The best clipless pedals will increase your pedalling efficiency, power transfer and comfort. Typically, road cyclists use clipless pedals while commuters tend to prefer flat pedals to be able to put a foot down more easily. Clipless pedals are also popular with gravel riders, while mountain bikers are more evenly split between clipless and flat pedals.
Ultimately, the best clipless pedals are the ones that align with your riding style, cleat compatibility and whether you prioritise power transfer or walkability. To simplify things, this guide is split into two sections: the best clipless pedals for road bikes and the best clipless pedals for gravel bikes.
We have tested a total of 17 clipless pedals from eight different manufacturers in both on-road and off-road conditions. If you're still unsure of what's the best clipless pedal for you after reading, feel free to check out our How To Choose and FAQ sections at the end of the guide.
So without further ado, here are our picks for the best clipless pedals in 2025...
Best clipless pedals for road bikes
1. Shimano 105
➕ Solid and stable pedalling platform
➕ Easy tension adjustment
➖ Cleat adjustment can be fiddly
➖ Lighter alternatives are available
The Shimano 105 pedal offers a carbon bo♒dy 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. The only real advantage Dura-Ace and Ultegra have over the 105 is their lighter weight.
➕ Perfect balance means they're easy to clip in
➕ Worldwide availability of spares
➖ High price (although regularly discounted)
If you want Shimano's top pedal tech, the Dura-Ace pedals include features not found in the 105 or Ultegra. The outboard main beari🍸ng lowers the stack height and increases the bearing separation for a more even load distribution.
Unlike the 105, Dura-Ace offers a 4mm longer spindle version for greater st♎ance width (also available in Ultegra). Plus, at 238g for the pair, they are 22g lighter than 105 t🌜oo.
➕ Lightweight carbon design
➕ Competitively priced
➖ Cleats wore faster than rivals
➖ Bearing play
The Keo 2 Max Carbon is top of Look's spring-tensioned pedal range, featuring a 250g a set weight that matches Shimano Ultegra. It has a full carbon body and a large engagement surface thanks to the wide steel plate mid-pedal. Even some of the pros can be seen using this𝓀 pedal and its durability and serviceability are on par with Shimano.
➕ Lightweight
➕ Wide availability of replacement cleats
➖ Cleats can make noise
➖ Adjusting tension can be fiddly
The Keo Blade pedals澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果: received an update this year. The carbon leaf spring helps to lower weight to 232g a set. This Ceramic version has a chromo spindle, but you can upgrade to titanium to drop even more weight. As its name suggests, the bearings are ceramic, although there is ෴also a steel bearing option.
We꧙'ve not yet reviewed the newest version of the Keo Blade.
5. Wahoo Speedplay Zero
➕ Low stack height
➕ Range of adjustment
➖ Requires maintenance to reduce wear
The Zero is one up from the entry-level Speedplay Comp pedals but adds a stainless steel axle and full cleat covers, as well as highe𓂃r release tension. It's also the only Speedplay pedal offered with multiple spindle lengths. As with all Speedplay pedals, there's extensive adjustabi♕lity—making the Zero a great choice if you need to fine-tune your stance and leg alignment.
➕ Low stack height
➕ Near infinite float adjustment
➖ Requires maintenance to reduce wear
➖ Minimal performance gains for extra cost
The Speedplay Aero pedals differ from the Zero in offering a one-sided aero-profiled pedal body. This results in single-sided only entꦿry, but other features of the Zero, including low stack height and wide adjustability are retained. The ♍Speedplay cleat is more awkward to set up and make position adjustments to than other systems though.
➕ Very lightweight
➕ Fixed cleat option available
➖ Finish feels slightly basic compared to competitors
➖ Sharp edges
The Xpresso 7 is top of Time's lower priced range but still boasts a carbon body with wide-bearing separation and a wide platform with low stack height, as well as🐻 a low 196g a pair weight. The streamlined pedal body offers plenty of support when pedal🐻ling, although it has sharp edges to the front and rear retainers.
8. Time Xpro 12
➕ One of the lightest pedal systems
➕ Fixed or floating cleat options
➖ 90kg max rider weight limit
➖ Three tension settings
The mid-range Time Xpro 12 weighs just 183g a pair, making it one of the lightest pedals available. Its narrow, enclosed body should slightly lower your wind profile too. Despite this, the pedal platform spreads out to give good foot support, while the rear retainer has a smooth edge, unlike the Xpresso 7. It uses the same iClic retainer as the Xpresso for easy engagemen✱t.
Best clipless pedals for gravel bikes
1. Shimano M520
➕ Extremely robust
➕ Excellent value
➖ Heavy
➖ Can be prone to squeaking
The Shimano M520 may be Shimano's entry-level SPD pedal, but it boasts a robust build that should carry you many off-road miles. The skeletal body sheds mud and debris well, there's plenty 🌠of adjustability, it's weatherproof and the M520 can be serviced easily. It's a cheap pedal option that will serve for commuting too.
2. Shimano XTR
➕ Very durable
➕ Adjustable tension
➖ Low stack height
➖ Not the cheapest option
At the other end of Shimano's SPD 🌜pedal range, the top-spec XTR, as with Dura-Ace on the road, offers premium bearings and a lower weight of 310g than Shimano's lower-priced pedals, as we🍎ll as two-axle length options. The XTR pedal's 15.1mm stack height is lower than the M520, but it retains the same open design for excellent mud shedding.
3. Look X-Track Race Carbon
➕ Extra float
➕ Supportive pedal platforms
➖ Need a specific Look tool to service
Look's midrange pedal is positioned to compete directly with Shimano's XT pedal. The X-Track has a wider platform than Shimano's pedals, although the pedal body also has marginally more sta🦋ck than the equivalent XT pedal. Looks pedals are compatible with Shimano cleats but when used with Look's own cleats they increase float to 6 degrees, up from Shimano's standard 4 degrees.
4. Look X-Track En-Rage Plus
➕ Easy to clip into
➕ Reliable mechanism
➖ Weighty
The X-Track En-⛦Rage pedal offers the same SPD-compatible engagement mechanism, but a larger pedal body and the En-rage Plus adds front pins to that to further improve foot retention. Although geared towards Enduro MTB use, the En-Rage is a good option if your gravel riding is o💮n the more extreme end and you regularly tackle tricky terrain.
5. Crankbrothers Eggbeater
➕ Fantastic mud-shedding
➕ Easy clipping
➖ Lack of platform won't suit everyone
➖ No tension release
Eggbeaters are the minimalist solution for gravel riding. The lack of a platform makes for excellent mud shedding, although it can affect foot stability. The design also gives you four po🅺ints of engagement rather than two, making quick clipping in that much easier. The four-model range is priced from $60 to $500.
➕ Good for mud
➕ Added platform support
➖ No tension adjustment
If you like the Crankbrothers system but prefer more foot support, the Candy is one of several Crankbrothers designs that add a platform to the retainer. It has the same easy engagement with four points of access and is available in an array of colour options. There's the same wide price range ov𒆙er its four models as with the Eggbeater pedals.
7. Hope Union RC
➕ Different float cleats in the box
➕ Beautiful machining
➖ Expensive
➖ Heavier than XTR
Hope is best known for its quality CNC-machined hubs and brakes and the Union RC pedals are no different., beautifully made and anodised in a range of bright colours. The cleat dꦕual sprung jaw mechanism is similar to Crankbrothers and uses a proprietary cleat. Two sets of cleats come in the box offering different floats and release angles, and adjusting the release tension is very easy. The downside is the high price, especially considering they are heavier than th🌼e cheaper XTR option.
8. Favero Assioma Pro MX
➕ Affordable power meter
➕ Internal rechargeable battery
➖ Engagement isn't as secure as Shimano
Favero Assioma P🦄ro MX is a great entry point to riding with power on your gravel bike. Available in either single-sided or dual-sided options, Favero seals all the electronics neatly inside the axle but still achieves a low stack height of 11.2mm. Data accuracy has been impressive during testing and the pedals can measure additional pedaling dynamic analysis too. The rechargeabl𒀰e battery means you don't need to mess around with batteries and has around 60 hours of battery life.
Recent updates
Last updated on 5th March 2025
The guide was updated ensuring that all the clipless road and off-road pedals are current and available. Buy if/Don't buy if" sections were added to highlight the pros and cons of each clipless pedal. The guide has been restructured into two main sections on "the best clipless pedals for road" and "the best clipless pedals for off-road" so readers can easily find what they're looking for. A "How to choose" section was also added to provide readers with more insights and information to help them purchase the right pedals. In addition, a "How we test section" was also added.
How to choose the best clipless pedals?
What are clipless pedals?
Paradoxically, clipless pedals are pedals which you clip into. A mechanism on the pedal clips into a cleat which is fitted to the sole of your shoe, securing your feet in place.
The term "clipless" origi🐻nated in the 1980s when this technology was developed for racing cyclists as a replacement for toe clips (adjustable straps that secured the foot to the pedal).
What are the different types of pedals/shoes?
There are two main types of clipless pedal and shoe systems: road and mounta꧂in bike or recessed and non-recessed cleats. While various manufacturers produce them, nearly all fall into these categories. Each system uses a cleat that attaches to the shoe, with most shoes designed for only one type, though some can accommodate boꩵth.
MTB Pedals & Shoes (SPD, Crankbrothers) – Use a 2-bolt metal cleat recessed into the sole for easier w🉐alking. These shoes often have treaded soles fᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚor added grip.
Rꦛoad Pedals & Shoes (SPD-SL, Look, Time, Keo) – Use a 3-bolt plastic cleat that protrudes from the sole, making walking difficult. These shoes are lightweight, ri🤡gid, and designed for maximum power transfer.
Below, I've highlighted the key differences betwe♉en each brand's clipless peda🌊ls and some key considerations when choosing:
Shimano three-bolt pedals
Shimano is perhaps the default c𒁏hoice. 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 sho🍸es. Theไre are three cleat options with 0, 2 or 6 degrees of float.
Look three bolt pedals
Look developed the original clipless pedal system (so-called because it replaced the toe clips and straps used previously)Look cleats are slightly smaller than Shimano's and it too offers three options with 0, 4.5 and 9 degrees of flo🐼at.
Look's lower-priced Keo 2 pedals use a similar retainer with a coil spring to Shimano (it licensed the technology to Shimano in the 1990s). Its higher-priced pedals, named Keo Blade, use a carbon leaf spring on the underside of the pedal body to tension the retainer; the brand brought out an 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:updated pedal body in January 2024, which it claims makes the Keo Blꦰade the most ไaero pedal available.
While the coil spring allows the release tension for Look's cheaper pedals to be continuously varied, the Keo Blade pedals' release tension is changed in discrete jumps by swapping the leaf spring, of which the♋re are four different tensions available.
Time three-bolt pedals
Time is another brand which—like Speedplay—is seeing a renaissance under a new owner, in this case SRAM.
All Time's pedals use a carbon leaf spring to operate the rear retainer and, as with Look Keo Blade pedals, you can swap the spring to change the release 𒁃tensio🦩n by discrete increments. Time's system holds the retainer open when the cleat is not engaged, making it easier to clip in.
Time has two road bike pedal ranges. The cheaper is the Xpresso, which has two composite-bodied and one carbon-bodied option. Step up t💙o the Xpro and there are three carbon models.
The top-spec Time Xpro 15💜 pedals have a titanium axle and CeramicSpeed bearings. Their claimed 𒉰weight of 174.6g per pair makes them the lightest pedal option available, although at a price.
Speedplay three-bolt pedals
The third road-going option is Speedplay. Wahoo updated and relaunched Speedplay pedals and added the 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:Wahoo Powrlink Zero power meter pedals to its portfolio.
Technically, Speedpl𓂃ay cleats are fixed to the shoe's sole with four bolts, but there is an adapter to allow them to be used with the more common three-bolt drilled🔜 road cycling shoes.
Speedplay pedals are unique among pedals for three-bolt cleats in allowing dual-sided entry (except the 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:Speedplay Aero model) and having co🎐ntinuously variable float and release angles, alth🎃ough, unlike other systems, release tension cannot be varied. Also unique to Speedplay, the adjustability is in the cleat, with the pedal just offering a fixed retaining surface.
Shimano SPD two-bolt pedals
Sh༺imano is also one of the go-to cleat options off-road whether riding gravel or mountain biking.
Shimaꦑno offers two cleat options, the default SH51 cleat is included within the box with the pedals offering 4 degrees of float and a single release action. Alternatively, Shimano has a SH56 cleat that offers a multi-directional release for riders who want to be able to easily unclip.
Crankbrothers two-bolt pedals
Crankbrothers' clipless pedals are the other big player off-road and are a little different from Shimano's SPD system. The front and rear jaws are both ꧑sprung which gives more options to engage the cleat into the mechanism while riding on rough terrain as you can drag the cleat forward, backwards orꦍ stamp down onto the pedal.
In their most skeletal Eggbeater form, they have a minimalist design with four points of engagement, which sheds mud easily making them popular for cyclocross. Crankbrothers uses the same retention system, but with a platform in its Mallet and Candy pedals, adding some extra foot stability. The release tension is not adjustable, althoug💮h you can change the float and release angle by changing your cleats.
Time two-bolt pedals
As well as its road pedals, Time sells an off-road pedal system. Again, it's availabl🍸e with a range of different platform sizes. Its ATAC XC pedals were used for cyclocross by Wout van Aert for many years 🤡before he transitioned to road racing.
The sprung retainer is at the front of the ATAC pedal system rather than the rear, which Time claims assists in clearing debris from the pedal-cleat interface as you clip👍 in. Its release tension is non-adjustable, although you can buy lighter release cleats. You can change the float for standard release cleats by swapping your left and right cleats with each other.
Hope two-bolt pedals
Hope is a bit of an outlier in the off-road pedal market, using its own cleat design and a unique mechanism that l💖ooks like the SPD system but uses a dual-sprung mechanism similar to Crankbrothers but offers spring tension adjustment to fine-tune release force. Float can be adjusted between 4 or 5 degrees by switching the cleats and Hope includes both sets in the box the pedals. We have featured the lightweight Union RC version but Hope also does a couple of platform models for mountain biking.
Can I use clipless road pedals off-road?
Yes however there are some rides where using road cleats could cause issues. As road cleats aren't recessed they are hard to walk in and are prone to clogging with mud or rocks. The cleats are also generally made from plastic and risk being damaged when walking on rough surfaces. Road shoes arent as robust as gravel shoes either so there is a greater risk of damagꦫing your shoes or foot injuries while wearing road shoes off-road.
On tಌhe flip side you can use off-✤road pedals on road without a problem, although the shoe and pedal systems will add a little extra weight and don't offer the same ultra stable pedaling platform.
How we test the best clipless pedals?
For this guide, we tested a whopping 17 clipless pedals that span across both on-road and off-road cycling. To provide a well-rounded and varied view of what's available on the market, we tested multiple pedals from the leading manufacturers. Testing pedals revolves around two factors, set-up and riding. Set-up is a fairly simple process of determining the range of adjustability and taking note of the real-world specs such as weight and platform size. The riding portion focuses on how easy it is to engage and disengage from the pedals, shoe stability and power delivery.
As you already know, testing is the backbone of the tech department at Cyclingnews and we take it seriously. Find out more on 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:how we test here.
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Paul has been on two wheels since he was in his teens and he's spent much of the time since writing about bikes and the associated tech. He's a road cyclist at heart but his adventurous curiosity means Paul has been riding gravel since well before it was cool, adapting his cyclo-cross bike to ride all-day off-road epics and putting road kit to the ultimate tes🌠t along the way. Paul has contributed to Cyclingnews' tech coverage for a few years, helping to maintain the freshness of our buying guides and deals content, as well as writing a number of our voucher code pages.
