Pedal System - Look vs. "Lance" pedals?

(posted to: rec.bicycles.tech & aus.bicycle)

I'm probably going to buy a pair of Shimano's
road shoes soon for my race bike and leave
the SPD system for commuting and mtb's.

The shoes can use both Shimano's old pedals
and their new "Lance" style ones, as well as
Look pedals.

Anyone with experience with either the new
Shimano system or Look pedals care to
comment?

I have a pair of Look pedals, but they are
second hand and I don't even know if they
work. I would much rather sell them and buy
Shimano _if_ they were the best option.

How durable are those plastic cleats?
On both systems?

I think the float is the same as SPD so that
shouldn't be an issue (6deg)?

Basically any information which would sway
me either way with these two systems would
be great.

I assume that, given the two manufacturers in
question, getting parts for them in Oz wont be
a problem?

Thanks!
hippy

On Thu, 30 Oct 2003 00:15:19 GMT, "hippy" <NOSPAMsbirnie@NOSPAMbigpond.com>
wrote:

>Anyone with experience with either the new
>Shimano system or Look pedals care to
>comment?

I rode Look pedals for the last 4 years or so and recently changed to SPD-SL
Ultegra pedals (PD-R600 I believe). I was happy with the looks, but just thought
that the lumpy plastic cleat was too slippery to walk on. Also the plastic part
of the look pedal almost completely wore away - not the cleat, but the pedal !
It was the bit that flexes and clips that back of the cleat. I had done many Ks
though.

The SPD-SL has been great, lighter all round, easy to click in and quite a nice
snug feeling. The cleat is flatter and the little yellow rubber bits do make
walking less scarey. The wear on the cleat has been minimal so far, but I would
expect to need to buy new cleats after several months. They are $30 AUD for a
new set so not too much.

The pedal sits up nicely so I can click in without really looking (ha har) at
all. Some nice positive comments from the guys at RBR -
http://www.roadbikerider.com/pr7.htm#Shimano%20Ultegra

davidp.
--
David Pascoe, pascoedj+usenet@spamcop.net, Western Australia

"David Pascoe" <pascoedj+usenet@spamcop.net> wrote in message
news:qkr0qv86bgmfpl1bf2ke3tf70e5l0rmhci@4ax.com...
> I rode Look pedals for the last 4 years or so and recently changed to
SPD-SL
> Ultegra pedals (PD-R600 I believe). I was happy with the looks, but
just thought

The Ultegra SPD-SL pedal is probably what I'd get if I didn't get Look.

> The SPD-SL has been great, lighter all round, easy to click in and
quite a nice
> snug feeling. The cleat is flatter and the little yellow rubber bits
do make
> walking less scarey. The wear on the cleat has been minimal so far,
but I would
> expect to need to buy new cleats after several months. They are $30
AUD for a
> new set so not too much.

All sounds good so far.
I hope "several months" is closer to 12 than 3 though

> The pedal sits up nicely so I can click in without really looking (ha
har) at
> all. Some nice positive comments from the guys at RBR -
> http://www.roadbikerider.com/pr7.htm#Shimano%20Ultegra

Still sounding good! :-)

Thanks for that info.
hippy

I am currently on Looks and they work fine apart from occasional squeaks
when the cleat starts wearing out. Depending on how much you are doing,
the cleats should last ~a year and cost ~$25.

After recent research, if I were to find some money somewhere, I would
change to either Shimano SPD-SL or Speedplay. The Shimanos look great,
are considerably lighter than Looks and the cleat system should not wear
out as quickly. I would go for the SPD-SL and not the SPD-R pedals as
there were many complaints about the latter which seem to have been
improved upon with the former. Also, the Ultegra version is about half
the price of the Dura Ace version for a weight saving of 24grams total
so I don't think the extra cost is warranted. Instead I will clip off 24
grams of toenails.



--
>--------------------------<
Posted via cyclingforums.com
http://www.cyclingforums.com

Hiya Hip, thought you had road pedals... but then again, the Stuart at
track training on monday might not have been you. I'll send you an
email, anyhow.

I'm on Looks at the moment, I have 2 pairs, one which I have on my road
bike and if I ride down to the track I change them onto the track bike,
the other pair I have when I can't be stuffed changing the other pair
off. Not having used anything over then Look or cheapo copies of Look, I
can't really comment. However, the cleats on Look are a bit slippery,
and I'm considering changing to Shimano Ultegra pedals. For a
not-very-competitive junior, my Looks are fine on both road and track,
I've never had problems with pulling my foot or anything like that.



--
"I loved the feeling of riding downhill-
admiring the scenery then running
over it at high speed"

>--------------------------<
Posted via cyclingforums.com
http://www.cyclingforums.com

"Etxy" <usenet-forum@cyclingforums.com> wrote in message
news:3fa0b25d_4@news.chariot.net.au...
> Hiya Hip, thought you had road pedals... but then again, the Stuart at
> track training on monday might not have been you. I'll send you an
> email, anyhow.

Not me. I don't have road pedals on any of my bikes and I
haven't got down to the track yet.

> can't really comment. However, the cleats on Look are a bit slippery,
> and I'm considering changing to Shimano Ultegra pedals. For a
> not-very-competitive junior, my Looks are fine on both road and track,
> I've never had problems with pulling my foot or anything like that.

I've never pulled out of SPDs so I hope the road pedal
systems are the same. I don't particularly like the idea of
plastic cleats but many people have used them for a long
time so they can't be all bad!
My LBSG prefers the SPD-SL's and I can get a good
deal on the Ultegra's.. seems like I've been sold on them

How long have you been riding track?

Damn.. I've just spotted the Training section on Blackburn's
website - I didn't know there more so many sessions!
It's a bit annoying though - Novice training is on at the same
time as the METEC crits on Thursday nights.

What to do? what to do? :-S

hippy
- Very sore after racing tonight and then doing the 1/20..

"hippy" <NOSPAMsbirnie@NOSPAMbigpond.com> wrote in message
news:rKYnb.170368$bo1.46701@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> (posted to: rec.bicycles.tech & aus.bicycle)
>
> I'm probably going to buy a pair of Shimano's
> road shoes soon for my race bike and leave
> the SPD system for commuting and mtb's.
>
> The shoes can use both Shimano's old pedals
> and their new "Lance" style ones, as well as
> Look pedals.
>
> Anyone with experience with either the new
> Shimano system or Look pedals care to
> comment?
>
> I have a pair of Look pedals, but they are
> second hand and I don't even know if they
> work. I would much rather sell them and buy
> Shimano _if_ they were the best option.
>
> How durable are those plastic cleats?
> On both systems?
>
> I think the float is the same as SPD so that
> shouldn't be an issue (6deg)?
>
> Basically any information which would sway
> me either way with these two systems would
> be great.

I have ridden both (older red/white Looks and new PP396) and no the 7750. I
absolutely love the 7750. Lightweight, durable, sexy, easy to use, and very
simple (read "not Time"!). I think the cleat will slast just fine, as
soemone has said, just don't jog around in it. Only drawback is the
expense, but I found it cheap on ebay and haven't looked back since...

In article <rKYnb.170368$bo1.46701@news-server.bigpond.net.au>,
NOSPAMsbirnie@NOSPAMbigpond.com says...
>I'm probably going to buy a pair of Shimano's
>road shoes soon for my race bike and leave
>the SPD system for commuting and mtb's.
>The shoes can use both Shimano's old pedals
>and their new "Lance" style ones, as well as
>Look pedals.
>Anyone with experience with either the new
>Shimano system or Look pedals care to
>comment?

I have a couple of sets of the dura-ace/look pedals from way back when.
I like them a lot. They are not hard to engage and hold my feet in
place. The bearings are nice and the pedals are easily serviced using
the wrench that came with the pedals.

>How durable are those plastic cleats?
>On both systems?

Look cleats are not that durable. Depending on your riding style and miles,
you can get around 8 months of riding on a set of cleats. What happens is
that the cleat on the foot you put down at traffic lights is the one that
will wear fastest. You can rotate the cleats to get a bit more life out of
them. Eventually the front tab on the cleat gets thin enough to break. It
will do so at the work times, so you have to be carefull and check your cleats
for wear. I've been using, the unfortunately discontinued, starlight biocleat
with my looks. They last much, much longer. I've never had to replace a set
due to wear. I have had replace three sets due to crashes.

>I think the float is the same as SPD so that
>shouldn't be an issue (6deg)?

Depending on the cleat.

>Basically any information which would sway
>me either way with these two systems would
>be great.

One advance of the new shimano pedal is that it weighs less than any look
pedal. One disadvantage to the new shimano pedal is that if shimano doesn't
think they are selling enough, they will just drop the pedal and you will be
stuck with a pedal you can't get parts for. Look has been around for a long
time, so you can be reasonably sure they will continue to be around for some
time in the future.
--------------
Alex

>
> >How durable are those plastic cleats?


Don't go to the "dark side", stay with Looks. I've got a pair of
PP-96's on my RR bike, that won't die. A pair of PP-196's on another
and a pair of PP-247's on my 3rd. I use black cleats on all, and the
only time that they squeek is right after the rain stops and the road
is half dry. I usually get about 8000-10000 miles out of a pair of
cleats before I have to replace them. Just don't drag your feet when
you roll to a stop. Don't walk around on them either.

Bill K. wrote:
>>>How durable are those plastic cleats?
>
> Don't go to the "dark side", stay with Looks. I've got a pair of
> PP-96's on my RR bike, that won't die. A pair of PP-196's on another
> and a pair of PP-247's on my 3rd. I use black cleats on all, and the
> only time that they squeek is right after the rain stops and the road
> is half dry. I usually get about 8000-10000 miles out of a pair of
> cleats before I have to replace them. Just don't drag your feet when
> you roll to a stop. Don't walk around on them either.

Even better, shell out $25 for a pair of rubber cleat covers. They stop
you slipping A-over-T, and cut down cleat wear considerably. Only a real
weight weenie would resent having them in a jersey pocket (having said
that, I leave them in the clubhouse when racing!).

&roo