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A recent thread on Egg Beaters reminded me that I swore after my first race last year that I would find a new pedal system. I am running SPD's (shimano 520's) on my CX bike currently. I am admittedly brand new to cx racing (but have been on clipless for 12 years) so the trouble I had clipping in may have been due to my inexperience rather than the pedal. It just seemed so full of mud, sand, goose poop, etc.
Is anyone out there racing with SPD's? If not, what pedals do you love?
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Nashbar is selling good eggbeaters (with the blue spindles) for $50. I raced on Time ATACs before switching to eggbeaters, IMO nothing beats eggbeaters for shedding mud. With the Time's, it helped to spray some silicone lubricant on cleats and pedals before a race, but still didn't compare with eggbeaters.
If I were you I'd use eggbeaters for cross season and the SPDs for the rest of the year.
If I were you I'd use eggbeaters for cross season and the SPDs for the rest of the year.
Thanks, is there a benefit to running spds over egg beaters for general purpose riding/commuting?
Thanks, is there a benefit to running spds over egg beaters for general purpose riding/commuting?General consensus is that eggbeaters aren't as sturdy. Sure enough, one of the tongs on one of my eggbeaters has busted off from pedal strike. (Still usable, but only on two of four locations.)
im currently running spds on my cross bike but am going to switch to beaters soon... i'll test it out and tell you what i like. but so far everone says the same thing... beaters are great for entry/exit but quality is crap... others are swearing to the shimano 959s (i think thats the model number) for being sturdier (some even lasting 5+ years)
what makes you want to question what you like about your spds?
the quality of eggbeaters is not crap. there are lots of reasons why you shouldn't scrape your pedals on the tight turns, just don't do it. if you do a broken pedal will be the least of your worries. the stainless version are damn nice pedals.
i run crank bros on all my clipless bikes.
there are lots of reasons why you shouldn't scrape your pedals
that made me chuckle the first time I read it. I don't think anyone intends to bang up their pedals for the money they cost...
ok and fair enough about the quality not being crap... not all of them are from what I read to be more precise. The SL (stainless) up to 2ti models are said to be the best but the SL model is best bang for the buck that I found... but still if you don't have the extra 20$ or so to pop on them go with th C models. Reviews for the Cs and MXRs were generally the same... MXR if you are just doing commuting but don't expect marvels out of them for a few extra bucks pop for the Cs. Cs in reviews was always 'wing popped off, cleat didn't last, spindle broke'. SL review seemed pretty straight forward too... 'a lil expensive but worth it, same components as the Ti model but without Ti wings, no max weight restrictions, great overall sturdy pedal'
what makes you want to question what you like about your spds?
I love the SPDs but for two things
1: There is a slight bit of play between the cleat and the pedal (I can move my shoe without moving the pedal for a small amount). THis does not really affect performance but it makes the setup feel sloppy and inefficient. Also, the sound of the cleat finally smacking into the pedal really bugs me. It shows up mostly on grinding climbs.
2: There seem to be more functional designs for mud/sand/goose poop.
Other than that, I love SPDs and am running them on 4 of my 5 bikes. On the road bike I run SPD-L's and LOVE them.
I was told the play is due to the pedal being adjusted improperly, and was suggested a 50$ charge to fit kit my bike / pedals to my riding style... I figured no thanks trial and error... I re-adjusted my cleats a little more outward, and tightened the pedal.. it appears to have rid me of the play on my spds
my only real issues with the spds is that i have to feel for the pedal, more like i have to remind myself where my cleat is position on my shoe. it doesnt feel natural.
ppl say its practice....
I was told the play is due to the pedal being adjusted improperly, and was suggested a 50$ charge to fit kit my bike / pedals to my riding style... I figured no thanks trial and error... I re-adjusted my cleats a little more outward, and tightened the pedal.. it appears to have rid me of the play on my spds
my only real issues with the spds is that i have to feel for the pedal, more like i have to remind myself where my cleat is position on my shoe. it doesnt feel natural.
ppl say its practice....
Nice to know....I will try that. Thanks!
the quality of eggbeaters is not crap. there are lots of reasons why you shouldn't scrape your pedals on the tight turns, just don't do it. if you do a broken pedal will be the least of your worries. the stainless version are damn nice pedals.
i run crank bros on all my clipless bikes.
+1 (or even +3 since i have 3 bikes with CB pedals)
I always go for the SL models.
i'm anxious to get my beaters in the mail... that's really the only thing i hate bout ebay...
Sawtooth, most clipless pedals have a various degrees of "float", which is the amount of distance you foot can rotate while you are clipped in. This takes stress off of your knee while you are pedaling. Just in case this is what you are referring to when you say your pedals have a lot of 'play,' be careful of trying to get rid of it. Pedals with little float can cause knee problems. In fact, for someone with existing knee problems (like me), it is necessary. I went out and bought the pedals with the most degree of float available. Turns out they were SPDs.
You can get pedals with float in one axis (horizontal [Look, Speedplay]) or two axis (horizontal and vertical [Time]). Float can help prevent side to side rolling motion of the knees during pedaling that can cause knee problems.
I think it depends on how long you are in the saddle on an average trip. For a race, no float is ok. But daily long rides with a rigid leg position (no float) might mess you up after a while.
Sawtooth, most clipless pedals have a various degrees of "float", which is the amount of distance you foot can rotate while you are clipped in. This takes stress off of your knee while you are pedaling. Just in case this is what you are referring to when you say your pedals have a lot of 'play,' be careful of trying to get rid of it. Pedals with little float can cause knee problems. In fact, for someone with existing knee problems (like me), it is necessary. I went out and bought the pedals with the most degree of float available. Turns out they were SPDs.
You can get pedals with float in one axis (horizontal [Look, Speedplay]) or two axis (horizontal and vertical [Time]). Float can help prevent side to side rolling motion of the knees during pedaling that can cause knee problems.
I think it depends on how long you are in the saddle on an average trip. For a race, no float is ok. But daily long rides with a rigid leg position (no float) might mess you up after a while.
Hmmm, interesting. I am familiar with float and am a big fan of it since I have some IT Band issues but had not thought about the vertical plane. The play I am referring to happens in two planes
1) When the crank arm is dead vertical at the top of my pedal stroke, it is possible for me to lift the shoe straight up for maybe .5 mm before my cleat slamms into the pedal constraints.
2) When the crank are is deat horizontal at the 3:00 position, it is possible for me to slide my shoe straight forward for maybe .5 mm until the cleat slamms into the pedal constraints.
Are either of those an example of vertical float? And is this movement normal in SPD's? Maybe I just need to tighten them since I run them pretty loose.
Since I'm far from an expert on this, I looked around a little more about it. Sounds like what I used to call horizontal and vertical float is really called lateral and angular float. Lateral float lets you move the tow of your foot a little bit from left to right, and angular float lets you move your toe up and down. In both cases you are obviously pivoting on the cleat. I don't believe that SPD pedals offer angular float.
I can't see that in either case your foot should ever move up off the pedal. In fact they say the closer the center of your foot is to the pedal, the more efficient it is. Also, you must be losing a little bit of efficiency if your foot is sliding in place .5mm on each forward stroke and backward stroke.
It sounds like you might need to just tighten the cleats? Don't really know, I've exhausted my knowledge on this one.
Since I'm far from an expert on this, I looked around a little more about it. Sounds like what I used to call horizontal and vertical float is really called lateral and angular float. Lateral float lets you move the tow of your foot a little bit from left to right, and angular float lets you move your toe up and down. In both cases you are obviously pivoting on the cleat. I don't believe that SPD pedals offer angular float.
I can't see that in either case your foot should ever move up off the pedal. In fact they say the closer the center of your foot is to the pedal, the more efficient it is. Also, you must be losing a little bit of efficiency if your foot is sliding in place .5mm on each forward stroke and backward stroke.
It sounds like you might need to just tighten the cleats? Don't really know, I've exhausted my knowledge on this one.
Thanks for thinking about this....I will try to tighten them down and report.
the quality of eggbeaters is not crap. there are lots of reasons why you shouldn't scrape your pedals on the tight turns, just don't do it. if you do a broken pedal will be the least of your worries. the stainless version are damn nice pedals.
i run crank bros on all my clipless bikes.Just to make things clear:
- I did not write that the quality of Eggbeaters is "crap".
- If you've never had pedal strike, maybe you just aren't riding hard enough.
I prefer the Time pedals for good mud clearance..
Just to make things clear:
- I did not write that the quality of Eggbeaters is "crap".
actually i was responding to this quote:
beaters are great for entry/exit but quality is crap...
which dzinehaus admitted was hyperbole. it's cool, we all do it.
pedal strike is something that can be avoided entirely with a little experience. watch some pros, none of them do it, and they ride plenty hard. you just have to plan your turns.
Man, I was out racing on the MTB short track course Last Weekend and struck a pedal twice on the same corner on two different bikes....one with EB's and one with SPDs. You would think I would learn. The dirt was real soft so it had almost no impact other than a surge of addrenaline.
I've been racing with spd's for years. I think it's all a matter of what you are used to. I never have an entry problem any more with them and I set them up loose for lots of wiggle and float. I've seen eggbeaters explode though I have yet to trash my spd's.
I use Time ATAC alium pedals. I like them a lot for road... I'm going to use them for cross this year. I used flat pedals last year.
the verdict is out, I really like the egg beaters, just got/installed/tried them today. unbelievable ride... no brainer clipping in, a little harder to step out of because its almost 100% chance that if your foot is out of the clip but floating over the pedal it just might clip back in...
all in all... damn nice pedal and the spd's are being kept as spare just in case.
RE: dirtyphotons quoting my post...
I mentioned that (from speculation/reviews) the entry/exit of eggbeaters is great but the quality of the eggbeaters is crap. Again thats from what I read. I just got mine in the mail today and I love them. 47$ shipping included as opposed to 90-110$ out here for the chrome model. Needless to say I'm gonna be keeping an update on the quality of these pedals.
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