Pedals for road and CX/Gravel?

I'm doing the research to see if it's even possible to use walkable mtn bike shoes and non-walkable road shoes all with the same pedals on the CX bike .  

It's not an errand bike, it's a SS and I've been exclusively using it on the road.  I'll swap out the tires to gravel/CX for my training and race, then likely switch back to slicks for the road...

My approach is to understand the options rather than force it to all work.  If it's best to have a road system and a different gravel system then that's likely what I'll do. I'm just trying to manage costs as this gravel race I'm looking at is more for the experience than a change in riding.  I really prefer the road...

Thanks.

I was heading down that path (no pun intended ) however I was advised that I shouldn't use road shoes/cleats on this gravel course which is how I got to this point of gathering advice...  Apparently it's a combination of the sheer number of racers (3K) and the difficulty of a few sections that causes a fair amount of dismounting...

Thank you

What level of "play" do you get (if any) with the eggbeaters and candy's?  With my 105's I have a little bit which I occasionally will utilize as I'm riding... 

Do you do what I'm proposing to do, using the same pedals/cleats for road and CX/gravel?  Like I mentioned earlier, I'm not necessarily looking to force the issue, I just want to be practical in my purchases as this was to be the season I spent the bigger dollars on new road shoes, I wasn't planning for a pedal, cleat and mtn bike shoe purchase too...

Those are my cleats and that's the type of information I was looking for!!  

Now what's the best low cost mountain biking shoe???  

I've converted completely over to SPD pedals, the MTB type (double-sided on the gravel and MTB, single-sided Wellgo's on the road). The main issue is finding road shoes that are compatible with the 2-bolt cleat pattern (same issue you'll have with the Eggbeaters).

I've gone back to SPD too. Really haven't had issues that others seem to come up with.

This is the conclusion I've come to based on all the feedback here and elsewhere.  I'll keep my 105's and road setup, then I'm leaning towards eggbeaters with some inexpensive mountain bike shoes.

And speaking of eggbeaters, I see on the crank brothers site their models range from ~$60 to $450.  Is there anything inherently bad about the low end models?  I'm not looking for top end at all as gravel will be a new style of riding and likely not one I'll do most of the year, just early spring and late fall...

Thanks.

I did a race last year that featured a good bit of gravel.  Because of this, I swapped my speedplay pedals and road shoes for my shimano SPD pedals and MTB shoes.  While they worked, I noticed pretty quickly that my lower end MTB shoes have way more flex than my carbon road shoes.  I never notice it when I'm on the singletrack trails, but in a road race where I'm really applying power I noticed it a good bit.  I decided that I would swap cleats on the shoes next time should I race something like that again.

It's something to keep in mind at least.

You bring up a good point.  I guess it's picking the lesser of two evils depending on the course conditions... I don't necessarily want all the flexion of a lower end mtn bike shoe when I'm hammering the pedals however I also can't envision walking in my road shoes, even if I do go with eggbeater/crank brother cleats...

Unfortunately I'm hearing a mix of opinions on the course I'm looking to race and what type of riders typically are dismounting to walk up the hills.  One friend says the majority of riders walk several sections of a series of 3 hills early in the race.  Another says it's only the riders who really don't have the experience and/or willingness to hurt a bit...  He refers to them as the "hike a bike" riders... He's not being disrespectful but does point out they're the riders just out for an experience and likely didn't put  in the training miles or at least the hill mileage... Friend #2 knows what type of rider I am and says I should only dismount if there's a crash or a glut of riders making dismounting unavoidable....

I'm thinking a course reconnaissance is in order, even if it's in a car...  

Is this the only course you're going to do?

It's a local legend race that I've always wanted to do so I suppose the initial answer is maybe....  It's called Barry Roubaix (race is in Hastings, MI and held in Barry County - hence the clever name) and is really quite big.  ~ 3K riders, doing 22, 36 and 62 mile courses.  And there's an epic post race beer tent and party afterwards I'm told...

Back to your question, I'm not looking at all to get into mtn biking, I could see doing some gravel riding but I'm a roadie at heart.. And by that I mean I really like the consistency of roads, triathlon or just road biking...

I could see doing this race annually, and I could see possibly doing other gravel races but I'm just not sure on that type of riding/racing...

That's my main motivation for all these questions, I don't want to spend any more money than is necessary as I have a long list of things I need for my road riding...

The first gravel fondo I ever did I used my road shoes and pedals (Speedplay X-series, so NOT walkable). It was a real incentive for me to not walk any of the hills (and there were times I just put it in my bottom gear and prayed I kept moving forward). But since I've done a few where the hills were steep and long enough that walking at least a short stretch was pretty necessary. Some light MTB shoes are a real plus, and the ones I have are just as efficient as my road shoes, if just a little bit heavier.

Since I'm riding a SS, not being able to shift into an easier gear will likely be the reason I do any walking..... 

I'm riding a 41x17T currently, I've been considering a 20T for this course but I know that will mean spinning out at ~16mph so one more thing to think about...