Speedplay pedals
Pituophis
Posts: 1,025
Although no longer a true beginner, this is probably a naive question so best put here.....
On my road bikes I have always been happy with the convenience of spd's and touring shoes.
However on a bit of a whim I decided to treat myself to some Speedplay Light Action pedals and some "better quality" road specific shoes. Never really gave it too much thought until I read by chance on another topic, someone mentioning the difference in seat height that Speedplay's made.
I haven't actually got around to fitting the pedals or shoe plates yet, but does anyone have any experience that may suggest I will need to lower my seat to compensate for the imagined thinner sole/pedal thickness?
Or is it just a case of suck it and see?
On my road bikes I have always been happy with the convenience of spd's and touring shoes.
However on a bit of a whim I decided to treat myself to some Speedplay Light Action pedals and some "better quality" road specific shoes. Never really gave it too much thought until I read by chance on another topic, someone mentioning the difference in seat height that Speedplay's made.
I haven't actually got around to fitting the pedals or shoe plates yet, but does anyone have any experience that may suggest I will need to lower my seat to compensate for the imagined thinner sole/pedal thickness?
Or is it just a case of suck it and see?
0
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Fixed TT 2015-2016
As others say suck it and see.
To ube them remove the small screw on the outside of the pedal and pump this with grease. Any old grease will come out of the axle side, when it changes colour so it looks like new grease stop. Speedplay recommend you do this every 2000 miles, if you ride in the wet do it more often.
You can buy a grease gun for a lot of money or go to the chemist and buy a 20 ml plastic syring.
I didn't bother adjusting the seat height, but I will say at first the cleats are hard to clip in,
but they soon soften and you don't think about clipping in after a short while.
http://app.strava.com/athletes/881211
In my experience it was only hard to clip in at first if the cleats were not installed correctly. Over-tightend cleat screws seem to pull the cleat out of shape a little and make clipping out difficult. Once installed per instruxtions I didn't have a problem
With regards to greasing, I tried to use plastic syringes, but found it a pain as I couldn't generate sufficient pressure before breaking the syringe. I've since bought a grease gun from Halfords for only £8, which is well worth it.
N+1
You really don't want to get small stones and mud in the mechanism.
P.S. I'd skip the coffee shop covers and get keep on covers instead. The coffee shop ones ARE a bit of a faff. Don't need to worry about stuff getting in the cleats unless you're walking on clay or something but the keep on covers do make them better to walk in when you need to.
Why exactly? Where on a bike do you need to apply so much grease you require a grease gun as opposed to the thin film which could be applied using a clean rag or a dollop on the end of your finger?
The need for regular lube/maintenance (grease gun? FFS!).
Fragile mechanisms that clog easily.
The most difficult cleats to walk in (café covers? Very convenient, not).
Marketing guff that tells you they're "pro gear".
Alternatively (to the OPs original posting), stick with stiff-sole shoes and SPDs (get real, it's just Marketing that says they are not for road use) and have a solid platform, great float, zero maintenance, low cost, the ability to walk like a normal human and be guaranteed never to clog them because you stood on the wrong type of soil/sand/grit/clay.
Like, what happens if you need to change a tube, in winter, dirty roads, muddy verges? Find a stretch of tarmac, away from the verge, put on your "cafe covers", get out your matching Speedplay sweeping brush. . . .
Okay, I'm being satirical, but if SPDs are good enough for Obree and Wilko. . .
I haven't tried SPD so don't know how they compare but yhe speedplays are much more comfortable for me than SPD SL and I would expect the other similar types such as Look Keo to be similar.
Sorry to disagree but unless you're walking on slabs or tarmac there's a real risk of getting small stones in the cleat mechanism. This happened to me and made it hard to unclip when I was in the centre of a very busy A road, looking to turn right. :shock: :shock:
I will give them their maiden trip tomorrow (providing its dry as they're only on the summer bike yet.)
The total float seems a little excessive at the minute (probably why most go for the zero's with the adjustment option) but I'm guessing a ride or two will soon settle that feeling as I get used to them.
I will report back for others who may be thinking of switching.
Very easy to clip into after the first half a dozen tries.
Very easy to unclip from, straight from new.
No issues with the float what so ever while sitting, but it did allow a bit of unwanted movement as I stood up to climb. (These are the light action versions) I thought the 15 degrees of float would be an advantage, but in practice it may be a little excessive. Then again I may get used to it very quickly, you can't make an opinion from one ride! Time will tell.
http://app.strava.com/athletes/881211
They are a PITA over winter though with regular regreasing required
What do they offer?
Free float
Double sided - reason enough for me
Lowest stack height of just about any pedal
Most ground clearance
Cleats last years
There are a few downsides. The maintenance is not really an issue for me. Some grease in the grease port takes about 10 minutes every so often and about 10 seconds every so often to drip some oil into the moving part of the cleat.
Getting mud in the cleat is the real difficulty. This has happened to me on a handful of times (less than 5) in the 7 years I have been using them. I normally find a twig and use it to clear mud out of the cleat. The twig has never failed.
I have never used cafe covers and have not needed them. If you do then someone has made an alternative called keep-on-covers. Essentially like a cafe cover with a hole in it so you can engage the pedal with it on. They help you walk in the shoes like cafe covers but do not prevent dirt getting into the cleat.
Who do mean when you say Wilko? I know who Obree is and if by Wilko you mean Wiggins then he uses Speedplay anyway.
Admittedly the CB product can't compete on pedal weight (but can when cleat weight is taken into account).
Just need to think outside the box (the Eggbeater is an MTB product) if you really want to do all those things, but better.
Oh, the prices aren't bad either.
Road - Wilier Izoard Centaur/Cube Agree C62 Disc
Allround - Cotic Solaris
How do you get 'Wiggins' from 'Wilko'!?
He means Wilko - Andy Wilkinson.
Fixed TT 2015-2016
I'm aware of eggbeaters but don't know a lot about them. Is the float adjustable and friction free? (I suspect No and Yes respectively, can you confirm?)
I'd be surprised if the stack height is similar. From what I remember they appeared a bit higher, maybe a couple of mm. Not necessarily a dealbreaker.
For what it's worth, I have thought of trying Speedplays...
But to examine a couple of these, I can't say that ground clearance is a particular factor in my pedal choice. Perhaps it's more of a concern if you make really tight turns all the time, but seems more of a pleasing added extra to me.
As for stack height, platform size, etc, all of this just reinforces my perception that none of it really matters that much - as long as your shoes and pedals are comfortable to you, you have nothing or very little to gain in actual performance by changing. The fact that most professionals use whatever the sponsor provides confirms it further. If Speedplay's marketing is to be believed, you'd have to be mad to use the old Look design.
Not remotely saying you shouldn't use Speedplays at all. Incidentally, is long cleat life a general experience with them? Never got that impression before.
Fixed TT 2015-2016
Yes, I've had 3 years out of my first set of cleats. They still work fine but show signs of wear around the retaining ring which now rattles slightly when not clipped in. I'm sure I could do another season with them but I have another set waiting so think I'll replace just to be certain.