Speedplay Zero Chrome-Moly Pedals
thelasersailor
Posts: 106
I'm currently in the market for a pair of speedplay zeros and wondered if anyone had spotted any good deals on them. Any thoughts/reviews of the pedals from anyone who's already got some would also be appreciated.
If every mistake you make is a new one ... cheer up, you're making progress!
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I have the speedplay zero stainless steel and they are the dogs bits 8)
They took a bit of practice trying to clip in to but after an hour or so of clipping in and out they were pretty much dialled in.
Always lube the cleat spring with some dry lube and twist your foot slightly when clipping in. Makes it much easier.
Despite what they say you CAN unclip by pulling your foot directly up (I.e no twisting) in an emergency. That has saved my blushes quite a few times and still not (yet) had a full 100% fall :twisted: :roll: :? :shock:0 -
NWLondoner wrote:Despite what they say you CAN unclip by pulling your foot directly up (I.e no twisting) in an emergency. That has saved my blushes quite a few times and still not (yet) had a full 100% fall :twisted: :roll: :? :shock:
Really? Surely you must have rotated your foot a little mustn't you? I can't see how you could possible release by pulling up.
I like my Speedplays for their free floating feel, their adjustable float and the for the fact that they're double sided. They do require more maintenance than most pedals though and you have to be careful not to put your foot down in mud because it'll make clipping in a hassle. Make sure you get the cleat covers because you'll end up on your arse if you try walking down stairs without them.
Also be aware that there's a learning curve to clipping in. The force required (especially with new pedals) is quite large. When I first got mine I couldn't do it at all!
I doubt you'll find them new for less than about £80. I think I saw saw some at £70 a few weeks back but the sale's over and that was a rare occurrence.
Matthew0 -
I've just purchased a pair.
Parkers-International were the cheapest at £79.99 - but I ordered them in red and recevied an E-mail stating that they were no longer in stock (until late October). Perhaps it's worth phoning them on Monday to see if they had any of the other colours in?
I ended up having to order mine from All-Terrain Cycles - about £91.00 including delivery.0 -
I got mine from Wiggle, much dearer than Parker but at least they don't lie that they're in stock when they are not. Apart from that, I only have 2/300 miles on them, but honestly I do not like them a bit. First they are incredibly hard to clip in (yes my screws are not too tight and the cleats are flat), second you can not walk at all with them, just ten meters on a grassy/gravel surface will fill the cleats (which must be greased!) with dirt. Third to adjust the fore/aft position you have to remove half of the cleat, kind of stupid. Fourth, they are incredibly dear for what they are, you'll realize this when they will be in your hands.
There are four screws that if too tight will not allow them to work properly, but if not tight they will come loose and get lost. To fix the problem they suggest threadlock but it doesn't make much sense since Loctite works in absence of air (meaning the bolt/screw must be tight for threadlock to work properly).
I fell only once. I was standing trying to clip the first foot - it wouldn't get in so I was in a bad mood already. Then finally I clipped in (you have to stomp and wiggle a little at the same time) and somehow I got unbalanced and fell on the right side of the bike. It is NOT of course true that they unclip if you pull up as mentioned above (unless they're faulty of course). So I fell with my foot still in, the bike on my leg and my other leg on the bike and it was hard to unclip because my foot was flat on the ground and there was no room to twist and clip out since I use the max 15 deg. float. Kind of funny if it wasn't for all the £££ spent on these things. You also have to buy the covers and some graphite grease, and spare cleats cost a fortune.
Many people like Speedplay including many pros so it is probably a matter of personal preference. I would however recommend to try them before buying, if possible.0 -
Re the difficulty clipping in, there's a knack to it. I struggled at first I think partly because I'm very light (~52kg) but now that I've got it down I only rarely have difficulties.
I've found that it's easiest to stand over the bike and put the right pedal at the bottom (or slightly behind the bottom) of its stroke. Then grasp the bars firmly and push down and backwards against the pedal to clip in. The second foot is easier because you can push hard now that you're rolling.
By the way I agree that the design could use some refining. You can I believe greatly simplify the mounting of the cleats by getting 4 hole road shoes but they aren't common and the choice is limited.
Matthew0 -
hollypolly wrote:I got mine from Wiggle, much dearer than Parker but at least they don't lie that they're in stock when they are not. Apart from that, I only have 2/300 miles on them, but honestly I do not like them a bit. First they are incredibly hard to clip in (yes my screws are not too tight and the cleats are flat), second you can not walk at all with them, just ten meters on a grassy/gravel surface will fill the cleats (which must be greased!) with dirt. Third to adjust the fore/aft position you have to remove half of the cleat, kind of stupid. Fourth, they are incredibly dear for what they are, you'll realize this when they will be in your hands.
There are four screws that if too tight will not allow them to work properly, but if not tight they will come loose and get lost. To fix the problem they suggest threadlock but it doesn't make much sense since Loctite works in absence of air (meaning the bolt/screw must be tight for threadlock to work properly).
I fell only once. I was standing trying to clip the first foot - it wouldn't get in so I was in a bad mood already. Then finally I clipped in (you have to stomp and wiggle a little at the same time) and somehow I got unbalanced and fell on the right side of the bike. It is NOT of course true that they unclip if you pull up as mentioned above (unless they're faulty of course). So I fell with my foot still in, the bike on my leg and my other leg on the bike and it was hard to unclip because my foot was flat on the ground and there was no room to twist and clip out since I use the max 15 deg. float. Kind of funny if it wasn't for all the £££ spent on these things. You also have to buy the covers and some graphite grease, and spare cleats cost a fortune.
Many people like Speedplay including many pros so it is probably a matter of personal preference. I would however recommend to try them before buying, if possible.
Who would walk 10 metres over grass or gravel in them anyway, knowing that to do so would fill them with crap (coffee cups anyone)? Lol
They already come with Loctite on them (it's the blue stuff on the screws mate) and because it is "goo" it doesn't matter that they aren't done up to death.
And if you have to stomp on them to get clipped in you have them done up too tight.
The cleats cost a lot of money, though the fact that they last probably 3 times as long as plastic cleats from Look and Shimano etc. doesn't factor in?
15 degrees of float stopping you from unclipping? Ha ha div, you deserved to fall off
It must feel like you are disco dancing when riding, no?
Of course Speedplay, like any other cleats, are a matter of personal choice. I have them, and am on the fence as to whether they are better than anything else, but by reviewing them based on not reading the instructions, not applying common sense, falling off and then getting arsey about it doesn't help make anyones decision up.
And what is the graphite grease for?0 -
Thanks for all your replies!
I think I'm going to give parkers a call now to see if they actually have any colours in stock. If I can get them at that price I'll give a pair a try safe in the knowledge that I can sell them on eBay for not a lot less if I don't like them.
It seems like it's going to take me a while to refine my clipping in technique - I just hope not too many embarrassing falls are involved in the learning process! Looks like cleat covers may be a good idea too if I intend walking anywhere at all in them.
Anyone got any other suggestions for pedals I may not have considered? I've tried the look ones but never quite got used to the one sided design and the fact they always seemed to end up upside down.If every mistake you make is a new one ... cheer up, you're making progress!0 -
FOAD good answer to hollypolly. did a quick check of wiggle and the speedplay zero titanium i got for £170 is now about £225 bit of a :shock:
for those in mainland uk the spares are here
http://www.i-ride.co.uk/product/brands/speedplay/spares/index.html0 -
FOAD the blue stuff (Loctite) they come with is useless. For other reasons I know threadlock glues quite well and as I said, they work in absence of air, meaning the screws must be tight.
In fact, if you go to your Speedplay and try to undo the screws you will notice that they offer little resistance. Properly loctited bolts require force to undo. That's the reason why you read that often people ride with a screwdriver and spare screws because they tend to lose them. Then again, if when you ride you would like to adjust the fore/aft, you have to remove the four screws, and screw up the loctite job again.
I keep them up to 15 degrees because that's the reason why I (and many others I believe) bought them - the large float. The disco feeling doesn't bother me even when out of the saddle though.
People always tend to defend what they buy so I knew there was going to be someone not happy with my thoughts about the Speedplay. I was only interested in warning the OP that these expensive pedals are quite peculiar and not for everyone, even after reading the instructions and using common sense and a positive approach - like I did.0 -
thelasersailor wrote:Looks like cleat covers may be a good idea too if I intend walking anywhere at all in them.
Definitely, I'd say they are almost essential if you have to walk any distance at all.
By the way, don't get the white pedals. I did and they looked crap after about 5 minutes.
Matthew0 -
thelasersailor wrote:Thanks for all your replies!
I think I'm going to give parkers a call now to see if they actually have any colours in stock. If I can get them at that price I'll give a pair a try safe in the knowledge that I can sell them on eBay for not a lot less if I don't like them.
It seems like it's going to take me a while to refine my clipping in technique - I just hope not too many embarrassing falls are involved in the learning process! Looks like cleat covers may be a good idea too if I intend walking anywhere at all in them.
Anyone got any other suggestions for pedals I may not have considered? I've tried the look ones but never quite got used to the one sided design and the fact they always seemed to end up upside down.
Did you give them a ring, Sailor?
I'd be quite interested to hear if they did have any of the other colours in stock.0 -
Thanks. It was an informed and balanced account, valuable particularly because of that tendency for people to defend their choices. I used the first Speedplay pedals years ago, until the bike with them on was nicked. I don't miss them. They were perfectly ok, and when I got lost in the mountains and had to walk off-road for miles, the cleats survived fine; however I also used LOOK cleats off-road before SPD's were invented, and managed similar idiotic treks with those, so I'm inclined to take accounts of any cleat fragility with a pinch of salt. The Speedplay design always seemed conceptually flawed, and over-engineered to me, however.hollypolly wrote:People always tend to defend what they buy so I knew there was going to be someone not happy with my thoughts about the Speedplay. I was only interested in warning the OP that these expensive pedals are quite peculiar and not for everyone, even after reading the instructions and using common sense and a positive approach - like I did.
I'm back on LOOK (old-style) now, and I remain as unimpressed with them as I ever was: squeaky cleat is very annoying. Is there any good pedal system, apart from MTB SPD which I find just a little too vague? What's the current TIME system like, anybody?0 -
quite interesting.
and then look
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hollypolly wrote:FOAD the blue stuff (Loctite) they come with is useless. For other reasons I know threadlock glues quite well and as I said, they work in absence of air, meaning the screws must be tight.
In fact, if you go to your Speedplay and try to undo the screws you will notice that they offer little resistance. Properly loctited bolts require force to undo. That's the reason why you read that often people ride with a screwdriver and spare screws because they tend to lose them. Then again, if when you ride you would like to adjust the fore/aft, you have to remove the four screws, and screw up the loctite job again.
I keep them up to 15 degrees because that's the reason why I (and many others I believe) bought them - the large float. The disco feeling doesn't bother me even when out of the saddle though.
People always tend to defend what they buy so I knew there was going to be someone not happy with my thoughts about the Speedplay. I was only interested in warning the OP that these expensive pedals are quite peculiar and not for everyone, even after reading the instructions and using common sense and a positive approach - like I did.
I don't recall defending them as such, just pointing out what I felt was lack of careful consdieration of most of the thoughts in your post (it's a forum afterall, you have your thoughts I have mine).
As for the loctite, my cleats from new were fine being barely done up and never came undone. Then I changed shoes and reapplied loctite, barely did them up and they were fine. Then a few months later I decided I was going to move the cleat slightly (yep that was a pain) and reapplied loctite and barely did them up. And they haven't budged in months (and when I say barely done up I am talking a quarter twist from when they bite, as recommended by Speedplay).
And you know what, I have loctited (is that really a word?) a great deal of things and the ones I use the light action stuff on undo as if it wasn't there and the ones I use the stronger stuff on take a bit of elbow grease and occasionally heat.
WTF are we debating loctite for anyway? Go ride your bike disco legs 0 -
Now I can't because it's dark... time for my daily clip-in clip-out practice in the living room... :P0
