Pedals - Look Flex or Shimano 105?



Volnix

Well-Known Member
Feb 19, 2011
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Hi

I was checking some pedals lately and I was thinking of either the Look Flex ones or the Shimano 105. They are both at the same price of around 40euro.

They have both a similar **** system, a three bolted one.

Do you know any differences in terms of quality in the bearings or anything that might make one a better choice then the other?

Thanks. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif
 
if it was like the medical pharmaceutics patents Look would be " the " pedal brand, since my main bike is almost full shimano i went with the ultegra pedals, for the price range you mention, 40 euros im guessing you qouted the Shimano 105 SPD-SL PD-R540 Pedals (which have a plastic accessory on the platform that wears out with mileage) the new one, Shimano 105 SPD-SL PD-5700 Pedals, in the 100 euro range, has the same accessory in metal, which lasts longer, my ultegras have the plastic one but i found replacements for 2 or 4 dollars each,
 
Thanks for the reply. Yes, its the SPD-SL system on the 105's which has 3 screws instead of 2. I read somewhere that if one screw falls of from the 2 screws design the **** will rotate and will not get dettached. So I was thinking one of these two designs which seem "safer".

I have no idea about the plastic parts or which model the 105's are. I might go and check them again...
 
Originally Posted by Volnix .

Hi

I was checking some pedals lately and I was thinking of either the Look Flex ones or the Shimano 105. They are both at the same price of around 40euro.

They have both a similar **** system, a three bolted one.

Do you know any differences in terms of quality in the bearings or anything that might make one a better choice then the other?

Thanks. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif
I always thought that all clits worked the same way, basically. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/ROTF.gif
 
Originally Posted by mpre53 .


I always thought that all clits worked the same way, basically. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/ROTF.gif
Clits yeah but the pedals might have different quality in platform and bearings... Its the first time I am gonna be getting clipless (if I get them /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif) and I was thinking that maybe the three bolted Look or Shimano SPD-SL might be safer, as it seems very unlikely two bolts to fall off at the same time from one **** resulting the **** to rotate without dettaching from the pedal... I am scared about this... Efiiciency booster... Maybe they could make some kind of magnetic ones? /img/vbsmilies/smilies/cool.gif Yeah with a neuro-laser f%ck-all system that dettaches automatically and if in danger teleports you to a beer bar... /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif

Basically sealed bearings seem to be good to have, a solid platform with less plastic or easily wearable parts and an adjustable tension system...Probably... /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif
 
Originally Posted by Volnix .

it seems very unlikely two bolts to fall off at the same time from one **** resulting the **** to rotate without dettaching from the pedal... I am scared about this... Maybe they could make some kind of magnetic ones?
Ha, I'm also a little scared of potentially-rotating, 2-bolt clits, coz I wouldn't know how to work one. Maybe they should make magnetic ones, then my bolted bits would home in on it. *boom boom*.

Anyhooz, I've been pimping the current Shimano pedals for ages. I've got 7 pairs of 105s and I can't fault them. And what a bargain: about 55 bucks with clits!
 
531Aussie said:
Ha, I'm also a little scared of potentially-rotating, 2-bolt clits, coz I wouldn't know how to work one.  Maybe they should make magnetic ones, then my bolted bits would home in on it.   *boom boom*.  Anyhooz, I've been pimping the current Shimano pedals for ages.  I've got 7 pairs of 105s and I can't fault them.  And what a bargain: about 55 bucks with clits! 
Yep. It's also not as if there's no way to avoid having a bolt disappear from a cleat. After all, just periodically checking to be sure that they're torqued correctly is all it takes. There's also no widespread problem of cleat bolts disappearing, no matter whether your cleats require 2,3, or 4 bolts. +1 to the not finding fault with Shimano SPD-SL's. I've been using the 2012 flavor Dura Ace SPD-SL's for a year, and they trump every Look pedal (3) that I've ever used. I'd also rate Shimano cleat wear better than I'd rate Look cleat wear.
 
Yep, **** bolts:

I was one of the last guys in the world to switch to clipless (around 2003), for a few reasons (the main one being I had about 6 "good" bikes, and no money to buy new shoes and 6 pairs of pedals), and one of my fears was bolts coming undone, even just enough for the clits to move, I think because the clits cop so much 'abuse'. So, I over-tightened the bolts on my first cheap pair of clipless shoes (Sidi Dominators) and wrecked one of the threads.

After I learned how to tighten them properly, /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif I was surprised how well they stayed done up -- still am, to be honest.
 
Originally Posted by Volnix .

Clits yeah but the pedals might have different quality in platform and bearings... Its the first time I am gonna be getting clipless (if I get them /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif) and I was thinking that maybe the three bolted Look or Shimano SPD-SL might be safer, as it seems very unlikely two bolts to fall off at the same time from one **** resulting the **** to rotate without dettaching from the pedal... I am scared about this... Efiiciency booster... Maybe they could make some kind of magnetic ones? /img/vbsmilies/smilies/cool.gif Yeah with a neuro-laser f%ck-all system that dettaches automatically and if in danger teleports you to a beer bar... /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif

Basically sealed bearings seem to be good to have, a solid platform with less plastic or easily wearable parts and an adjustable tension system...Probably... /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif
Sorry, bad joke on my part. Linguistic difference across oceans, I guess.

In the US, they're called cleats. A **** is something entirely different. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif
 
Originally Posted by mpre53 .


Sorry, bad joke on my part. Linguistic difference across oceans, I guess.

In the US, they're called cleats. A **** is something entirely different. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif
Oh I think I know what you meant now... No I wasnt talking about pu$$y, just the cleats that attach to the pedals. Didnt check the spelling, so I wrote "Clits", instead of "Cleats"... /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif Could be worse! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif
 
Originally Posted by Volnix .

Oh I think I know what you meant now... No I wasnt talking about pu$$y, just the cleats that attach to the pedals. Didnt check the spelling, so I wrote "Clits", instead of "Cleats"... /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif Could be worse! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif
I guess I should have added that while they all work the same way, some work faster--and more often--than others. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif
 
531Aussie said:
Yep, **** bolts: I was one of the last guys in the world to switch to clipless (around 2003), for a few reasons (the main one being I had about 6 "good" bikes, and no money to buy new shoes and 6 pairs of pedals), and one of my fears was bolts coming undone, even just enough for the clits to move, I think because the clits cop so much 'abuse'.  So, I over-tightened the bolts on my first cheap pair of clipless shoes (Sidi Dominators) and wrecked one of the threads.  After I learned how to tighten them properly, :D   I was surprised how well they stayed done up -- still am, to be honest.  
now that you mention it, once in a decade of different shoes and/or cleats, 1 bolt out of the 3 dissappear from one cleat, the cleat didn't even move so i just replaced the missing bolt at home from spares that i had
 
Originally Posted by vspa .

if it was like the medical pharmaceutics patents Look would be " the " pedal brand,
since my main bike is almost full shimano i went with the ultegra pedals,

for the price range you mention, 40 euros im guessing you qouted the Shimano 105 SPD-SL PD-R540 Pedals (which have a plastic accessory on the platform that wears out with mileage) the new one, Shimano 105 SPD-SL PD-5700 Pedals, in the 100 euro range, has the same accessory in metal, which lasts longer, my ultegras have the plastic one but i found replacements for 2 or 4 dollars each,
Ok I went back to the LBS and checked. There is a pair of 105's, I think the new ones, which are at 85euro and they have the metalic fastening system. I also saw a pair of ultegras which had a black fastening system that looked like plastic. I asked if they have the 105's with the plastic system and they said that there are plastic fastening system ones at a lower price then 85euro, but didnt tell me if they are the 105's or other. They also didnt know about replacing the plastic parts with metallic ones.
 
Quote: Originally Posted by vspa .

for the price range you mention, 40 euros im guessing you qouted the Shimano 105 SPD-SL PD-R540 Pedals

Nah, that's the online price for the 'good' ones with the steel body cover.
38 Euro, with clits, plus postage.
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/pedals-pedals-road-shimano-clipless-spd-sl-5700-105-pedals/shimpeda845


 
Originally Posted by alienator .

Plastic fastening system?
The black part that is in the end of the pedal. As it looks (with the tension adjustment module on it) I assumed that its the system that is securing the clits on the pedal and it looks like its made of plastic...
 
Originally Posted by 531Aussie .


Nah, that's the online price for the 'good' ones with the steel body cover.
38 Euro, with clits, plus postage.


I only saw them on the display... /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif The black parts on front (which have the tension adjustment module) seem like they are made of plastic... I guess that there are no major differences in quality between the axle bearings between the Look flex ones and Shimano 105 ones...
 
Originally Posted by alienator .


Those might be the best bang-for-your-buck clipless pedals there are.
Yep, I agree. I couldn't believe it when I bought my first pair online and the the clits were in the box. As I wrote above, I've now got seven pairs (now that I think about it, one pair is Ultegra).
I've said this before, but some local shops here sell just the cleats for $40 to $45. A couple of times, I needed cleats, so I just bought another set of pedals!

I'd eventually like to have a set of pedals for each set of my dozen best cranks. I find that pedals can bend a teeny bit after they've been mashed for a long time, which means that if I put them on another set of cranks, they may not 'land' the same way when they're tightened, so the bend can sit the wrong way: perhaps up instead of down.
 
One thing I've noticed about my Dura Ace pedals is that they always hang the right way, unlike my Look Keo's which would occasionally hang in a sub-optimal orientation. I assume that the Ultegras and the 105's are the same in that fashion. I'm hesitant to recommend the Look Flex pedal to anyone, given its newness to the market and its hinge which is actually part of the body, not a separate piece. One review I read mentioned that the Flex felt a bit sloppy when pedaling and that it was easy to accidentally click out of the pedal. Given the Flex's light weight and that its rear isn't weighted with a separate hinge, I also wonder how consistent the Flex will be in the position in which it hangs.