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I, too, ride with spd pedals on my road bike at home. However, I prefer flat pedals when riding my mountain bike. When I rode the VDLP, I thus opted for flat pedals on my rented mountain bike and it turned out to be a good choice even on some tough stages. As the biking terrain is not particularly difficult on the Portugués, I’d go with flat pedals. Since you’ll be carrying your gear, as I did, I think flat pedals will serve you very well on that route. Safe travels!
I cycled the Frances back in 2015 and I opted for flat "bike" shoes. I found them far more comfortable for walking into coffee shops etc and lunch stops. They also doubled as "walk around town shoes" which cut down on extra weight. Hope this helps. Cheers
Hello, my husband and I are riding the northern route in Sept. We are renting and I requested SPD and a womens saddle and the rental company will change them out for us before arrival. Did you ask the company your renting from? They are all very accommodating.
What bike rental company are you using? I’m familiar with BikeIberia. Are there others folks can recommend checking into?
We've done most of our bike touring on flat or rattrap pedals with toe clips and a loose strap, wearing molded soled hiking shoes - this configuration minimizes slipping off the pedals (especially a problem when wet) while allowing one to dismount quickly.
The Shimano EH500 looks nice, too, flat Mt. surface on one side, SPD cleat on the other.
Flat pedals are the preferred thing now outside of bike racing. When GCN tested flat against clipless, they found clipless only advantage was in a sprint finish. They also tested carrying weight on a bike and found it makes a big difference, much more than anything else. When I got to Seminario Menor in Santiago there were 14 bikes one night. Only one had clipless pedals.
My preferred choice also, for all cycling, especially touring. There are a range of choices of this style and sizes.
I used to be a road cyclist, and after moving to a coastal community where I was nearly run over 2X by sightseers intent on the ocean views, I switched to mountain biking. Locally, I mountain bike with flat pedals. I like the challenge of working harder on steep, technical ascents and descents, for our typical 1600-1900 ft climbs, at times multiple ascents. That said, for the Camino Portugues, I plan to switch out my flat pedals for SPDs with a flat side. My reasoning is that the daily grind of cycling will take a toll, so assisting the lift of my up pedal motion with the SPDs will help on climbs. The flat side is for when I don’t feel the need to clip in.
Is your Cannondale an aluminum frame? Sorry, I get a bit myopic nowadays. I was thinking only of my mountain bikes. I prefer not to damage/disfigure my IBIS carbon bike frame that I depend on for its frame integrity on highly technical trails.
Yes it is Aluminium and it has the threaded lugs for the carrier. The velcro straps did great as they were just an extra bit of security as there is a twist lock lever on the panniers but I like to enjoy myself on the off road sections and they get a good test on some sections . I met a German couple in Santiago and they had the fork leg bags and they loved them , and those bags carried a lot for there size . They attached with clamps around the lower stanchion of the front fork ,very nice set up I must say . I have never seen a seat post pannier for a hydraulic seat post and I would imagine it would be too much stress . I spoke to a few cyclist's who had bent regular seat post's with them but that could be down to a number of reason's , weight , quality of seat post or improper fitting .
