Road Cycling - Speedplay Pedals Release

My wife has gotten a set of Speedplay pedals and is having a problem with getting the clip to release unless she has her leg fully extended. This is her first set of clipless pedals (on a new Specialixed Allex Comp) so she is definately going through a learning curve period. I dont know what to suggest as I use SPD and never had any problem getting out of the clips. My theory is she just an't trist her heel enough when her leg is bent but I am just guessing.

Have others experienced this? Is it simply something she will become accustomed to and learn to accomadate? Are there any techniques she needs to develop? So far she has fallen over once when she picked the wrong leg to kick out when she stopped and she would like to avoid that happening again.


Thanks in advance!

Hey,
I have speedplay pedals. And they are a little hard getting use to, but they are well worth it. What I do is twirl with an upward motion. Like if its my left leg then I twisl to the left with an upward motion.

The only issue with SpeedPlay I've ever had was initially getting use to 'all that float'. 20 minutes into the ride, that was long forgotten! All that float has definitely saved excess wear and tear on the knees. I wouldn't dream of going back to my Time or any other pedal system on the market at the present. ;)

Bob99, you didn't mention the Speedplay model your wife is using, but I've been riding the Speedplay Zeros for about a year now and love 'em.
The Zero's have adjustable inward & outward float, which also means the release angle is adjustable. I moved to these from SPD's, and found the "free float" to be a little disconcerting at first, but I do really like being able to reduce the release angel for riding in traffic, and increased for more open-road stuff.
When set up for 15deg (max) heel-out float, I find that I too have my leg almost fully extended before they release- definitely not a good thing for sudden emergency exits.

Bob, I had exactly the same experience with the Speedplay P2 as your wife and I switched to SPD for that very reason, my SPD have some float, the float. I never had any problem with the float on the Speedplay, it felt quite good actually, but I had to extend my leg almost fully, to twist my foot far enough, to dismount. I have bad knees and the twist needs to be quite extensive, I think it is around 40 degrees or more to disengage. That can be unpleasant, specially in panick situation, e.g. car cuts you off. I understand that the Speedplay Zero might be much better in this respect due to the adjustable float angle, but I have no experience with that pedal. Don't have the money that it sometimes takes to get the kind of bike part you finally end up liking, and the shops are often commercially biased, not really secure enough to tell you when they don't know, or sometimes they are just plain snobs. This forum is actually the best place I found to get good information, even though you might have to apply some filter here as well. Best of luck.

By the way the model we got were X3s.

Thanks for the replies! At least there are others that have experienced same types of problems with pedals. I almost hated to post question since the pedals are generally spoken so highly of in most posts.

They actually release a little quicker than other X series (25 vs. 28 degree of heel out) according to specs on Speedplay's sites. The Zero however releases at about 15 which would be a lot better. Unfortunately would also mean we would have to purchase a completely new set of pedals since the clips aren't compatible.

Anyone know if Speedplay will help LBS in a situation like this?

I wonder how much play the cleats have on the shoe and if adjusting them (in/out?) would make any significant difference?

Appreciate your thoughts and welcome further comments!

Bob

Bob99,

I use speedplays, as does my wife. We both have had
NO problems releasing (unless the cleat was REALLY dry,
and a bit of chain lube solved that).
I would contact Speedplay, either via e-mail or directly
from their website (ok, e-mail, duh).

Let us know how it works out for you,
My experience is that speedplay are very big
on customer service.

Marty

Originally posted by Bob99
The Zero however releases at about 15 which would be a lot better. Unfortunately would also mean we would have to purchase a completely new set of pedals since the clips aren't compatible.

Bob

Bob I would not necessarily say they are not compatible, and I know the factory says they are not, but I personally have used Zero cleats on the original SpeedPlay pedals with no problems what so ever! (I'm not necessarily saying this is the correct way of doing it, but as far as I could see the equipment suffered no ill effects in doing this). My 2¢. ;)

I just discovered that if your screws on the cleats are too tight it will affect the performance of the the spring. The LBS put cleats on for me and I couldn't click in on the right foot. Sometimes the spring wouldn't release after I clicked out.

So I looked at the instructions and checked the tension on my screws. The right screws were very tight so I adjusted the

tension. The right one worked great today. Popped right in.

I didn't notice that clicking out was a problem I just couldn't get the right one to click in easily. But the float didn't seem as free as my old ones were.

Also, the directions say to replace the cleat if there are flat spots on the springs. The right spring is flatter than the left. Should I replace the cleat? Has it been damaged from being tightened too tight?

Kathi

Originally posted by lovemyswift
I just discovered that if your screws on the cleats are too tight it will affect the performance of the the spring. The LBS put cleats on for me and I couldn't click in on the right foot. Sometimes the spring wouldn't release after I clicked out.

Wow... they must have really torqued those screws down to the point of deforming the steel bottom plate. I tighten mine down quite a bit and haven't had a problem getting in or out. I suspect that the bottom plate might have been permenantly deformed causing the float to not be as smooth. Try taking it all apart and seeing if the plates as well as the spring lies flat.

Originally posted by Cipher
Bob I would not necessarily say they are not compatible, and I know the factory says they are not, but I personally have used Zero cleats on the original SpeedPlay pedals with no problems what so ever! (I'm not necessarily saying this is the correct way of doing it, but as far as I could see the equipment suffered no ill effects in doing this). My 2¢. ;)

Hmm... everyone I've talked to has told me never to do this and vice vera (use X cleats on Zero pedals). Was the independent float fully functional? As I understand it, the X and Zero pedals have different spring designs. The Zero uses a flat C-clip like spring whereas the X pedals use a coathanger-like tubular wire spring with engagement points at the front and back of the circular area.

The directions for the x2's say that the "cleat spring must move freely. Snug the 4 outer screws: tighten no more than 1/4 turn. Loctite-dip will keep screws secure."

I have another pair of shoes with speedplay cleats on them. I can take my thumb and move the spring. On the cleats I'm concerned about I couldn't move the front spring with my thumb. The back one moved some. When I readjusted the right shoe I had a lot of float and I could move the spring. The left foot is tighter, so I'm going to adjust that one too.

I guess I've used speedplays for so long that I just didn't pay attention to the float and didn't realize that the shoes weren't moving freely. But I couldn't understand why the spring kept catching and they were so hard to click in.

Sunday when I was trying to click in my foot slipped and I banged up my ankle. So that's why I started reading the directions. My LBS put them on and they did the other pair to, so I wasn't concerned about the installation. I'm not too good about taking things apart but I'm going on a bike tour next week and I don't want to have problems with them

At least, I figured out the problem.

I have Sidi shoes and they use a different bottom plate than the standard shoe.

Kathi

Originally posted by lovemyswift

I have Sidi shoes and they use a different bottom plate than the standard shoe.

Yeah... I have Sidi shoes too and had to use the Sidi adapter plate.

Bob,

My wife and I have been using Speedplay X3 for years now and haven't had any problems clipping out at any leg position. I normally clip out with leg straightened, but never had any problem unclipping in other leg positions. Just have you wife practice it, she's probably not used to the float. I wouldn't look at purchasing the Zeros yet, until she's had some more time using the X3.

My wife's cleat tension was a little tight at first, so the LBS told her to grease it a little until it loosens up. Once it loosened up, it was fine. We both are very happy with our Speedplay.

Hi Bob,

I'll say your theory is right on the mark. If you try and twist your foot with the leg extended and then with the knee bent, you will see that you can twist your foot a lot more with the foot extended.

So it will always be easier to release any pedal with the leg fully extended.

That being said I have a pair of X/2's that I have never had trouble getting out of. I fact, they are far easier to exit than the Look pedals I had peviously. I have found, that in situations like the one you mention, where you take out one foot and then tip to the other side, I automatically twist harder and the foot always comes out. I think your wife just needs a little practice.

On Speedplays website (http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.x) they explain that the 28 degree release angle on the X/1 and X/2 is for "race" and the X/3 is for easy release.
The Zeros seems a step back from the features that originally made the Speedplays great, but maybe somebody don't like all that free float. I think I would be concerned about accidental release with only 15 degrees of float, but I guess they will have thought about that.

Jesper

Originally posted by Jesper

The Zeros seems a step back from the features that originally made the Speedplays great, but maybe somebody don't like all that free float. I think I would be concerned about accidental release with only 15 degrees of float, but I guess they will have thought about that.


I switched to Zeros because I didn't want all that much float. 15 degrees for me is plenty enough float and I actually have mine cranked to -4/+6. I find the ability to adjust inboard/outboard float independently to be one of the more useful features of the cleat. Also, I've never had an accidental release.

I called Speedplay about my cleats screws being to tight. I was told not to worry about damage to the housing but keep an eye on them.

Boy do they click in easier now! They just snap right in. Sometimes it pays to do things yourself!

Kathi