I’m a fan of my new-ish P1 pedals, with the major caveat that I hate the Wellgo cleats. The cleats have a ridge along the back, and when I slide my foot forward to engage the pedal, that ridge hangs up on the back of the pedal, so clipping in is fiddly. Under normal circumstances, it usually takes me one or two tries to get clipped in, but I have to look down to see my foot position relative to the pedal, I no longer clip in blind as I did with my old Look Keo-style pedals. But it’s worse when starting up a hill, I find clipping in in that situation dicey, and I’ll occasionally mash the second foot onto the pedal and pedal a few rotations to build up bike momentum before looking down and clipping in that second foot. I recently had a slightly dodgy situation at a red light on a hill. And even when it’s not unsafe, I find it frustrating to be fiddling with trying to get my pedals to clip in.
So I’m curious, who has had success using non-Wellgo cleats (which lack that ridge along the back), and what exactly have you used? According to Ray (DC Rainmaker), he found non-Wellgo cleats worked fine initially but became problematic after a little wear. I found my old, fairly worn Look Keo-style pedals (Exustar) had some issues consistently clipping in.
If I can’t solve this issue, I’m considering selling the P1 pedals used and replacing them with another power meter. But I’d much prefer to solve the issue by finding cleats that function better, or even grinding down (maybe ramping) the offending ridge on the back of the cleats.
Also of note, I use two other sets of Look pedals (not knockoffs, but legit Look ones, albeit one cheap and one less cheap), and have no issues using the P1 cleats in them. Interestingly, I just swapped P1 cleats last night, so I’m semi-interested to see if a clean pair of P1 cleats causes any issues on Look pedals. I haven’t heard of any issues that way though.
Also of note, I use two other sets of Look pedals (not knockoffs, but legit Look ones, albeit one cheap and one less cheap), and have no issues using the P1 cleats in them. Interestingly, I just swapped P1 cleats last night, so I’m semi-interested to see if a clean pair of P1 cleats causes any issues on Look pedals. I haven’t heard of any issues that way though.
What I’m interested in is the opposite, i.e. using Look (or Look-style) cleats in my P1s. Look cleats don’t have the pronounced ridge along the back that the Wellgo cleats do. Because of that ridge, the Wellgo/Powertap cleats hang up on the back of the P1 pedals when I try to clip in rather than sliding into place. I know you and others don’t find it that bad, but for me, it means I usually cannot clip in without looking (can you?), and in dicey situations like starting up a hill, the inability to cleanly and quickly engage the cleats into the pedals can get pretty sketchy. And even in less dicey situations, looking down and fiddling to get my foot engaged isn’t fun.
I’ve been using fairly worn gray look keo cleats with my P1s since I’ve had them (Nov '16). Never had a problem, including some climbs in the Palm Springs area a couple of weeks ago.
I’ve been using fairly worn gray look keo cleats with my P1s since I’ve had them (Nov '16). Never had a problem, including some climbs in the Palm Springs area a couple of weeks ago.
Great to hear that. I’m going to have to experiment with Keo cleats again, maybe the ones I used in the past were too worn?
One other question that you’re well-equipped to answer: does it really make sense to calibrate the P1 pedals for each ride? I notice the calibration doesn’t seem to vary a lot (though I’m not sure how to judge the significance of the offset numbers, i.e. what they actually mean), and presumably what’s being calibrated is temperature changes, so a calibration coming out of the garage is going to look different than a calibration in the middle of a ride. Any recommendations?
Not so much because I have any drift issues with the P1’s, but because it’s a great way to know if something is up with your power meter (true of all power meters). Consider it a leading indicator when the number goes wonky.
I am still using the cleats that came with my old xpedo pedals, and they are exactly the same design as the P1 cleats. Have not had any issues clipping in. Will probably have to switch cleats soon, since they are wearing out. Still no un-expected unclipping though.
Not so much because I have any drift issues with the P1’s, but because it’s a great way to know if something is up with your power meter (true of all power meters). Consider it a leading indicator when the number goes wonky.
Hey Ray, what constitutes ‘wonky’? Mine are always within a few digits of each other. Usually between 4-7.
Not so much because I have any drift issues with the P1’s, but because it’s a great way to know if something is up with your power meter (true of all power meters). Consider it a leading indicator when the number goes wonky.
Hey Ray, what constitutes ‘wonky’? Mine are always within a few digits of each other. Usually between 4-7.
I think his point is that if the pedals went bad, you’d start seeing numbers that looked dramatically different than that few digit variation.
I am still using the cleats that came with my old xpedo pedals, and they are exactly the same design as the P1 cleats. Have not had any issues clipping in. Will probably have to switch cleats soon, since they are wearing out. Still no un-expected unclipping though.
So you can clip in consistently without looking at your feet?
yeah, have never had a problem with that.
I am still using the cleats that came with my old xpedo pedals, and they are exactly the same design as the P1 cleats. Have not had any issues clipping in. Will probably have to switch cleats soon, since they are wearing out. Still no un-expected unclipping though.
So you can clip in consistently without looking at your feet?
yeah, have never had a problem with that.
I am still using the cleats that came with my old xpedo pedals, and they are exactly the same design as the P1 cleats. Have not had any issues clipping in. Will probably have to switch cleats soon, since they are wearing out. Still no un-expected unclipping though.
So you can clip in consistently without looking at your feet?
I look down occasionally, and perhaps slightly more than the old pedals, but while there is the odd issue with that ridge, my muscle memory is such that I can now clip in fairly easily as I know where to start with foot placement, which is a little forward of my SPD SLs.
Thankfully during a tri you only have to (hopefully) clip in once…
Not so much because I have any drift issues with the P1’s, but because it’s a great way to know if something is up with your power meter (true of all power meters). Consider it a leading indicator when the number goes wonky.
Hey Ray, what constitutes ‘wonky’? Mine are always within a few digits of each other. Usually between 4-7.
I think his point is that if the pedals went bad, you’d start seeing numbers that looked dramatically different than that few digit variation.
Yes, correct. Major variations. I usually see a shift of no more than +/- 2 on mine.