Road Cycling - Which clipless style do you use?

I've never used clipless, but want to try them on the next bike I buy. Which ones (Shimano SPD, Look, etc. . . ) do you use and why? I'd like to hear most from people who have tried different ones for a length of time and can tell me why the now stick with their preferred type.

Thanks for the input.

I've never used clipless, but want to try them on the next bike I buy. Which ones (Shimano SPD, Look, etc. . . ) do you use and why? I'd like to hear most from people who have tried different ones for a length of time and can tell me why the now stick with their preferred type.

Thanks for the input.

I use the new Shimano Dura Ace pedals and cleats. They are big enough where I don't develop a hot spot unless I ride for more than 35 miles, and then only minor ones. It is all in getting used to them, I believe. All are good, but, for me, the bigger the platform, the better. Plus, I am too heavy for Speedplays and also, I think, Egg beaters.

I started with Shimano SPD-515's.. an they were a good entry level pedal... double sided, easy to clip in and out of... the only downside for me was that they needed a bit more float, and were kinda giving me knee problems...

I then switched to Speedplays around Christmastime... I dig them a whole lot better... my knees float around better... they are easy to clip in and out of (once you get the hang of the release point.. which is a bit different from the SPD's)

i've heard Looks are decent... but the cleats wear out faster, since they are plastic

jeff

On the road I ride an old-style pedal - Dura-Ace PD-7401 "Look" pedals. Cleat wear isn't much of an issue for me and the replacement cost is cheap anyway.

I personally have never come to terms with float so that limits my pedal options but I don't care... I like the stability of the large Look cleat.

Enjoy my Look 396s. Large platform and I find them easy to clip in and out of.

I recently upgraded from SPD's to the Shimano SL ("look lookalike" heh heh). I like them quite a bit. The SPD was good when I as just getting started but I was starting to notice that they weren't particularly comfortable on long rides. Now that I have upgraded I also notice a big difference in stability - I'm much more comfortable standing up and in fact it feels a lot more natural to come out of the seat when I want to speed up or climb.

I have the Shimano Dura Ace Pedals. They are great nice large surface makes for a much better energy transfer.

SPD SLs, I like them quite a bit. I have the regular SPDs on my commuter and they are great...for under 30 miles. They both have issues. SLs of course suck when you are off the bike stomping around in what is nearly comparable to walking in an ice skate... SPDs are great off the bike, just like a normal shoe with minor 'clicking', but their small footprint on the shoe can make them hard to get out of the binding if very tight and they have a tendency to loosen and thereby twist in the shoe which means you can't get out of the binding :( . You have to be diligent in your cleat care IMHO with SPDs. SLs, put em on and forget em. :)

"You have to be diligent in your cleat care IMHO with SPDs. SLs, put em on and forget em."

What kind of cleat care do SPD's require? I have been using them for about a year and feel comfortable with them now. I have not done any care (other than stomp around to get the mud out once).
I have thew cleats on some Specialized shoes which seem to be shreading fabric, but I think that is more the nature of cheap shoes than anything else.

BTW: What is "float"? I have read about it, but I don't know what it means.

Thanks

look.

at about $12 for a pair of cleats, i can afford to replace cleats. cleat care is not something that keeps me awake at night.

Float is the ability to pivot your foot towards the left or right. It compensates for the inability of your knees to track in a perfect vertical plane. SPDs have 4 degrees of float, Looks have 9, Speedplays have 15 or more depending on the model. Depending on the condition of your knees, you may need more float. I have Look pedals on my road bike and SPDs on my MTB and on the Spinning bikes I teach on. I have never noticed a difference in comfort, but I do prefer the larger platform of the Look on long rides.

Good thread. I've always had Look pedals and have not had any complaints. A friend was recently complaining of "hot spots" during our long ride and it was a mystery to me.

Maybe it's his pedal type? Thanks Trek rider!

I bought, and still use, the $15 pair of MTB pedals Nashbar sells. I figured that was a good entry price. I've used them on an MS 150 w/ no problems and I really enjoy them. When they wear out, I might upgrade, but I've seriously considered sticking with them. You might look into this as a good intro option, then if you ever upgrade, you have a pair of MTB clipless pedals for the trails :)

The small physical size of SPDs combined with the more flexible soles of lower end shoes can cause hot spots as the shoe flexes around the pedal surface. CF and fiber reinforced soles have very little, if any, flexibility, and provide a larger area supporting your foot. In essence, the entire sole of the shoe becomes the platform.

What kind of cleat care do SPD's require?

By upkeep, I meant, going over the cleats once a week, mainly to ensure they have stayed tight. Due to the compresability of mtb shoe soles and the torque applied to the cleat due to the small screw pattern, my experience is they either come loose or twist slightly in the shoe in a rather short period of time. With the small float, any twist can cause knee soreness and/or unclipping issues.

I use Speedplay Frogs because I have bad knees and need the float. A big drawback, however, is that the cleats and pedals aren't compatible with anything else. If I want to ride clipless on my beater single speed, I've got to swap the pedals with my other bike or spend more on pedals than the rest of the bike is worth for an extra set. SPDs are great if you have multiple bikes. You can get cheap ones for your beater, and better ones for your road and MTB rides and one pair of shoes will fit them all.

That said, I'll still use my Frogs because the float is that important to me.

I really surprised how many are using Dura Ace SDP-SL's. I just switched to them this year from SPD-515's. Maybe it's more to do with the shoes, but I never had hot spots to speak of with the SPD's. I needed clipless pedals for my mtb and thought I'd put my SPD's on it and treat myself to new shoes and pedals on the road bike. Also hoped for more float than the SPD's had. While I didn't need much float, I was surpised by how little diff in float the SL's had over the SPD's. Oh, well, I still like the SL's and will be keeping them.

I just use Eggbeaters on all my bikes.

look 396s. got them ridiculously cheap, and they work just fine. not the lightest, of course, but why bother with ultralight pedals on a 20 pound bike? i might go with the new shimanos on my new bike just to be like lance.

Speedplay X-3's. My knees love them, and they got rid of my hot spots. Very easy to clip into and out of. They are a pain to walk around in though.

I'm a 300lbs Rhino-rider with a Trek Navigator 500, went with Shimano SH-M071 shoe on a SPD-M540 pedal. I love standing up on my pedals, and those speedplay looked like they'd snap under my weight.

I have the small little spd pedals that come standard on most mid level bikes... Just did 50 miles today... no problems... On longer rides, my feet start to hurt a little bit, but I like being able to walk in my shoes, and it hasn't been bad enough to make me switch yet... When I do, I'll probably go to speedplays...

Speedplay X/3 pedals.

I'm a 300lbs Rhino-rider with a Trek Navigator 500, went with Shimano SH-M071 shoe on a SPD-M540 pedal. I love standing up on my pedals, and those speedplay looked like they'd snap under my weight.

They won't.

I'm still using the old Tioga Clipman pedals (I have two sets of them). I only use clipless pedals when I go on "performance" road rides, which is not very often. I guess I should get more modern ones but for me it's probably not worth the expense.

I use Speedplays. I'm 5'3.5", 118lbs and just started riding last summer. I bought Looks at first and fell about 7 freagin times. LOL I finally took them back to the bike shop and they replaced them with the Speedplays. I've not fallen since and find it very easy to get in and out of these.

I did research on the Looks and found that if you're shorter, there's a leverage problem for some and trouble getting out of them. I don't know if this is true for all -- but a lot of women on some of the women's cycling forums seemed to have had the same problem with Looks.

I wanted to stay with the Looks because, being new, I liked the security of a larger platform. However, I love my Speedplays now and don't even think about that sort of stuff any more. :)

SPD's. That way I can wear my sandals!
Hockey

I use eggbeaters and they are awesome, so easy to get into, I can clip in realy quickly and pleanty of float, take a look at them

http://www.bikehash.freeservers.com/eggs.html

I use Looks on my "good" bike and have just switched to eggbeaters for my commuter. I used to have the $30 Nashbar mountain bike spds (actually Wellgo, with Nashbar's name on it) on the commuter and they wore out after about a season of heavy commuting. The eggbeaters are nice, just as easy to get into as the spd's, but a whole lot easier (and consistent) to get out of. The Looks are great, solid road bike pedals and I like them a lot. Both pedals (Looks and Eggbeaters) feel like they are good enough quality to last the life of the bike.

Look with red cleat. Works for me just fine.

I have M535 (SPD) on my commuter.
I've had Look 337 on my road bike for the last 3 years. Changed to Speedplay Zero a month ago. Still trying to decide if I like Look or Speedplay better. :rolleyes:

Look 296's on the fixied, just put Look CX-6 ti pedals on the roadie. Love 'em. Eggbeaters on the MTB and SS.

Time ATAC. Love em!

I've tried speedplay and SPD's, and ended up with the Look platform. For me it provides better stability and comfort no matter how long the ride.

I have Time ATACs on my MTB and Speedplay Zeros on my RB. I really like the adjustable float on the Zeros along with the double-sidedness. I'm thinking of moving up to the new ATAC XS on my MTB since they too have adjustable float. However, I've also been eyeing the new Atomab Quikstep pedal which is a clipless pedal with a platform that's supposed to allow for real dual-use (with and without cleats) while still maintaining dual-sided bindings.

Speedplay X2's. Much easier on my knees than Look. Plus getting out of them is effortless.

I'd love dual use pedals as sometimes I'm just not in the mood to clip in to pedals. I can't describe it -- but, I just feel more relaxed at times and don't want to use the things, but don't want to switch out the pedals on my bike either.

Since I have SPD pedals on my mountain bike, I figured they would go good on my road bike also. They do alright, but once I get into riding more I will get the SPD-SL or something I can walk in better. The standard SPD clip goes good in my mountain bike shoe all tucked up in the cleats, but on the slick bottom of my road shoes they suck to walk in.

Have LOOK 247 on both road bikes I own and love them, used to have Shimano SPDs and didn't like them much, the Looks are much easier to get in and out and adjust the float (with red cleats).

I use the Speedplay X2, and love them, I had Look p396, but the float wasn't enough, and my knees suffered.

My Specialized Expedition Touring bike came with SPD platform type pedals which can be ridden on the back side with regular shoes. Shortly afterwards I found a new pair of Carnac mountain bike shoes with SPD cleats at our local Good Will. They work well for me & I have since added a pair of Lotto shoes & my Bianchi Trofeo with SPD Tourmalet pedals. Don

At the risk of being flamed: There is a possible downside to Speedplay and other wide float pedals. I have witnessed two stopping falls with riders using the X series. The problem was that the rider got over-balanced to the still clipped foot. As they fell both riders tried to unclip. If they had been in a cleat with 4 - 6 degrees, I think both would have unclipped in time. However, with the large rotation required of the SPs they didn't make it. If you have knee problems Speedplays et al may well be justified. If however you don't, be aware of the other side of float.

I personally use 4 degree SPDs and have no problems. To some extent, I think exaggerated float is a marketing tool that differentiates the maker’s product from others. I doubt that there are many riders who utilize even 10 degrees. I only ride with one gentleman that occasionally rotates his right heal outboard to help his knee. Even then, he only uses a slight change.

Do any of you use high levels of heal rotation? If so, for what reason? Just curious.

"Look" alikes... Wellgo R3. Nice and stable, at $70 Cdn.

does speedplay make any pedals that are tough enough for bmx? can speedplay cleats be used with any tennishsoes? which ones?

what should i look for if i want tough pedals with some float (i've had tendonitis problems in the past) that are tennis shoe compatable? cheap is good too. i'd also like the pedals to be able to double as platforms.

I doubt that there are many riders who utilize even 10 degrees. I only ride with one gentleman that occasionally rotates his right heal outboard to help his knee. Even then, he only uses a slight change.

Do any of you use high levels of heal rotation? If so, for what reason? Just curious.

I also felt that the amount of free float in the X pedals were excessive for me which is why I went with the Zeros. I have mine set for 4 degrees inboard and 6 degrees outboard. I guess some may view this as a lot of float but coming from a MTB background, I also tend to use some bike english when I'm riding... even on the road... to avoid obstacles. And this amount of float helps. However, even with the high amount of float on my old Frogs, I never had a problem with not getting enough heel rotation to unclip.

I use Frogs on my two road bikes, I like them 'cause I can walk.
Corsaire

Speedplay X/2. Have only had them a few months, but I'm pleased. I don't find any extra effort to clip out vs. SPD. The only problem I've had was when I didn't have the cleat tightened enough to my shoe so it just stayed clipped, but my shoe was moving around, then the whole cleat came off my shoe when I yanked it out! That's my own fault though. I've got them tightened up good now and they work great.

Speedplay X3. Easy to use, and I like the float.

I've never used clipless, but want to try them on the next bike I buy. Which ones (Shimano SPD, Look, etc. . . ) do you use and why? I'd like to hear most from people who have tried different ones for a length of time and can tell me why the now stick with their preferred type.

Thanks for the input.
Might as well throw my 2 cents worth, since I don't see anybody else mentioning TIME IMPACTs. That's what I?m using on both my Trek 5600 and my CINELLI. They are easy to get into and out of. They don't wear out very quickly since when one walks on them, one isn't actually putting pressure on the cleats (or whatever they are called). The sidewards rotation is adjustable and the release pressure is adjustable. They are light and the shoe sits low over the pedal. If I go shopping with tennis shoes, the platform of the pedals are flat enough that I have relative little problem pedaling, though, naturally, pedaling with the proper shoes is much more enjoyable.

c.j.monty

Speedplay X2's for both road and commuter bikes. Love 'em! For my commuter I'm getting a set of platforms for when I ride it around the 'hood and don't want to wear my road shoes with cleats. http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.merchandise_large_image&name=Street%20Shoe%20Platforms&image=platformbig.jpg