Advice on pedals PLEASE

[jkempler]

I bought a new bike two years ago (Giant TCR Comp 1); I chose to keep my old pedalsm of an old Giant ALR 1. These were the old white pedals, LOOK cleats; Perfectly ok, works fine. What I would appreciate knowing is that, apart from weight, is there any advantage going for anew set of pedals? Somebody told me the newer models of pedals have more "play", which reduces the chance of knee injury. I am just getting over a knee problem (chrodomalatia I think) caused by pushing too hard in the wrong gear (I remember doing it); NSAID Voltarin fixed it but I was thinking that maybe I should get new pedals. Is it worth it?

[Karl Hungus]

I bought a new bike two years ago (Giant TCR Comp 1); I chose to keep my old pedalsm of an old Giant ALR 1. These were the old white pedals, LOOK cleats; Perfectly ok, works fine. What I would appreciate knowing is that, apart from weight, is there any advantage going for anew set of pedals? Somebody told me the newer models of pedals have more "play", which reduces the chance of knee injury. I am just getting over a knee problem (chrodomalatia I think) caused by pushing too hard in the wrong gear (I remember doing it); NSAID Voltarin fixed it but I was thinking that maybe I should get new pedals. Is it worth it?
Good question!

I am currently debating buying the new Dura-Ace pedals to replce my $50 perfomance "forte" cheapo's. Although, I must say, I've never had a problem with my "cheapo" pedals so I am wondering do I really need to replace them?

I think I am becoming a sucker for the advertizing!

Not sure yet whether to get the new pedals or just stay happy with my slightly heavier forte pedals?

Interested to hear what someone more knowledgable than me has to say.

[chainstay]

Somebody told me the newer models of pedals have more "play", which reduces the chance of knee injury. I am just getting over a knee problem (chrodomalatia I think) caused by pushing too hard in the wrong gear (I remember doing it); NSAID Voltarin fixed it but I was thinking that maybe I should get new pedals. Is it worth it?"Float" is the proper term for pedal "play". Newer models do not necessarily have more float. It all depends on the specific model. You have to look up the float for each specific model, regardless of whether they are older or newer models. And some models have adjustable float.

I have Speedplay Zero pedals, and one of the reasons they are popular with some people is because they have up to 15 degrees of adjustable float, whereas a fixed 6 degrees of float was more common with many road pedals the last time I looked. While it has generally been thought that increased float is easier on problematic knees, and that is one of the reasons that I went with Speedplays, I have also seen it recently argued that increased float can be harder on knees by allowing a person to spend more time in not a well aligned position. In addition, a person could be losing pedalling efficiency if their foot is floating all over the place. I have had some knee problems and surgery in the past, and subscribe to the former theory that more float is easier on the knees, but I could not tell you definitively which theory is right. I think a lot more people subscribe to the former theory that more float is easier on the knees, however, than subscribe to the latter theory that more foat is harder on the knees. :)