Road Cycling - look vs spd

I have had the shimano spd road pedal on my trek for 3 months now and i have almost been killed a few times while road riding tryin to get my left cleat engaged!!!(i have the pedal on the lowest tension)
Are look pedals any more user friendly?
thanks!!!

Never had a problem with the many pairs of Looks I have.

make sure you mounted the cleat the right direction.
Oil your pedal with some lube.

If that doesn't work than there are several pedal options;
LOOK, Campy, Time (it's going to be preference on your part)
Eggbeaters can also be used for road and the cleat is similar to the SPD but engagement and disengage is really easy. If you are riding road & mountain and want to use one pair of shoes, eggbeaters can be a good solution.

I swear by looks, well not swear but I have had them on every single road bike I've own and at work (I'm a mechanic) I promote them heavly for road bikers. The cleat is so much easier to get into since the whole pedal is the part you are getting into... also if u miss it you can pedal a few times around on the opposite side.. hope that helps

Can't give yopu a comparison as I've been Look only since 1988 or so. I like them and don't plan to change.

:beer:

What is the entry level Look pedal ? I would love to try them but most of the ones I have seen seem pretty pricey.

Also, I currently have SPD cleats on my shoes - do Look pedals require a certain shoe for compatability ?

I just bought the entry level look pedal from bike nashbar for 69.00$! most shoes are spd-look compatable.

I used to ride Looks but swapped to SPD.

I've never had any real trouble engaging or disengaging.

I prefer them because the cleat is recessed into the shoe so you don't have to take your shoes off or walk like a duck when you get off the bike. They also seem to last a lot longer because you're not wearing down a plastic cleat if you walk in them.

A lot of people that I ride with prefer the Look system, especially those who race, but SPDs work very well for the kind of cycling I do.

i have the spds, they have been no problem for me as of trying to get out of them, except when i forget im in them. but if ur right footed and it is hard to get ur left foot out, try doing some shin strentgh exercises and ull be able to twist ur foot faster to get out of the lock

Look and Campy pedals are significantly easier to clip into than SPD's are. So are Speedplays, Coombes, and even conventional toestraps....
As usual, Shimano wants us to conform to what they want to sell us. I've tried SPD's, and I'm surprised that more people haven't been killed while fumbling to get into them.

Are you referring to the Shimano SPD-R? You mentioned Shamano road pedal. I've used SPD's and Look's, but never tried SPD-R's. I've heard from several poeple that they are a bit difficult to get in and out of. If you have a road shoe, the Looks will fit. If you want a good entry level look, try the 206's. They are also the lightest Look pedal.

look pedals are very good pedals. i enjoy the ease of entry and exit. the cleats wear quickly if you walk around too much. i picked up 236 from supergo for 39.00 a while back. recently was seduced by speedplay x2 pedals light weight. love the speedplays, but didn't change because of any problems with looks. i had spdr

Originally posted by avivino
I've heard from several poeple that they are a bit difficult to get in and out of.

It's true. SPD-Rs are the worst for getting in and out of. I found that I had to replace the grease in them, just so that they would hang with the front up. Also horizontal (yep... side-to-side) adjustment of the cleat affects ease of release. I think the thing is, you have to keep your foot really flat, i.e. don't let your ankle lean at all, when rotating your foot to get out. And if they aren't DAs (PD-770x), the cleat will start rattling in the pedal and drive you nutz. I've adapted to mine, have worked through all the problems, and will continue to use them, but if I had it to do over....

I've never had trouble with my SPD's before, but I do prefer Looks because of the larger cleat and lack of hotfoot, (that annoying burning under the balls of your feet that SPD cleats can cause.) Double check the release tension of the pedal and make sure that the cleat isn't rubbing the bottom of the shoe anywhere if it's recessed.