Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - What pedals do you use?

I am 6', 270 pounds, and am training for a century ride around Lake Tahoe with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. I need new clipless pedals. I like the Spedplay because of the generous knee float, but have been warned away because of their small size.

The word on the street is that big guys need bigger pedals, especially for hill climbing.

Is this true? Sounds a bit like hogwash to me, but I thought I would check the collective on this.

Thanks,

Brian

I'd say hogwash. The main thing about pedals is that some could cause "hotspots", pressure points on certain parts of your foot where there is more pressure from a cleat or something, but that basically will not affect you as long as you have decent cycling shoes.

I use Bebops myself and find them to be great and have absolutely no hot spots, and Bebops are smaller than Speedplays. I am sure Speedplays will do just as well, for any size Clyde.

I'm close to your size and I say hogwash. I use normal ol' SPDs.

(ps. Go Team! - I'm going for Solvang in, d'oh, 3 weeks.)

I'm heavier and use Look pp206 (Delta cleat) and Wellgo's knockoff SPDs. Stay away from lightweight titanium axles and you should be OK.

I use Speedplay X2 pedals. I love them. The float is just what my knees want, and after a short time to get used to them, I find my feet settle in to a position that's comfortable. The pedals may be small, but the cleat on the shoe provides a good size platform.

Speedplay Zero's on the roadbike and SPD's on the rest. A good shoe is the proper platform for any size rider.

I did the ride around Lk Tahoe with Team in Training. Great ride!
I'm 6'1" and 225. I've been using Speedplays for the last 2 years. No problems, except they get choked up real easy if you walk through the grass or step in mud. Then, it's difficult to impossible to clip in. Got to put those caps on whenever you walk around in them.
Strength-wise, I haven't had any problems. The platform is big enough and I haven't really had a significant issue with "hot-foot" since I switched away from my Shimano mountain pedals.

I'd also say "hogwash". I'm your size and when I started riding again (after three decades off), I used a set of Crankbrothers Candy C pedals & Shimano mountain bike shoes. While I completed a century with them, I did find I developed a few hot spots. So I swapped them out in favor of Look pedals and Specialized road shoes. No problems since.

...I need new clipless pedals...

Hi Brian!

I must differ... You may want new clipless pedals, but unless you're climbing or racing, you don't need clipless at all, IMHO. I've ridden half-centuries on platform pedals (admittedly on flat terrain) and LOVED them!

If your feet and legs are straight, AND you like being clipped to the pedals, clipless is fine. I, however, am bow-legged and my feet normally point outward at the toes. Although there are some clipless pedals that will accommodate my foot, ankle, leg, and knee geometry, those models are few and far between.

I also believe that there is a safety advantage in being able to IMMEDIATELY disengage with the bike without the delay of having to unclip. Some may disagree, but my experience is what it is on this issue.

Finally, if you MUST be attached to the pedals for some reason, I agree with the majority that clipless pedals are a better and safer solution than toe-clips & straps. I've tried both, and for me, I'll never again ride anything but a platform pedal. I favor platforms from the MTB world that have little spikes on the pedal to anchor the bottom of my tennis shoe.

Keep in mind that my opinion is in the minority on the issue of pedals, so don't take my words as either insistent or authoratitive. I only offer the fruits of my own experience. :)

I am 5' 10", 260#, and I use the Speedplay Zeros. I have never had any issues with them. I also highly recommend Sidi Genius 5 shoes - though expensive as heck, worth every penny for my wide feet Nashbar had all their shoes 20% off this week (through 2/18)

FarHorizon makes a point. If I'm just riding around town I just use my platform pedals - so much easier. I do put on my Eggbeaters if I'm doing longer rides - I do like them.

Another vote for SPD's on my Road and MB Bike and work Commuter Bike. Same pair of MB style shoes used with no hot spot issues. I did go with a thinner high tech fabric sock for the summer rides and they helped allot.

I'd also say "hogwash". I'm your size and when I started riding again (after three decades off), I used a set of Crankbrothers Candy C pedals & Shimano mountain bike shoes. While I completed a century with them, I did find I developed a few hot spots. So I swapped them out in favor of Look pedals and Specialized road shoes. No problems since.

I've used the regular Eggbeaters (no pedal) for years with no hot spots...

I'm not sure of the brand, but I replaced the stock pedals with platform pedals that have metal cleats sticking out. No more slippage.

I have used SPDs and now SDP-SLs. It's a matter of personal preference that has little to do with weight - with one exception. Avoid titanium spindles. They are generally not meant for heavier riders.

i use eggbeaters.

no hot spots or any other problems so far...i'm using the mountain cleats. if i ever do get discomfort crank brothers offers road cleats which distribute weight in a wider area on the sole.

some lightweight pedals have weight restrictions on them, and i wouldn't risk exceeding those, but as long as you're comfortable, there's no reason for you to avoid a smaller pedal.

i noticed you're in Fresno...i grew up there and live 30 miles south in Hanford now :D

I use Eggbeaters and Eggbeater Candies, and never had any problems at all. I think the 'platform' is the shoe. Buy used, and resell them if you find you need more support.

I made some platforms for the Eggbeaters out of a skateboard deck and old cleats that clip into the pedal for around-town riding.

Just make sure the shoes fit, and fit well. Not sure what you mean by "bigger pedals" --I've run Time atac, spds, and Looks and all work fine -- though Look is my preference, I get hot spots with spds...

Most of the "size" of the speedplay pedals are in the cleats as opposed to other pedals where it is in the pedal. You shouldn't have any problems. I like my zero's.

root

I am 5' 10", 260#, and I use the Speedplay Zeros. I have never had any issues with them. I also highly recommend Sidi Genius 5 shoes - though expensive as heck, worth every penny for my wide feet Nashbar had all their shoes 20% off this week (through 2/18)


I'm 6'1" and 280#, and have used that same combination, and liked it a lot. I've also used the Speedplay Frogs, for the recessed cleat. I had some trouble with my toes falling asleep at first. I changed shoes to the Sidi Dominator, and that combination worked well, and I've had no trouble since.

Right now I have Frogs on my bike.

I use Wellgo knockoffs of the LOOK pedal. They are under 50 bucks and have held up to my 250 pounds smashing on them. They also have float if you use the red cleats.

I use eggbeaters, on all my bikes.

I normally use Shimano spd pedals on both bikes. I have platforms with PowerStraps on my MTB right now because I was pulling the kids in the trailor to the beach with it and never got around to swapping them for the old SPDs.

FarHorizon, you might look into the PowerGrips.
http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001344.php

My feelings are the benefit to having your foot attached to your pedal is the improvement in your ability to spin the cranks as opposed to mash the pedals up and down. The benefits of this for knee health are significant. I ride in NYC traffic every day and being clipped has never caused a problem.

I am 6'2", 260 and use SPD's on two road bikes. One has Shimano 524 and the other has Candy C's. Both work fine. The Candy's have a larger contact area for the foot.

My Speedplay X-2's are great. The pedals are small, but the cleats are big enough to give me a real stable platform. Make sure that you have good, stiff soled, properly fitting shoes. I'm really happy with my Specialized Sport road shoes. The Speedplays give my knees the unlimited "free float" that I seem to need, and the pedal/cleat/shoe system works relly well to give me a secure and comfortable ride.
Good luck, and safe rding !!

ok, I am very confused. I use platform pedals now, and clipless are a new thing to me. what are SPDs? is that a design or a model of a brand?

I'm 6'0 and 225 pounds, and would like clipless pedals for about $50-$60, and shoes for $50-$75. any good suggestions? I do not care about component weight...

Okay....I'll give it a try.

SPD stands for Sports Pedal Design and was developed, I believe, by Shimano. According to Sheldon Brown, it was "the first commercially successful 'walkable' clipless shoe/pedal system, using a cleat recessed into the sole of the shoe". As you can see from the other postings, however, people have started to expand the use of the term to refer to non-Shimano brands/designs of clipless shoes & pedals.

I started riding again after 20 years off. When I had been in this sport before my clipless pedals where rat traps and the new fangled clipless pedals were something I knew nothing about. I started with SPD's and they were alright but the lack of float was killing my knees. I then went to Speed Plays and had nothing but problems with them. First they were professionaly installed so that was not the problem. But they were a pain from day one. First the cleats came apart, got a new set and they came apart. Finally I got the cleat problem fixed and then the foot pain started. I have large feet 13 US and good shoes SIDI's. I tried to work through it, but after weeks and weeks it was getting worse. I switched to Looks with the 9 degree of float and fell in love. The problem was plain and simple the Speedplay platform is just small for large feet. All the pressure is on a small surface and the Look spreads it out better. This may not apply to everyone but it did not apply to me.

got in on a good sale at performance bike today on my way to work. got LOOK pedals and shimano shoes. I'm happy. Tired of riding platforms, and have proven to myself that I ride enough to deserve a little more gear--the only things I have bought so far are my trainer, cheap gloves, a polar HR monitor, and an astrale 8. If I reach my goal of 200 pounds (started at 262, lost like 35 already) then I will buy myself a road bike.

I've tried Spd's and found them to be a pain in the foot! I went back to cage pedals and either toeclips and straps, powergrip straps or just plain platforms.....depending on whether its my recumbent or one of my vintage uprights! I ride with my toeclips and straps with the straps on the loose side for easy silent dismount and have never had a crash using them this way. I only pull the strap tighter if I am on a long straight grade and I want to power up a little but its not really neccessary since I get good retention and a high rpm spin, using any of my combo's. I don't like clip in shoes and pedals because: they are too small, I can't ride in walking shoes or winter boots, I get "hot spots" using them, I have crashed three times trying to unclip at some awkward time, they are expensive for both the pedals and the shoes, the cleats sometimes fall off, the cleats go click! clack! on floors, in spite of being recessed, depending on shoe wear, I like my wide, low psi cage pedals since I can use them with any shoe and finally, I don't ride any slower, in spite of some others claims that clip in shoes are the only way to "ride efficiently"!:eek: Bicycles are plenty efficient already and the entire world, probably millions, maybe billions, of cyclists don't ride with anything other than regular shoes that they normally wear and they get around fine. Seriously, we Americans, among some others, look pretty silly to the rest of the world riding around in our funny clip-in shoes and tight lycra clothing.:eek: :eek: :eek:

I've tried Spd's and found them to be a pain in the foot! I went back to cage pedals and either toeclips and straps, powergrip straps or just plain platforms.....depending on whether its my recumbent or one of my vintage uprights! I ride with my toeclips and straps with the straps on the loose side for easy silent dismount and have never had a crash using them this way. I only pull the strap tighter if I am on a long straight grade and I want to power up a little but its not really neccessary since I get good retention and a high rpm spin, using any of my combo's. I don't like clip in shoes and pedals because: they are too small, I can't ride in walking shoes or winter boots, I get "hot spots" using them, I have crashed three times trying to unclip at some awkward time, they are expensive for both the pedals and the shoes, the cleats sometimes fall off, the cleats go click! clack! on floors, in spite of being recessed, depending on shoe wear, I like my wide, low psi cage pedals since I can use them with any shoe and finally, I don't ride any slower, in spite of some others claims that clip in shoes are the only way to "ride efficiently"!:eek: Bicycles are plenty efficient already and the entire world, probably millions, maybe billions, of cyclists don't ride with anything other than regular shoes that they normally wear and they get around fine. Seriously, we Americans, among some others, look pretty silly to the rest of the world riding around in our funny clip-in shoes and tight lycra clothing.:eek: :eek: :eek:
if you were writing a book about things Americans do which make us look silly to the world. That might make it in volume two.

If your feet and legs are straight, AND you like being clipped to the pedals, clipless is fine. I, however, am bow-legged and my feet normally point outward at the toes. Although there are some clipless pedals that will accommodate my foot, ankle, leg, and knee geometry, those models are few and far between.

<snip>

Finally, if you MUST be attached to the pedals for some reason, I agree with the majority that clipless pedals are a better and safer solution than toe-clips & straps. I've tried both, and for me, I'll never again ride anything but a platform pedal. I favor platforms from the MTB world that have little spikes on the pedal to anchor the bottom of my tennis shoe.



Thank you, FH. I had wondered what I was missing out on by not trying clipless. After your review, I'm pretty sure they're not going to be right for me... my left knee replacement took care of the joint problem, but my leg is still bowed from bone disease, and my left foot turns outward at the toes, too. I use toe clips because I don't have the strength to keep my foot on the pedal - my foot keeps sliding off. No problems with my right TKR, though.

Being new to these forums (and relatively new to bicycling), I've never heard the arguement of clipless vs. clips. Why is clipless safer?

Hambone mentioned PowerGrips. Has anyone tried them?

Judy

Thank you, FH. I had wondered what I was missing out on by not trying clipless. After your review, I'm pretty sure they're not going to be right for me... my left knee replacement took care of the joint problem, but my leg is still bowed from bone disease, and my left foot turns outward at the toes, too. I use toe clips because I don't have the strength to keep my foot on the pedal - my foot keeps sliding off. No problems with my right TKR, though.

Being new to these forums (and relatively new to bicycling), I've never heard the arguement of clipless vs. clips. Why is clipless safer?

Hambone mentioned PowerGrips. Has anyone tried them?

Judy

I use them......they are lightweight, easy to slide your foot into and out of and allow decent foot retention plus you can wear most any shoe with them, unless you have them adjusted too tight. One thing, stay away from lugged soles and a tight adjustment for obvious reasons. The fact that powergrips and toe clips and straps (adjusted on the loose side) allow more float than any clip in shoe is a good reason to use them, if you have extemely bowed out knees or some other problem that requires more "knee float" room. Locked in foot retention is not neccessary to ride efficiently, unless you are really racing against other riders using the same equipment. In your case, you might find the toeclips easier to get your feet into, especially if you are comfortable using them, why change? Clip in shoes, like super narrow tires are great for riders/racers with support cars following them but for most riding we do commuting, charity rides, touring, daily workouts etc. a less ridgid shoe is fine, provided you use a pedal that is wide enough to keep the psi low enough, keeping your feet comfortable! Being able to ride in any shoe that the weather requires is a good thing. Sorry, I guess I am ranting a bit........I'm off the podium now!!!!:o ;)

...Being new to these forums (and relatively new to bicycling), I've never heard the arguement of clipless vs. clips. Why is clipless safer?...

Hi Judy!

Don't let me scare you off from clipless pedals. Most cyclists LOVE them and believe that there is an efficiency advantage to be had. I think clipless pedals are safer than toe clips with straps because:

With toe clips and straps, one must tighten the strap to prevent the shoe from slipping too much while pulling up on the "backstroke." Once the straps are tightened, there is no way to quickly disengage the foot from the cinched strap. One must reach down to the foot, trigger the "quick-release" on the strap, and then pull the foot from the pedal. Even then, if wearing shoes with rough soles, the foot may "hang" on the pedal surface and not want to come free. During the time that all this takes, you've either hit what you wanted to avoid or fallen over while trying to get your foot free.

Skilled cyclists can and do ride with toe-clips and straps, but it takes more skill to do so safely.

With clipless pedals and a dedicated shoe, the foot comes off of the pedal with a slight twist of the ankles. This makes disengagement far surer and quicker than with toe-clips and straps.

For me, even the brief time it takes to twist the foot off of the clipless pedal is more than I want to spend. My reflexes (and ability to anticipate an emergency stop) aren't what they once were. Since I live in Louisiana (the land of flat), I'm willing to forego the small extra efficiency of being attached to my pedals in order to immediately free my feet if needed. Since I often ride in traffic, the ability to put my foot down NOW instead of having to unclip and then steady myself is valuable.

As I said, my preference on pedals is in the firm minority. Most riders prefer clipless pedals & dedicated shoes. I respect their choices, but also make my own.

Good luck! :)

if you were writing a book about things Americans do which make us look silly to the world. That might make it in volume two.

OK, Hambone, IMHO, you're being a bit rough on Charles here. I'll allow him some rhetoric license. He's exactly right in saying that the majority of the world's bicyclists ride on platform pedals.

OK, Hambone, IMHO, you're being a bit rough on Charles here. I'll allow him some rhetoric license. He's exactly right in saying that the majority of the world's bicyclists ride on platform pedals.


They don't all wear spandex either, do they??? What's wrong with shorts or regular slacks? Spandex really frightens me.

My LBS just told me today that Look is going to have a manufacturer sponsored sale that if you "trade-in" your pedals your currently ride on, you can get up to $50 off a set of theirs. I've been riding SPD's, but I have been having foot pain and I think it's due to the small surface of the SPD pedal on my wide foot. I went in to ask about road pedals and basically told to wait until March. I figured I can wait a couple of days to get new pedals and save a few bucks.

I am 6', 230# I use Dura-Ace SPD-SL with Sidi shoes and I find them very comfortable to get in and out of and have not suffered hot-spots at all. For 2007, Dura-Ace will have wider pedals and get rid of the stupid plastic piece that wears out. If you go SPD-SL find the PD-7810.

6'3", 250#, just switched to Nashbar Look knockoffs (the titanium for my Klein, the $35 version for my Summit steel bike) from SPDs. I find that the Nashbars have a more solid feel than the SPDs--the larger cleat and platform just feel better to me. The 6 degree float cleats that came with the Nashbars I found problematic, requiring more force to unclip than I was comfortable with, even with the tension adjustment at minimum. Switched to Look zero float cleats--problem solved. Additionally, the Nashbars are much easier to clip into than the SPDs, at least for me. When I got back into cycling almost 3 years ago, I was initially resistant to clipless, having been a long time clip user. My first ride with clipless sold me--my eventual dissatisfaction with the clip-in on SPDs notswithstanding, they were an order of magnitude easier to get into than clips, and for me at least, required no adjustment period. In fact, the only fall I've taken is when I was bike shopping and test rode a Lemond that had clips on it--came to a stop, turned my ankle out and realized a few milliseconds too late that my foot was not leaving the pedal. Luckily the bike and I were both unscathed....

Nashbar has discounted shoes and pedals pretty consistently--add the 10% coupon and you can check out clipless very affordably.

They don't all wear spandex either, do they??? What's wrong with shorts or regular slacks? Spandex really frightens me.

No, the majority of the world's bicyclists don't wear spandex. There is nothing wrong with shorts or regular slacks. If you don't like spandex, don't wear it. For those who do choose to wear spandex, the benefits of a sweat-absorbing pad and no irritating seams in the pressure areas make the choice worthwhile. Each to their own...

5'11" 205# and have been riding SPD-SL's since 225#. I like them and my inexpensive Shimano shoes (072's?), even with some knee issues (left one has locked up, right one has loose stuff running around in it) and plantar fascitis in my right foot (not cycling related). I see no reason to change, and I always hated trying to flip my toe clips into position with a size 12.

OK, Hambone, IMHO, you're being a bit rough on Charles here. I'll allow him some rhetoric license. He's exactly right in saying that the majority of the world's bicyclists ride on platform pedals.I wasn't riding Charles... (no pun intended.)

I was observing that there are sooo many silly things we do.

I like the security of knowing my foot will stay on the pedal while standing and either climbing or sprinting when wearing the clipless pedal/shoe combo.

I use Time ATACs, and have used combination pedals (part SPD, part platform) in the past.

If you have trouble keeping your foot on the pedal, the clipless might actually help quite a lot... get a pedal with a lot of float, and a good size platform (you will miss clipping properly in on the first try quite a bit while you get used to them.)

I recently witnessed a incident on the TV during the coverage of the 2007 Tour of California were a rider in a sprint had his cleat come completely off the pedal, causing him to nearly wreck and wack his junk on the top tube. He managed to stay up but he lost the sprint in the stage, because of it. Now this was a pro rider with supposedly well maintained equipment on a dry road. My point is, clip in shoes/cleats/pedals are not without problems and I don't trust them at all. I have had and seen incidents where they would not release on time or where the shoe came off the pedal or where the cleat actually fell completely off, either due to loose or sheared screws. With toeclips and straps set a little loose and using non lugged soled shoes I get easy release, good retention and am able to spin correctly for good efficency. The wide pedal surface allows me to wear nearly any shoe and I don't get sore feet from the small surface area putting too much psi on my feet from either the cleat or the cleat mount or whatever seems to create that hot spot for me. As far as the pulling up motion, thats overated IMHO! A good high RPM spin and foot retention confidence is what makes for performance not that tiny bit of pulling up. Inertia is forcing the crank arm around anyway. A simple de-weighting of the foot on the upward traveling pedal is all that's neccessary. This effectively amplifies the force on the oppossing leg that is pushing down, forward and the proverbial swipe backwards. I can do this even with loose fitting toecips, providing I use a softer outer sole sport shoe and a toothed cage pedal. I get good shoe grip for swiping back and pushing forward and down is not a problem. The quads and glutes are the power muscles and I don't believe the hamstrings supply much additional power in a high rpm pedal stroke. Sometimes I will consciously pull up to rest my legs on flat ground but find it difficult to maintain this and don't find this slight range of motion in the stroke supplies enough power to climb any hill.
I know many of you won't change from those expensive plastic shoes and tiny clip in pedals and thats o.k. I just think there is room for riding with regular shoes and doing that gives us alot more options than we realize. One being the thought....I can't ride my bike because; my cleated shoes are broke,lost,worn, waiting for new ones to be delivered,or otherwise unavailable. With cage pedals or platforms that is never a problem that keeps us from riding.:eek:

Anyone remember Beta Biker shoes from the late 70's?

My bike page: http://www.myspace.com/eccentriccyclistcharlie

I wasn't riding Charles... (no pun intended.)

I was observing that there are sooo many silly things we do.

No worries here mate! These message boards are just a place to stimulate disscussion and voice opinions. Sometimes we/I don't write well and convey what I mean or it somehow comes across in a way I didn't intend, so I try to take everything with a grain of salt. We're all just communicating the best we can about something we are passionate about and in my case I also use these boards to improve my writing skills.:D

We would all probably enjoy having a beer or going for a ride together. Enjoying learning about what others are using/riding and grooving on a cherished activity.

No worries here mate! These message boards are just a place to stimulate disscussion and voice opinions. Sometimes we/I don't write well and convey what I mean or it somehow comes across in a way I didn't intend, so I try to take everything with a grain of salt. We're all just communicating the best we can about something we are passionate about and in my case I also use these boards to improve my writing skills.:D

We would all probably enjoy having a beer or going for a ride together. Enjoying learning about what others are using/riding and grooving on a cherished activity.Cool. Two more things we agree on...

6ft 230 been riding inexpensive no-name imitation Wellgo SPDs for five seasons. Clipless lets me spin, pull up on hills, and control the bike better. Clips and straps are too small for my size 13s. Since going clipless I've only used flats for my first fixed gear ride; after i got used to fix it it's clipless for me forever, even on rollers.

Wanted Coombes but they went out of business before I bring myself to spend the cash; now I'll probably go for BeBops, even tho lots of very experienced cyclists swear by Shimano SPDs, which are very reasonbly priced.

To each his/her own; your mileage may vary.

6'5" and 230 lbs, and I use Speedplay Frogs on my road bike. I wanted the float, and I wanted a shoe I could walk in, so I opted for the Frog and a MTB shoe from Performance - works great for me!

I'm using Time RXS carbon pedals and the RXS carbon shoes. These have been the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn. When I got done doing a triple last year I had forget I even had shoes on, no hotspots or numb feet.

I have found time atac aliums and sidi dominator 5 to be my set up of choice even with the low float it is very comfy

one way is 13 degree the other is 17 degree all adjusted by mounting the cleat