I would suggest getting a new fitter. I cant think of any advantages of the Shimano pedal and for fit issues there is no better pedal than a Speedplay.

Did he give any reason WHY he didn't like Speedplay?
Opinions without rationale are utterly worthless to me. Every time we accept one our world gets a little worse!
Just my opinion...... ;p

That's just weird. Is he also selling shimano pedals? lol

I think you should always have some play between pedals and cleats. One of the reasons is pedalling when you're not seated. You move a lot more when standing, compared to riding in seated position. So if your cleats are "locked", you might accidentally unclip them when pedalling in standing position.

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Don't stop when you're tired. Stop when you're done.

- D. Goggins

I am but a mere consumer of fun bike stuff, but my impression is that Speedplay is the shizzle unless you want power meter pedals. I thought Speedplay are the most aero, most adjustable, and easiest to clip in and out, and I really don't know why anyone would buy anything else unless they had an overriding brand affinity.

 


If you like your speedplay pedals you should just keep them. I'm not sure why your fitter said that unless he was trying to sell you something. It would be like him saying I don't like that saddle you're perfectly comfortable on and you should switch.

There's really not been any studies that show one pedal is better than the other. I use speedplay and the only issue I have is I do develop a little side to side "rock" in the pedal/cleat interface. I sometimes use Shimano for track because I feel a bit more locked in, but 99% of my riding is on Speedplay.

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Heath Dotson
HD Coaching:Website |Twitter: 140 Characters or Less|Facebook:Follow us on Facebook

Two negatives about speedplays: cost and maintenance. Upfront they're slightly expensive compared to other systems and the replacement cleats are super expensive compared to others. The cleats must be dry lubed fairly often or they start to feel "sticky" and need to regrease the spindles once or twice a year. That being said, all of my bikes have speedplays on them.

The only thing I can come up with is money. I rotate 3 race bikes and 1 TT/TRI bike (most of them not expensive) and I'd love to switch to Speedplay. But buying 4 sets of Speedplay pedals is quite expensive. Also, I think Look pedals are not that bad (at least, the ones with a carbonplate that closes the bottom of the pedal)

If your feet are going numb you better have someone double or triple check your cleat position. Shimano does has some float but this sounds like it may be way off.

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Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

Find a new fitter. Pedals are a consumer preference and have nothing to do with bike fit.

As for your last question, the Zero pedals can be adjusted to emulate the movement of any SPD-L type pedal with the simple adjustment of 2 screws on each shoe.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

I use both (used Shimano for years, bought the aero zero speedplays for track/tt) and for the most part, agree with everyone else.

The only thing I dislike about Speedplay is that little bit of float that you can't eliminate even with the bolts screwed all the way in. The caveat to that is that I've always used Red (0 float) Shimano cleats. (And I understand that issue applies to like .01% of the population)

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This.

Zero's with the new walkable cleats are a real advantage for me.

He said he didn’t like that speedplay pedals allow the shoe to rock side to side when clipped into the pedal. He believes there is an optimal position to be in that should be comfortable for you.

On SPD pedals on the mt bike, my feet move a lot, given the shifting around a lot due to the terrain changes. I just began to assume maybe the shifting around is actually- a good thing.

I run Speedplay on all my bikes except for my mountain bike. Two pair of X2s I have been using since the mid 90s. I did have to rebuild one of those after I wrecked and wore out the plastic lollipop sliding down the road. I run the Pave model on the bike I use for touring, which is a bit harder to get in and out of, but are great pedals. I plan to use the SYZR system on my gravel bike.

If any fitter tried to switch me to Shimano pedals for road or triathlon, I would probably question the fit as well.

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"Remember: a bicycle is an elegant and efficient tool designed for seeking out and defeating people who aren't as good as you."

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Well, in that case I'd be questioning the fitter more than the pedals.
Most riders, including pros use some amount of float. Unless you have a damn good reason to eliminate it I'd never consider doing so. Put it this way, even if there is a specific position that's optimum (which I don't believe - the best angle is likely to vary, if even if only slightly throughout the stroke) you'd damn well better know exactly what that angle is before you lock yourself in it for the entire ride. Thus, even if this were true, you'd need a lot of work to be certain the position was good and if you're feeling worse than you did before, the position is NOT good.

I would agree that you should get a second opinion. Having float in the pedals is important to avoid knee injuries and generally is a good thing unless you are trying to squeeze out every .1 watt. Check which color cleat you have, if they are black it means you have 0 degrees of float (moving your foot side to side). I use red like Morelock above which has the maximum float, I think up to 10%, and is something you have to get comfortable with but will be the best for injury prevention. Grey will give you ~5 degrees of float. Also the float has nothing to do with speedplay vs Shimano which completely invalidates his opinion in the first place.

Pedals have a good bit to do with the bike fit. Shimano now offers a +4mm longer pedal spindle whereas Speedplay has several options. I will second you need a new fitter. Lateral knee alignment is crucial in a bike fit.

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Robert Driskell
Certified Master Body Geometry fit Technician
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Zipp Service Course Specialist
Bikes Plus Pensacola Florida

Which Shimano. There is Shimano and Shimano and they are very different.

I had spd because I run on my bikeshoes in transition. Until I noticed that on long rides they develope a nasty pressure point.

So I changed to spd-sl which felt perfect to me and with which I can also run.

Now, only for aero reasons, I changed to zero aero cleats with normal speedplay pedals. They feel the same as the spd-sl, only the entrance is a bit difficult. I can also run on them and I'm happy.

Since my right foot I naturally walk with it pointed outward, he also wanted Shimano for the longer spindle. Again, the rocking of the shoe (tipping) side to side, not the float... is also what he didn’t like about Speedplay.

You can get Speedplay with a bigger range of spindle lengths than Shimano AFAIK. I had a set with spindles 6mm longer than normal when I originally started using them. From memory, I think their standard spindle length is 53mm and they also sell 50, 56, 59, and something longer, maybe 65mm? This was one of the less important reasons I moved to Speedplay. The main one was the low friction float. I've since decided I don't need the longer spindle, but they ARE available. Undue Side to side rocking, as far as I've noticed, only crops up when cleats have become very worn.

I can see what he is on about. I found the standard old school Speedplay cleats with the aliminium plate have less rock than the walkable cleats and it is one of the few things I dislike about Speedplay pedals. I only notice the instability every now and again. I like the pedals and choose to use them but I understand why some people wouldn't like them. I have a dislike for carbon cranks over aluminium but I am sure many people wouldn't feel the flex I dislike in them. Each to there own and if you don't notice it riding then stick with the Speedplays as they have so many advantages over other pedals IMO.

Great, now I am looking for speedplay zero's to try...

There is no tipping w/speedplay. Your fitter is simply wrong. As I think should be obvious in this thread.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

There is no tipping w/speedplay. Your fitter is simply wrong. As I think should be obvious in this thread.


Dan - Indeed!

However, when they are badly worn, there can be rocking and extra movement with Speedplay or with and badly worn down or abused cleat/pedal system - which is not uncommon. Many cyclists/triathletes cleats/pedals are in horrible shape! I honestly don't know how they can ride their bikes like that? $5000 - $10,000 bike and $25 cleats completely worn out!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

no doubt. i just don't find this to be a speedplay issue, but a worn pedal issue. i've got several pair of shoes, and several sets of zeros, lots of miles, no rocking.

look, the problem is this. speedplay takes certain functionality that typically belongs on most pedals and places them in the cleat. therefore the pedal looks kind of like a cleat, and the cleat looks like a pedal. people look at the pedal and think, whoa, not a lot of pedal there. but if you look at the actual engagement parts, the surface area of engagement, it's similar to other pedals or bigger.

nobody ever says this sort of stuff about egg beaters. also great pedals. or shimano MTB. speedplay zeros have a massive engagement footprint relative to those pedals. you hate to see ignorance like this at IBDs.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman