Best Platform Pedals For Road Bike: Pimp Out Your Pedals

If you're looking for the best platform pedals for your road bike, you've come to the right place. In this guide, we're going to go through everything you need to know to find the best ones for you.

Pedals are important because they're one of three contact points with yourself and the bike. 

This makes getting them right essential for overall comfort and confidence when you're riding.

So let's take a look!

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Overview

There are two main types of pedals. Clipless and platform. Clipless requires you to have a special type of shoe, whereas you can wear whatever you want with platforms.

Within these two groups, there are variations such as toe clips, MTB's, SPD's and Looks. 

There are lots of different shapes and sizes, but today we're just going to look at platform pedals for road bikes, along with a few other options that may interest you.

Below I've gone through all of the things that you should consider before making any purchases.

Grip

If you want to get a platform pedal, you'll want to ensure that you get a grippy pair.

One's with metal studs are much better than smoother pedals because they grip onto the soles of your shoes.

The only downside to these is if you accidentally miss the pedal and knock your shins. 

The studs grip straight into your leg, and it's quite painful! 

Size

The size of the pedal that you buy is also important. There's no need to get a large pedal if you have small feet, as you'll end up with a significant amount of pedal overlap.

There is nothing wrong with this but it'll make you more likely to "pedal strike" when going round tight corners. 

They'll also be a little heavier, this won't concern most people, but it's nice to save some weight if you can.

Clipless Vs Platform

There are many advantages to having clipless pedal over platform pedals. With clipless, you'll have far more control and power. 

But, sometimes they just aren't what you want.

Perhaps clipless gives you knee pain when cycling, or maybe you don't want to arrive somewhere having to wear a pair of cleated shoes.

If it's the shoe aspect that concerns you, the Shimano A530 SPD Pedals are an excellent choice as they give you the option of either platform or cleated.

However, I've found the platform side to be a little small without much grip, but they may suit your riding needs.

For something that enables you to wear your shoes, but still gives you lots of support and power, you can take a look at toe clips.

Toe Clips

Toe clips are a great happy medium pedal. They enable you to get more power on the upstroke of your pedal, but you don't have to wear cleated shoes. 

It's also difficult to keep your foot in the correct position with platform pedals. Correct toe position is what's good about toe clips as they hold your foot where it should be.

I have these on my bikes because I often commute to work, and don't want to have to take two pairs of shoes with me.

Some shoes don't fit well into clipless pedals, and some clipless pedals can even scuff your shoe. In this case, power grips are a great alternative and are worth checking out. 

The downside to toe clips/power grips is if you crash.

Strapping your feet into the pedals means they're much more likely to hold you if you crash. Landing at an awkward angle with your feet trapped can badly mess up your knees.

For this reason, many people prefer standard platform pedals.

How Do You Install?

Installing pedals is something that sounds simple, but it's easy to get confused. 

Thankfully, manufacturers have placed an L and an R on each pedal, so you don't have to guess which side they go on, but there are still a few other things that need to be taken into consideration.

Here's a great video by the Global Cycling Network detailing how to do it.