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Cycle touring: flats or SPDs?

hannahb

Well-known member
As per the title really. I keep wondering about switching to SPDs.

I've always ridden with flat pedals, for various reasons. My partner uses SPDs and the other people we ride with tend to use flats.

I understand pedalling would be more efficient and perhaps I would go faster with SPDs, but I am very, very slow, not much of a bike handler, and my bike is steel and fairly heavy, so I don't know if it would make a meaningful difference for me.

Then there's the inconvenience of having to wear bike shoes all evening when you're touring - they seem so heavy and clunky and sweaty (apart from SPD sandals which seem like a bold move).

Plus the fear of having to learn to ride clipless. I do not want to fall over and scratch or dent my frame or myself, and it seems inevitable.

Would love to hear from people with experience of either for bike touring,. specifically (bit of a long shot on here, I know). Thanks!
 

JoshW

Well-known member
I switched to clipless for bike touring on my aluminium, and, whilst I’m not sure whether I actually gained any efficiency from it specifically I think two things were helped by it:

1) foot placement being in the most efficient place every time when getting on the bike, so I was in an efficient position that looked after my joints et
2) having shoes with more firm soles felt more efficient for applying power with less flex going through foot and everything going down as power.

I went for shoes that looked least like bike shoes and most like trainers so that I could wear them in evening when I wasn’t wearing sandals in the evening (the beauty of touring in tropical temps).

I did buy two sided pedals so I can still use my bike with standard shoes if I choose (like nipping down to the shops). I think these are the ones: https://www.certini.co.uk/component...ymST5IYYoKmmbMLf7CMnwdYesKnTrQWRoCreEQAvD_BwE
 

hannahb

Well-known member
Thanks Josh.

Do you find you can spin the pedals over to get the right side?

Did you fall off when you switched?
 

wellyjen

Well-known member
I gave SPDs several decades of use, including touring. Never entirely happy with them. Couldn't get a cleat position that my left knee was 100% comfortable with. Eventually got a double sided set like JoshW describes and found I was using the flats side almost exclusively. Eventually changed to mountain bike style flat pedals with the spiky pins. Very secure. Gives as good a secure foot location at the sorts of power and cadence I can produce these days. Still use stiff soled bike shoes if going any distance, just without the SPD cleats.
Learning to use SPDs, I did fall over a couple of times. Once in front of an entire car deck of other cyclists on a Cal Mac ferry! You soon learn not to do that, if you do decide to give them a try, but it does bruise both body and ego.
 

JoshW

Well-known member
Thanks Josh.

Do you find you can spin the pedals over to get the right side?

Did you fall off when you switched?
Yup they seem to dangle in the same orientation every time, so depending on what shoes I’m wearing I can either spin it forwards by pushing from behind or backwards by pushing from in front (if that makes sense).

I had one close call, but they’re actually a lot easier to clip out of than you think, so I was able to clip a foot out and maintain balance before falling into a 3 foot deep concrete drainage ditch 😂

pretty quickly was able to get in the habit of unclipping left foot first and leaning to the left to stop.

I cycle way less nowadays, but when I was, I was a big fan of them :)
 

Loki

Well-known member
The later pedals don’t seem to play havoc with knees like the original ones did. I’ve toured with and without clip ins and on balance I prefer touring in trainers but pretty solid ones are best like approach shoes. I prefer to be clipped in for mountain biking and road biking.
Crank bros ones have loads of float for knee friendliness.
 

Ian Ball

Well-known member
ooo interesting question. Worst things about clipless is knee pain, getting the position right takes a bit of trial and improvement, but you don't know if it's quite right till 20km in. I've a few different sets you can borrow if you like.
Shimano PDM520
Shimano PDM424
Shimano PDA530
Not much use if you've got no shoes mind
 
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JoshW

Well-known member
Worst things about clipless is knee pain, getting the position right takes a bit of trial and improvement
I got mine fitted on bike by local bike store at same time as doing a mini bike fitting, and it was basically bang on. Your mileage may vary but the guy I used was spot on.

He got me to sit on the edge of something with feet dangling and could work from the angle my feet dangled how to position cleats on shoe to minimise twisting etc (Way cleverer than I appreciated at the time!)
 

hyweldavies

Active member
I'd had toe clips and straps since my late teens, despite them occasionally being tricky to undo suddenly, but even in a panic stop you can just pull your foot free. I dithered a long time before buying "clipless", my main objection being the need for the dreaded "special shoes", as it somehow bothered me needing to buy special shoes just to ride a bloody bike.

In the end I went for it, bought Shimano mountain bike (two bolt) system and mid price Shimano shoes. Yep, liked them a lot. The two hole systems have the cleats recessed into the soles of the shoes, so they are fine to walk in. The supposed "road" shoes and cleats are clip cloppy things you can't really walk in. The downside of needing to leave a proper pair of shoes in the office was there, but was worth in, and if somehow I'd taken the shoes home the cycle shoes were OK to walk around in. I've only ever had "road" bikes but you can still use MTB pedals

I later swapped to crank brothers "eggbeater" style, which I preferred, but the Shimano ones are fine and very cheap. I also got a pair of Dromatti posh cyclingshoes which are very nice but I think overpriced for what they are
 

georgenorth

Active member
As per the title really. I keep wondering about switching to SPDs.

I've always ridden with flat pedals, for various reasons. My partner uses SPDs and the other people we ride with tend to use flats.

I understand pedalling would be more efficient and perhaps I would go faster with SPDs, but I am very, very slow, not much of a bike handler, and my bike is steel and fairly heavy, so I don't know if it would make a meaningful difference for me.

Then there's the inconvenience of having to wear bike shoes all evening when you're touring - they seem so heavy and clunky and sweaty (apart from SPD sandals which seem like a bold move).

Plus the fear of having to learn to ride clipless. I do not want to fall over and scratch or dent my frame or myself, and it seems inevitable.

Would love to hear from people with experience of either for bike touring,. specifically (bit of a long shot on here, I know). Thanks!
I’d stick with flats Hannah. If you’re not that confident on the bike then spd’s won’t do you any favours. Me and Lauren both rode flats in South America and it was definitely a good choice for that trip - being able to push the bike for long distances in comfortable shoes being the main advantage!
Bikepacking in the UK, I tend to use clipless, but only because that’s what I’m most used to at the moment.
Hope that helps!
 

shotlighter

Active member
As GeorgeN says Hannah, if your not a confident rider then steer clear of SPDs for now. You will almost certainly fall off a few times when you first try spd's.
Also as Wellyjen says, try mtb flats. I was using full on pinned Nukeproof flats but found they were too grippy to easily place my foot were I wanted it. I've just gone back to some DMR V8s with less platform/pins and found them much better. If you do go with flats, then a stiff sole makes a lot of difference to power transfer. I can recommend Adidas 510s which are made for use with flat mtb pedals and look just like trainers - not cycling shoes. They're easy to walk in too. I don't ride too far now due to arthritis but have just come in from a 27 mile mixed road/gravel ride using that setup and I find it suits me fine.
 

hannahb

Well-known member
As GeorgeN says Hannah, if your not a confident rider then steer clear of SPDs for now. You will almost certainly fall off a few times when you first try spd's.
Also as Wellyjen says, try mtb flats. I was using full on pinned Nukeproof flats but found they were too grippy to easily place my foot were I wanted it. I've just gone back to some DMR V8s with less platform/pins and found them much better. If you do go with flats, then a stiff sole makes a lot of difference to power transfer. I can recommend Adidas 510s which are made for use with flat mtb pedals and look just like trainers - not cycling shoes. They're easy to walk in too. I don't ride too far now due to arthritis but have just come in from a 27 mile mixed road/gravel ride using that setup and I find it suits me fine.
What are they like to walk in off-road, say over a boggy or other bit I can't ride?
 

hannahb

Well-known member
I've got flats with pins and I like them, so no problems there. I just have this feeling I'm missing out on something since most cyclists I see around and about use clipless pedals.
 

maxb727

Active member
I always ride clipless in the UK on road, cycle paths and the like. Not brave enough to mountain bike clipless yet.

I’ve done a few tours and generally clipped in for those but we leave in 2.5 weeks for another and we don’t plan to be clipless on that trip.

It all depends on what you fancy. Being clipped increases power but only significantly if you change your style of riding (I.e. pushing down with one leg while pulling up with the other at the same time), the shoes (even the recessed ones) aren’t that great to walk around in, but if you’re just mostly cycling then the shoes won’t bother you.

The reason we aren’t clipless on the next trip is my partners knees aren’t great when clipless so best to avoid injury on a longer trip, plus cycling in trainers means we can use the same shoes for any hiking or other sport while travelling.
 

shotlighter

Active member
What are they like to walk in off-road, say over a boggy or other bit I can't ride?
Like walking in trainers for grip. Too boggy and you'll get wet feet but that's the case with MTB SPDs - especially if you don't seal the cleat holes well! Probably best to try before you buy. So unless you know someone with them, probably time to support your local bike shop.
 

georgenorth

Active member
It all depends on what you fancy. Being clipped increases power but only significantly if you change your style of riding (I.e. pushing down with one leg while pulling up with the other at the same time), the shoes (even the recessed ones) aren’t that great to walk around in, but if you’re just mostly cycling then the shoes won’t bother you.
It’s a fairly common misconception that pulling up on the upstroke is more efficient - it isn’t! The main advantage of clipless pedals is down to having a better connection to the bike and therefore more control.
 

caving_fox

Active member
ToeClips and straps! "rarely seen" :-D Have most of the advantages of clipless, in that the foot is positioned correctly, without the disadvantages of silly shoes and being unable to release easily (until you've learnt how) - don't pull the straps tight you should be able to easily slide feet out backwards without thinking about it. Does take some practise at flicking the foot in.

I'm basically a utility/commuter cyclist so have a lot of traffic lights to deal with, and combined with office shoe can't be arsed learning clipless. I have also done a few multiday rides and they work well.
 

alastairgott

Well-known member
What are they like to walk in off-road, say over a boggy or other bit I can't ride?
I don’t find them bad, but as you ask what happens if you find a very muddy section…

I recently went from Castleford (near leeds) to Peterborough on a multi day cycle, most of the TPT (transpennine trail) that we used on that route was ok. But we did have a rather fun day part of it down a very muddy lane - not far from Rutland water. Upshot was I had to get a stick/stone to clean out my shoe, as it was totally gummed up, and also use my t-shirt as a rag to clean off my v-brakes. (Luckily I had a spare that day).

Didn’t have any similar issues at any point on the Southport-Hornsey TPT but we were lucky with weather for both trips.
 
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