Which pedals should I install on my new triathlon bike - Look Keo of Shimano and what model?
Speedplay. End of story. I know there is a thread addressing 1 potential downside of them, but they’re simply a better pedal solution than look or keo. More adjustability, more options, and more aero. I’ve never once regretted switching from SPD-SL to Speedplay zeros.
If you have road bike as well, most likely you will want to have the same pedals for easy maintenance. There are several rest stops at road bike rally. If you have Speedplay cleats, step in mud, you will have to seat down and get the mud out with a tree branch or multi tool while your friends are out riding already. I’ve seen several people doing that, so no Speedplay for me since I have both road and tri bikes.
Speedplay. End of story. I know there is a thread addressing 1 potential downside of them, but they’re simply a better pedal solution than look or keo. More adjustability, more options, and more aero. I’ve never once regretted switching from SPD-SL to Speedplay zeros.
No pedal based power meter either. Favero makes such a good Keo (and now SPD-SL) compatible meter that it’s hard to ignore that if you’re looking at a system across multiple bikes. Presumably Wahoo will release their Speedplay version at some point.
Would you choose these over the Garmin Vectors?
Would you choose these over the Garmin Vectors?
I’ve never used the vectors, or any other pedal based power, but at the moment I’m not willing to give up two things with speedplays: the aero benefits and the float adjustment. Being able to fine tune heel in and heel out has solved knee pain issues for both me and Summer. Admittadly, the aero benefits could be maybe washed out if I also went to an aero crankset, but once Wahoo releases their speedplay powers I’ll probably swap over immediately and take advantage of both aero advantages.
I have had no issues with the Garmin Vector 3’s. They’re good pedals, on par with Ultegra in my experience.
I swap between 3 bikes for road use (road TT, fixed gear), and I do the body swap for the MTB. It was cheaper than buying 4-5 powermeters with limited bike swap compatibility.
What do you ride with currently? I ride the same pedal type across my road/tri bikes. There are a lot of right answers for different pedals and I can think of pluses/minuses with many.
I started riding with SPD mountain bike pedals and cleats… two sided which makes them a little more begginer friendly. There are some down sides to them for, one of the major issues being they mount with a two hole pattern which is mostly on mountain bike shoes only. A plus is that a lot of spin bikes at gyms use SPD pedals.
I then moved to SPD-SL as I got more into riding with a more road specific pedal. They are one sided but the heel of the pedal tends to drop so they’re not super hard to clip into. You have a selection of cleats that you can use to adjust the float you’d like… in general more float is easier on your leg joints. Red is fixed, blue is 2 and the Yellow are 6 degrees. The pedals are solid and will last a lifetime… I’d get 105 or Ultegra level if you go this route.
Currently I ride Time pedals on my road/TT bikes. My gripe with the SPD-SL was the heel of the pedal not always dropping and clipping in while crossing roads/highways around where I live wasn’t always a smooth process.
Time has a unique clip in process with a carbon fiber blade that closes the pedal on the cleat with a nice crisp snap when you’re clipped in. They also have a very nice float characteristics that feel natural and they’re known to be good for people with leg issues. The bad with them is the cleats tend to wear faster than Shimanos but not terribly so. I do have to maintain them a little from time to time so they spin really nice and the heel drops.
They can also be a little pricey… I have the XPro 15’s on my TT and the Xpresso 12 Titans on my road bike. Not many people ride Time pedals but they’re my favorite road pedal that I’ve personally ridden.