I recently had an awesome fit on my gravel bike with SPD-SL pedals and cleats. I’m really happy with my current position and have been using the bike on mostly road/light gravel. I’m about to go on a long road trip where I’ll be using the bike for road/gravel/light singletrack, so I’m swapping over to my SPD pedals. I have lots of experience with SPD, but I like my fit so much that I don’t want to mess with the geometry too much. I know, I know, I should have done this a few weeks ago and dialed it in, but totally forgot.
Can anyone offer some generic advice on bike fit and what you would do to start adjusting from one to the other? Lower the saddle a few mm? Move it forward/back? I know we’re all different, just looking for what you would do before my first ride tomorrow as a good starting point. (I’ll have tools with me to adjust on the fly, but won’t be alone, so I don’t want to force a bunch of stops).
From personal experience, there shouldn’t be a great difference. I’ve always used SPDs but decided to try SPD-SLs when I got my current road bike a few years ago. While they were absolutely fine when on the bike and pedalling, I just couldn’t get on with them otherwise - clipping in, the duck walk, and cleats wearing out in months - so I swapped back to SPDs. I didn’t make any changes to fit and they’ve been absolutely fine including on rides up to 7-8 hours.
The one thing I’f make sure is to try to get the position of the cleats right on the shoes if you need to change/adjust them.
I would definitely do whatever I could to make sure the cleat is centered in the same spot on the sole of the shoe, one thing that creeps up for me every now and then is some foot pain when I get to the end of a LONG day, but it usually only happens early season, or I think I’ve had it when a cleat slipped or got replaced. Ultimately though, this is mostly visual comparing current cleat placement to new (take pictures, measurements, mark reference points, do one shoe at a time to compare).
But beyond that, changes would be pretty minute. Do you have stack height figures or can you measure them to see the difference between the two pedals? Assuming no difference in Q-Factor?
Thanks guys. I was hoping someone with fit experience would weigh in on a good simple “rule of thumb”, but I did my ride today with no issues. Will make minor changes as needed.
Only thing I can think of is stack height, and degree of float. Some shoes for SPD are thicker than regular road shoes. But for any differences, they would be really slight. Maybe pedal axle width might be too, but not likely. (Shimano does offer a 4mm wider axle for their Ultegra pedals, but try to get it. I have an order for a set from Amazon for over a year. Now I’m just curious if it will ever be fulfilled)
I’d figure out of all that, float might be the bigger issue, but maybe even not that. Don’t worry be happy, and RIDE ON!!
Switching from SPD-SL to SPD should be easy for you. Since you like your current setup, try keeping the saddle height the same at first. Just focus on getting your cleats in the right place. Make sure they’re centered on your shoes to avoid any foot pain. After your first ride, you can make small changes if needed. Have a great trip and enjoy your ride
I go between Look pedals and Shimano SPD pedals all the time on my gravel bike depending on the race course (the Look pedals feel stiffer/comfortable to me) and I need to adjust the saddle height about 2-3mm (SPD-SL higher). If I do this the bike feels dialed each time, I will also say I am incredible sensitive to adjustments and changes (OCD like sensitive).
My understanding is that SPDs have about 2-3mm of additional stack height. If you are using the same shoes and your cleats are positioned right, you can consider raising you saddle that amount. I’d suggest that you go ride your bike and see how it feels.
But for any differences, they would be really slight. Maybe pedal axle width might be too, but not likely. (Shimano does offer a 4mm wider axle for their Ultegra pedals, but try to get it. I have an order for a set from Amazon for over a year. Now I’m just curious if it will ever be fulfilled)