How to choose your road bike pedals?
A guarantee of comfort, safety and performance, pedals must be chosen carefully. Today, flat pedals have almost disappeared from road cycling, where clipless pedals are preferred. Not only do they allow you to transfer all your power to the crankset, but they are also much less dangerous for the joints in the event of a fall, since the mechanism unlocks if the forces become too great.
Standards
- Thread pitch* of the pedal axle: 9/16"
- Fitting cleats of the LOOK, SHIMANO, TIME or SPEEDPLAY type
- Degree of freedom
Types of pedals
Regarding the thread, there is today only one standard, whether for an MTB, a road bike, a city bike, or even a BMX. The standard thread pitch is 9/16" (i.e. 14.28 mm in diameter).
The first thing worth remembering about fitting is that the thread* pitch is reversed on the left pedal. So be careful when removing/fitting pedals: for the right pedal the tightening direction is standard, i.e. clockwise, whereas on the left pedal it is reversed, i.e. anti-clockwise to tighten.
Regarding the cleat type, there are mainly two types of attachment between cleats and shoes in the models commonly used on road bikes: SPD-SL or Speedplay. SPD-SL road-type cleats are mounted on your shoes using 3 screws — this is the most widespread system. For Speedplay, it is a 4-screw system that requires specific shoes if you want to get all the benefits from it; however, the cleats always come with adapters to fit them on SPD road-type shoes.
You may also occasionally find the MTB SPD system fitted to road bikes, where the pedal mechanism — and therefore the compatible cleats — is different. MTB SPD-type cleats are fitted using 2 screws placed side by side.
Finally, you will often hear about angular float for clipless pedals. Despite the fact that the shoes are "clipped" to the pedals, it is indeed possible to move your foot from side to side without unclipping the shoe from its fixing, depending on your settings and the cleats used. This degree of rotational movement at the foot is what is known as angular float.
Some manufacturers such as Time also offer adjustment of the Q Factor from left to right foot, known as lateral float.
Which pedals should you choose?
Regarding the choice between the systems used on road bikes and those used on MTBs, it will depend directly on your riding style. If you only do road cycling of the sportive type, opt for one of the two standards used exclusively on road bikes. For touring or cyclocross, the MTB standard is a good choice.
For the degree of freedom, it will be a matter of compromise. Generally, the freer the foot, the less likely you are to experience joint problems; the less free it is, the better the power transfer. However, it is worth bearing in mind that the source of pain is often first and foremost due to a poor position setting.
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