Ok, so I’m wondering, besides size and weight, what does one get for their money with pedals?
Background… I’ve got a pair of nashbar pedals (no name look pedals) on my tri bike. They were cheap. They seem fine, but I’m wondering if the resistance that cheaper bearings would have would affect performance. I’m thinking it’d be a small difference, but at what price does one get great pedals? Or does it really matter?
Hey Paul
What you get if you spend more is less weight and more options.
I run the new Time peddle and there light, have side to side float witch I need and regular float that you can adjust witch a lower cost peddle will not have. But if the one’s you have work for you then cool. Just make sure you have good cleat placement so they don’t cause a problem.
Dan…
hopefully, better sealed or servicable, higher grade bearings. you wouldn’t be able to measure a difference in resistance when the pedals are new but the bearings in cheap pedals don’t seem to last as long.
You get fit as well. I have a cheap set of Look pedals that don’t fit the cleats tightly. The expensive ones on my other bikes do.
On your trainer clip in one leg and pedal. There shouldn’t be any “slop”. On some cheap pedals there is. That’s all efficiency going down the drain.
As far as paying for Ti spindles over aluminum - that’s a waste unless you want to win the weight weenie prize (but I don’t think there is any prize).
How does “better bearings” benefit pedals?
From what i see (which is very limited :P), once i clip in, my pedals are in that orientation all the way till i unclip. No spinning around involved.
They are spinning the whole time. A spindle runs from the crank through the middle of the pedal; it is fixed to the crank. Your pedal (attached to your foot) spins around that fixed spindle as you pedal.
Bearings matter, but not that much.
So you NEVER pedal? Cuz otherwise your statement is pretty much an impossibility…
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Dude…you edited your post and you still have:
peddle for pedal
there for they’re
witch for which
one’s for ones
side to side for side-to-side
sorry…just couldn’t help it…long day, I suppose…but…dude…
Maybe English is his second, third, or fourth language? It was a funny read though!
Occupation: “Purchasing Mgr aircraft parts”
Why does this scare me?
Caleb,
if you have pedals with Aluminium spindles, I would advise that you stop using them immediately. Al is not strong enough for that application (and would also be lighter than Ti)
Now if you meant that your pedals have steel spindles, then continue as you were.
Its not really about more $$$ its about getting the pedal system which is right for you, the importnat factors are:
-Platform size
-Connection Stability
-Float -and what type of float free, firm etc etc
-Q factor adjustment
For me this all means I would ride better on the cheapest Time Rx series pedal than the most expensive look(possible not keo’s haven’t tried them or speedplay).
The difficulty is finding that system which works for you, I have tried numerous systems to get to what I like most and keeps my knees happy.
Time and SPD-SL seem to work well for a wide variety of people.
I got a cheap pair of Shimanos on my roadie and the Keo Carbone on my tri. They both serve me well although the Keos do spin a lot more smoothly than the Shimanos. Both have good platforms and float.
It’s funny cause I was just reading an article on Inside Triathlon about a gal who did Silverman and the Speedplay broke on her 12 miles into the ride. http://www.insidetriathlon.com/race/iro/articles/3101.0.html
"if you have pedals with Aluminium spindles, I would advise that you stop using them immediately. Al is not strong enough for that application (and would also be lighter than Ti) "
You’re right, I meant steel.
Maybe English is his second, third, or fourth language? It was a funny read though!
From his profile his name is Dan Davis and he lives in Bend, Oregon… methinks ingles is his numero uno languago…
I wore out the bearings on one of my Richey road pedals so its not that unusual. I was about 100 miles into a week 7 500 mile day supported bike ride. The mechanic said there was no way to fix it and I had to sag the rest of the day & borrow a peda l from someone for the rest of the week. Fortunately I’d charged it on my American express card which doubles the warranty so I got my money back since I was still with in the 2 ye s by about a month.
Ti doesn’t have to be a waste of money. I have been using successfully since those broke 2 yrs ago,the Performance Forte Ti road spd pedal. There’s $70-80 on sale and light; 200g for the pair. I’ve checked the weights. I’m not a big Performance fan but they have worked well & Performance does have a 100% satification guarnantee so if you try one of their products and don’t like it you can return it which I have also done.
Barb L