Originally Posted by bartsie .
...So a question to road pedal users: can you clip in at the first try, without looking down? Thanks!
Most folks learn to toe flip their road pedals so that the correct side faces up. It takes a while but becomes second nature over time.
That said, I'd recommend skipping that particular learning curve and going with a double sided pedal like the Speedplay Zeros as they're really easy to get into and you don't need to look down or flip the pedals. The Zeros have longer lasting and better cleats made from thin steel plates rather than the older X series with their spring wire cleats.
Speedplays are a bit different to get into, you don't try to engage the nose of the cleat first, you just stomp down on the pedal to engage or as it's often described you engage the pedal like you're squashing a bug under your foot. So as in everything it may feel strange at first but they're some of the quickest pedals to get into.
The downsides of Speedplay pedals are:
- Cleats on the shoe are recessed which makes them easy to foul with mud, sand, dirt, snow and such (even hot tar on a freshly sealed road as I discovered recently). So if you walk around much wearing your road shoes you'll want to get and carry the snap on cleat covers to avoid fouling the cleats.
- The Speeplay pedals should be greased fairly regularly especially if you ride in wet weather. They come with a grease gun port and should be greased at least once every couple of months or more often if you ride in the rain a lot. Failure to keep up with the greasing can lead to the bearings seizing. I've seized a couple of pairs of early generation X series Speedplays but haven't had issues with newer pedals but still do the grease gun maintenance about once every month or two and more often if I'm riding much in the rain.
- Some folks complain of lateral rocking even when the cleat is firmly engaged in the pedals. I saw some of this with the X series pedals and it seemed related to the wire spring clip cleat design. I haven't had this issue with the Zeros but I know some folks that were so annoyed by it they switched to something like the higher end Shimano road pedals for the huge and stable platform they provide but then you're back to toe flipping the pedal prior to engaging the cleat.
-Dave
