TIME Xpresso pedals...maybe not meant for Clydes
 

Just a cautionary tale for y'all:

A few months ago I upgraded my old SPD shoes and pedals and got a set of TIME Xpresso 4 pedals for my road bike. I went with them because:

• their design was pretty cool and unique -- they use a carbon spring that doesn't require maintenance and is supposedly more durable than a typical metal spring
• they were cool looking and different from the usual SPD-SL pedals
• they were on sale ($72 from Competitive Cyclist)

I put a bit over 300mi on them, with no issues. I enjoyed how easy they were to clip into given their spring design. Then...it happened. Less than 20mi into my first Metric, the "durable" carbon spring snapped in half, leaving me with basically the world's smallest toe-clip to ride the remaining 45 miles with. At one point I tried to get the mech support guy at one rest stop to rig it so I'd be permanently clipped in for the rest of the ride, which resulted in me falling immediately. I rode the rest of the way with a broken pedal.

Long story short, unless you clip in very precisely, that is, don't put much weight on the back of the pedal when you clip in, don't get these. Maybe down the line when I'm more exact with my clipping in, they would last longer, but due to their design all of your weight does torque the carbon leaf spring so it's probably not ideal for Clydes/Athenas.

Also, the design/material of their cleats makes them wear really fast. The three "wear pads" that you walk/stand on were totally trashed on mine, and I didn't walk in them very much -- so mostly from putting my feet down when stopped.

Gotta love CompetitiveCyclist for accepting my return from the ruined pedals. For now I'm using the bottom-of-the-barrel Shimano SPD-SL pedals. Which are working fine...I guess ;)

Cheers!

So do you have a recommendation for bomb-proof pedals for us big folk that will be clipping in for the first time soon?

Obviously not the TIME Expresso...

Good on Competitive Cyclist for handling the return properly, though. Seems like a solid company.

Well, I started with a friend's Wellgo SPD road pedals, which I used for my first 3-4 months of serious Road riding, along with Shimano M087 shoes (2-hole, MTB shoes). I'm pretty sure the SPD design itself is bombproof, but I wouldn't recommend it -- it's such a tiny contact area that clipping in is not the nicest experience.

I think the typical SPD-SL Shimano or LOOK pedals will be what I stick with, now that I have 3-hole road shoes, but I hope some others will chime in on their experiences...

I love SPD-SL stuff ... I think my current pedals on my roadie are Ultegra SPD-SLs ...

on my Cross bike I have Crank Brothers Eggbeaters.

I prefer the SPD-SLs

I rock shimano 105 pedals in my roadies. Great platform and cleats last allot longer then looks I was using before I made the switch last yr. For the dirt. Love egg beater style. I have mallets on my singlespeed and metal candies in the full suspension.

Do yourself a favor and buy Shimano SPD (not SPD-SL) mountain bike pedals. Yes, even if you're riding a road bike. You'll appreciated the ease with which you can clip into a two-sided pedal, the adjustable release tension, the ability to walk when you're not on the bike and the availability of the SH-56 "multi-release" cleats (should you really have problems adjusting to clipless).

You can find the entry-level PD-520 model for $30-40 and they're pretty bullet-proof despite the low price. Shimano's M-series racing shoes look very similar to their road bike shoes, just with a different sole. The MT-series "mountain touring" shoes look like everyday hiking shoes. Prices for both can be very reasonable, especially if you buy during a sale. I'm also a big fan of Specialized shoes. They tend to fit my feet a bit better than Shimano shoes.

Never realized clipping into a one-sided pedal was that difficult ... hmm.

SPDs give me hot spots. No bueno.

End of this yr or sooner you should see Shimano carbon body 105 pedals on the market. I assume since the molds are paid for they are trickling down all the way to 105 and replacing the current SL. I'm not sure on the guts if it remains the same 105 or older DA bearings.
http://www.bikeradar.com/us/gallery/...ulars-36601/2/


If not the current 105s work well and platform is nice and wide to avoid hot spot you get from riding on SPDs for more then a few hours.
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/sh...HBlZGFsczoxOjE

Buy better shoes. With a stiff sole, the pedal is almost irrelevant. I've ridden a century on Crank Brother Eggbeater pedals, which are essentially just a spindle, using my Specialized BG Comp shoes and my feet were perfectly fine. My soft-soled Shimano MT31 shoes, on the other hand, start to feel a bit tiresome after 60-70 miles.

If you really have to have a larger platform and don't mind a weight penalty, there are SPD pedals with larger platforms. Look at the "All Mountain" SPD pedals like the PD-M530, PD-M785, and PD-M985.

for value and ease of use a MTB shimano SPD is a great way to go...

for hot spots... better shoes or better cleat placement can help HUGELY... I picked up some A520's recently for the extra support they give for the somewhat flexyer SPD sandals i've been using...

as for single or double sided pedals... having started and spent almost 2 decades on two sided SPD it was a little akward getting used to the single sided pedals... I never had to think about clipping in before but now I need to make sure my foot is hitting the pedal on the correct side... not a real issue on the road but I can't imagine trying to use them on the trail where clipping in and out isn't so infrequent lol

I rock A520's on my road bike as well, with the sh56 SPD cleats. I'm very sensitive to "hot spots" and found it more a function of the sole stiffness than anything (soft shoes on egg beaters, for example, generated hot spots quickly). No hot spot issues with the platform-backed SPD's, no matter what shoes I wear.

I am am going to go with Speedplays, though, because I really prefer not to have my feet "locked-in" on the road bike after a couple dozen miles. My commuter will stay with the SPD's...

+1.

I've had single sided SPD road pedals for years! (Shimano A525 with a SH51 cleat, currently trying to donate them in the Pay it forward thread in the marketplace, with shoes), and loved them. Very easy to get used to clipping in, you just need to learn the movement to push your foot in on the weighted pedal the right way instead of just trying to slam your foot down like people do with the double sided SPDs.

I've found that they've held up well and never had problems with them, but my max weight while using them has been ~250.

I did like being able to easily walk in the shoes, but I've moved to some Looks for my new road bike to try something different.

As for the cleat, I don't think I've ever used the multi-release cleat, but from the description between the 56 and the 51, I think I'm glad I had the 51 on both my road and mountain shoes for the types of riding I was doing.

If you have hot spots the shoe fit and composition should be the culprit, not the pedal.....

Have you tried two-sided pedals? I've used both single-sided (Look) and dual-sided (SPD) pedals extensively. My opinion is that dual-sided pedals make clipping in easier, especially for clipless newbies. In fact, they're one of my secret weapons when I ride with my more competitive roadie friends: when sprinting away from a stop sign I can usually gain a a bike length or two just due to being clipped in a bit quicker ;)

YMMV, but I also find that missing a clip in carries less penalty with an SPD-style pedal than the single-sided road pedals I've used. The SPD pedals I've used are all relatively flat and can be pedaled pretty effectively even if you're not clipped in. With the road pedals I've used, admittedly several generations behind the current crop, your foot is much more likely to slip off the pedal or spin it into some weird orientation if you miss the initial clip. Then you're stuck pedaling with one leg or looking down to figure out how to get clipped in. With two-sided SPD pedals, I almost never have to look down at the pedal to get clipped in.

In any event, the ease of getting clipped is only one factor to consider. I've thought about trying newer SPD-SL or Look road pedals but they just don't seem to have any advantages, other than weight, over the SPD pedals I'm currently using. In particular, I like the fact that I can walk around easily in SPD-compatible shoes, without having to worry about twisting my ankle or destroying the cleats.

I had the same problem with SPD's and I use very high end Carnac, Northwave and Time shoes. SPD's are the only pedals I have gotten hot spots with. I've never had that problem with wider platform pedals like Time and Simano DA. I've heard the argument that the plat form size doesn't matter but for some of us at least, it appears to.

I use Look Keo pedals, same basic design that Look has used since 1986. There is a 200 lbs weight limit on the pedal and I am far above that.

The new Look Keo Blade pedal in chromoly spindle has no weight limit, though. Good for us. Most pedals do, in fact, have a weight limit if you check.

Easy to clip in and out. This is a road shoe, though. If you're looking to get something to run down the shops and trod around in, get something else. Otherwise, it's a great pedal and very strong.

http://www.artscyclery.com/Look_Keo_...-LKBLADEC.html

I dunno. Same shoes, same general pedal location, the TIMEs feel comfortable and no hot spots, LOOKs give me a spot right under the ball of my foot when I had the in service.

HMMM! weird...can you move the cleat any?

Can't really speak to the TIME road pedals myself, but a friend snapped one off at the spindle. He was no clyde. I however, have been riding Time mountain bike pedals for 7 yrs and the Time ROC ATAC pedals for the last 5 years on my road bikes and they have worked flawless and I have been a clyde the entire time.

lol I was riding out on the trail once behind a guy who was prob just under clyde status, nice and flat/smooth section, he put some power to the ground for a switch back and SNAP... I was riding right behind him so it was interesting to watch... pedal stayed attached to his shoe (egg beaters BTW)... sucked for him as it was 5 min into the ride and ended his day :-/

What are "hot spots"?

the area on the foot literally feels hot... typically on the ball of the foot above where the cleat/pedal is placed... good indication that your shoes are to flexy and/or you don't have the cleat placed properly

Thanks. Does this only happen with clip-in pedals?