The BEST pedals? Look, Simano, Time, Speedplay?

ajb72

Good luck Pete - I suspect you will be another Speedplay convert soon!

EKIMIKE

I use Time RXS. Cleats last a long long time. Clipping in is easy enough and there's plenty of float if you need it.

Speedplay seem like a great, simple design but i'm not sure they're worth it in many respects not just price. This thread explains much of it:

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum ... =3&t=85589

The bit about the rocking cleats sounds pretty bad considering how much they cost, let alone the potential knee pain.

PS What happened to the boycott Speedplay brigade? They've gone awfully quiet.

ajb72

My last set of speedplay cleats were seriously worn down and I never suffered any knee issues at all. My only issues came when I switched back to Look's. That experiment will not be repeated, I hated the creaking and one-sided entry, I guess I'm just too long in the tooth on speedplays now.

I really do think a lot of these so-called issues get blow way out of proportion. How hard is it do drop a dab of lube on the cleat after every other ride, and inject some new grease into the axles every few thousand miles? I like tinckering with my bike anyway so perhaps it's wierd that I actually enjoy having parts that need servicing.

Where I do have to agree is that replacement parts for Speedplay are seriously overpriced. I have to balance this by saying the cleats last quite a bit longer than my Looks cleats used to, so at least it's not often I need to shell out.

petemadoc

ajb72 wrote:

My last set of speedplay cleats were seriously worn down and I never suffered any knee issues at all. My only issues came when I switched back to Look's. That experiment will not be repeated, I hated the creaking and one-sided entry, I guess I'm just too long in the tooth on speedplays now.

I really do think a lot of these so-called issues get blow way out of proportion. How hard is it do drop a dab of lube on the cleat after every other ride, and inject some new grease into the axles every few thousand miles? I like tinckering with my bike anyway so perhaps it's wierd that I actually enjoy having parts that need servicing.

Where I do have to agree is that replacement parts for Speedplay are seriously overpriced. I have to balance this by saying the cleats last quite a bit longer than my Looks cleats used to, so at least it's not often I need to shell out.

IMO most bike parts are overpriced and need to much servicing! When you compare them to car or motorcycle parts the prices and servicing issues just don't make sense.

Lube on cleats, don't you have to do this with all brands of pedals?

Out of interest what lube to people use for this kind of thing? And what do people use to stop alloy parts on pedals (and other bits) going rusty? I cycle all weathers and always wipe the rain off with a towel but water gets in all sorts of knooks and crannys. New thread maybe.

ajb72

PeteMadoc wrote:

ajb72 wrote:

My last set of speedplay cleats were seriously worn down and I never suffered any knee issues at all. My only issues came when I switched back to Look's. That experiment will not be repeated, I hated the creaking and one-sided entry, I guess I'm just too long in the tooth on speedplays now.

I really do think a lot of these so-called issues get blow way out of proportion. How hard is it do drop a dab of lube on the cleat after every other ride, and inject some new grease into the axles every few thousand miles? I like tinckering with my bike anyway so perhaps it's wierd that I actually enjoy having parts that need servicing.

Where I do have to agree is that replacement parts for Speedplay are seriously overpriced. I have to balance this by saying the cleats last quite a bit longer than my Looks cleats used to, so at least it's not often I need to shell out.

IMO most bike parts are overpriced and need to much servicing! When you compare them to car or motorcycle parts the prices and servicing issues just don't make sense.

Lube on cleats, don't you have to do this with all brands of pedals?

Out of interest what lube to people use for this kind of thing? And what do people use to stop alloy parts on pedals (and other bits) going rusty? I cycle all weathers and always wipe the rain off with a towel but water gets in all sorts of knooks and crannys. New thread maybe.

Speedplay recommended progold Prolink lube in the instructions for my recent zero's. Handily that's what I use anyway. I guess any light lube would do as well.

leejdavies

I have to say I have a pair of Speedplay Zero's and love them. Before that I had SPD's and MTB shoes.

The difference between the two was, IME, massive. It may have been mental but time doesn't lie. on a 10mile TT I was almost a minute quicker with Speedplay and S-works shoes over my previous MTB setup.

I have also tried Look Keo's, they were fine but I say more tricky to set up, but the Speedplays seemed easier with the 2 sided entry. More SPD like. Speedplay's just need two little screws adjusting. Yet to replace anything but they last for while.

rolf_f

leejdavies wrote:

The difference between the two was, IME, massive. It may have been mental but time doesn't lie. on a 10mile TT I was almost a minute quicker with Speedplay and S-works shoes over my previous MTB setup.

Now you don't really believe the shoes and pedals made that difference do you?!

Unless your previous pedals were made of razor blades and your feet were nailed to them.......

jeepie

Don't really have much to add that's new.

Had Looks as my first pedals. Persevered with them for about three years. Hated the one sided clipping in especially on steep hills and I live at the top of one! Eventually switched to speedplays and they have been bliss. Well worth the money. OK - cleats are expensive - but the cleat last way longer than the Look ones.

There are so many advantages of the speedplay system:

1) So easy to clip in and out
2) Adjustable float and loads of it
3) The look cool/weird!

The only reason that I think I'd use Looks is if there were massively more responsive for racing and you only had to clip in once at the start of the ride and out at the end. In reality I have to clip in and out a lot so I really don't like Looks!

Mccaria

Ok - embarrassing to say but I have the following :

Dura ace 7800
Time Iclic carbon + titanium
Speedplay zero
Look Keo 2 carbon and Blade

Duraace
Original pedals. No complaints - in retrospect should have probably stuck with them rather than searching for something newer/lighter/faster etc. Smooth pedal with rugged and long lasting cleats.

Iclic
Disappointing - easy to click in and out, but just as easy to half click in and out and have to re-engage. First generation of cleats were very flimsy and poor - firast cleats were ready to be replaced in less than a month.

Speedplay
Worked fine but from personal preference I ended up taking almost all the float out of them and ended up with more or less a standard pedal but with the extra upkeep of the Speedplay. Need to keep the cleat clean - dabbed my foot into the muddy side of a hilly road and couldn't re-engage until they were thoroughy cleaned.

Look
Very similar to the duraace - lighter pedals but cleats are definitely less robust. They can be quite squeeky when the cleat rubs against the pedal, which is annoying on a long hill climb.

So with the benefit of my rather expensive research, I think I'll go and check out prices on the new 7900 pedals......

1_reaper

Had Look keo's the bog standard flavour for years and have had not complaints. has already been said the cleats could be a bit more durable. If and when i get a new bike some of the Look keo 2 carbons will do nicely

giant_man

I still use Look deltas and see no reason to change to Keos or otherwise.

greasedscotsman

Didn't someone say Speedplay are a bit pricey?

http://www.probikekit.com/uk/contact-po ... edals.html

They we're not kidding!

ajb72

greasedscotsman wrote:

Didn't someone say Speedplay are a bit pricey?

http://www.probikekit.com/uk/contact-po ... edals.html

They we're kidding!

:shock: :shock: :shock:
Even the cleats are £100 a set!!

leejdavies

Rolf F wrote:

leejdavies wrote:

The difference between the two was, IME, massive. It may have been mental but time doesn't lie. on a 10mile TT I was almost a minute quicker with Speedplay and S-works shoes over my previous MTB setup.

Now you don't really believe the shoes and pedals made that difference do you?!

Unless your previous pedals were made of razor blades and your feet were nailed to them.......

Well conditions were almost identical. Most other runners had similar times both weeks (it was 1 week apart) , same preparation. So explain…


I don't suggest it would give you a minute advantage but I went from Shimano MTB shoes (M160) and bottom of the range pedals to S-works shoes and speedplays. I dare about .5kg weight difference if not more and my feet actually stayed clipped in. I could pull out of my MTB pedals if standing up turning a low gear. So yup I say the pedal shoe combo gave the advantage.

EKIMIKE

leejdavies wrote:

I could pull out of my MTB pedals if standing up turning a low gear. So yup I say the pedal shoe combo gave the advantage...

...inasmuch as they were set up correctly :roll:

what brakes

rajMAN wrote:

Initial setup bit fiddley and first few rides was a ***** to clip in. First few goes out of the saddle and its like your on ice, but a few rides later I find them perfect and to be honest once riding I can't tell any difference whats under my carbon sole. I love the float of them and they seem more natural! I do find them even easier than Look's to clip in to and very solid like your properly connected to the pedal/crank. With the cheap Look's I could rattle the cleat about so there was a lack of solid connection.

Keep the cleats as clean as possible and a bit of maintenance with re-greasing now and again. The coffee covers are great if you need them.

It is early days but overall I have no intention of going back to Look or any other more traditional pedal. I know some people who have gone onto Speedplay because of knee issues but that wasn't the case for me, I just fancied a change and they look great too.

Pretty much what he says!

Felt horrid for first few rides, as stated like standing on ice, but once your used to it they are great. much easier to clip in than my old ultegra's. I wouldnt change to any other pedal.

petemadoc

OK so I've taken my new speedplays for a few rides.

Setting the things up was pretty simple although there are 7 screws per cleat! I like the way that the cleats take to the shape of your shoe.

Clipping in is a bitch to begin with but it has got a lot easier, I had to put loads of grease on the cleats and pedals. I've taken out most of the float as I don't feel the need for it. The large surface offered by the pedals feels good but I am comparing them to MTB style SDP.

Overall I think they're great pedals, can't think of any negatives.

KentS

I have used Time challenge and RXS. I loved them both. Cleats lasted forever. I have just ordered a pair of I-Clics, will be interesting to see if they can live up to my expectations.

Toks

As other have said, choice of pedal is probably down to influence (friends/marketing/pro's), materials, ease of use, float (knee protection), stability, lightness etc. I've enjoyed Speed plays for the last six years (X2's and Zero's). Unfortunatley I developed a niggly injury last summer that I'm convinced was mostly due to this action. I was still able to ride but it got worse untill eventually I stopped riding in October 2010. Since then, I've now got a pretty sore ankle/achilles pain which is taking forever to heel so there's been no cycling. Even when i tried a gentle last week on brand new speedplays the pain returned after one or two rides. When it heels and I'm back riding again I'll switch to a more stable/secure pedal system.

leejdavies

EKIMIKE wrote:

leejdavies wrote:

I could pull out of my MTB pedals if standing up turning a low gear. So yup I say the pedal shoe combo gave the advantage...

...inasmuch as they were set up correctly :roll:

The pedals were bottom of the range Shimano, came free with the bike and were battered beyond the point that they wouldn't tighten and the ball bearings inside were breaking down. Poor maintenance, maybe. I guess the difference between them and say an XT set would be worlds apart also.

I will say one thing. MTB pedals are a good stepping stone into the world of pedals and cleats. Followed, of course, by some speedplays.