Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Track Pedals?

Hey -

What are you guys using in the way of clipless pedals? (both for the drome and the street). I've been using clips for my street/city riding, but I think I'm ready to make the transition over to clipless. My question is, what type of clipless peds - in your OPINIONS - are the most ideal for riding fixed. I'm sort of leaning toward getting road shoes, and either egg-beaters or speedplays. I think personally, I'd like a decent amount of float, but as I've never ridden clipless before, I'm not sure. I have no experience in this matter so I defer to yall. Also, I plan on starting to take beginner classes at the velodrome and I was wondering what's most common there. ( I assume clips, but i've never been, so I don't know). any input is appreciated.

Thanks.

PS - BTW, Bucky at Fixed Mag who posted about the Kissena classic and the beginner's classes wanted me to pass along the answer to my question for him, for those interested, which is: Yes, you do have to remove your brake(s) (if you're running one) for class.

time atac

I recently switched from clips and straps to Crank Bros Candy pedals and Sidi Dominator shoes. I love them. I havn't unclipped on accident. They're easy to clip into. Switching to clipless definitly takes a little while to get used to. I had a couple 0 mph crashes the first week I was running them.

Here's another question. It seems as though you don't have to adjust the tension on the Candys/egg-beaters, but you do on the Times. Is this something that is difficult to do? I've heard nothing but good things about Time pedals.

Speedplay makes some pretty serious pedals for track - high retention.
http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.zero
http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.zerospecs



PS - BTW, Bucky at Fixed Mag who posted about the Kissena classic and the beginner's classes wanted me to pass along the answer to my question for him, for those interested, which is: Yes, you do have to remove your brake(s) (if you're running one) for class.
yeah, brakes on the track are seriously dangerous. Glad you went?

crank brothers break often.time atac...

i ride with eggbeaters. they are super easy to get in and out of and i have only unclipped a few times due to drunken antics with VERY worn out cleats. it was also with my stainless eggbeaters that had some slop. i've since tightened them up. my double ti ones have a much firmer spring as well, which would probably prevent unwanted unclipping even further. i prefer mountain bike shoes as they are easier to walk around in, rather than slick bottomed road shoes.

i am riding on the track with eggbeaters for now, but have some miche pista pedals that i will probably use once i get road shoes. ideally, you don't want float on the track. you get more direct transfer of power to the pedals without float...

Time Atac never failed me... no tension adjustment necessary. like some other systems, you can get more float by switching cleats (mount the one marked 'L' on your right shoe, and vice versa). with Time this is 5° standard and 9° switched (if i recall properly).

crank brothers break often.time atac...

which crank bros. pedal are you referring to? my stainless ones are the first gen. ones and i have only had to adjust the slop they were known to develop... my ti ones are superb.

After running spd's and then eggbeaters and then Time Atacs and then spd's again, I'm back on eggebeaters. They seem to work really well now since I've moved the cleats back slightly -- I was getting hot spots before with my worn-everyday-Diadora Gekos. This time they seem to be working out very well on the street. So odd that moving the cleats just a few mm's is a world of difference.

I've often considered the Speedplay Frogs but don't really want to take the risk of buying a pair at their full price and then not liking them.

iso - what are you running the ti ones on? The IRO or Bianchi?

P.S. The Time Atacs were sort of nice but I found the amount of float too limiting and the pedal too tight for my liking. I could see them on the velo being great but for the street I found them a little inflexible.

i have the double ti ones on my bianchi and i swap my stainless ones between my guerciotti and my iro. the stainless ones have pedal wrench flats, where as the ti ones just have the allen wrench holes. i'm probably going to get at least another set of of the ti ones.

I've never ridden Time atac's. But too tight you say? hmmm I've been looking for a real tight pedal. After going brakeless I have been using toe straps...just paranoid that I'd unclip (like I have several times on my old SPD's) and be pooched and off balance. I sell them, but have never tried them myself...Perhaps its about time. :)

i just got the eggbeaters and i'm beating my egg shaped head for getting them instead of the Time Atacs. pretty much the same pedals as far as class but the Atac spindles last longer. They also have a small platform. I just went with the eggbeaters because I had them a couple of years ago.

My SPD's blew up recently (thats the best way I can explain what happened) I am also looking for a new set of clipless and it always seem like it comes down to the eggbeater vs ATAC debate. In my mind right now, I am thinking that I can get the Candys for about $60 where the ATACs are nearly twice that. Maybe others on here don't have to worry about that, and more power to them, but are the ATACs really so much better that I should even consider them at this price difference?

I did notice that my pedal power transfer was a little off when I switched back to the eggbeaters recently due to the lack of platform and amount of float but now that I've gotten used to them these past few days they feel real good. Last night when Judah (from Sf) was in town, we did a real fast through the city ride in some tight traffic and through some open dead industrial areas. They fared very well.

I'm still intrigued by the Frogs though - the last major type of pedal I've yet tp try. I had a discussion with Marcus (Yojimbo's) about them and he seemed to think that by the sound of it, they'd fit my needs pretty well (float, small platform, no spring tension to fight).

after scouring the web, this forum, and people I know who ride clipless on track/fixed gears, the ATACs seem the way to go, and dont bother with road pedals/shoes cause you cant walk in em.

and I just got a pair for $80 online (cambriabike.com). Ive seen em on ebay for like $20.

nice shiny ones that dont clash with my non-MTB cranks as much too:

http://www.cambriabike.com/Images/product/time_allium_silver_pedal._T_.jpg

Delay -

I picked up the old Time Atacs with the composite body (which look better and are nicer I think than the all metal ones) from someone on Craigslist but they pop up pretty often on ebay for under $50.

I ride on eggbeaters and they've been great. Never accidentally clipped out and they're easy to get in and out of. I don't feel too confined with the eggbeaters and I've never had a problem with hotspots. I like the look of the eggbeaters also, very minimal and the fact that they're rebuildable. I can get a pair of ti spindles for them if i wanted. On the track though I think i'm gonna start using my looks and dial it for 0 float. But on the streets it's definately eggbeaters with sidi dominators.

If anyone is interested in a pair of the ATACS PM me. I am going to order myself a pair and depending on WHICH model you want, there may be decent prices right now. Just PM me.

After accidentally unclipping several times in the past week or so, I'm seriously considering new pedals. The Time ATAC pedals seem great from everything I've been hearing. Are the ATAC XS the same as the ATAC ALIUM pedals pictured above (just different body)?

http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/TM-ATCXS.gif VS. http://www.cambriabike.com/Images/product/time_allium_silver_pedal.jpg

Both are roughly the same price. Nashbar vs Cambria.

Forgive my newbie question, but what is this float that everyone is mentioning? (Dis)advantages?

I just switched from platforms to ATACs on one of my city singlespeeds and it feels very good. I've never ridden road pedals, but the spds that came with my bike either didn't unclip at all, or came unclipped all the time. I'm still not clear on what float is either (how much you can rotate outward before unclipping?), but with a tight new (well, slightly used) pair of atacs and worn cleats I felt my feet turning all over the place, but never came near unclipping riding up Mont Royal a few times today - and I think that has more to do with worn cleats and foot position and riding style on this bike (road crank and singlespeed with a 70" gear on a mtn-type bike) vs the cleats and shoes being set up for my geared mtn bike. And not having ridden clipless for months.

I think the plastic ATACs have maybe better bearings than the aluminum ones. I have two pairs of plastic ones, both bought used on ebay for $35, and the bearings are smooth with no slop with no maintenance. They're heavier than they look though, my wellgo spd platform pedals are lighter than my ATACs. Not a concern for me, but maybe for you.

I'm a comparitive noob who never thought he'd go clipless mind you, after I got stitches from a 0mph crash onto a rock strewn road when I couldn't get out of the spds that came with my mtn bike. Atacs feel way better, and I really have no idea why some mountain bikers say they have a learning curve for how to clip and unclip - you snap in and you feel when you're in, and you clip out and know you're out, and I can't say that about my spds, who now only get their platform side used in the winter.

Forgive my newbie question, but what is this float that everyone is mentioning? (Dis)advantages?

float is when your foot can swivel left and right a bit. the angle of float determines how far you can swivel your foot before unclipping. a lot of float can be more comfortable to some people, especially if you're new to clipless. a disadvantage is that during hard pedaling some of your energy can go to floating a bit if you aren't keeping your feet parallel to the bike.

which crank bros. pedal are you referring to? my stainless ones are the first gen. ones and i have only had to adjust the slop they were known to develop... my ti ones are superb.
CAndy sl i broke two of them

crank brothers break often.time atac...

Can you substantiate this claim or is this "facts from the arse"?

I really like my speedplay frogs. Lots of float=happy knees. Impossible to pull out of them while skidding.
A grease port for easy maintaince- the bearings in these things have been through four boston winters and are still going strong.

The cleats are pretty big, tho, and as my sidi's wear down, they start to click pretty loudly when i'm walking.

fatbat.

Can you substantiate this claim or is this "facts from the arse"?

I can't speak for Crank Bros. egg beaters but I have been using LOOK 4x4 [their egg beater style pedal] and I have not once pulled out or accidentally disengaged. They have also never broken and I swear by them. I'm not sure if LOOK even makes them anymore, which is sad. If the Crank Bros. ones are anything like them [i assume they're identical] then that person is talking from their arse.

I'm currently using Shimano double-sided SPDs with Sidi shoes. I felt it was the best compromise between easy entry and secure retention. Although I have read how others have accidently clipped out...


Also, I plan on starting to take beginner classes at the velodrome and I was wondering what's most common there. ( I assume clips, but i've never been, so I don't know). any input is appreciated.

For beginners and training, I would imagine using what got you there should be fine. But, for more serious riding on the track, most people will choose a fixed cleat pedal system that will stay secure.

In most mass start events, points, scratch, M/O, racers will choose regular road pedals since there is more ebb and flow than explosive starts or finishes. In Keirin or match sprints or TT events, racers will choose something more secure. Which is why many pros still ride with clips and straps. To make sure their foot doesn't accidently release. An ideal alternative is using a modified Shimano SPD-R pedal with a strap. This gives the best of two worlds, clipless for mass starts, but with the addition of straps for sprints and such.


On the track though I think i'm gonna start using my looks and dial it for 0 float.

I use Looks on my road bike and love them. I am thinking of trying out the new Keo for the track when I finally get myself there. But, for the Look pedal system, or at least the traditional one I'm familiar with, you can't dial in float. It either is float (red cleats) or fixed (black cleats). I use no float with mine. The only thing you can dial in on the look pedals is release retention. There are several pros using the look system; and I believe one of them, Marion Clignet, replaced the adjustment screw on her pedals to allow her to completely fix her shoe onto the pedals, making it impossible to accidently release. Of course, this requires the use of the team mechanic to help her unscrew herself from the pedals when she was finished with her events. :D


Speedplay makes some pretty serious pedals for track - high retention.

People have complained about hot spots with the Speedplays. Of course, the same complaint has been lodged against the SPDs I'm using as well. So, I guess, YMMV.

One the one thing I don't like about the Speedplays is the large square-ish cleat.

At the end of the day, I think most of us are going to wind up using two pedal systems, one for the street and one for the velodrome.

CAndy sl i broke two of them

how did it break? what exactly broke? the plastic pontoon? the engagement spring/interface thingy? (to use the techincal term... duh) i've just never heard of anyone "breaking" an eggbeater pedal before.

i've only heard good things about eggbeaters and have only had great experiences with mine. the only bad thing i've heard about candy's is that someone i knew had a set and she complained they "squeaked". i shoved her off a cliff for blasphemy... which took care of the problem real quick.

Anybody else use Bebops? I have them a several bikes and they work great for me. Lots of float, they don't pull out and work with walkable shoes (with some surgery). My first set of cleats finally wore out after 4 years and thousands of miles including a Cleveland winter commuting.Ofcourse they are a little expensive ($110), hard to find and some MTB shoes will require surgery to work correctly.
Craig

I can't speak for Crank Bros. egg beaters but I have been using LOOK 4x4 [their egg beater style pedal] and I have not once pulled out or accidentally disengaged. They have also never broken and I swear by them. I'm not sure if LOOK even makes them anymore, which is sad. If the Crank Bros. ones are anything like them [i assume they're identical] then that person is talking from their arse.

Looks definitely makes them still. They retail for about $199Canadian. They are really nice pedals. The main difference between them and the Crank Bros pedals are the bearings. The 4x4 have better bearings (ball and needle) than the egg beaters.

how did it break? what exactly broke? the plastic pontoon? the engagement spring/interface thingy? (to use the techincal term... duh) i've just never heard of anyone "breaking" an eggbeater pedal before.

i've only heard good things about eggbeaters and have only had great experiences with mine. the only bad thing i've heard about candy's is that someone i knew had a set and she complained they "squeaked". i shoved her off a cliff for blasphemy... which took care of the problem real quick.
the whole pedal fell off the spindle...crank bros replaced it and it happend again...i bought them 10 months ago...arse.........

What, exactly, do you guys like about the Time Atacs? Also, I don't think anyone really answered the question on the last page about what the difference is between the alium (metal) and XS (plastic). Also, thanks for the responses. This has been helpful.