New Pedals

i have the r600s. i loved them until last week. i had a triple century a couple weekends ago and my right knee is all jacked up. i DON'T know that it's the pedal's fault. i have an appointment w/the doctor to find out exactly the problem is but the pain is on the outside of the knee. very sharp occasional pain when i bend the leg and pedal. i'm hoping the pedals didn't do it because they are EXTREMELY easy to clip into. i'm almost always the first guy clipped in because of the design.

btw, if you get them, be prepared to buy a lot of cleats as the rubber wears away quickly. i've only got ~600 miles on mine and they're getting trashed.

 

I have the dura Ace pedals...7800

I absolutely love these pedals. I had a pair of LOOK pedals before and these are head and shoulders better in my opinion. It would be hard to spend over $200 US for a pair of pedals though. I actually got mine at cost through a friend who owns a bike shop.

 

I have used Look for years, but weight and sqeaking cleats led me to change them. I looked at prices and weights and have gone for the new Ultegra ones at 304gms. They are far less expensive than similar weighted looks or time. I am very happy with the wide cleat, which you can walk in, and the clipping in is great. i am on yellow cleats 3 degree float, are the fixed red cleats much stiffer?
The lighter pedal does feel better flicking the pedals around, but 24gms isnt worth the extra money for DA in my opinion.
I dont see many Speedplay on the lads road racing bikes in Uk.
As for off road, I've two pair of Time ATAC and there the dogs b......s. Great mud clearance and instant clip in/out - use them for two seasons of cross.

 

On my road bike, I have Performance Forte Pro Mg Ti pedals (200 grams/pair). Works well for me. Easy clip in & out, no "sprinting malfunctions", and looks good to me. It's single-sided, so sometimes that's annoying, but other than that I have no complaints.

On my MTB, I have Time ATAC pedals. Ditto what everyone else says; they do a great job!

 

Ok, I have read all the postings with fervor, but since this is my first time for clipless pedals. So my question is this, what exactly is FLOAT? I have read some people like "float" and some don't? Is there one reason or another to like float or not? Any help is appreciated.

 

float is how far your heel can move side to side while your foot is clipped in before it clips out.

 

I've looked at pictures of the Speedplay pedals and cleats but I can't seem to figure out how they clip in! Could someone who has experience with these tell us?

 

the metal bars that run across the top and bottom of the cleat sort of grab hold of the notches in the front and back of the pedal. the pedal is completely encompassed by the cleat.

 

Thanks sphen! Can you actually pull up on the pedal without it disengaging? How do you move your foot to release?

It really sucks that you can't test pedals somewhere. I bought some SPD pedals and shoes at the recommendation from a friend but he used to be a mountain bike rider. Now I have SPD (brrand new no less!) on my road bike and feel a bit silly.

 

the locking mechanism is very strong and its impossible to release by pulling up. simply twist your heel (as with all other pedals) to get out.

 

Cool! Thanks again! I've read nothing but good things about them. I think it's the way to go for me. Thanks for your insight!

 

theyre a great product. glad i could help.

 

Cool so if I don't want my heel to move I should go with 0 float? and is there a reason why you would want your heel to move side to side after your "plugged" in? thanks for the reply steph and hopefully you have one for this.

 

0 float would not allow your heel to move. Some people don't like the feeling of being forced into one straight position on the pedal. With others, it's a matter of putting unwanted pressure on their knees due to the way they pedal and they need the extra "play" in their foot position.

 

Thanks for the reply, I have decided to go with LOOK A5.1 they have 0,3,9 float so I will be a LOOK biker!

 

The "metal bars" are actually the top and bottom of a metal circle that's open at one side. It works something like a retaining ring that's inserted in a groove at the end of an axle to keep a wheel from falling off (like on a lawn mower or on a child's wagon). The closed side of the ring has a small "stop" that is about 3-4mm long. Two set screws, one on each side of the stop, let you set how many degrees the ring can rotate, either clockwise or counterclockwise. That translates into degrees of rotation of your heel in or out. Set both set screws tight against the stop, and the ring won't rotate at all - zero float. Open them wide for max float. Or you can move one set screw in and the other out and set zero float at a specific angle, or set a range of float within two specific angles.

The way I've described it sounds much more exact than it really is. I set my speedplays to zero float at 0 degrees, but found the exact angle that I was comfortable with by trial and error - moving the set screws a half turn each time, riding a bit, another half turn, riding some more, etc.

Speedplays require a dry lub (like graphite powder) on the cleat. I keep a bottle handy next to my helmet and gloves in the garage. I try to do it once a week (I try to get in about 100+ miles a week). You also have to grease the pedal axle itself, via a port at the end of the pedal. But I think the recommendation is every 5,000 miles or something like that.

I love them (Speedplays) - double-sided makes it easy and no-look, and the minimum clearance is great when cornering. I do get a hotspot once in a while, but it's only on one foot, and I think that's more because of the way I tend to pedal with that foot. (One foot turns in slightly more than the other - and Speedplays let me compensate for that.)

 

I went to the PD-R600s from Ultegra SPD-Rs. Huge improvement in ability to click-in quickly and quietness. I'd definitely buy them again.

 

Finally ended up getting a pair of Speedplay Titanium pedals and a pair of DMT Ultimax RSX carbon sole shoes. Don't think twice about it! Get them NOW! The best analogy I can give you is that it's like adding turbos to your car except it's for your bike. Power transfer and acceleration is CRAZY!!

 

Eggbeaters-- These are great clipless pedals. But for the Mountain. I had to use these one day in a crit. I forgot my shoes, and so I borowed them off my friends bike and used his shoes. The clip action is nice and solid. Easy entry. The problem with using them as a racing pedal is that eventually your going to be doing a crit, and as with crits, you end up doing fast corners. These pedals are very WIDE. You have to be carefull not to scrape them, in fact, out of all my races, these are the only pedals I've scraped on.

Campagnolo Pro-Fit -- These are truely awsome cleats. The tension is adjustable, and the feel is great. I never once had knee problems with them, and I have my old set on my backup bike.

Speedplay X series-- I like these, their what I'm currently using. I havent adjusted the float on them, but I have had some knee issues since I started using them. Entry is easy, but your foot slides around while riding. Turns out this isnt uncomon, as a few people I know who use them went to get fit in Phonex, with the LA fit guy, and both of their feet were moving awkward due to the pedals. Eventually I'd like to get mine set up to 6 degrees of float, the exact same as my old campy pedals.

 

I really like my BeBops.