The best clipless pedals for road or gravel use will help you deliver power more efficiently as you ride. Almost all road riders use clipless pedals and cycle with cleats, although commuters might prefer flat pedals to be able to put a foot down more easily. Most gravel bike riders also ride clipless; it’s only for mountain bikers that the choice to ride clipless or not is more divided.
There’s one big choice to be made with clipless pedals: should you ride with two-bolt cleats, which are small, recessed into the shoe’s sole and normally used with double-sided clipless pedals, or do you prefer three-bolt cleats, which are larger, sit below the shoe’s sole and are used with pedals that are usually single-sided?
This guide is divided into our picks of the best road bike pedals to use with road cycling shoes and then the best gravel bike pedals to use with gravel bike shoes, based on our testing and reviews.
The best road bike clipless pedals
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Road bike clipless pedals can be further divided by brand, with each maker having its own take on three-bolt pedal tech and its own cleat system.
Best Shimano three-bolt pedals
Shimano is perhaps the default choice. All its pedals use a similar design with a rear retainer that’s tensioned by a coil spring. The pedal release tension is changed via a hex bolt in the top of the retainer, with an indicator window to show you the release tension you have set.
Shimano cleats are wide, providing a broad contact area with the pedal, although the wide cleat can overhang the sole of narrower or smaller shoes. There are three cleat options with 0, 2 or 6 degrees of float.
The Shimano 105 pedal offers a carbon body at a very affordable price and includes much of the tech of the top-spec Dura-Ace pedal.
It has a similar, adjustable retainer spring and a wide platform for foot stability. Its bearings are easy to service and the steel plates in the top of the body ensure longevity. It’s only in the weight stakes that 105 cedes much to Dura-Ace or Ultegra.
Read more in our Shimano 105 pedal review.
If you want Shimano’s top pedal tech, the Dura-Ace pedals include features not found in 105 or Ultegra. The outboard main bearing lowers the stack height and increases the bearing separation for a more even load distribution.
Unlike 105,…
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