Road Cycling - Pedals/Cleats

RIght now Im riding on some SPD-R cleats on welgo r4's. What does everyone think about SPD-R? These are my first clipless so I dont have anything to compare them too. The only thing Ive noticied so far is cleats for SPD-R are more expensive than look cleats!! Is the bigger surface of a look type pedal/cleat combo more comfortable? better? Are looks easier to get out of? How bout roadies using egg beaters? good experiences with those? thanks for any answers to these endless questions!!

Aren't the spd-r cleats metal? Look cleats are plastic and wear faster if you walk on them very much at all. Unless you spend the ten bucks and hook up some cleat covers, which I finally did after replacing cleats two or three times a year. If the spd-r cleats are metal, they'll (in theory) last longer than the plastic looks.

I think that the larger cleat of a look type cleat is more comfy on long rides or in racing. You tend to avoid the "hot foot" associated with smaller cleat systems. You can avoid that situation by getting an incredibley stiff soled shoe (carbon, for example, is a good, stiff shoe sole). But, the shoes are pricey. I've always thought that looks were easy to get into and out of, but I also started out on them and have continued on them since I was 18.

I know that Crank Bros. has a really light, all ti version of the egg beater out that's appealing to the roadies. I have the regular version on my mountain bike and i like them a lot for off road stuff, but I'm comfortable enough with my roadie pedals that I don't think it's a benefit for me to have four sided entry.

To answer your endless questions, though, we need more info on what kind of riding you're wanting to do. That will help with a pedal search.

Hi TriDevil

I have SPD-R's on both bikes and run them with low priced Nike shoes (I forget the name, but they have laces rather than velcro). This setup works for me, though like yourself, I have no experience with other pedals. Have not noticed discomfort from the small cleat area on (day) long rides - and my shoes are certainly not the stiffest top of the line carbon fibre design.

It really helps to keep the cleats and pedals lubricated with a little grease at the points where they engage. This stops squeaks and most importantly, makes it much easier to clip out.

I agree that replacement cleats are expensive. The other problem is that the rubber "walking points" that are supplied with them wear out far too quickly, or break off. I did have one faulty cleat - the tab which releases the pedal "claw" when you twist to unclip broke off, so I could not unclip that foot!

Those things said, however, I'm pretty happy with this setup, and will continue with them until they are worn out - and the pedal bearings seem to be holding up rather well so far, after a couple of winters

Good luck,

Ed

Im doing a sprint triathlon on sunday. Thats bascially why Im into cycling now, for triathlons. Yet I cant cross out the possiblity that I'll try to do some long rides both for fitness and the heck of it. I have just noticied it seems that the SPD-R's aren't very popular at least, will they be long lasting like looks? I think shimano is already phasing them out, is that right?

Shimano does have a new pedal system that uses the Look bolt pattern with their propietary cleat and pedal design. It's been called the Lance Pedal for a while because that's what Lance Armstrong wanted and they made them basically for him to begin with. It will make buying shoes a lot easier, since the three bolt Look pattern is pretty common.

Ed, I thought that the spd-r cleats were larger than original spd's, thereby addressing some of the issues that folks had with spd's and hotfoot. Are the cleats much bigger than original spd cleats?

Take a look at Speedplay pedals. They have a few different models and you won't be disappointed with any of them. They have a nice platfrom and they are easy to get in and out of. You will never have an unexpected release either which you will have with SPD's or Look.

If you are looking at the Speedplays, put the Crank Brothers Egg Beaters on your list too.

If you do a search on BikeForums for Speedplay and Egg Beater you will find some very useful and informative threads on this subject.

Again, though, the eggbeaters have a very small cleat that can be troublesome to some riders. I always had trouble with hotfoot when I had spd's back in the day. Speedplays have bigger cleats with their roadie pedals. Good stuff.

Originally posted by ImprezaDrvr
Again, though, the eggbeaters have a very small cleat that can be troublesome to some riders.

That is true, but most riders who commented on the Egg Beaters did not have that problem. A stiffer soled shoe should also help.
They are very easy to get in and out of...4 sided, and not one person complained about knee pain due to limited float.

Of course everyone's mileage may vary!

I was looking closely at the Speedplay Frog all along, but went with a cheaper (last year's model) Egg Beater after reading and asking a lot of questions. This will be my first move from cages to clipless, so I have nothing to compare them to.

Now...if it would only stop snowing and raining here, I can give them a good try!

Like I said in one of my posts in this thread, your experience with pedals depends on a lot. If you're hammering out 300 miles a week, you'll have different requirements for a pedal than if you'r cruising 100 or less. I also mentioned that I like the pedals, as I have them on my mountain bike for this year.

Riding style also has a lot to do with what kind of shoe is practical. If you're doing centuries, etc., you probably want a shoe that you can walk in, which will almost completely rule out any pedal system with a large cleat. If you're doing fast training and racing, you'll want something stiffer and you'll more than likely be willing to give up some walking ability. (All of the preceding were opinions based on experience, not the final word on anything.)

I don't have any experience w/Looks, but have used DA SPD-Rs for 2.5 years. I'd steer toward something else. The main gripe people have is difficulty clipping in and out. Once you're in, they're OK, IMO. You're right, they're being phased out, replaced by the SPD-SL. The DA model is getting good reviews, don't know about Ultegra.

Looks are a good, common, standard. A huge base of satisfied users can't be wrong, IMO. And there are many knowledgeable riders who (still!) claim Look is still the best pedal/cleat system out there.

In answer to Impreza Drvr's question - I believe that you are correct, the SPD-R cleat is larger than the original SPD, but I am not sure of the dimensions. It does seem however that Shimano "look" to phase this system out in favour of the SPD SL.(sorry about the pun). :o

The difficulty with clip-out on SPD-R is something I personally have not had too much bother with, but seems to be a wide-spread concern. This is the only clipless system I have used, so perhaps it is just that I had not been used to the different feel of the other pedals. It REALLY helps, as I mentioned before, to keep the cleats and cleat points greased.

Before you go off and buy Speedplay or Egg beater pedals, consider the Shimano "Lance pedals" (DA or Ultegra SPD-SLs)

The 'look'-alike cleat system allows easy walking as well as providing a secure platform for whatever you're going to be doing on the bike. Clipping out is admittedly more difficult than the Speedplays, but clipping in is much simpler...and imo, they'll just feel so much better.

Speedplays are popular in the Tri crowd..Not sure why.

I would stay away from SPD-R's..very few people like them and they will be gone in a few years.

LOOK pedals are pretty much the standard by which many cyclists judge all pedals by. They are relatively light, easy to get into, easy to get out of, they have a generous amount of float if you get the red cleats, and have a wide platform. Bonus, if you care enough, you can get a good set for cheap on Ebay.

The owner of my LBS swears by the Time Impacts, which have tons of adjustment features. If you tend to get knee pain and stuff from cleats that aren't just right, then I recommend these pedals. You can fine tune them to get everything just right.

I have my eye on the new Lance Pedals from Shimano, they are next on my purchasing list.

The Egg Beaters have rave reviews from just about everyone. If you get these, you will probably want shoes with a very stiff sole, if you don't have something like this already. If you are looking for light-weight and easy to get into, these are the winners. You can't beat 4-sided entry.

I think you will be happy with Speedplay, LOOK, Shimano(not SPD-R), Time, or Crank Bros.

I just bought the Time Impact S, and I really am impressed by them! The only problem (which isn't a problem, it's just different) is clicking in take a bit more effort than I'm used to.
The store I bought them from said 95% of all pedals they sell are either Look or Time, and they told me to have a good look at what professionals ride. I've been doing that and it seems a lot of them ride Time pedals with the logos blacked out.
I feel that pedal selection is much like that of a saddle, you have to spend hours on them before you can decide if you like them or not.

Is the bigger surface of a look type pedal/cleat combo more comfortable? better? Are looks easier to get out of?

I think so.

FWIW
I started cliplless with looks and then went to spds, mainly because my mountain bike was spd. I have gone back to looks.
Looks are harder to walk in and the cleats do not last as long if you walk around on them. If you are off of your bike alot a smaller cleat is better.

I prefer looks for the road because- I feel they are more comfortable, greater contct area, less preassure on my feet. I think they are easier to enter and release. They seem to be more efficient, probably aren't but it feels like it. And I don't get off the bike and walk around much.

If you do go with LOOK pedals, hook up some cleat covers to make walking around easier for those long training rides where you don't feel like peeing from the bike. Your cleats will last a lot longer.