Road flat pedal options?

[J-hop]

This is going to sound stupid but after a while of considering it I don’t think I’m going to go clipless when I get a road bike. Reason being I’m a bit worried about knee pain from longer distance rides. My dad has bad knees and I seem to have followed in his footsteps. I’ve tried clipless at spin classes several times (10) and they always hurt my knees, I know they obviously aren’t optimized for my foot placement and angle but I think it’s more the constant tension and compression cycles causing the pain more than the angle. The upstroke really seems to aggravate my knees.

I know it sounds stupid but I’ve given them a shot and I don’t want to drop $250+ on a decent setup just to have to scrap them.

I’m wondering if there are any good lightweight and durable flat pedal options for road cycling?

[Penguin_Racecar]

The spin bikes - I assume they have flywheels? It could potentially be something wrong with your pedal stroke. There's also the possibility of having a poorly fitted spin bike (seat too low, seat too far back, etc). If you're near my shoe size I'd be willing to lend you some shoes and mountain pedals for a ride to test this theory. They have a bit more float (room to rotate) which is generally easier on the knees.

To answer your question though - I'd try to find a flat pedal with lots of contact area but minimal studs if you prefer not to shred your shoes (eventually):

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/us/en/crank-brothers-5050-flat-pedals-2018/rp-prod166232

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/us/en/wellgo-cnc-platform-b143-flat-pedals/rp-prod52877

My wife rides flat pedals on her road bike - she just has cheap MEC flats. I'm sure they make a durable version of the standard flat commuter pedal.

[Brent.ff]

I found spin bikes sucked for knees, as you weren't ever going to get a proper bike fit to make them 'right', just good enough. I'd suggest that getting shoes and pedals with good float (as Niels mentioned) will be far more beneficial (the float on spin bikes succccks as they have to be good for everyone), and then spend a bit of money on a proper bike fit.. You'll come out ahead, plus be far more efficient on hills.

[D'z Nutz]

While not the most attractive solution, how about pedals with baskets as another option?

[CLiVE]

Just ride with what is comfortable for you, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Toe clips / baskets may work for you, or powerstraps and still add a bit of efficiency to your upstroke.
MTB clipless pedals will have more float (degree they allow your feet to pivot) and potentially be easier on the knees (and the shoes are usually easier to walk with). Try Crank brothers candy pedals or similar.

Road pedals - I've found Look Keos to have more float than Shimano Pedals.

With that being said - the best way to remove flat spots from your pedal stroke is either the 1 legged pedaling drills, or ride with flat pedals for a bit. Give this a read. I make a point of riding with flat pedals all winter, both from a safety point of view and to help my pedal stroke.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2315926/our-surrender-automobile-absurd-and-deadly

....and if you want to try before you buy. Shoot me a PM. Assuming you have a pair of shoes - I have sets of toe clips, toes straps, shimano clipless, Crank bros, Look Keos, garmin vectors (look), and several shimano road pedals all in box in my garage. I have WAY too many spare parts.

A bike fit may also be the way to go. A proper one will align the cleats, and/or put spacers in your crank arms to correct problems.

[CLiVE]

My wife rides flat pedals on her road bike - she just has cheap MEC flats. I'm sure they make a durable version of the standard flat commuter pedal.

These are fine if you want a cheap aluminum commuter pedal.
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5037-621/City-Light-Pedals

[Lex350]

I'm the same way. I hate clips. I use a standard pedal. I could care less what people think. It works for me.

[msommers]

Tried spin once and nearly blew out my knees -- I haven't been back and likely never will. In my opinion, it's nothing like a real bike because that fucking flywheel has so much momentum behind it.

Regarding clipless, it does take a bit to figure out how to position the cleat that works best for you and fortunately it's very easy to change. Once I got that dialed in, knee pain was no longer an issue. What's interesting is when I originally went in for a fit, my cleats weren't even adjusted or looked at (TCR btw). After the fit I still had knee issues but fortunately my achilles problem seemed to be solved. Turns out all I needed was to rotate the cleat ever so slightly on my painful side.

Now if only getting my "sit bones" back was just as easy to fix :rofl:

If you're set on flats, just pick up some cheap mountain bike ones with minimal spikes since you don't need the grip from mud and bouncing around a lot like downhill does.

[blitz]

Time ATAC pedals have tons of float and are supposed to be better for knees from what I've read. I've been using them for years.

[HHURICANE1]

Speedplay pedals are good for float as well. My knees suck and the Speedplays are way more comfortable than the Shimanos.

[J-hop]

Thanks for all of the responses everyone. I don’t know if I’d say I’m set on flats necessarily, it’s just all I’ve ever ridden with. Not sure if I’ll really see any benefits as I’m pretty low level in my abilities and the potential knee problem gamble while trying to dial in a setup doesn’t seem worth it right now. I may take someone up on a try before I buy or pick up a used set of Kijiji or something at some point

Hard to find any tests showing the difference in efficiency over a distance. All of the tests I’ve seen were guys that had ridden clipless most of their time on a bike trying to ride flats which is never going to be accurate in demonstrating differences unfortunately.

[Brent.ff]

I’d just recommend trying both. Lots of guys here will lend you a set to try out. My biggest difference is on hills