# SPD vs. SPD-SL



## velo_guy

Hey guys... I'm just wondering if there is a difference between the SPD and SPDSL style of cleats/pedals. ( like, can you get more power to the back wheel with the spd sl?)

I currently have egg beaters on both my road and xc bike because it was cheaper than buying a different pair of shoes and pedals. They work great and have absolutely no problems with them, but I'm just wondering if it would be beneficial (performance wise) to fork up the extra dough and invest in actual road shoes and proper cleats/pedals.

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated, Thanks.


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## Camilo

I assume your actually asking specifically about performance differences and that you already understand the difference in cleat size, hole pattern, etc. since you seem familiar with that sort of stuff. 

I've used the small/2 hole/SPD-type cleat (which is very similar to the Crank Bros. cleat) on my road bike for years, with mountain bike shoes. I never had a single problem with them. No lack of power to the pedals, no "hot spots", etc. I still use them on my commuter which is just a heavy duty road bike with fat tires and fenders.

A couple of years ago, on my nicer road bike, I switched to large cleat/3 hole road bike shoes, cleats and pedals (I use Time, but it would be the same if I'd gone with Shimano SPD-SL, Look or any other). Frankly, I really don't notice any functional difference except the shoes are harder to walk in. Oh, the whole system is quite a bit lighter which is a good thing. The shoes are essentially the same fit and comfort wise, and the contact with the pedals feels the same to me. Both of my road and MTB shoes are good quality and have nice stiff soles. I would have probably felt more of a difference if I'd switched from cheap, flexy mountain bike shoes to high end stiff soled road shoes. But the point is that you can get nice stiff soles with either - and I believe that's the key to function in any pedal system - the fit and stiffness of the soles.

If I could find some SPD cleats with more walkable "pontoons" that would work with my 3 hole road shoes, I'd probably switch my road bike back to SPD pedals and therefore have compatable systems among my road, commuter and mountain bike as well as the Tandem my wife and I ride! I would be perfectly happy I'm sure.

Not to say I'm not happy with the Time pedals and cleats on my road bike. It's a great system - very light, affordable and works well. It's just that they haven't given me anything that I can objectively say is better FUNCTIONALLY than the SPD/mountain bike set up I used to use.

I'm old and slow, but do ride a lot. I wouldn't argue with anyone who says road pedals and cleats are better in some way, but I really imagine it would take someone who really pushes their equipment more than me or rides a lot more than me to notice.


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## Jim311

I bought a pair of road shoes but much to my dismay it is a different bolt pattern and style than my MTB pedals and cleats. The road shoes are super stiff but my MTB shoes aren't exactly flimsy flexy either. I'm still waiting on a good deal on a cheap set of road pedals to fall into my lap. Considering I only paid 300 dollars for my road bike it chaps my ass to pay more than a few bucks for pedals.


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## kfurrow

I used SPD pedals for years. I switched to SPD-SL's when I got a new road bike.

I did have some foot "hot spot" issues when I was using cheap shoes on SPD's. Once I switched to using good shoes (Sidi Dominator's), that problem went away.

I do find that SPD-SL's are somewhat more "secure" feeling then SPD's are. I never accidentally came out of SPD's, but somehow the SPD-SL variety feels more "secure" for lack of a better word.

I haven't noticed any performance difference between the two.

SPD's are nice for two reasons:
- You can walk in them, or even if you have no reason to walk, it's easier to put a foot down when you stop at a light for instance.
- Getting started again is easier due to the double-sided nature of the pedals. It's not hard to "flip" a SPD-SL pedal so that you can click in, but being able to mindlessly stomp and get in like you can with dual-sided pedals is nice, especially when you're faced with having to start on a hill.


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## portinho6

I have SPD-SL cleats/pedals for my road bike and I tried using my shoes for a spinning class and couldn't get them to work. I got impatient and switched to regular shoes. It appears that the class is using SPD pedals. Can you confirm that I will not be able to use my shoes because they are not compatible. Thanks,


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## cxwrench

that should be pretty easy to tell just from looking at the pedals. your class uses SPD...small, metal, mtb style cleat. your shoes have SPD-SL...large, plastic, road cleat. no...not compatible. some road shoes have holes for both types of cleats. i have no idea if yours do...


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## portinho6

Thanks, I thought I couldn't but just needed confirmation that I wasn't overlooking something.


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## ecub

What model shoe do you have? How about a pic of the bottom of your shoe so we can confirm?


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## portinho6

I have the Pearl Izumi Tri Fly II with three bolts.


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## teflondog

On my commuter bike, I switched from SPD to SPD-SL. I didn't feel like I gained anything by switching so I switched back to SPD because I got tired of looking down every time I clipped in (even after months of practice, I could never clip into SPD-SL as easily as SPD). However I do use carbon soled shoes, which makes a difference in performance. I used touring SPD shoes in the past that resulted in hot spots on my feet due to the semi-flexy soles.

On my Cervelo, I use Crank Brothers Quattro pedals because they match the roadie look more. I didn't like the way SPD pedals looked on the bike.

Edit: Oops! I just realized this is an old thread revived from the dead.


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## teflondog

portinho6 said:


> I have the Pearl Izumi Tri Fly II with three bolts.


In order to use 3-hole road shoes with 2-hole SPD pedals, you'll need to install an adapter to your shoes such as the Sidi Dura-Ace adapter. The adapter allows you to mount 2-hole cleats to a 3-hole shoe.


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