does platform surface really matter?

This was something I was asking myself last week on a Century, my first I might add....I wear Sidi Genius Road shoes clipped into Crank Brother's Quattro Road Pedals, you'd think it would be a good combo because the Shoes have good soles and the Pedals have a large platform but alas, the soles of my feet were killing me..probably the part that hurt the most...go figure!!

I have a Friend who can't use Sppedplays because they give him a hotspot...and I know people who love them...

It's nice if you have friends who will loan you their Pedals so you can try them out, as long as the Cleats are compatible with your shoes of course....

I'm no Pedal expert but one thing is for sure, I hate my Quattro's...even though they're double sided with a groove down the middle of the Pontoon cleat they're still very hard to aim and clip-in...for me anyway...you really need to stomp hard on the pedal, sometimes you think you've got it and all you get is another embarrassing moment at the lights and a scuffed ankle...I'm not new to clipless by the way and I've used the Quattro's for around 500 miles...

I need to get some good insoles before my next long ride....

But to answer your question..do you need a large Platform? I guess it's all down to the individual..you might get some intelligent answers from others...

hestilowt said:

im in the market for some new pedals and have been looking at a few options. the time pedals are all about the surface area of their design. i found another pedal that i really like (M2 racer orb pedals) but they have absolutely no surface area. i was wondering how much of and what kind of a difference surface area plays in pedals.

It depends on how stiff your shoes' soles are. Some shoes are designed to be reasonably comfortable to walk in, and so the soles aren't particularly stiff, so you might get flexing when you pedal, in which case a larger platform may be useful (but the shoe will still bend the other way if you pull up hard on the pedal, which can be annoying). With really stiff road cycling shoes it probably makes little difference.

A larger platform is also useful if for some reason you find yourself needing to be able to ride the bike without your riding shoes.

Jaguar27 said:

This was something I was asking myself last week on a Century, my first I might add....I wear Sidi Genius Road shoes clipped into Crank Brother's Quattro Road Pedals, you'd think it would be a good combo because the Shoes have good soles and the Pedals have a large platform but alas, the soles of my feet were killing me..probably the part that hurt the most...go figure!!

I have a Friend who can't use Sppedplays because they give him a hotspot...and I know people who love them...

It's nice if you have friends who will loan you their Pedals so you can try them out, as long as the Cleats are compatible with your shoes of course....

I'm no Pedal expert but one thing is for sure, I hate my Quattro's...even though they're double sided with a groove down the middle of the Pontoon cleat they're still very hard to aim and clip-in...for me anyway...you really need to stomp hard on the pedal, sometimes you think you've got it and all you get is another embarrassing moment at the lights and a scuffed ankle...I'm not new to clipless by the way and I've used the Quattro's for around 500 miles...

I need to get some good insoles before my next long ride....

But to answer your question..do you need a large Platform? I guess it's all down to the individual..you might get some intelligent answers from others...

Don't believe hotspots are unusual at all for your very first century. Doesn't matter what pedals you have; if your feet aren't use to pushing the pedals for 100 miles, they are likely to tell you.

Also, the time you've had to breakin the Sidi's could be a factor as well....the comfort liner needs to conform to your foot. My Carnacs gave me hotspots for the first few hundred miles, then seemed to break in. Believe the footbed liner on most of these euro road shoes is pretty thin and stiff, for max pedaling efficiency.

You're absolutely right there dhk...but I don't think it was so much of a Hotspot as my whole sole feeling like they had been BBQ'd...I found myself having to concentrate more on pulling up the last 20 miles...I've owned my Sidi's for about six months now btw...

But in any case, I did everything wrong before and during my first century..I can only laugh in retrospect...my mistakes went as follows...

1. Only 4 hours sleep
2.No Breakfast
3. Even worse, no Tea or Coffee before the ride (I can't function without it)
4. No traing due to Family commitments
5. I found a group riding at my pace to draft/take my turn up front..but got yapping, laughing and joking, with a couple of Guys and completely forgot about the pack untill they'd disappeared over the horizon
6. My wife had the CO2 Pump as she veered off into the 55 mile route...luckily I didn't get a flat...

If I could learn by my mistakes I'd be a genious by now...

I think the only thing that saved me from my own stupidity was my six13, if it was riding my old bike I think I would have just stopped at mile 70, keeled over sideways still attached to my Pedals and fallen into a deep sleep untill the next morning...

But it was great fun and I learned a lot through my own stoopid mistakes...

I'll be ready for the next one....

Anyone else have an first century experiences?? Especially funny ones...

dhk said:

Don't believe hotspots are unusual at all for your very first century. Doesn't matter what pedals you have; if your feet aren't use to pushing the pedals for 100 miles, they are likely to tell you.

Also, the time you've had to breakin the Sidi's could be a factor as well....the comfort liner needs to conform to your foot. My Carnacs gave me hotspots for the first few hundred miles, then seemed to break in. Believe the footbed liner on most of these euro road shoes is pretty thin and stiff, for max pedaling efficiency.