Is there a difference between...

prov431 said:

....mtb and road shoes? I wear my Shimano mtb shoes, and have the same Shimano clipless pedals on both my mtb and road bikes.
Seemed like an obvious choice, but then again, I'm new to the road bike thing, so if I'm missing something, I'd like to know.
Thanks!
-Dan

Technically speaking, road and mtb shoes can be used with any MTB/SPD (2-hole) pedal as long as the cleat matches the pedal. "Road" shoes are lighter and are not intended to be walked in very much and usually have a 3-hole cleat interface, although some also have 2-bolt cleat holes and with adapters, most road shoes can pretty much be used with any cleat. "MTB" shoes usually have a lugged sole that allows some walking and have a 2-hole cleat interface. "MTB" shoes cannot be used with 3-hole cleats, meaning that they will not accept the road pedal cleat.

Other than fashion, there is no problem using an MTB shoe/pedal on a road bike. Many commuters and tourists do this for the increased walkability of MTB shoes. For racing or more aggressive road riding, the lighter weight of the road shoes may be minimally beneficial and some road shoes have really stiff soles to accomodate the heavy power put to the pedals in racing/performance riding. I have crank brothers pedals on all of my bikes now and can interchange my road and MTB shoes with any of the bikes.