I am thinking about mtb shoes and pedals for my Steamroller. I currently have road speedplays, same as my geared bike. When I set up the fixie I set it up to be interchangeable with the geared bike. Now that I have a year of fixed riding I am thinking about mtb shoes for ease of walking. I am using the fixie more & more around town, coffee rides, etc. At least that is my justification.
Anyway, Nashbar has “Crank Bros Smarty Pedals” on sale and I can get these and a pair of Sidi’s in my size for less than $100.00. My question to you all is what do you think about these pedals? Again, just want to go MTB for ease of walking but want pedals at least as easy to get in and out of as the Speedplays.

i bought the smartys like you mentioned. haven't gotten them on a bike yet, but am planning on converting all bikes over to crank brothers over time

I use eggbeaters on my fixie. I have Crank Brothers pedals on all my bikes and I find they work well for road, fixed, cx, and mtb. Plus their customer service is top notch.

On my fixie, I switch between flat pedals with clips in the summer for city riding (when I ride the geared bike more) and road pedals in the winter when it's my main ride. Just another option.

I'm using Crank Bros Candy pedals (with Sidi MTB shoes) on my road, fixed, and MTB and like them a lot, they release easily but I've never pulled out. They do have a lot of rotational float, didn't like that at first, but quickly got used to it...

For me, it's MKS platforms, toeclips & straps. I said goodbye to cycling shoes and cleats about 4 years ago and never regretted it. I have some clipless pedals on my mountain bike, where I really see the benefit, but on the fixie it's nice to be wearing regular shoes when I go into the grocery store or library.

No clipless on road bikes at all? Ever?

I use the Crank Brothers road pedal Quattro with my mountain shoes. I have Candys on my Single Speed. I too wanted something I could walk in, and the Candy pedals were already here.

"Kurt is up in heaven now."

RIP Vonnegut


I just saw this...havent heard anything.

YOU JUST RUINED MY DAY!!! WTF WTF WTF!!

edit: just looked it up...died on the 11th.. so out of the loop.

Kurt Vonnegut... I salute you!

Newspapers are an arguably better way to stay informed, at least as compared to RBR signatures.

Be cautious about cleat wear. The crank bros cleats seem to be soft and wear out quicker (especially with daily use) than SPDs. You want to reduce your chances of pulling out more so with a fixed bike so make sure you replace them often.

Thanks for all the info. I think I will pull the trigger and place the order. I will let you all know what I think. I have been in road shoes and Speedplays since they first came out.
Lew 3

Newspapers are an arguably better way to stay informed, at least as compared to RBR signatures.


:D guilty of often getting my news off message boards :p



i use rat traps on my beater fixie but spd mtb pedals with carnac mtb shoes for everything else.

Me too.

No clipless on road bikes at all? Ever?

My fixie is my road bike, so no.

Just curious here. I've never ridden a fixed, but I'm planning on building one this summer. Is some sort of attachment to the pedals preferred? I always see pics of fix's with either clips or clipless, never just platforms. Reason I ask is I have some of those pedals that have an SPD on one side and a platform on the other. I thought those may be useful on a fixie, since they work great on my commuter MTB for when I want to wear flipflops or boat shoes to school, or when I want to clip in to go into town.

You don't really need to be attached to the pedals as long as you have a brake.

Come to think of it, I don't really see many road bikes without clips or clipless.

"Kurt is up in heaven now."

RIP Vonnegut


I just saw this...havent heard anything.

YOU JUST RUINED MY DAY!!! WTF WTF WTF!!

edit: just looked it up...died on the 11th.. so out of the loop.

Kurt Vonnegut... I salute you!


He died on April 11th, my birthday. Definitely a downer.

As Vonnegut would have said, "so it goes."

Just curious here. I've never ridden a fixed, but I'm planning on building one this summer. Is some sort of attachment to the pedals preferred? I always see pics of fix's with either clips or clipless, never just platforms. Reason I ask is I have some of those pedals that have an SPD on one side and a platform on the other. I thought those may be useful on a fixie, since they work great on my commuter MTB for when I want to wear flipflops or boat shoes to school, or when I want to clip in to go into town.

I went with the Performance "Campus" (made by Wellgo.) SPD one side, platform on the other. I find them "fixie-friendly." I use my MTB SPD shoes for my daily commute, but I can just hop on the bike with tennies, flip/flops, or boat shoes to putz around the park with my wife on her beach cruiser or for that quick trip around the corner for the pint of half-and-half for my morning coffee.

As much as I have mixed feelings about Performance (I briefly worked for them), when they have a "Sale" (which is every other week), the Campus pedals can be had for about the same as I can get the identical Wellgo from our wholesale suppliers. They probably buy more of them directly from Wellgo under their brand then the rest of the suppliers put together.:rolleyes:

You don't really need to be attached to the pedals as long as you have a brake.

Come to think of it, I don't really see many road bikes without clips or clipless.

Responding to desperado, and disagreeing a bit with Pablo, I think especially if you're new to fixed riding it's really a good idea to have some attachment to the pedals. After some practice you can manage the platform thing safely, but at first it's a bit scary to get spinning fast and run the risk of a foot slipping from the pedals. So I'd very much advise using some kind of attachment when learning.

As for the dual-function types, I think they're the perfect solution for a bike that will be used for around-town errand stuff as well as more intense rides. I have the Nashbar knockoffs on my commuter. For my commute I wear mtn bike shoes with cleats; when I'm popping out to the drugstore or choir practice I wear whatever shoes I'm wearing (sometimes flip-flops). I do keep the speed down when I'm unattached.

I agree. That's a more well-rounded answer. I guess that I made an ill-advised assumption. Oops. I rode mountain bikes for years and taught myself how to ride with flat pedals on super-rocky technical singletrack. Most people don't necessarily have the ability to stick their feet to the pedals.

I use Speedplays on my roadie and Eggbeaters & mountain shoes on my fixies, mountain bike, and tour bike.
The only reason I use Speedplays on my road bikes is because I've had them for so long.....since the early 90's. If I had to start from scratch I'd use mountain shoe/pedal combo on ALL my bikes.

I started using Speedplay Frogs initially on my mountain bike in the '90's and liked their knee-friendly free float / receased cleat for easy walking so much that I started using them on my road, tandem and fixies bikes. Easy maintenance as well!