as i get closer to plunking the coin for my first tri bike, i need to get some more feedback about the pedals.
my roadbike has older look pedals, and i am fairly happy with them. however a guy down at the LTS (local tri store) sort of raved about speedplay. he wasnt necessarily pushing them, but said he preferred them.
is it mostly a weight issue, or a feel issue? is there any other real choices between those two?
Speedplay riders tend to be a bit cultish. They are quite different than most other pedals. It seems to be a love-or-hate relationship. I rode them for a couple years, then switched off them because I wanted to try something new. I rode Time RXS for two years, and now I’m back on Speedplay. I would say the most similar product out there to Speedplay is the Nike Free - it makes you aware of what you are doing; in the Free’s case, it makes you aware of how you run. In the case of Speedplay, it makes you aware of how you pedal. Whether or not you want this awareness will probably determine whether or not you like the pedals.
How do these pedals achieve this?
with all the float you can have maybe? to the OP i am a big fan of Looks’ Keo Carbon. I have them on my road and tri bike and couldn’t be happier. i like the large platform
Speedplays feel like you are standing on so they take a little getting used to. I love mine very easy to get into especially when I am PC’ing. Some people have commented that they clog easy with sand if you have to run in transition. I have not had that issue. I am sure one of the guys at the LBS has a pair that you can try.
How do these pedals achieve this?
By not having a spring that wants your foot to be centered. Whether or not this is a good or bad thing is debatable, but by not having a spring to push your foot, however slightly, towards the center, your legs are free to do what they want. Again, the benefits are debatable, but it certainly makes you aware.
I’ve used x-series on my tri bike and though it has not happened to me during a race I have had my shoes pop off the pedals while practicing mounting with the shoes still on the bike. That’s the only problem I saw with them, and I can see the same thing happening when you’re trying to pull your feet out of the shoes (though that didn’t happen to me). So I’ve decided to go with Keo Carbon on the tri bike to have a stable wide platform with adjustable release tension that I can stomp around on, though the same can be achieved with Speedplay Zeros I just wanted a change. Can’t go wrong with either one in my opinion. Although if you want to run with your pedals in T1, speedplay cleats do have a tendency to clog up, after the Tour De Tucson’s second river crossing my dad had a hell of a time clipping back into his pedals. Just a thought.
the thing I don’t like about speedplay is the tendency for rock to get into the shoe “hole”. I had a friend that wore them for a tri, he ran to the mount line in his shoes and when he tried to clip in it wouldn’t go. He had to get off the bike and clean the rock that got up into the “hole”
Speedplay vs LOOK is sort of a Mac vs PC thing. Both are good pedals but totally different beings. Choose what you prefer and ride like hell! And coming not too far in the future are KEO Grip cleats. They address the issue of slipping while off the bike.
I am also a Look rep, I want to be upfront about that, I saw that another Look rep had also replied.
I like Speedplay pedals alot. They work great. The nice thing about this decesion is you are not going to end up with a pedal you are not happy with.
That being said, here is why I would choose Look.
Larger Pedal Platform - Some people say this doesn’t matter, but I can tell you that in my case it does. Maybe I have overly sensitive feet, but on long rides I notice the difference in platform size. If it is less than 2 hours, I don’t really notice.
Ease of rebuild - Sooner or later you are going to have to rebuild your pedals if you ride long enough. With the Keo, the bearing are attached to the axle. Pull it out, put a new one in, rebuild done.
If you don’t clip your shoes into your pedals in T1 or pull your feet out on the way to T2, you will find that the new Keo Grip cleat is far easier to run in that the Speedplay or any other cleat, including the standard Keo.
Cleat availability - Virtually every bike shop in the country have Keo cleats in stock. Maybe you wanted grey and they only have red, but they have something that will get you riding. This is not the case with Speedplay. If you do go with Speedplays, get some extra cleats to keep in your bag or one day you will find yourself up the creek without a cleat.
Be careful comparing weight. The weight of the pedal means nothing. You need to compare the weight of the pedal, cleat, and mounting hardware. Those little Speedplay pedals themselves are pretty light, the cleat is a different story.
If your only experience with Look is the old Delta style pedal, you need to try Keo. It is a totally different pedal. I have them on both my road bikes, my tri bike, and my tandem. The work great. I can’t imagine going back to Speedplays. However, if suddenly Look was out of the pedal business, that is where I would look next.
In speaking with the owner of the LBS during my recent bike fit - he suggested I look into the Time RXS for when I get my new bike. He mentioned that he does like Speedplays and Look but for pure power transition for a rider with more powerful legs he thought Time was the way to go - I have no idea your style of riding so just throwing that out there.
You may want to take a look at Aerolite peddles
Larger Pedal Platform - Aerolites have a large platform
Ease of rebuild - Aerolites never need to be rebuilt
If you don’t clip your shoes into your pedals then you probably don’t want the Aerolites
Cleat availability They come with their own cleat
Be careful comparing weight: Aerolites are the lightest peddles out there.
I have done all sort of bike races and have never pulled out of them by mistake.
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Need to try em both. For a tri bike - I’d give your 2 choices a tie. For a road bike, I much prefer the speedplays. I’ve since switched all my bikes (well, MTN bike has eggbeaters) to speedplay zeros for ease of shoe/cleat transfer. I use the zeros to lock down float on the tri bike, and allow some float on the road bike (heel out only, and slightly more on my right: achieveable only with zero pedals). Since I clip in and out so much on my road bike in traffic, etc., I like the dual sided entry of the speedplays. In a tri, you basically clip in and done, so not as important. Also, it is MUCH easier to run in any other cleat then speedplays (so learn to leave your shoes on your pedals!).
I am another fan of Look pedals. The reason I am a Look fan have been listed, but will add that cleat replacement is MUCH cheaper then speedplay.
But I am a little confussed by these statements:
Do they have no bearings? Anything with bearings needs maintaince sooner or later (or replacement). I have never riden Aerolites, just handled them but they did seem to have bearings. Ever Look pedal I have riden has been uber easy to replace the bearings on (and cheap). The speedplays I once owned we much more difficult.
I would hope so, but do the cleats every wear out or break? The person who orginally posted the cleat avaliblity issue was refering replacement cleats not original cleats. I was on an out of town trip and broke a look cleat (it was beyond the point where I should have replaced it) and even the super tiny bike shop in the tiny town I was in had a pair of Look cleats.
Like many have said, speedplays are good pedals but Looks will are my first choice for road pedals. If you can try both, you may like the Speedplays better… or not 
I agree, I have speedplay X’s on all my bikes, except my mountain and cross bikes. I tried them with cyclocross, and they just clog up too much offroad, but as far as for road biking, I’ll never use anything but Speedplays…
I am another fan of Look pedals. The reason I am a Look fan have been listed, but will add that cleat replacement is MUCH cheaper then speedplay.
But I am a little confussed by these statements:
Do they have no bearings? Anything with bearings needs maintaince sooner or later (or replacement). I have never riden Aerolites, just handled them but they did seem to have bearings. Ever Look pedal I have riden has been uber easy to replace the bearings on (and cheap). The speedplays I once owned we much more difficult.
I would hope so, but do the cleats every wear out or break? The person who orginally posted the cleat avaliblity issue was refering replacement cleats not original cleats. I was on an out of town trip and broke a look cleat (it was beyond the point where I should have replaced it) and even the super tiny bike shop in the tiny town I was in had a pair of Look cleats.
Like many have said, speedplays are good pedals but Looks will are my first choice for road pedals. If you can try both, you may like the Speedplays better… or not
No they do not have bearings.
Do the cleats wear out, well they don’t have any moving parts and I have used the same pair of cleats for 20 years and no problems. I DO however have a spair set, they cost me $10 
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YIKES I just went and did a search to see if the aerolites are even made any more and the price has gone up almost $200 since I bought mine.
WOW that was a surprise. The pedal and shoe clip weigh less than 100 grams per pair but still that is a big increase.
And as to the question about barrings I guess the pedal acts as a barring itself.
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I don’t know why you aren’t considering the Shimano SPD-SL cleats.
I use the M2 Racer Orb2. Lighter than anything else out there - but they are outta bidness.
Time RXS. Best pedals out there, at least for me. I’ve used Speedplay X Series, and while I didn’t hate them, I certainly didn’t love them either. I never felt secure or ‘locked in’ with the Speedplays. Times feel very locked in and connected, I’m not sure how to put it into words. Plus, they are light and not overly expensive. The cleats also seem to last quite a long time as well.
Do the cleats wear out, well they don’t have any moving parts and I have used the same pair of cleats for 20 years and no problems. I DO however have a spair set, they cost me $10
WOW! 20 years on a set of cleats is pretty impressive! I won’t be going out and buying a pair… but that is impressive