What is your favorite pedal. I have some older P.O.S. pedals that have seen better days. I am sick of having trouble clipping in after stops. Which pedal is the easiest / fastest to clip in and out of?
I know, newbie question, but thanks for any input.
I would think that ease of clipping in is a two part equation, with the wear and tear of the cleats being an equal part factor. Also, maybe the pedals need an adjustment to improve ease of clipping in.
I would also think that most pedals these days would be pretty similar in ease of clipping in, once properly adjusted.
In my mind, the far bigger selection factor would be comfort based on how the bottom of your feet feel, e.g., no hot spots after 30-40 or miles.
Then again, I’m not a real cycling person, so take the response for what it’s worth, about two cents. 
Shimano SPD-SL’s were my favourite road pedals, they are pretty easy to get in and out of. but if speed of entry is your primary concern, it is pretty hard to beat Egg-Beaters (the original mountain bike version, made by both Crank Bros. and Look).
Edit - Shimano’s WERE my fave’s, but I am more partial to Time RXS series now. They are trickier to clip into than the shimano’s though, the target is a little smaller.
Pedals are really a matter of personal preference. There are several basic styles and then different brands within the styles (ie Look/Shimano–Speedplay–Egg beaters etc). As already stated old worn pedals/cleats could make clipping difficult, but to answer your question directly: LOOK Pedals are my choice. Switched from Dura Ace which I like equally as well. Both clip in with the same effort with the biggest difference being the LOOK KEOs are considerably cheaper for a given weight of pedal (make sure you check my bias below).
For my MTB I love my egg beaters. Definitely the easiest pedal I have ever clipped: 4 side clip in makes it a no brainer. Just don’t like them on my road/tri bikes.
Crank Bro’s Eggbeaters.
After finding myself running through a few muddy transition areas in my bike shoes and having lots of trouble clipping in, I’ve switched exclusively to mountain bike style pedal systems. I’ve found they shed dirt much better than most road designs.
(Please hold the suggestions that I do a flying mount on the bike. Aside from their merit - or lack thereof - I don’t really wanna run through the mud BAREFOOT either!)
i don’t know about ‘fastest’ but when i had the 2-sided spd mtb-style pedals with mtb shoes, it was always the easiest. didn’t bother looking down. i knew that i’d probably catch the cleat on the first push, and - just as important - that even if i missed, i could still get good purchase on the pedal and get started anyways.
other than that, the pedals are fine. not great, but fine.
fredly’s theory is that ease of entry/exit is tied in to the rider’s height, and i’m guessing he’s right about that.
-charles
Not one-sided SPDs. They’re scary at intersections.
Crank Bro’s Eggbeaters.
I have no experience with these but PC’ers (where getting into the second pedal is not as easy as it seems it might be) seem to really like these for “ease of entry”
.
speedplays for me without a doubt. never ever have to look down to clip in.
Eggbeaters. 4-sided entry…how much easier can it get?
Have the shoes clipped in before you even start, and then they all have the same clip in time of 0
.
My personal experience:
Easiest in/out: Speedplay. Also the worst for triathlon - terrible cleats for running or walking, easily crammed full of crud. Tough to remove foot from shoe while still in motion without shoe coming loose from the pedal. NOT a good triathlon pedal IMO.
Hardest to get into on the fly: Crank Bro’s Quattro. Great cleats for running into/out of transition, no chance of fouled cleat, but a nightmare to clip into in a hurry. If you get good at mounting these pedals, great for triathlon, but after 2 years they still give me hell on T1 exit.
Next pair will probably be a middle of the road tried-and-true SPD, maybe ultegra. I used them in the past, not great for transition running, but not the worst either.
Eggbeaters on every bike.
Mountain, cross, road. Love them.
Yeah. Lotta love for the Eggbeaters out there. They’re a MTB design and they’re sooooooo easy to get in and out of quickly, so I see a lot of newbies using them on their road bikes because of that. I use Look pedals for my tri bike, Dura Ace pedals on my road bike, and Eggbeaters on my MTB and the Eggbeaters are by far the easiest design (not that any design other than toe clips and those old Cinelli deathlocks are all that hard to get in and out of).
speedpalys…they have dual side entry, press and go.
I actually think my speedplays on my road and tri bike are easier to get into then my Crank Brothers eggbeaters on my MTN bike. I think it is mainly because of the recessed cleat on the MTN bike shoe though. Both are FAR easier for no look, quick clipping then my previous SPD type pedals (campy record then dura ace).
have used them for years including bike races and never came out when I did not want to, also never fell over at a stop.
I have a pair of shoes which are 20 years old and can still use the same cleats.
What the Crank Bros quattro?
My daughter has the ‘Candy’ on her MTB, it appears to be a breeze.
Not one-sided SPDs. They’re scary at intersections.
Oddly enough, I used to use those, and I LOVED them (the Dura Ace model, never tried the lower end ones). Never had a problem with not being able to unclip, and just as importantly, I never had an issue with accidental release in the middle of a 40mph sprint. That’s more than I can say for the original style Looks, and a few guys who rode Speedplays.
I had to switch when they stopped making road shoes with an SPD bolt pattern.