pedals

stonflo

Which do I choose Shimano or Look. With cleats of course.

cougie

Much of a muchness really.

Or go speedplay cos they're dead sexy.

rokt

I’ve found that Look pedals have a tendency to be creaky, very creaky !

Bucksspeedyboy

Rokt wrote:

I’ve found that Look pedals have a tendency to be creaky, very creaky !

Not my experience. Had Look pedals for years and they haven’t been creaky at all. Kept hearing this said about Looks but don’t know why

Matthewfalle

Look

Bombproof, work perfectly, cleats are dirt cheap comparatively, don't creak, cleats last for years and pedals indefinitely.

Don't go for the borttom f the range - the Keo Classic are £30ish and just as good as the stuff that costs a billion and only weighs 6 Grammes less.

rokt

I have Look Keo Blade Carbon on both my Look & my Time and unfortunately they do creak !

Matthewfalle

Sounds like something to do with the blades - normal ones don't.

Andymaxy

Shimano all the way for me. Cleats last longer than look. Pedals are virtually maintenance free, but it's very easy to do in case you have to. They are absolutely bullet proof. No one ever complains about shimano pedals, on the other hand, look has issues such as creaking where the cleats meet the pedals. Older look pedals with plastic axle covers are known for breaking.

Just go to your local race and see what those guys are using, it would be no surprise that the mass majority of riders are on shimanos.

The only downside with shimano id say, is a tiny weight penalty.

Matthewfalle

Andymaxy wrote:

Shimano all the way for me. Cleats last longer than look. Pedals are virtually maintenance free, but it's very easy to do in case you have to. They are absolutely bullet proof. No one ever complains about shimano pedals, on the other hand, look has issues such as creaking where the cleats meet the pedals. Older look pedals with plastic axle covers are known for breaking.

Just go to your local race and see what those guys are using, it would be no surprise that the mass majority of riders are on shimanos.

The only downside with shimano id say, is a tiny weight penalty.

Never seen that - pretty even spot between L and S really.

svetty

Look or Shimano. I've Look on all my bikes but if I was starting out today I'd consider Shimano too.

craker

oxoman wrote:

Personally I'd go SPD as I prefer to be able to walk normal.

Yes, lots of folk say that, maybe it's down to the quality of the shoe? I find my SPD-SL much, much more comfy on a long ride. It spreads the load across more of the foot.

Also I've unclipped from spds accidently when giving it some, and ended up in a heap on the floor. I've got more confidence in the clipping mechansim on SPD-SL.

keef66

craker wrote:

oxoman wrote:

Personally I'd go SPD as I prefer to be able to walk normal.

Yes, lots of folk say that, maybe it's down to the quality of the shoe? I find my SPD-SL much, much more comfy on a long ride. It spreads the load across more of the foot.

Also I've unclipped from spds accidently when giving it some, and ended up in a heap on the floor. I've got more confidence in the clipping mechansim on SPD-SL.

Well after years of using SPDs I'm about to give SPD-SL a go. I think it's the wider choice of shoes that swayed me, plus I wanted to see if the wider cleat does what Craker and others have said. 99% of my rides I barely put a foot down. I'll keep the SPD pedals / shoes for the winter bike.

(I did briefly weigh up the other option of carbon soled SPD compatible shoes, but seemed a choice between chunky MTB shoes, or road models without a recessed cleat which seems the worst of both worlds)

I'll let you know how I get on

Andymaxy

Another benefit of shimano is that the full range of road pedals have release tension adjustment, some look models don't. For beginners I think being able to adjust release tension is a big plus.

Matthewfalle

Andymaxy wrote:

Another benefit of shimano is that the full range of road pedals have release tension adjustment, some look models don't. For beginners I think being able to adjust release tension is a big plus.

all looks except for entry level have tension adj and the tension on the entry level is so light as to be negligible anyway. its why its called the keo wasy.

step83

I've just moved from SPD to SPDL, ironically the same ride the bike killed itself so I had a long walk, wouldn't of been an issue in SPD's!

Stiffness id say no real notable difference for example the Giros I have they do exactly the same carbon sole in SPD fit, I will concede theres far far more choice in actual shoe though.

Tension wise they wind up pretty similar I have an issue with my right leg so had to opt for the light action SPDL pedals cant really say its much different bar fluffing up clipping in more but that's just down to practice.

stonflo

Reading through these replies from knowledgable people I did go for Shimano and tried them for the first time roads in and around Southport. The advantages for me were that pedal action was much increased by a better upwards pull.
Now I am back home I look forward (I think) to experiancing go up hills . Thank you all for your contributions and valued advice.
Mike

Mpercy

When I was a newbie back on a bike a few years ago, I was told by the LBS to use SPD-SL. Was about 40ish at the time. I then found I was hurting from sore knees as I raised my distance.

Then went down the rabbit hole of googling sore knees. Ended up with both using speedplay pedals, and reducing the crank length.

The key to speedplay was that its 'open' float and doesn't try to re-align your feet to centre if they rotate slightly (as opposed to Shimamo or Look). It was rather strange feeling at first ('skating on ice' I recall being a term mentioned at the time), but it works for me.

Its unfortunate really, as walking in speedplay is horrible and the nice power measurement pedals don't support speedplay, so pros and cons. I raise this in case it helps someone else in a similar situation, as our bodies are all different.

Matt

Matthewfalle

Mpercy wrote:

When I was a newbie back on a bike a few years ago, I was told by the LBS to use SPD-SL. Was about 40ish at the time. I then found I was hurting from sore knees as I raised my distance.

Then went down the rabbit hole of googling sore knees. Ended up with both using speedplay pedals, and reducing the crank length.

The key to speedplay was that it its 'open' float and doesn't try to re-align your feet to centre if they rotate slightly (as opposed to Shimamo or Look). It was rather strange feeling at first ('skating on ice' I recall being a term mentioned at the time), but it works for me.

Its unfortunate really, as walking in speedplay pedals is horrible and the nice power measurement pedals don't support speedplay, so pros and cons. I raise this in case it helps someone else in a similar situation.

Matt

Top stuff - cheers Matt. Good name by the way - I'll tell MF to keep an eye out for you.

mr_mojo

Look blades creak, classic Look pedals don’t. I’ve just swapped to Speedplay Zeros on one bike mainly because I fancied a change but the Looks creaked and ticked which I found annoying.

It took a couple of rides to get use to the Speedplay pedals and I’ve reduced the heat out float but I like them. Found them and the cleats easy to install and set up with no problems clipping in or releasing. I have the aero walkable cleats and find them fine for walking, no slipping!

fortyone

I changed from Look to Shimano a year ago and I find the Shimanos are better. They have less maintenance because the Look Keo Max pedals and other Looks before always end up with axle play, especially in the pedal that you usually clip out of. My brother, who is an engineer, and has also used Looks, said that the Looks have poor seals on them and have only a short life. Two winters ago, the Look body just came off whilst I was riding, leaving only the spindle to get back home on. I will never go back to Look. After one year of Shimano 105 use I have had no issues at all.

keef66

keef66 wrote:

craker wrote:

oxoman wrote:

Personally I'd go SPD as I prefer to be able to walk normal.

Yes, lots of folk say that, maybe it's down to the quality of the shoe? I find my SPD-SL much, much more comfy on a long ride. It spreads the load across more of the foot.

Also I've unclipped from spds accidently when giving it some, and ended up in a heap on the floor. I've got more confidence in the clipping mechansim on SPD-SL.

Well after years of using SPDs I'm about to give SPD-SL a go. I think it's the wider choice of shoes that swayed me, plus I wanted to see if the wider cleat does what Craker and others have said. 99% of my rides I barely put a foot down. I'll keep the SPD pedals / shoes for the winter bike.

(I did briefly weigh up the other option of carbon soled SPD compatible shoes, but seemed a choice between chunky MTB shoes, or road models without a recessed cleat which seems the worst of both worlds)

I'll let you know how I get on

Well, their inaugural ride passed without incident. I'd squirted a bit of beeswax polish on the pedals and unwound the tension all the way to make sure I could unclip. Bit tricky to clip in the first couple of times as the pedals are new and don't always hang vertically, but I'm sure it will be second nature soon. It does feel better connected to the bike, and the pressure better distributed under the forefoot, but it's also possible that my 15 year old Nike shoes flex a lot more than the new Specialized ones. On the plus side it did give my wife a laugh watching me waddle out to the garage...

norvernrob

Time. I’ve got the Xpresso carbon 8, they’re about half the weight of Shimano, don’t hang upside down all the time like all my Shimano used to, and I haven’t had to touch them in 2 years of use.