Ive been riding the SMP pedals for two weeks now. Let me first go over what I have been riding them on. First was a mountain bike (as I could not get them on my training bike), then I mounted them on my training/commuting bike as pictured here:
Here is an up close of the pedal:
Sorry if I burned your retnas with the glare. Below is my shoes with cleat setup:
So this is the setup that I have been putting in the most miles. Mostly, I have been doing hills in prep for a race this upcoming weekend; although I have also done a roll-down test that I will comment on as well. Overall, my impressions of the setup is very positive. I came off of Bebop pedals, which I have ridden for the past 8 years or so. The first thing that I noticed is that they felt like there was zero resistance from the rotation compared to Bebop. This may be due to the fact that the Bebop uses a bushing rather than a bearing to reduce weight. These pedals felt very smooth. Engagement was very simple in and out. I think that it took about two ride to feel accustom to the engagement / disengagement; and this is after 8 years of the same pedal. Since I am planning on racing the pedals, I am planning on cranking down the release tension so that they do not easily let go. In this way, the shoes will not have any chance to fall off the bike while running into/out of the transition area while attached to the bike (I REALLY like this part...this in itself can save up to 30sec or more if you loose a shoe).
As stated, I did have to lower my seat, and my stem a corresponding amount. I wound up purchasing an adjustable stem for my race bike:
Here are the pedals closer:
Anyway, Im still dialing back into my position, as I felt just a little too high last year on my bike (but that is another matter all together). This provides me with a nice segue into the rolldown test that I performed. I know that it is not perfect, but I think that the numbers say something:
Bebop Lap Lap Time Lap Time Avg of Lap Dist min/mile sec/mile 2 02:04.0 124.00 26 0.938 2:12 132 5 02:06.9 126.90 26.2 0.947 2:14 134 7 02:07.1 127.10 25 0.938 2:15 135 9 02:09.5 129.50 25.2 0.944 2:17 137 11 02:07.2 127.20 27 0.938 2:15 135 Ave 02:06.9 126.94 25.88 0.941 2:14 134.6 SD 1.95525 0.80746517 0.004243 1.81659 CV 1.5% 3.1% 0.5% 1.3% SMP Lap Lap Time Lap Time Avg of Lap Dist min/mile sec/mile 13 02:03.6 123.60 27.2 0.943 2:11 131 15 02:03.2 123.20 27.4 0.95 2:09 129 17 02:02.1 122.10 26 0.938 2:10 130 19 02:06.0 126.00 26.2 0.948 2:12 132 21 02:04.5 124.50 26 0.94 2:12 132 Ave 02:03.9 123.88 26.56 0.9438 2:10 130.8 SD 1.46526 0.684105255 0.005119 1.30384 CV 1.2% 2.6% 0.5% 1.0%
This test consisted of a hill roll down just over 1 mile long that started from a track stand where brakes were released and roll down started. The bicycle was the martek pictured above just as it is pictured. Wind conditions were minimal, and the difference between the two conditions were pedals, and corresponding stem and seat elevations (lower for SMP). The ONLY purpose of this was to see for myself whether I was sacrificing any aero benefit from this setup. The answer for me is NO. The SMP pedals seem to be faster than the Bebop. This data was collected with a Polar s625x cycle computer. Anyway, I don’t consider this to be authoritative, but I do believe that it does say something.
As for the power thing; I just am not sure, as I do not have a power meter. Bummer.
I can tell you that it did feel a little easier to turn over the cranks when doing hills. I am not sure what was the cause of this effect, or if it is 'new stuff placebo'. I can also comment on really liking the cleat design. It has a very large foot contact area, so if you have problems with 'hot spots', this may provide a cure. I dont have that problem, so I can not comment on this with any authority. I also really like the float that is built into the shoe. With any other system that I have tried, you wind up increasing accidental release when increasing the float. For me, this is problematic when racing out of a transition area, with shoes attached to the bike. I will not have this problem any more. I also had no problem with accidental release of the cleat with these shoes, even while climbing out of the saddle. They had a very good feel of being secure, but still having lateral float, which is different from every system that I have tried.
Overall, I really like them so far. Ill check back in a bit to let you know how they are working out. Happy racing!
Stephen Judice
I believe my local reality has been violated.
____________________________________________
Happiness = Results / (Expectations)^2
Here is an up close of the pedal:
Sorry if I burned your retnas with the glare. Below is my shoes with cleat setup:
So this is the setup that I have been putting in the most miles. Mostly, I have been doing hills in prep for a race this upcoming weekend; although I have also done a roll-down test that I will comment on as well. Overall, my impressions of the setup is very positive. I came off of Bebop pedals, which I have ridden for the past 8 years or so. The first thing that I noticed is that they felt like there was zero resistance from the rotation compared to Bebop. This may be due to the fact that the Bebop uses a bushing rather than a bearing to reduce weight. These pedals felt very smooth. Engagement was very simple in and out. I think that it took about two ride to feel accustom to the engagement / disengagement; and this is after 8 years of the same pedal. Since I am planning on racing the pedals, I am planning on cranking down the release tension so that they do not easily let go. In this way, the shoes will not have any chance to fall off the bike while running into/out of the transition area while attached to the bike (I REALLY like this part...this in itself can save up to 30sec or more if you loose a shoe).
As stated, I did have to lower my seat, and my stem a corresponding amount. I wound up purchasing an adjustable stem for my race bike:
Here are the pedals closer:
Anyway, Im still dialing back into my position, as I felt just a little too high last year on my bike (but that is another matter all together). This provides me with a nice segue into the rolldown test that I performed. I know that it is not perfect, but I think that the numbers say something:
Bebop Lap Lap Time Lap Time Avg of Lap Dist min/mile sec/mile 2 02:04.0 124.00 26 0.938 2:12 132 5 02:06.9 126.90 26.2 0.947 2:14 134 7 02:07.1 127.10 25 0.938 2:15 135 9 02:09.5 129.50 25.2 0.944 2:17 137 11 02:07.2 127.20 27 0.938 2:15 135 Ave 02:06.9 126.94 25.88 0.941 2:14 134.6 SD 1.95525 0.80746517 0.004243 1.81659 CV 1.5% 3.1% 0.5% 1.3% SMP Lap Lap Time Lap Time Avg of Lap Dist min/mile sec/mile 13 02:03.6 123.60 27.2 0.943 2:11 131 15 02:03.2 123.20 27.4 0.95 2:09 129 17 02:02.1 122.10 26 0.938 2:10 130 19 02:06.0 126.00 26.2 0.948 2:12 132 21 02:04.5 124.50 26 0.94 2:12 132 Ave 02:03.9 123.88 26.56 0.9438 2:10 130.8 SD 1.46526 0.684105255 0.005119 1.30384 CV 1.2% 2.6% 0.5% 1.0%
This test consisted of a hill roll down just over 1 mile long that started from a track stand where brakes were released and roll down started. The bicycle was the martek pictured above just as it is pictured. Wind conditions were minimal, and the difference between the two conditions were pedals, and corresponding stem and seat elevations (lower for SMP). The ONLY purpose of this was to see for myself whether I was sacrificing any aero benefit from this setup. The answer for me is NO. The SMP pedals seem to be faster than the Bebop. This data was collected with a Polar s625x cycle computer. Anyway, I don’t consider this to be authoritative, but I do believe that it does say something.
As for the power thing; I just am not sure, as I do not have a power meter. Bummer.
I can tell you that it did feel a little easier to turn over the cranks when doing hills. I am not sure what was the cause of this effect, or if it is 'new stuff placebo'. I can also comment on really liking the cleat design. It has a very large foot contact area, so if you have problems with 'hot spots', this may provide a cure. I dont have that problem, so I can not comment on this with any authority. I also really like the float that is built into the shoe. With any other system that I have tried, you wind up increasing accidental release when increasing the float. For me, this is problematic when racing out of a transition area, with shoes attached to the bike. I will not have this problem any more. I also had no problem with accidental release of the cleat with these shoes, even while climbing out of the saddle. They had a very good feel of being secure, but still having lateral float, which is different from every system that I have tried.
Overall, I really like them so far. Ill check back in a bit to let you know how they are working out. Happy racing!
Stephen Judice
I believe my local reality has been violated.
____________________________________________
Happiness = Results / (Expectations)^2