My second crank-based power meter that is just a few months outside of the warranty window has gone south. I am considering moving to the PowerTap P1, but I am a speedplay user and I love the amount of float that they allow. Anyone have any insight to share, especially if you are a former speedplay person?
I moved to P1s coming from Shimano pedals, so I cannot compare directly to Speedplay. But for me, the 6-deg P1s had significantly more float than the Shimano 6-deg cleats (regardless of pedal tension), to where I just switched to the 0-deg P1 cleats which feel much more like the Shimano 6-deg. So, I think you will find the 6-deg P1 cleats have a significant amount of float.
I have not measured it, but my subjective assessment is that the red P1 cleats have “a lot” of float. It seems like more than anyone would need. I will probably go to the black cleats eventually. I just have not pulled the trigger yet.
I moved to P1s coming from Shimano pedals, so I cannot compare directly to Speedplay. But for me, the 6-deg P1s had significantly more float than the Shimano 6-deg cleats (regardless of pedal tension), to where I just switched to the 0-deg P1 cleats which feel much more like the Shimano 6-deg. So, I think you will find the 6-deg P1 cleats have a significant amount of float.
Same experience. I bought Wellgo RC-7 cleats which are the exact ones Powertap includes. I bought the zero degree float cleats which had just a little wiggle to them which was perfect for me. I also turned the tension all the way up on the pedals as I felt it was very loose compared to Shimano.
The P1 cleats also don’t have a self-centering shape, so there’s an “ice-skating” sensation throughout the float range, somewhat akin to Speedplay. For me, this was a significant difference from the Look Keo-style pedals I was coming from.
I also noticed that the P1 cleats don’t “find” the pedals quite as readily as I’m used to, it’s more a matter of knowing where to position your foot and just pushing down, it feels more blind than with my prior pedals where the cleat/pedal interaction guided them into place a bit more.
But overall, I find them quite useable, and I’ve only gotten in a few rides on my new P1s, so I suspect I’ll get used to them over time.
I did this exact switch going from Speedplay to P1. I am not sure about these available cleats but the ones I got seem to have zero float at all. And I kinda like that. I thought in the past that I enjoyed having float in my Speedplay cleats but I think I was losing some power to that float. Not sure. In any case, at least with the P1 cleats I am using, there is nearly zero float and I like that better