Egg Beater Pedals

arran77
arran77 Posts: 9,260
edited February 2013 in Road buying advice
I know that I might well be strung up for mentioning these on here but I'm still on the hunt for some new pedals and I've been looking at the Egg Beater :oops:

As well as the look of them which I actually quite like they seem pretty light in comparison to many SPD-SL pedals.

I have read that some people say that the contact between the shoe and pedal does not seem as positive, I guess because of the smaller contact area, but I'm wondering if I would really notice this? As long as I'm not going to come unclipped when I don't want to :shock:

When I've used SPD SL's in the past I've used the yellow 'floating' cleats so I'm used to some movement but would Egg Beaters be a bad idea in your opinion?
"Arran, you are like the Tony Benn of smut. You have never diluted your depravity and always stand by your beliefs. You have my respect sir and your wife my pity" :lol:

seanoconn

Comments

  • Are you planning on using these with a road shoe?

    When I moved from mountain to road I tried to use my trusty egg beaters however found that when used with a road shoe rather than a XC shoe the float was very very noticable and far too great. I also found that I felt 'removed' from the pedal and almost as if pedaling on ice as my foot felt to slip around due to the float on offer. I also found it hard to engage due to the mounting of the cleat on the shoe being less recessed.

    I rapidly made the move to a Look Keo pedal which i love which feels nice and tight.
  • arran77
    arran77 Posts: 9,260
    righty_ho wrote:
    Are you planning on using these with a road shoe?

    Yes, a Shimano road shoe.
    righty_ho wrote:
    I also found that I felt 'removed' from the pedal and almost as if pedaling on ice as my foot felt to slip around due to the float on offer.

    This is what I'd heard from having a read around :?
    "Arran, you are like the Tony Benn of smut. You have never diluted your depravity and always stand by your beliefs. You have my respect sir and your wife my pity" :lol:

    seanoconn
  • The yellows get you 6 degree of movement (I think) so they are going to be the same from that point of view.

    The adjustment to clip out takes some getting used to though, is very helpful on a XC bike where you can choose to have a wider release angle which suited me completely. I do know a few people who have used on road bikes though as they prefer the movement plus the wiggle room a wide release angle gives.

    As for the contact its just that sometimes you clip in and don't feel/hear a thing. If you running a hard soled shoe I doubt you'd notice wether you are on a small contact area or a larger one though.

    Only area of concern for me if your riding on the road is the cleats. You can always use the shield to help protect the sole of your shoes from taking a bashing. Plus the cleats are brass so do take a bit of a pounding. But guess this will depend on if you are on a straight up road shoe or a typical MTB shoe with a recess or shoe grip so the cleat doesn't touch the ground.

    On the plus side they are light, really easy to clean and service and replacing the parts are easy and cheap.
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • The cleats are a bit soft, but nowhere near as bad as the PLASTIC road cleats...

    I'd certainly recommend the shoe shields as otherwise you will see a bit of damage to the soles of your shoes. Personally I rather like them on my road bikes, but I tend to pair them with decent mtb shoes rather than road shoes just to make walking much easier.
  • arran77
    arran77 Posts: 9,260
    The cleats are a bit soft, but nowhere near as bad as the PLASTIC road cleats...

    This was partly my thinking as well, the plastic SPD SL cleats certainly take a battering very quickly so I figured the metal SPD cleats would be better wearing even if they are more exposed on the sole of a road specific shoe.
    I'd certainly recommend the shoe shields as otherwise you will see a bit of damage to the soles of your shoes. Personally I rather like them on my road bikes, but I tend to pair them with decent mtb shoes rather than road shoes just to make walking much easier.

    I've seen these, do they just go between the cleat and the sole of the shoe?

    My shoes are Shimano R087's which have a reinforced nylon outer sole rather than carbon so would you suggest the shields are still worth it?
    "Arran, you are like the Tony Benn of smut. You have never diluted your depravity and always stand by your beliefs. You have my respect sir and your wife my pity" :lol:

    seanoconn
  • Yep you just place them underneath the cleat and bolt through.

    Very good and handy as whilst your learning to clip in as its a smaller pedal you might miss a few times and better to let a £9 guard take the bashing rather than the soles of your shoes
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    I originally had eggbeaters on my road bike (having come from riding an mtb) but quickly changed to Candy 1's (an eggbeater with a platform around it) as they look and feel better IMO. Also you can colour code them :wink:

    Intend to get Lake shoes and Speedplay pedals one day, but keep finding other bike bits I would rather spend the money on.

    I did not realise you could put eggbeater cleats on a road shoe. How does that work?
    Part of the benefit to using mtb pedals/shoes is that the cleat is recessed and you can walk in them a lot easier.

    I have a set of shields too, but as my shoes are carbon and damaged from using with the naked eggbeaters I have never bothered to use them.
    If you go down the Candy route you may find that the contact with the pedal platform is better without the shields.
  • Some road shoes also have 2 bolt fitment as well.

    The shoe shields are essential in my book as any sole will be fairly rapidly damaged by the metal bars on the pedals.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    edited February 2013
    Have only used a carbon sole with the eggbeaters and still felt the contact point was too small when putting a bit of power down on a road bike. Have put Candy's on my mtb too now.
    Is reinforced nylon a lot less rigid than carbon? Would the small contact point of eggbeaters be noticeable if it were?
    Thinking about it I am not sure if road shoes would contact with Candy's.
  • Carbonator wrote:
    I originally had eggbeaters on my road bike (having come from riding an mtb) but quickly changed to Candy 1's (an eggbeater with a platform around it) as they look and feel better IMO. Also you can colour code them :wink:

    Intend to get Lake shoes and Speedplay pedals one day, but keep finding other bike bits I would rather spend the money on.

    I did not realise you could put eggbeater cleats on a road shoe. How does that work?
    Part of the benefit to using mtb pedals/shoes is that the cleat is recessed and you can walk in them a lot easier.

    I have a set of shields too, but as my shoes are carbon and damaged from using with the naked eggbeaters I have never bothered to use them.
    If you go down the Candy route you may find that the contact with the pedal platform is better without the shields.

    Similar to SPD 2 hole cleats, but are easier on MTB shoes due to the recess or having grips fitted.
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.