Road Cycling - Speedplay: X or Zero?

I bought some Xs yesterday and think maybe I should've gotten the Zeros.

Question for ya Zeros... when you adjust the float, do you know what you're setting it to? Or is it just a screw with no feedback when you're turning it? Is there any functional difference between X and 0 other than adjustable float?

TIA!

As you turn the screw on the zero's you can see how much float you are creating. There are really two screws on each pedal, one allows more float for toe in and the other allows heel in.

whoa! Seperate adjustments for toe and heel? I need far far less heel-in... gots me a bad knee and too much heel-in hurts.

Yeah, that's what I like about the Zero's. I like that you can adjust the float both ways, infinitely. That being said. I switched from the X to Zero (actually, I still use the X on one of my bikes). I find that it's a little easier to clip in with with X then Zero. I tightened up the float in the Zero a little for testing and didn't care for it at first. After several months of riding it, I discovered that I really liked the adjustable float on the Zero better than X (total float), but clipping in was still a little harder than the X. So, it's give and take. Knowing what I know now, I would have stuck with the X. Sorry, don't think you wanted to hear that.

EE, thanks for the feedback.

Isn't there something that can be done for clipping in with the zeros? How hard is it to clip in?

Whatcha think about the huge float? Is it hard to clip out? I mean, do you have to torque your heel way out there to exit?

Clipping is not hard most of the time is no look just step down and they click in. Every once in a while I try to step on the pedal when it is turned but not often. On my Zero's I do have to kind of force the shoe to unclip usually by turning my heel in versus out like I was with my Time Impacts. Just took a little getting used to. IMO the pedals are sweet and the adj float is perfect!

Clipping out is easy with both systems, but clipping into the Zero is a little tighter. It's just that the spring is a little tighter on the Zero than the X. Now, I don't want to discourage you 'cuz clipping in and out the X is REALLY easy. So, when I say "harder/tighter" to clip into the Zero, mean it relative to the X. I have not used any other systems, except for SPD, so I don't know how they compare to the other system.

The huge float is why I got Speedplays in the first place. I had SPD and didn't like the restrictive float. Switched to Speedplays and loved the float. I've greased the cleats and it has helped a lot. I think it will get better the more I use it. I think my reservation with the Zero is that I road the X for 2 years and was use to how easy it was to clip in and out of it (I was spoiled). Other than the clipping in issue, the Zero is great system, similar to the X.

thanks y'all!

I just got home from trying the Xs and am returning 'em.

I found clipping in just as easy as anything else and the clipping out was so easy, it was disconcerting. After I got confident that I wasn't going to pop out, I was pleased. However, there's way too much friggin' float for my bad knee. Sure, I may have a crappy stroke, but my whole leg and knee was a wobblin' and scared the crap out of me.

I may try the Zeros.

I'm lucky my local Performance gives me no crap about returning stuff and they shouldn't... each time I do, i wind up buying a pedal that's ~$30 more than the previous.

Regarding the tightness of clipping in with the Zeros... You only have to look at the spring design to see why this is the case. The Zero spring engages around the pedal more than the X springs. While the X cleats use a coat-hanger spring that engages along the intersection of a line against an arc on the front and back of the pedal body, the Zero cleat uses something akin to a C-clip that engages against almost the entirety of the arc on the pedal body. Also, while the X spring is designed so that the lateral engagement "arms" are made to move back and forth to provide retention, the C-clip actually has to deform radially. Personally speaking I prefer the more "positive" engagement of the zero and see it as a feature as opposed to a bug. However, there are two things to keep in mind.


Be mindful of how much you torque down the mounting bolts. You don't want them so snug that you bind the C-clips. Loctite is recommended and I believe the bolts supplied by Speedplay come pre-Loctited.
Keep the cleats lubed. Speedplay recommends White Lightning but almost any dry lube will do.

i got x's and love them! hubby got zero's and he likes his! i don't mind the float.. he was looking ahead to sprints... :)