Road or mountain bike pedals for gravel cycling? A few perspectives

Описание: Which is better for gravel: road shoes and pedals, or mountain-bike shoes and pedals?

The answer, as for so much of cycling, is: it depends.

Most riders go for MTB shoes, because they are easy to use in a range of conditions, and because they’re much better for walking around in than road shoes and cleats. For adventure gravel riding, MTB pedals are a no-brainer.

For racing, some folks choose road set-ups for the lighter weight, the solid and familiar feel, and perhaps also for aerodynamics or even a small perceived power efficiency advantage over MTB options.

And now we have gravel shoes, with an MTB-style lugged sole and pedal interface, but a lighter weight.

In this video, I talk to some of the top male riders on the start line at Big Sugar, including winner Torbjørn Andre Røed, for what they use and why.

I talk to Jim Miller, USA Cycling’s Chief of Sports Performance and personal coach to Keegan Swenson, as Swenson has been winning pretty much every gravel race he shows up to - often while wearing lightweight road shoes.

I also share some thoughts from Andy Lull, the creator of the Stages power meter and a guy who has thought a lot about power efficiencies.

And I give you my take, based on my experience and preferences and what I’ve seen top riders using at dozens of events.
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00:00 intro
01:32 what pros use
03:09 expert perspective
09:45 weight comparisons
12:51 my take