The Greatest Street Bike Pedals of 2024

How We Tested the Best Road Bike Pedals

For well over a decade, our cycling team has been reporting on the latest news, technology, and products across all disciplines of cycling. Our staff is made up of passionate riders who enjoy all types of riding and are obsessed with finding the best products to enhance their experience and performance on the bike. From bike frames to wheels, shoes to bib shorts, and everything in between, we know that having the right gear can make a huge difference. We also have the luxury and privilege of testing the latest and greatest products, including pedals, for product launches, individual reviews, and buyer’s guides.

Our road bike pedals buyer’s guide tester and review author, Bennett Shane, has over two decades of road cycling experience. While his racing days are largely behind him, he still enjoys putting in big miles, long climbs, and fast mountain descents on roads throughout the Pacific Northwest near his home in Portland, OR. In addition to his wealth of cycling experience, Bennett has worked for several prominent brands in the cycling industry which has given him unique insight into the design, materials, and construction of products across categories spanning from apparel to components. Combined, his industry and cycling experience give him the ability to understand products from both sides of the table, but most importantly, as a consumer, and he has developed an excellent ability to tease out the often subtle performance differences in the products he tests. Bennett has spent an inordinate amount of time on his road bikes this year, testing and reviewing a variety of road cycling gear, including high-performance road bike shoes, protective road bike helmets, and the best cycling bib shorts.

After rounding up 10 of the best road bike pedals on the market, Bennett mounted them up on his small fleet of road bikes and hit the pavement. Each model was tested over the course of several months, switching regularly between models for comparison. Back-to-back testing provides the opportunity to truly compare products side by side and identify performance differences that may otherwise go unnoticed. Each model’s design and construction were also examined and scrutinized, along with adjustments and features, to see how effective they really are. After extensive testing, favorites were identified, and our findings are presented here.

Buying Advice: How To Choose Road Bike Pedals

Finding the right pair of road bike pedals can enhance your comfort and efficiency on the bike. While many seasoned road bikers probably already have a brand preference, those looking to switch it up or who are just jumping into clipless pedals for the first time have some decisions to make. Assuming you are ready to purchase some pedals, what factors should influence your choice? We know that navigating the myriad models, materials, and marketing jargon can be confusing, so let’s dive into the details so you can make an informed purchase decision.

What Are Road Bike Pedals?

Along with road bike shoes, road bike pedals are a very important component as they serve as one of just three contact points between your body and your bike. They are an essential part of the energy transfer system between your legs and your drivetrain. But what exactly are road bike pedals, and how do they differ from other types?

Pedals generally fall into three categories. There are clipless road bike pedals (3-bolt cleats), clipless mountain bike pedals (2-bolt cleats), and flat pedals. Whether you are a serious or recreational road cyclist, we recommend using road bike specific clipless pedals because they are designed and purpose-built for the task. That’s not to say that you can’t road bike with any type of pedals, because you certainly can, it’s just that road bike pedals are specifically made for the application. Clipless road bike pedals differ from their clipless mountain bike counterparts in several ways.

One of the main things that sets clipless road pedals apart is the 3-bolt cleat “standard”. With the exception of Wahoo Speedplay pedals that use a 4-bolt cleat (and come with a 3-bolt adaptor to work on most road bike shoes), nearly all road bike pedals use a 3-bolt cleat and work on road bike shoes that have a 3-bolt hole pattern on the sole. Shimano, Look, Time and a handful of smaller pedal manufacturers use similar, but definitely not the same, cleats that are triangular in shape. These large cleats aim to maximize the shoe-cleat-pedal interface and contact area, which helps to distribute pedaling forces over a larger area with the goal of increasing efficiency, stability, and comfort. Road bike pedals, of course, are designed to work in unison with their specific cleats to match their dimensions and create the super important connection between your legs and the cranks.

Most road bike pedals are one-sided, meaning that the cleat can only engage on one side of the pedal. The other side of the pedal is typically smooth and somewhat aerodynamic. Generally speaking, the front of the cleat engages first before pushing the rear of the cleat down onto the retention mechanism. The exception here is the Wahoo Speedplay pedals that allow for dual-sided engagement.

Clipless mountain bike pedals differ from road bike pedals with their 2-bolt cleats. These cleats are smaller and mount to shoes that are designed with a 2-bolt interface. Most mountain bike pedals allow for dual-sided engagement, and they come in a wide variety of styles with different-sized platforms designed to meet the differing needs of varying riding styles and preferences. Given the smaller size of the cleat, the soles of the shoes often interface with the platform of the pedals for additional support.

Axles

Pedal axles, or “spindles,” connect the body of the pedal to the crank arm of the bike. The outboard end sits inside the pedal platform and is exposed between the body and the crank arm, eventually threading into the tip of the crankarm. Stiffness is important here because of the way the axle is positioned — perpendicular to the direction of the force applied to the pedal body. More expensive pedals will feature stiffer Titanium axles, which benefit racers who apply repeated doses of explosive power. For recreational riders, steel or chromoly axles are sufficiently stiff, incurring a slight weight penalty while saving enough money to make choosing them a no-brainer. 

Bearings

Axle bearings allow the pedal to rotate against the circular motion of the crank arm, keeping the rider’s foot stable and promoting a fluid pedal stroke. If these bearings wear out, the axle may wobble and may produce noise. Most pedal axles can be overhauled, but unless you are doing it yourself and using high-end pedals, the labor bill won’t be much less expensive than replacing the pedals altogether. So, high-quality bearings are something to look for in a pedal that you want to install and never think about ever again. Most pedals use stainless steel bearings, with some high-end options going with ceramic bearings. While they are significantly more expensive, ceramic bearings are claimed to be more durable, lighter weight, and lower friction, potentially providing a marginal performance gain that may appeal to racers or anyone seeking a competitive advantage.

Body Material

Along with every other bike part out there, pedal bodies have become more commonly made of carbon fiber in recent years. While carbon certainly isn’t a poor choice of material, its benefit is less obvious than parts that have more dynamic characteristics, such as frames and rims. Pedals are not an area of the bike where weight is of the utmost importance (although it is still certainly a consideration). Also, make sure that if you are choosing a pedal because it’s “light” you are looking at the weight of not only the pedals but the combined weight of the pedals and cleats. 

While carbon fiber is becoming the material of choice for high-end pedals, many models are made from other composites. Regardless of the material used in the pedal body’s construction, many also include small steel plates on the contact area where the cleat and pedal interface. This is generally done to add stiffness as well as durability over time.

Shoes

It’s important to use road bike pedals with the appropriate shoes. Much like road pedals, road bike shoes are designed to optimize pedaling efficiency and comfort on the bike. When paired together, they form the system that is the important connection between your legs and your drivetrain, transferring your pedaling power into forward momentum. Of course, road bike shoes come in a huge range of styles, constructions, materials, and price points, with models made for everything from racing, sprinting, and endurance riding to more casual, recreational riding. Finding a pair that fits well and suits your style is critical.

If you are buying both pedals and shoes, you want to make sure these items are compatible with each other. Nearly every road bike shoe (with the exception of those made specifically for use with Speedplay pedals) features a triangular set of three threaded holes in the forefoot of the outsole, meant to accept a 3-bolt road cleat. Each new pair of pedals comes with cleats that are made specifically to work with that pedal, and generally speaking, those cleats are not cross-compatible between different brands. Speedplay cleats are an outlier as they are rectangular with a 4-bolt pattern and require an adapter to convert the 3-bolt pattern on most road shoes. This adapter is included with every pair of Speedplay pedals. Some brands offer Speedplay-specific shoes that feature a 4-bolt sole, and thus, no adapter is required. 

There are some road bike shoes, typically on the lower end of the price spectrum, that are both 3-bolt and 2-bolt compatible, meaning they can work with both road bike pedals and clipless mountain bike pedals.

Adjustability

Most road bike pedals offer a few adjustments that allow the user to dial them into their preferences. These typically include entry and release tension and float. Additionally, the cleats themselves can be adjusted on the sole of the shoe to get them in the perfect spot for comfort and efficiency. Before heading out for your first ride, we recommend that familiarize yourself with all of the adjustments that your pedals offer and set them up how you like.

Cleats

Having your cleats in the right location is important for the alignment of your leg for comfort and injury prevention, as well as to optimize the power of your pedal stroke. Most cleats offer a small range of fore-aft and side-to-side adjustability so the user can line them up in their preferred location underneath the ball of the foot. Often, the small metal inserts in the soles of the shoes can be moved slightly as well. Additionally, the angle of your cleats can also be adjusted slightly, toe-in or toe-out, if needed. Most quality road bike shoes have small alignment markings on the soles that can be helpful when dialing in your perfect cleat placement.

Retention

Most road bike pedals feature a tension adjustment that controls how easy it is to clip in and out of the pedal. The level of tension is typically a personal preference that may depend on the type of riding you do. Too much tension could lead to the dreaded situation where you’ve stopped the bike but are unable to get a foot out of the pedal and down to the ground. Conversely, riders who produce a lot of power will want to make sure there is sufficient tension to keep the foot in the pedal during explosive efforts. The majority of pedals have a small screw on the cleat retention mechanism that can be turned to tighten or loosen the tension to the desired setting. Look Keo Blade pedals are a little different in that they use carbon “blades” that can be swapped out to change the tension. Once again, Speedplay is an outlier in this regard, as the tension is dictated by which cleat you use. They offer both “standard” and “easy” tension options.

Float

All pedals offer some way of adjusting the “float,” which is the degree of angular movement the pedal allows the cleat to make. Float is important because foot movement can prevent or cause problems, depending on how much of it happens and for how long. Foot movement, or lack thereof, affects everything up the chain, from the knee to the hip and even the lower back, and it can be a process of trial and error to find what works best for you. Like anything else, personal preferences vary and often depend on the type of riding you’re doing, racing vs. casual, or the desired feel from your pedals. Less float provides a more secure, locked-in feel that is typically preferred by high-performance riders and more intense power output (track races, criteriums). Having less float leaves a little less margin for error in cleat positioning, so the setup can be more challenging. Higher degrees of float are considered more forgiving, allowing more freedom of movement and generally less tension on the joints. Higher float is usually preferred by those with joint issues and anyone undertaking long, steady endurance rides or lengthy road races.

The float in most pedal systems is dictated by which specific cleat is used. Most manufacturers offer two or three cleats that allow float from zero to 8 degrees or thereabouts. Look, for example, offers their Keo cleats in 0, 4.5, or 9-degree float options, which are color-coded in black, grey, and red, respectively. Similarly, Shimano offers three different cleats with 0, 2, and 6-degree options denoted by the colors red, blue, and yellow, respectively. Time offers two cleat options, “free” cleats with 5 degrees of float or “fixed” cleats with 0 degrees of float. Speedplay is unique in that the cleat itself is adjusted to dial in the float in very fine increments, and the float can be quickly tailored to each shoe.

Practice

If you are new to clipless pedals, doing a little practice to get used to the way they function is never a bad idea. While it eventually becomes second nature, clipping in and out of pedals can be relatively awkward at first, but thankfully, the learning curve is steep. Though it might seem silly, taking a little time in a controlled environment to familiarize yourself with the process of clipping in and out of your pedals could be invaluable and potentially help prevent embarrassment or injury (bruised body and/or ego) while out on a ride. Yes, it is as simple as deliberately twisting your foot to release the cleat from the pedal, but just about everyone has experienced an awkward, slow-motion fall when they couldn’t get their foot out of the pedal as they were learning. Trust us, a little practice is worth your time.

Value

As with all things in cycling, road bike pedals can be expensive. You can easily spend upwards of $300 for the lightest, stiffest, and fanciest pedals on the market, and many people will. Those seeking marginal performance gains or reductions in weight, typically high-performance riders and racers, will see the most benefit from spending more. If you’re not battling for podiums, however, you can spend less for nearly the same performance and with just a slight weight penalty. Take Shimano’s pedals, for example. The range-topping Dura-Ace model sells for $280 and delivers a top-of-the-line, well-refined performance at a light weight. Two tiers down, the Shimano 105 pedals look nearly identical, provide almost the same level of performance, and weigh only about 30 grams more for the pair while costing roughly half the price at $150. For this reason, we feel the Shimano 105 is one of the best values on the market. Those new to road cycling or who ride less frequently can spend even less for a model like the $69 Time XPresso 2, which is super user-friendly and gets the job done at a fraction of the price.

Frequently Asked Questions About Road Bike Pedals