Road Vs Mountain Bike Cleats

My local bike shop thinks a road shoe and pedal is best vs.

Road vs mountain bike cleats. Mountain shoes clip onto more than one side of the pedal for easier remounting while trail riding. Maybe it might not seem important but actually the surface of the contact area is the one that generates the differences between the two pedals. Mountain bike pedals use the shoe tread as the contact point while road pedals use a specialized cleat as the contact point. The pedals were two sided one side was a bear claw and the other side had the spd interface.

My son s pushing the mountain bike version. The cleats used on mountain shoes are depressed below the treads of the sole hiding them from contact with the ground. The bike is irrelevant its the conditions that matter. Giro describes the petra vr shoes 69 for instance as versatile shoes that combine performance riding features like clipless pedal compatibility with the walkability and comfort of light hiking shoes the recess for the cleat is covered in the picture.

The second clip in cleat pedal system is used primarily for off road cycling commuting and touring. I rode that until i got my first mountain bike in 1999 and moved to spd pedals and cleats. Mountain biking 26 trail riding 14 road cycling 13 urban cycling 12 cross country riding 9 cycle commuting 8 enduro 6 bike maintenance 4 cycle touring and bikepacking 3 freeride and downhill riding 3 cycle training 1 less. While mountain bike pedals go with very small cleats which are easier to unlock from the pedal road bike pedals go with larger ones that increase the contact surface between the sole and pedal.

Two bolt mountain biking clip in system. Like road shoes mountain shoes employ various cleats depending on the pedal system on the bike. Road cleats like this are typically made from hard wearing plastic and are designed to be replaced when they wear out. Just for some background back when i started riding a proper road bike a 12 speed just shy of 30 years ago i had toe clips and straps.

Road cleats on a mtb off road are less fun. They have poor grip so if you have to put a foot down for any reason that foot may skate away over rocks or catch in vegetation or generally not help you. Road cleats on a mtb on the road are totally fine. Road bike vs gravel bike.

As such road specific pedals can choose materials and control the contact patch better allowing a much smoother float and often more float than mountain bike systems. Also although mountain bike race shoes like road race shoes have rigid soles some shoes designed for spd pedals offer more flex.