I have been using Look pedals for the past 7 years and recently bought a pair of the A5.1s and have been extremely disappointed. I am thinking about making a switch. I was wondering what everyone was using and what their opinions are. I’m thinking about going to the new Shimano’s. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Dura Ace and Ultegra SL’s
Best I have ever tried, very stable, light and comfortable - easy to engage
.
I used Speedplays for years. . .the original X model when they first came out and then the Zeros. . .
Before that I used Looks and then Time when they got big after Lemond started using them.
But when I had to replace the Saber after my accident I decided to try the DA SLs on the new Talon SL. Long story short. . .they are the best pedal system I’ve ever had. As soon as I come up with the $$, I’m swapping out the Zeros that are still on my road bike. . .
I’m using the 2004 Dura Ace pedals on both the road bike and the tri bike. Great pedals, I’m very happy with them.
speedplays on the road and TT bikes and on my wife’s road bike. Toeclips on the beater bike
For Tri’s those crank brothers look interesting. You can clip into them from any direction. With carbon soles does the platform size matter?
Any of you more knowledgeable folk have any thoughts on them?
I don’t know. I started with Looks and have everything in Look.
P.S.It looks like running through transitions with the egg beaters cleats would be easier than other shoe-cleat combinations (if you don’t do the HI YO SILVER mount and foot-out-of-shoe dismount).
Best things about them:
1- They don’t squeak like Looks
2- You can walk in them and get traction pushing off
3- Great fit, great feel and easy entry
Negative? Well, they’re a little tough to get out of the first few tries, but after that they’re golden.
Got 'em on the road bike and the TT
Just picked up 2 sets of Keywin’s. They’re the older non-CRM models (no float) but for the price I paid, it was well worth the experiment. I hope to pick them up this week and get enough miles in to ride them in Oliver. Will post feedback once I try them out.
I’m pushing Bebops, as I am hoping that they get enough customers to stay in busness for a long time.
The dweebs in the usenet group rec.bicycle.tech (or Google groups) regularly beat “best pedal” to death. Generally, the underdog hero in this genre is Bebop. (A slightly different vector: if you’re a heavy user, stay away fom Ti–which has enough disturbing stories of strong riders report breaking the axles. If you don’t put on a lot of miles and/or aren’t strong, Ti is probably great since many say they DON’T have problems. Bebop and Shimano have yet to offer a Ti axle.)
I’ve weaken to the rec.bicycle.tech pressure and bought a pair of Bebops a couple of months ago from Universal Cycles, I would suggest the post at http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=rAMAb.2737%243y1.284021%40news20.bellglobal.com&rnum=5 for a nice overview of why you might like them.
The good:
Bebop cleats last forever.
The bad:
Some people report having retention problems. The cause? Seem to have the ability to bend the retention spring in the cleat (which I doubt) or don’t build up curved shoes with either shims or shoe goo.
However, Bebop is still a comprimise.
The best overall system, if your willing to carry a little weight and can live with 4 degree float, is SPD on a MOUNTAIN bike shoe. If you examine SPD in this application, you’ll see that a nicely cut SQUARE notched Mt bike shoe controls pronation nicely do to the engagement of the shoe on the pedal on either side of the cleat. If you believe in pronation control (and believe you can over-pronate on the bike), this has good long term ramifications for knee health.
The recessed cleat design eliminates wear which often results in pronation problems in road shoes due to walking on the cleat. However, if you hate the extra 150-250 grams of extra shoe, Behop is the best compromise.
I can’t knock Speedplay, and if Bebop wasn’t cheaper and tougher, I think they would be the clear favorite.
–
“Peter, High King of Narnia,” said Aslan. “Shut the Door.”
Peter, shivering with cold, leaned out into the darkness and pulled the
Door to.–The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis
–
Speedplay Zero pedals are top notch! You have the best of both worlds!
Speeplay zero’s work for me. Plsu the blue matches my bike. Depending what color your ride is, you might be able to find a matching color.
I don’t know about everyone else, but I find speeplay pedals to be the fastest looking pedal when sitting in transition waiting for you to finish drowning.
The biggest thing for me is how easy they are to clip into. Not a big deal for a tour rider, but when the light hit’s green and the semi behind me starts moving I like to be able to step-and-go.
A genrally mountain bike choice for most people but I truly enjoy the Shimano SPD’s. I love the small pedal, even though I have a big frame. Over the past months on these pedals I have enjoyed every moment on them, the only thing is that I need to get more on my pedal, cause I have jsut too big a frame 6’5" 200lbs. I think that through all of the advice that I have recieved I am going to get the Ultegra pedals… college cash flow only allows for Ultegra, no Dura Ace here!
David J
ASU SUN DEVILS!!!
I guess I’m the only one riding Look’s with no problems, have been for years. I use the 396’s with the black cleats and set the pedals with no float at all. I just spend an hour or so lining up the cleats to get them perfect and don’t need the float. That’s probably just me though.
I think the red cleats are a joke. With the right pedal settings I think I can rotate my foot 45 degrees. I use the black cleats made by Pyrmid. I feel that they are better than the Look cleats.
jaretj
Shimano M515, on road and mtb. I personally see no reason to spend 200+ dollars on a set of pedals. Mine go in circles and surprisingly keep my feet attached to the bike. Lets be honest here, how mych time is a pair of SP Zero’s gonna save me? Insignificant if you ask me. Then again maybe i’m just a knuckle dragging adventure racer 
I have ran the gamut on pedals. Ten years ago, I finally gave up the quill and strap pedals and bought my very first pair of Shimano 105 (Look) pedals. I rode them for about two years, then I switched to Keywins. I loved the Keywins, but I detested having to mail order cleats (which wore as badly as the Look cleats). I then switched to Speedplay in '97 and have never looked back since. I did keep Keywins on my track bike (as I had a track setup and track cleats on a seperate shoe), but had to pawn my old track bike in the midst of my divorce. The Keywins went with the bike…
I don’t really use all of the float that the original Speedplays are famous for, so it has never been an issue for me. I could probably go with a locked cleat and be okay, but common sense told me to not do that. I would go back to Keywins if I did not have to mail order cleats, but I think Speedplays will be fine. Maybe if I go back to racing track (started the weight lifting again)…
My recommendations: don’t go with Ti axles, resist the temptation of stupid light (with platform area to match), get the cleats professionally fitted to the shoe, and don’t let the small surface area of the speedplay pedal fool you. It stll has more solid platform area than the Look cleat (according to speedplay- look at all of the holes and cutouts of the Look cleat).
I use egg beaters for both my bikes. I use touring shoes with recesed cleat so I can walk around with out the walking like a duck. Some have trouble with hot spots because of the small cleat. I don’t have a problem with hot spots.
Dura-Ace SPD SL’s. They are adequate and good quality. The ultimate pedal system has yet to be invented, or it may have been the old school Time pedals.
I have egg beaters (if that’s what the crank brothers reference was for). I don’t understand the hotspot thing personally (although I’m not a high mileage rider yet). the soles of most shoes are so stiff that i can’t see how this would be an issue with or without carbon soles. i like the ease of entry and especially their light weight. they’re lighter than speedplay, and have a lighter cleat. speaking of cleats, you have to buy the road cleats seperate for another $20 or so unless you’re getting the titanium versions. For cost and weight, i don’t think they can be beat (npi).
Burns
I am surprised to be in the minority running Look CX-6s. I switched over from Speedplay Xs because I wanted a bigger platform. Choose Look over Times because of the ability to get customer service on the Looks. I really like them. They have everything I want in a pedal – platform, float, etc.
Oh well, call me a pedal loner.
I use egg beaters for all my bikes (3). Cheap and easy entry… Love them!
Paul