in after a stop. It’s amazing how many people have to play with their SL/Look style pedals. It does get easier with time, but there are always multiple people who miss the first try.
I use both styles, but it’s definitely easier with SPD than SPD-SL.
If you want to practice with your SL’s, put them on the trainer and do it over and over and over and over again. Once you get it almost every time, go ride around on some flat grass. Start and stop. Start and stop. With deliberate practice, it does get a lot more consistent.
Btw - I wear a 49 and after trying lots of shoes that were “almost good enough”, I swear by Shimano S-Phyre shoes for both pedal styles. We all have different foot shapes though, so make sure you can return them. They’re not cheap!
It can also be the pedal - the cheaper spd-sl pedals don’t sit as well for clipping in, in my experience at least. It’s a lot easier on my ultegra pedals than cheaper ones I have used or currently use.
Same here. I am not a fan of SPDs. Unless I know I’m going to be walking a good amount, I keep road pedals on my gravel bike because I like them way better.
SPD-SL and Keo pedals sit with their back end hanging down (assuming the bearings are good). What works for me is to touch the pedal with the front of my sole as I move my foot forward and down so that the hook at the front end of the cleat engages the loop at the front end of the pedal. Doing this with attention, especially when getting used to it, help a lot. If I rush trying to get underway when a traffic light turns green, etc., it can counterproductive.
I find the previous Assioma (Faveros) a bit pernickety, with cleats some supposedly keo compatible cleats wouldn’t fit and even the official ones needed trimmed slightly so they’d clip in.
If you’re looking for a 2 bolt shoe that feels like a stiff road shoe I’d suggest the shimano rx801 gravel shoes. They advertise the sole to be stiffer than the equivalent price level 3 bolt road shoe. I have a pair (old version rx8) and can confirm they ride and walk like a road shoe. They are also sold in wide sizes. While I use crank brothers on the dirt and Look/assioma on the road I can agree that I occasionally miss having 2 sided entry out on the road so there’s something to be said for using SPDs on the road.
there is a good reason spd’s are easier to clip in and out of. You put your foot down and start on uneven terrain way more often offroad. On a group ride, you may clip out 3 times on a 3 hour ride and usually at a planned stop or red light. There are other benefits to road cleats than clipping in and out. and as others have said, watch all the others on your ride faff around with getting clipped in. It usually depends on the thickness remaining on my cleat, but when the cleats are worn it can be almost comical. I think the trick is you have to smoothly press down on that leading pedal to avoid causing your trailing pedal to flip over. Just enough to allow the counter balance to kick in. Otherwise, you have to be patient and not try to panic clip in, just let the pedal settle and then put your foot on it.
I have switched from SPD/Eggbeaters to SPD-SLs on my road bike a few years ago. I still find clipping into mountain bike pedals much easier even though, this works in 99.9 % of the cases on my first try (unless I have mud stuck in my cleats or so). With road pedals, it is about 90–95 % of the cases. So it still does happen at times.
Personally, I only got SPD-SLs because I won Ultegra pedals in a raffle. Otherwise my road bike would rock Eggbeaters. With stiff shoes, I see little, if any, power transfer advantage.
Do the pedals stop with the front side up? I have occasionally found difficulty clipping in, but it’s likely due to the pedal flipping over too soon, or haste and not lining up the centerline of the pedal and shoe. (Is the cleat damaged?)
As for stiff 2-bolt shoes, the fizik Vento Ferox Carbon are really stiff, like road shoe stiff, but the top size is 48 and I can’t see that they have a wide.
). I fumble every time I try to clip in. Do I need some more time to get used to it or do you think it makes sense to go back to SPD?
