If you're any kind of an avid cyclist at all then inevitably you will be faced with the question of whether you should elect to ride with specialized clip less mountain bike pedals or clip less road bike pedals. It's not a topic that can be avoided and quite frankly you should address it as soon as you feel comfortable because riding with clip less pedals will greatly increase your cycling efficiency and pedaling power. It is a natural progression to move from the familiar toeclip/strap setup to a clipless style pedal.

There is no shortage in choices when it comes to bike pedal styles but you need to understand the major differences if you are going to be shopping for a good set of mountain bike pedals. There are some very important differences between road pedals and mountain bike pedals and you don't want to waste your money.

Road Pedals

A road pedal will typically use a single sided pedal, meaning they can only clip in on one side of the pedal. Originally invented using ski binding clip technology, this type of pedal will have a large contact area with the pedal and uses a wide cleat for quick engagement and fast and efficient pedal strokes.

When it comes to road bike pedal design, weight is a critical factor to a road racer and the one sided design is lighter but the cleat designs protrude from the bottom of the shoe making walking in these shoes an odd affair. Mountain biking will sometimes require walking over rough terrain so this cleat style is not optimal for mountain biking.

Mountain Bike Pedals

Mountain bike pedals are similar in nature but quite different in design than road bike pedals. Typically you will see at least two entry points and sometimes four depending on the pedal, making clipping in on the fly or in a hurry or off balance much easier than a road pedal where the pedal has to be facing just right.

The cleat design is typically recessed into the shoe so that you have a flat bottom to the shoe making walking in these shoes a piece of cake and pretty much close to a regular shoe. They typically will have a smaller contact area than a road pedal, which can be uncomfortable if you don't have a shoe that has a very solid sole then the flex can be uncomfortable.

The king of mountain bike pedal design is the Shimano SPD system which stands for Shimano Pedaling Dynamics. This is a simple axle and retention mechanism that has dual sided entry points. They use the small cleat I described earlier and are by FAR the most popular cleat design on the market when it comes to mountain bike pedals.

Now that we have a basic idea of the difference, let's discuss some of the issues you need to consider when making your purchase.

Before You Buy

If you are a rank noob to riding clip less then start with a cheap set of entry level pedals and shoes. The failure rate is high and many casual cyclists aren't willing to invest the time to learn how to ride clip less.

When you are shopping for pedals, read the fine print and see if the cleats are included in the price of the pedal. If they are not then it's typically another $15 to $20 dollars for cleats.

Check the amount of float that the pedal offers, especially if you have bad knees of any kind. "Float" allows a slight amount of lateral movement of the foot while clipped to the pedal, which is much easier on your knees. MOST pedals do have built in float, if you have bad knees then you may want to seek out a pedal that has a larger than normal amount of float built in.

If you ride both road and mountain bikes, then you may want to coordinate your pedal style purchase so you only have to buy one pair of shoes. If money is not an issue, then buy whatever you want, but if money is tight then a little smart shopping can get you a decent set of pedals that will work on either style of bike, typically mountain style pedals are used on a road bike.

If you are upgrading from an existing set of clip less pedals, then check compatibility of the cleat system with your current shoes, otherwise you may have to pop for a new pair of shoes too.

Popular Mountain Bike Pedals

A few popular brands dominate the mountain bike pedal market and they all bring something to the table. The undisputed KING is Shimano and their pedals dominate the sector but offerings from Crank Brothers, Look and Time are becoming more and more common. The Crank Brothers "egg beaters" are wildly popular within their fan base and are favored strongly by riders who ride in mud on a regular basis.

The Time ATAC XS pedals are the brand of choice if you have the aforementioned knee issues as they offer a unique lateral, angular float capability that provides much more lateral movement than the tradiitionally rigig grip of the Shimano SPD system.

How Much Do These Cost?

Ok how much do mountain bike pedals cost? Well you can go from relatively inexpensive area of around $40 dollars all the way up to Carbon/Titanium race pedals that will run you as much as $500 dollars so the choice is yours. You can spend as much or as little as you want to spend.

The average cyclist can start with an entry level pedal in the 50 or 60 dollar range and move up if they feel the need OR if you are confident you are going to stick to this style of pedal then you can get a great quality Mountain Bike pedal for $100 to $150 dollars. Spending any more, the bang for the buck factor quickly decreases.

Regardless of which model or style you choose, the benefits of this style of pedal are many. They will seem awkward at first but a weekend of practice in a parking lot and you will see that getting in and out of them is not that difficult once you master it. The real benefit of this style of pedal though, comes from the ability to drive power on both the downstroke AND the upstroke when pedalling. It takes some time to learn to push and pull at the same time but once you do, the power and speed you gain is amazing.