Which Pedals

doolie

Morning All.

I'm currently riding SPDs on my Trek 1.5. My shoes are 2 hole. I only have (had) the single road bike and I don't mind using SPDs, I like the fact they are double sided and that I can walk in the shoes easily. Bike is used for casual riding, sportives and weekly Time Trials. I have never tried other pedal types.

So I've been thinking about changing pedal type for some time, mainly for time trials - currently sub25min for a 10 on my Trek 1.5. Ok, nothing spectacular but I'd like to improve hence the thoughts of new pedals (and new/used TT bike). My hand is now forced somewhat as I've just bought a secondhand Felt B12 which came with Look Keo Carbons (no cleats)

The dilemma is thus

Keep existing shoes and buy another set of SPDs (my least favourite option)

New shoes and one of the following

Look Keo cleats (cheap)
SPD SLs
Speedplays

I had been favouring the latter based on recommendations from friends, it's also worth noting I have dodgy knees so would probably prefer a bit of float.

Over to you, what would you recommend. I'm inclined currently to the cheaper option of the Keos, new cleats and new shoes, then sell the Keos if I don't get on with them

Thanks

StillGoing

Switched from Keo's just under a year ago to Speedplay Zero's. Now have them on both road bikes and wouldn't go back to anything else. Easy to clip in and out of and infinite degrees of float adjustment.

northpole

I presume that walking around will no longer be a requirement on the Felt? If not, then I'd suggest selling the Look pedals on fleabay or here and get yourself a set of Speedplays. They have the reputation for people with dodgy knees and they clip in double sided. You can get cafe stop covers but I'm not sure how practical they are/ whether you could be bothered carrying them with you on a ride.

Peter

doolie

Walking I'm not so bothered about for the TT bike shoes. To be honest it's confirming my thoughts, I should buy Speedplays and be done with it

Time to sell the Keos....

cougie

I dont see how new pedals will improve your 10 time ?

Spend the money on a turbo ?

rane

I have a set of Shimano Dura Ace PD-9000 that i can highly recommend!
I'm sure that you can get the Ultegra PD-6800 with almost same results but way cheaper

Bobbinogs

Shimano SPDs (M520/M540) come with about 5 degrees of float as standard.

doolie

cougie wrote:

I dont see how new pedals will improve your 10 time ?

Spend the money on a turbo ?

Yep, have a Turbo. It's more a case of wanting new pedals to try out, not having used other types. I don't know what I'm expecting really as regards the TT and time improvement through a different pedal, wishful thinking

Dippydog2

oxoman wrote:

Why not look at Shimano A520 single sided spd pedals more supportive than M520 double sided pedals. With times like you already do I can't see pedals make much more of an improvement on them.

What he said.

More float than you can shake a stick at.
Very light.
Sensible shoes.

t4tomo

Dippydog2 wrote:

oxoman wrote:

Why not look at Shimano A520 single sided spd pedals more supportive than M520 double sided pedals. With times like you already do I can't see pedals make much more of an improvement on them.

What he said.

More float than you can shake a stick at.
Very light.
Sensible shoes.

+1 for A520s - excellent pedals.

ai_1

I can't offer any guidance on whether or not it's worth changing as I have never used SPD. However I have used SPD-SL and Speedplay Zeros and I would recommend Speedplay anyday. I find them much more comfortable than SPD-SL primarily because of the resistance free and adjustable float. I also have had some knee issues which was part of the reason I originally decided to change to the speedplays but I think they're great to use regardless of any knee benefits.

There are a couple of downsides to Speedplays but they're very minor and I certainly don't regard them as reasons not to choose them.
Firstly - There isn't a really cheap entry option like there is with SPD-SL, the cheapest model is probably about £100/€120 if I remember right. However there's no real need to go for the more expensive stainless steel and titanium versions so 100/€120 should do it.
Secondly - They require a tiny bit of maintenance to continue operating perfectly. I lube the bearings occasionally (less than recommended, perhaps twice a year and never had a problem) and a drop of teflon lube on the cleats occasionally keeps engagement and disengagement perfect.
Thirdly - They're not nice to walk on (like most road cleats) and the aluminium plate is very slippy on a lot of surfaces. I'd recommend fitting keep-on-covers to give you a little grip when you're off the bike.

Don't let those very minor items put you off!
I just include them in the interest of full disclosure!

New pedals, be they Speedplay or any other type aren't going to make a difference to your TT times unless the current pedal is causing you some major issue but they may make you more comfortable and thereby increase your enjoyment. they did for me.

iron-clover

I agree with the others- different pedals will make almost no difference to your time in TTs. The only advantage that you might be able to get with the large road cleats is less flex in the shoe (large cleat spreads the load better so less flex for given stiffness of sole) and so better power transfer- but as TTs are measured efforts rather than all out sprints it won't make much difference.

I end up taking a pair of slippers with me to walk around in before/ after TTs with my nice carbon road shoes now to preserve them- if you had a nice pair of carbon mtb shoes and the supportive pedals you'd have pretty much the same result AND be able to walk around. They would suit your needs with a lot more comfort if you're not bothered about the top top end performance and a couple hundred grams extra weight.

doolie

I appreciate all the advice, it's given me plenty to think about. I'm going to mooch round some bike shops and find a shoe that fits well (3 hole) first. Current shoes are 2 hole only and I'd pretty much made my mind up I wanted to open up to other pedal systems

ai_1

I just thought of a potential excuse to help you justify a change to road shoes for TTs .... maybe aero shoe covers won't fit properly over the soles on MTB shoes, and they might save you a couple of seconds!

doolie wrote:

I appreciate all the advice, it's given me plenty to think about. I'm going to mooch round some bike shops and find a shoe that fits well (3 hole) first. Current shoes are 2 hole only and I'd pretty much made my mind up I wanted to open up to other pedal systems

Speedplay can fit to either 3 or 4 hole shoes.

Fishboyz

Time xpresso are very good (and light) pedals at a very good price, they start usually around less than 40 rubs with cleats included

Lance9109

philthy3 wrote:

Switched from Keo's just under a year ago to Speedplay Zero's. Now have them on both road bikes and wouldn't go back to anything else. Easy to clip in and out of and infinite degrees of float adjustment.

This^. Brilliant and much easier to use once used to them. But the coffee shop cleat covers though to protect the cleats when walking around. Well worth it for roughly another 10 quid.

cattytown

Cleat covers for speedplays? These are very practcal http://www.keeponkovers.com/Product.html available here http://www.bike-science.com/products/ke ... tionpedals

Paul.

ai_1

Lance9109 wrote:

philthy3 wrote:

Switched from Keo's just under a year ago to Speedplay Zero's. Now have them on both road bikes and wouldn't go back to anything else. Easy to clip in and out of and infinite degrees of float adjustment.

This^. Brilliant and much easier to use once used to them. But the coffee shop cleat covers though to protect the cleats when walking around. Well worth it for roughly another 10 quid.

The keep-on covers are a better solution than the coffee shop covers IMO. I've used both and while the coffee shop covers work fine, they do need to be carried around when not in use which is a pain. The keep-on covers as the name implies stay on the cleat the whole time and does 95% of the same job.

pete8uk

I switched to Speedplay Zeros from Look Keos about a year ago. And very glad I did, I just find them much more natural to use. Plus, easier on my own dodgy knees (although, this could also have been helped by getting my cleats adjusted as part of a bike fit....)

I'd written off being able to walk well in my bike shoes, but the keep-on covers were an unexpected bonus. A simple but brilliant invention. So much more steady on my feet than with the Keos, and the cleats have already gone past 5,000kms without any noticeable wear.

Lance9109

Cheers guys. Hadn't heard about these before but clear benefits to using the Coffee shop covers as you say. Will give them a go.

ai_1

pete8uk wrote:

I switched to Speedplay Zeros from Look Keos about a year ago. And very glad I did, I just find them much more natural to use. Plus, easier on my own dodgy knees (although, this could also have been helped by getting my cleats adjusted as part of a bike fit....)

I'd written off being able to walk well in my bike shoes, but the keep-on covers were an unexpected bonus. A simple but brilliant invention. So much more steady on my feet than with the Keos, and the cleats have already gone past 5,000kms without any noticeable wear.

I think my current cleats have done about 13,000kms. They still work perfectly on the bike but they've started to rattle a bit when walking in them.

doolie

Quick update, I've gone with some Mavic Road Pros and have picked up some free unused cleats from a generous fellow rider. So I'm going to give the Keos a go and then decide whether to switch to Speedplays.

Thanks All