road cleats vs regular cleats

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by whalen83
i am looking for pedals for my road bike and decided on the crank brothers chrome egg beater pedals. i notice that they come with what are called standard cleats but there is an option for road cleats. what is the difference and which should i chose because the road ones are 25 bucks more.

Had me wondering too, so I dug through the Crank Bros. website. Here's the answer:

Quoted post said:

the road bike version is the same pedal as the mountain version except for the cleats. the road cleats have rubber "pontoons" on each side to make walking on a road shoe easier, clipping in easier, and more stable. the rubber pads are also replaceable if they wear out (and the cleats come with an extra set, too). msrp is $25. the road cleats will be available in april, 2002. for now, they will only be available as a separate item (they won't be packaged with the pedals).

Apparently, Crank Bros.' idea was to compensate for some of the inconveniences road shoes, which generally have flat, smooth bottoms. Where the studs on a MTB shoe make walking easier, and (according to Crank Bros.) make guiding the pedal towards the cleat easier on engagement, road shoes are a bit minimalist on that end... hence the opprotunity for these guys to charge a bit more for a souped-up cleat designed to morph your road shoe into a semi-MTB shoe.

Unecessary, I'd say, but maybe what some folks are looking for.

It´s because the cleats are made of brass and wear out real quickly if you mount them on a pair of roadshoes and walk around... thus the rubber pontoons. Whattaya know a rubber for the cleat.... what´s next :-)

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by mrowkoob
It´s because the cleats are made of brass and wear out real quickly if you mount them on a pair of roadshoes and walk around... thus the rubber pontoons. Whattaya know a rubber for the cleat.... what´s next :-)

But does the rubber prevent spread of athlete's foot?:p