What's the "Best" Road Pedal? (See post for definition of best)

donrhummy said:

I'm wondering what road pedal you guys think best fits these requirements:

1. Provides distributed support (i.e. wide pedal)
2. Very durable
3. Has durable cleats too (I know most are just plastic)
4. Very reliable (won't have problems clicking in after just 7,000 miles)
5. Has some float
6. Holds the cleat in tight (and not just when new)

I know that's a lot of req's but what can you recommend?

Thanks!

Sounds like you should think about MTB pedals.

One of the reasons cleats wear easily is because its better to replace cleats than pedals! Even Crank Bro's which have metal cleats on all the pedals, make the cleats out of a softer metal.

In any case I really like my Quattros

"Best" is pretty subjective, but all of your criteria are easily met by Speedplays, except the wide pedal bit. Seems a wide pedal might be a problem when cornering though. I think a more important factor is contact area between the pedal and cleat. This is discussed at length on their website.

I have a pair of zeros and I love them. I hated replacing the cleats for my Looks so frequently. I use coffee shop caps now and my cleats look pretty fresh for being 18 month old.

Ultimately, most good quality cleats wil give you what you're looking for. The 4 other guys I ride with all use different pedals and love what they use.

donrhummy said:

I'm wondering what road pedal you guys think best fits these requirements:

1. Provides distributed support (i.e. wide pedal)
2. Very durable
3. Has durable cleats too (I know most are just plastic)
4. Very reliable (won't have problems clicking in after just 7,000 miles)
5. Has some float
6. Holds the cleat in tight (and not just when new)

I know that's a lot of req's but what can you recommend?

Thanks!

Campy Pro-fit. The pair I have come with a metal Look type cleat that never wears out. Or at least since I've had them. They also have a pretty good platform, although I like my Look pp357's for all around comfort and ease of clipping in and out, and as another poster said, with the cafe covers, the cleat will wear for a long time.

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fleshbroiler said:

"Best" is pretty subjective, but all of your criteria are easily met by Speedplays, except the wide pedal bit. Seems a wide pedal might be a problem when cornering though. I think a more important factor is contact area between the pedal and cleat. This is discussed at length on their website.

I have a pair of zeros and I love them. I hated replacing the cleats for my Looks so frequently. I use coffee shop caps now and my cleats look pretty fresh for being 18 month old.

Ultimately, most good quality cleats wil give you what you're looking for. The 4 other guys I ride with all use different pedals and love what they use.

+1 for speedplay zeroes, but agree all the top-quality systems work fine.

1. Distributed support via the wide, flat 4-screw cleat. Besides, support is a function of the shoe sole, not the pedal size.

2. Mine are holding up fine at 16K miles. Just lube every 1-2K miles with a mini-greasegun. Bearings may be small, but they hold up great.

3. Zero cleats have al on the bottom, not plastic. Use Coffee Shop covers for walking, and they will stay clean and last a long time. I'm on my second pair of cleats now; first lasted 10K miles. Used to go through Look cleats twice a season.

4. Wear is never a problem; but you must keep the speedplay cleats clean since you're walking on the moving part.

5. Zeros have a wide range free-float that is adjustable (on the cleat).

6. Have never pulled out of the Zeros, even on my track bike yanking hard.

dhk2 said:

+1 for speedplay zeroes, but agree all the top-quality systems work fine.

1. Distributed support via the wide, flat 4-screw cleat. Besides, support is a function of the shoe sole, not the pedal size.

2. Mine are holding up fine at 16K miles. Just lube every 1-2K miles with a mini-greasegun. Bearings may be small, but they hold up great.

3. Zero cleats have al on the bottom, not plastic. Use Coffee Shop covers for walking, and they will stay clean and last a long time. I'm on my second pair of cleats now; first lasted 10K miles. Used to go through Look cleats twice a season.

4. Wear is never a problem; but you must keep the speedplay cleats clean since you're walking on the moving part.

5. Zeros have a wide range free-float that is adjustable (on the cleat).

6. Have never pulled out of the Zeros, even on my track bike yanking hard.

Thanks for all the responses. I'm going to take a look at the Zeros and Campy pro-fit. I am also looking to get a super stiff shoe but I think getting a pedal that also distributes the pressure can only help - I currently get a numb foot from pressure on the ball of the foot (the cleat can't move any further back).

Also, I need shims. Do you know if these pedals work well with shims and if it's easy to find shims for Zeros (most shims I've seen are for three hole cleats ot four)?

It sounds like you are looking for the new Dura Ace spd-sl pedal, the PD-7810. It's a great improvement on an already great design. They have addressed the few shortfalls in the original design and have made the best pedal out there, imo.

The platform is good and wide, the cleat retention is second to none even on low tension settings, the bearings are terrific and the cleats are durable and incredibly easy to walk on with no need for cafe caps of any nonsense like that.

Shims are readily available - they use the Look shape and you simply trim them to fit the spd-sl cleat. Another nice thing is that the cleats come with nice bolts with wide heads with hex socket tool fittings. No more stripping of screwdriver headed bolts like the [censored] bolts that Look supplies with their cleats.

Check 'em out.

donrhummy said:

Also, I need shims. Do you know if these pedals work well with shims and if it's easy to find shims for Zeros (most shims I've seen are for three hole cleats ot four)?

Speedplay sells leg length shims. Once you have shoes selected, check out their compatibility with Speedplay's mounts. dhk2 makesgreat points about the adjustability of float and secure clip in with these pedals.

bdaghisallo said:

It sounds like you are looking for the new Dura Ace spd-sl pedal, the PD-7810. It's a great improvement on an already great design. They have addressed the few shortfalls in the original design and have made the best pedal out there, imo.

The platform is good and wide, the cleat retention is second to none even on low tension settings, the bearings are terrific and the cleats are durable and incredibly easy to walk on with no need for cafe caps of any nonsense like that.

Shims are readily available - they use the Look shape and you simply trim them to fit the spd-sl cleat. Another nice thing is that the cleats come with nice bolts with wide heads with hex socket tool fittings. No more stripping of screwdriver headed bolts like the [censored] bolts that Look supplies with their cleats.

Check 'em out.

Cool, thanks! I'm gonna check those out. The only thing is cost. I'm assuming there's no place where you can get a big discount on them since they're so new, right?

Actually they can be had on Ebay for a good deal less than retail and you can get them from www.probikekit.com for about $151.

I also recommend SPD-SL, but the plastic cleats do wear out with walking. I seem to get 12-18 months from each cleat. They have good walking grip for a road cleat and are pretty hard to foul up with mud so that they won't work.

I would say that I get a good year out of a set of cleats. I normally have to replace them when the left cleat, the one I click out of at stops, gets worn. The right cleat is still good to go.

Cleats are a consumable item. It is better that they wear than the pedal since they are normally a lot cheaper to replace. Speedplay gets you both ways since the cleat wears a groove in the pedal body, and the cleats are mighty expensive to replace.

And another thing - the spd-sl pedals look cool! We can't underestimate the importance of that 🙂 !

bdaghisallo said:

Speedplay gets you both ways since the cleat wears a groove in the pedal body, and the cleats are mighty expensive to replace.

And another thing - the spd-sl pedals look cool! We can't underestimate the importance of that 🙂 !

Do you know this from experience? Is this the case that everyone has noticed? If I get them, would I really have my speedplay pedals wearing out?! :eek:

Yep I do. I used Zeros for most of 2006 and while I loved the adjustability and how you could adjust one aspect whilst the others remain unchanged, the cleat/pedal interaction induced too much wear and rocking for me. The first set of cleats I tried with my new Zeros rocked right out of the package. I called Speedplay and, whilst they were very helpful, they couldn't explain why this should be so. I got a second set of cleats and they didn't rock. Check out the Serotta board for some good Speedplay feedback. Here's one thread:

serotta.comshowthread.phpOpen ↗

Don't get me wrong, I think the Speedplay concept is good, but it doesn't execute well. Maybe if they used a bigger lollipop pedal body to give more lateral support to resist twisting motions they might fix things.

Love my Record Pro-fit Plus. Also have a Chorus Pro-fit Plus on my trainer bike.

bdaghisallo said:

Yep I do. I used Zeros for most of 2006 and while I loved the adjustability and how you could adjust one aspect whilst the others remain unchanged, the cleat/pedal interaction induced too much wear and rocking for me. The first set of cleats I tried with my new Zeros rocked right out of the package. I called Speedplay and, whilst they were very helpful, they couldn't explain why this should be so. I got a second set of cleats and they didn't rock. Check out the Serotta board for some good Speedplay feedback. Here's one thread:

serotta.comshowthread.phpOpen ↗

Don't get me wrong, I think the Speedplay concept is good, but it doesn't execute well. Maybe if they used a bigger lollipop pedal body to give more lateral support to resist twisting motions they might fix things.

This is far from a universal result. I have never had any issues at all with Speedplay pedals wearing, and for everyone that has, there are a lot more folks who haven't.

alienator said:

This is far from a universal result. I have never had any issues at all with Speedplay pedals wearing, and for everyone that has, there are a lot more folks who haven't.

How long have you had your speedplays? Which model? When did you get them?

donrhummy said:

How long have you had your speedplays? Which model? When did you get them?

I've had them since I bought them....er.....4 years. X/2s. 4 years ago (20,000 miles or so....).

If it helps, I'm a Sagittarius; I like long walks on the beach at midnight; and the person I'm looking for will be a dominatrix who's into latex, knows how to wield a razor strop, and enjoys frottage as much as I do.

alienator said:

I've had them since I bought them....er.....4 years. X/2s. 4 years ago (20,000 miles or so....).

If it helps, I'm a Sagittarius; I like long walks on the beach at midnight; and the person I'm looking for will be a dominatrix who's into latex, knows how to wield a razor strop, and enjoys frottage as much as I do.

Ha, ha. 🙂 I was asking because I'm trying to get an idea if your speedplays have lasted a long time because they're a dif. model or because they used to be made better or simply because the other poster was one of the exceptions that happen with every single product ever made.