Pedal Advice

philrobinson

Hi Guys and girls

Moving away from my touring pedal to proper race pedals.

Looking at Shimano 105 or Ultegra or Look Keo Race Blade carbon or Keo Max carbon.

Which would you go for and why please?

Thanks for your help.

Cheers Phil

darkhairedlord

Any of those,
just make sure you can get the cleats positioned so the axle spindle is in the same place relative to your foot.
I recently changed from exustar keo-clones to look keo pedals and the cleat locks in slightly further forward (about 3-4mm) this caused me all kinds of knee pain until I worked it out and moved the cleats back on my shoes.

cougie

Wildcard - speedplay. I was on look for decades but I prefer speedplay.

imposter2.0

philrobinson wrote:

Hi Guys and girls

Moving away from my touring pedal to proper race pedals.

Looking at Shimano 105 or Ultegra or Look Keo Race Blade carbon or Keo Max carbon.

Which would you go for and why please?

Thanks for your help.

Cheers Phil

All those pedals effectively do the same thing, in the same way. Buy the pair that best fits your budget, or aesthetic preferences.

philrobinson

darkhairedlord wrote:

Any of those,
just make sure you can get the cleats positioned so the axle spindle is in the same place relative to your foot.
I recently changed from exustar keo-clones to look keo pedals and the cleat locks in slightly further forward (about 3-4mm) this caused me all kinds of knee pain until I worked it out and moved the cleats back on my shoes.

thanks for that

craigus89

As Imposter says, they all do the same thing, and you won't notice any difference aside from when you are clipping in. People who say they can feel the difference between 105 and dura-ace pedals for instance are simply justifying their purchase, its nothing more than a weight saving.

philrobinson

cougie wrote:

Wildcard - speedplay. I was on look for decades but I prefer speedplay.

thanks but not sure about £50 per set of cleats

philrobinson

Craigus89 wrote:

As Imposter says, they all do the same thing, and you won't notice any difference aside from when you are clipping in. People who say they can feel the difference between 105 and dura-ace pedals for instance are simply justifying their purchase, its nothing more than a weight saving.

Thanks yep red that especially with the new pedals having the old DA technology in them

mrb123

philrobinson wrote:

cougie wrote:

Wildcard - speedplay. I was on look for decades but I prefer speedplay.

thanks but not sure about £50 per set of cleats

The pedals come with cleats. Add a set of Keep on Kovers and they will last for years.

FatTed

Shimano cleats wear better than Look cleats, I have Look Pedals now

cougie

philrobinson wrote:

cougie wrote:

Wildcard - speedplay. I was on look for decades but I prefer speedplay.

thanks but not sure about £50 per set of cleats

Get the surrounding cover and you can walk on them and wear is minimal. Plastic cleats wear out pretty quickly for look etc.

darkhairedlord

cougie wrote:

philrobinson wrote:

cougie wrote:

Wildcard - speedplay. I was on look for decades but I prefer speedplay.

thanks but not sure about £50 per set of cleats

Get the surrounding cover and you can walk on them and wear is minimal. Plastic cleats wear out pretty quickly for look etc.

I have some look covers and they wear out quicker than the cleats!

philrobinson

darkhairedlord wrote:

cougie wrote:

philrobinson wrote:

cougie wrote:

Wildcard - speedplay. I was on look for decades but I prefer speedplay.

thanks but not sure about £50 per set of cleats

Get the surrounding cover and you can walk on them and wear is minimal. Plastic cleats wear out pretty quickly for look etc.

I have some look covers and they wear out quicker than the cleats!

Thanks so you have moved away from speedplay to Look Keo yourself

darkhairedlord

philrobinson wrote:

darkhairedlord wrote:

cougie wrote:

philrobinson wrote:

cougie wrote:

Wildcard - speedplay. I was on look for decades but I prefer speedplay.

thanks but not sure about £50 per set of cleats

Get the surrounding cover and you can walk on them and wear is minimal. Plastic cleats wear out pretty quickly for look etc.

I have some look covers and they wear out quicker than the cleats!

Thanks so you have moved away from speedplay to Look Keo yourself

never had speedplay

helterskelter

Recently upgraded from the R540's to 105, weighed up the ultegra's but couldn't justify the extra £40 to save 25g which is about the only difference.

furiousd

I have used SPD's for ages, moved to SPD-SL last year. I have been using Ultegra ones, i bought them as the rest of the bike was Ultegra. I used to swap pedals between bikes but that was getting to be a PITA. So deduced to by some new ones, i got 105 pedals for £61 as i couldn't justify the £93 for the Ultegra. The upshot, i can't tell the difference, the axel is a different colour. Happy with the purchase. Just checked Wiggle and no 105's in stock.

philrobinson

FuriousD wrote:

I have used SPD's for ages, moved to SPD-SL last year. I have been using Ultegra ones, i bought them as the rest of the bike was Ultegra. I used to swap pedals between bikes but that was getting to be a PITA. So deduced to by some new ones, i got 105 pedals for £61 as i couldn't justify the £93 for the Ultegra. The upshot, i can't tell the difference, the axel is a different colour. Happy with the purchase. Just checked Wiggle and no 105's in stock.

Yep been on wiggle myself as they are the cheapest

helterskelter

philrobinson wrote:

FuriousD wrote:

I have used SPD's for ages, moved to SPD-SL last year. I have been using Ultegra ones, i bought them as the rest of the bike was Ultegra. I used to swap pedals between bikes but that was getting to be a PITA. So deduced to by some new ones, i got 105 pedals for £61 as i couldn't justify the £93 for the Ultegra. The upshot, i can't tell the difference, the axel is a different colour. Happy with the purchase. Just checked Wiggle and no 105's in stock.

Yep been on wiggle myself as they are the cheapest

£60.49 on evans and should be able get 10% off with BC discount

minnnt

Outsider option...

Boardman Road Pro pedals. Unbeatable value and I’ve found them a lot easier to clip into than my old Look Keo. They’re also super light if that’s your thing.

https://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... ode=search

norvernrob

Another option - Time xpresso. Super easy to clip into, very light and plenty of float. Available in options from cheap 2’s to very expensive 12’s, I’ve got the carbon 8’s that I bought on sale for around £75 a couple of years ago. The only downside is the cleats don’t last long.

turbotommy

Avoid look keo carbon pedals. Theyre lighter but not nearly as good as shimano in my opinion. Firstly most people complain that the pedal doesn’t sit vertical while not engaged with the cleat. So you’re never 100% sure of your clipping in routine. Also they wear out a fair bit faster too. I was on look pedals for a few years but have taken them off all my bikes and wouldn’t go back unless they improve.

vegas76

Is there a big difference in feel / use between SPD and SPD-SL pedals?

mariamartinez

Decathlon own brand surprisingly good

DeVlaeminck

TurboTommy wrote:

Avoid look keo carbon pedals. Theyre lighter but not nearly as good as shimano in my opinion. Firstly most people complain that the pedal doesn’t sit vertical while not engaged with the cleat. So you’re never 100% sure of your clipping in routine. Also they wear out a fair bit faster too. I was on look pedals for a few years but have taken them off all my bikes and wouldn’t go back unless they improve.

The blade type? I've been very pleased wih mine.

Bottom briquettes

I like the Carbon bodied Shimano 105 / Ultegra / DA, SPD-SL pedals. I did have issues with the 105 bodies warping though.

badgermat

Keo Max all the way for me.

I had old Key Carbons (now Keo Max) on my old bike for 12 years. They gripped tight and only wore out three sets of cleats.

New bike has Keo Race Blades and they're very soft by comparison, I have no confidence that they'll hold on with a bit of cleat wear.

bm

furiousd

Vegas76 wrote:

Is there a big difference in feel / use between SPD and SPD-SL pedals?

I would say yes. I have been using SPD's for as long as i can remember, mainly because i only ever used to ride mountain bikes, then when i got a road bike i stuck with them as they are easier for commuting. (can clip in both sides) I was using S Works MTB shoes so they are very stiff. I got some S works 6 road shoes and could get on with them so got some new RP9 and they have been much better. At first i didn't like that fact that i didn't have as much float with the SPD-SL and it took some getting used to. I guess my old SPD's were worn and sloppy. I am used to it now and used the SPD's a couple of weeks ago and couldn't believe how unstable they felt. I am also slightly better on the hills with SPD-SL but it probably a placebo.
D

Bottom briquettes

Vegas76 wrote:

Is there a big difference in feel / use between SPD and SPD-SL pedals?

That depends on the pedals / shoes. Some of the platform type pedals with SPD mechanisms in them ( like the M530 / A520, or A530 ) afford as much lateral stability as SPD-SL type pedals, the more MTB focussed type SPD pedals ( like the M520) don’t. The SPD-SL type pedals are typically lighter than the platform / SPD hybrid pedals though. The main difference is obviously the type of cleat / shoe that you use. The shoes designed purely for SPD cleats are typically less stiff and light than the shoes for SPD-SL cleats / pedals.

imposter2.0

Bottom briquettes wrote:

The shoes designed purely for SPD cleats are typically less stiff and light than the shoes for SPD-SL cleats / pedals.

Apart from all those MTB shoes which share an identical design - and therefore exactly the same performance - as their road-going counterparts...

turbotommy

DeVlaeminck wrote:

TurboTommy wrote:

Avoid look keo carbon pedals. Theyre lighter but not nearly as good as shimano in my opinion. Firstly most people complain that the pedal doesn’t sit vertical while not engaged with the cleat. So you’re never 100% sure of your clipping in routine. Also they wear out a fair bit faster too. I was on look pedals for a few years but have taken them off all my bikes and wouldn’t go back unless they improve.

The blade type? I've been very pleased wih mine.

The blade type. I’ve had 3 pairs that don’t go back to vertical when disengaged. I’ve also got friends who have the same issue, and I’ve seen lots of online posts complaining of the same thing.

Maybe your pair don’t have this problem, or maybe it’s something you have learnt to live with. But I couldn’t recommend them.

badgermat

TurboTommy wrote:

The blade type. I’ve had 3 pairs that don’t go back to vertical when disengaged. I’ve also got friends who have the same issue, and I’ve seen lots of online posts complaining of the same thing.

Maybe your pair don’t have this problem, or maybe it’s something you have learnt to live with. But I couldn’t recommend them.

Another reason to choose the Keo Max version. They have the older-style coil spring on the back edge, the altered weight distribution completely avoids the problem you describe.

bm