jlsmith <
[email protected]> wrote in message news:<
[email protected]>...
> edcoepo wrote:
> > For several years, I've been using Look pedals on my racing bike and SPD's on my MTB. Now, I'm
> > getting tired of replacing my Look cleats every time they wear out. I'm planning to replace
> > the Look pedals with SPD pedals (not SPD-R or SPD-SL) because of the built-in cleats in the
> > shoes. Did anyone ever do the same thing and is now happy or unhappy? Is the smaller contact
> > surface of the SPD cleats an issue on longer rides (above 5 hours)? Thanks, Edco
>
> I used SPDs on my road bike for about two years and then changed to Look. I much prefer the Look
> system. I find them easier to get into and out of.
Is that with single-sided ("road style") or double-sided ("MTB style") SPD pedals?
For road-riding in anything resembling traffic, I think the overwhelmingly easier pedal entry with
double-sided pedals more than offsets the minor weight increase. Plus if one of the pedals' cleat
attachment breaks, you still have the other side of the pedal.
Given that Shimano constantly redesigns bicycle components to obtain slight ergonomic improvements
(did anybody really have difficulty operating downtube shifters?), it's amazing they would still
build single-sided road pedals. A double-sided pedal eliminates an increment of difficulty greater
than whatever convenience STI shifters provide.
Missing a cleat engagement on a single-sided pedal can cause a crash, or a painful bruise to the
ankle when your foot slips off and you whack the pedal. It's an unnecessary headache when double-
sided pedals are widely available.
Granted, rider skill can eliminate this problem, but that's not the Shimano design philosophy (see:
STI shifters and the attempts to create computerized shifting).
Here's some techno-overkill I could actually use: a way to display animated weather radar maps on my
bicycle, along with my current position and projected route, so I could avoid riding into the
thunderstorms that plague the Ohio valley throughout summer. I can check the radar maps before I
leave for a ride, but two hours later the situation can change---a lot. Actually I only need the
radar map, because I know my own position on the roads I'm familiar with.
Who cares how easy the STI shifters are compared to primitive downtube shifters if I'm riding
directly into a thunderstorm I can't see over the surrounding trees yet?
> In addition, the wider platform of the Looks makes even relatively short rides more comfortable
> and enjoyable.
I find the quality of the shoe matters more with SPD cleats. A well-made (i.e. expensive) shoe feels
fine with SPD cleats in my opinion. With the cheaper shoes I have tried, the smaller SPD cleat is
easy to feel bulging into the sole.
Obviously everybody has to try a setup for themselves to make up their own mind. I just want to
point out that the quality of the shoe becomes more important with pedal systems that use smaller
cleats and therefore concentrate forces into a smaller part of the shoe. So one should consider the
shoe before judging a cleat system to be inferior.
Rider strength and pedaling style may also be factors. Or some people might be more sensitive to a
given amount of slop.
I might be aware of some SPD slop when I start a ride, but after a bit I don't think about it again.
I will say that Looks feel funny after I have been using SPDs for a while. Switching between the two
can seem a bit odd. But I suppose if a person did that a lot, it would probably stop feeling odd.
> I understand that the Shimano Durace pedals, although expensive, are very easy to walk in, have a
> raised surface around the cleat so that they will not wear out when walking, and offer a very
> large platform for pedalling.
I like Sidi mountain bike shoes for road riding. Their drawback is cost, but the cost is in line
with other "quality" shoes. Having a walkable sole is nice not only for walking into the occasional
food store or around the occasional road block, but also for getting a firm footing when it becomes
necessary to put a foot down at a stop sign. The roads where I ride have some stop signs at roads
with steep grades, and occasionally cyclists with slippery road shoes have fallen down when making a
foot-down stop.
The footing problem for a tandem captain is, of course, correspondingly greater.
An ATB shoe weighs a little more. It's nice to have the raised sole around the cleat so I don't have
to bother with carrying cleat covers. I had a pair of cleat covers for my Looks at one time, but
naturally I lost them somewhere.
-- Daniel Mocsny
.
