New pedals - opinions?

[roadntrail]

I'm picking up my new Cannondale R800 tomorrow, and I'll be buying new shoes and road pedals. I've been riding SPD for quite a few years, but I'm open to suggestions for something different. I'd like to see some opinions on SPD, Time, Look, Speedplay, others? Advantages/diasadvantages, etc...

I'm not a racer, so things like cornering clearance and ultra-light weight aren't priorities.

I'll probably keep my current shoes (old Shimano somethings with recessed cleat) for use with my MTB. I may, however, change pedals/cleats. The Crank Bros "Eggbeater" looks interesting. Anybody have experience with these?

 

[chris_gr]

I personally like Look. There are pro's and cons. They are easy to find at a good price. A little heavy. Easy to use. No hot spots. A pain to walk in. Some people say they creak but I have never experienced it.

There are a lot of positive comments on the new Shimano SPD-SL series.

 

[skidkid1]

I had a pair of the eggbeater stainless model installed. They are much better than the POS pedals that came with the bike. The bike mech said that I may not want to be sprinting in them as I may come out of them, you know with the side-to-side motion of the bike. I find them very easy to get in and out of. There is no adjustments on them except for the 15 degree or 20degree clipout angle which is determined by the cleats. I got the stainless model because I did not want them to rust.
Greg

 

[gregk]

I have been on the SPD-SL (Ultegra version) for about 10 months now, and I still love them. They have some float (I think 6 degrees), so they're easy on the knees. They have adjustable release tension, so you can fine tune them for your personal taste. They have a nice wide platform and good cornering clearance (yes, I saw that you don't race, but it is still nice). The only time I have clipped a corner on them was today during a crit on the last lap while going quite fast. Another nice thing about them is that the cleats have yellow wear indicators, so you know when it is time to replace them. I still haven't had to replace mine yet. Judging by the amount of wear on the cleats, I'll have to replace them about once a year.

I highly recommend them.

 

[stevek]

I like the speedplay frogs. they are easy to walk in easy to get in and out of. hell most of the time I pop in them without even trying. double sided so you don't have to do anything to the pedal to get in.
if my heels did not turn in so much I may choose beebop pedals.

 

[mjw_byrne]

Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL offer a solid platform for the foot and clip in and out nicely although walking with the cleats takes some getting used to. They get really unhappy if they get muddy (hardly surprising in a road system), so they need to be kept fairly clean - if they get mud on the platforms, it is very hard to clip in, and more worryingly, very hard to clip out! Also, if you're used to two-sided entry, the one-sided Ultegras take some practice to get used to.

I've been using Time ATAC HP Alium pedals on my commuter bike for a while now and they're great. Easy to clip in and out, the cleats aren't too intrusive and you can happily walk around with them on (though this will of course depend on the shoe to some extent) and I've never unclipped unintentionally. You just bung 'em on and use them, end of story. Recommended.

 

[roadntrail]

Thanks for all the great replies. I ended up buying SPD-SL pedals for the road bike and Eggbeaters for the MTB.