djnzlab1

HI,
Found a good deal on Nasbar Pedal (Nashbar Ventoux 2 Road Pedal),
anyone use this moded, itson sale for 34.99

CACycling

Can't comment on those but bought 2 pair of the Nashbar Special Road pedals last summer. Planned to put a pair on my wife's road bike (so I could reclaim the M520s she stole off my MTB) and a pair on my road bike. She wasn't thrilled with giving up her (MY) SPDs so I put them on mine first. They do not release well. I can't get out by just kicking my heel out. I have to wiggle my foot and then kick out. I adjusted and lubed but no change. Obviously wouldn't do that to my dear wife so, when I purchased my new road bike, I put the other pair on it. Same thing. Have to do a little wiggle before kicking my heel out. I figure I'll keep them till I wear out the 2 pair of cleats and then pop for some decent pedals.

oldbobcat

These are made by Wellgo, and Nashbar used to sell them under that brand.

I pulled a pair of Wellgos for one of my old bikes out of our discards bin at work and they're working just fine--a bit heavy, and they use the old Delta cleat, but they are smooth and rugged. Unless you're a float fanatic (red cleats) I recommend the black or gray cleats.

stapfam

It must be 8 or 9 years since I fitted my first pair af Shimano M515 pedals. These were the forerunners of M520's and apparantly were no good. Well that rubbish pair of pedals are still on that bike and have never caused any problems. Everypair of pedals I have are Shimano SPD's and none of them have caused me a problem. The same cannot be said for my mates that buy cheaper pedals that have to be changed every couple of years. Shimano M520's are not expensive- but they do last.

BluesDawg

I believe those are Look clone pedals. I've had much better luck with Look clones than with SPD clones. I am using a pair of VP pedals that work with Look Delta cleats and they are working very well so far.

Long deKlein

I've got several thousand miles on both Ventoux 2's and Z11 Ti's and both work great. The Ventouxs are a tad easier to clip in and out of. The cleats that come with them took more effort than I liked to clip out--I run the Look Delta black cleats and I'm a happy camper. Used to use SPD's, which were a revelation after years of toe clips, but feel like mush now. Tried Speedplay Light Actions last year which felt even mushier than SPDs to me, but I'm a no-float kind of guy.

Halfast

I have used the Ventoux 2's for the last 4 years and 20k+ miles on 2 bikes. Just had one set start "clicking", so replaced them with the Z11. As Long said, the Z11s are harder to clip out of, and seem to have less float, though it might be because they are new (less than 200 miles). Also the Z11s are much prettier, polished aluminum instead of painted as the Ventoux are. The Z11s have exposed innards, while the Ventouxs are sealed, so if you ride in wet dirty conditions this may help your decision. The Z11s are only a few $$ more and more attractive, but the Ventouxs are fine.

BluesDawg

Ouch! My knees hurt just from that reminder of the couple of weeks I used the black cleats (no float) before switching to red.

merlin55

You get what you pay for. I tried many pairs of Wellgo pedals, kept returning them after 3000 or 4000 miles with worn and clicking bearings. Now I buy Dura Ace pedals...and they last for years

Long deKlein

My Z11s are the titanium version, which I got for around $50 IIRC(combination of a sale price and a 20% coupon-my inner cheapskate loves that!) just after they were introduced. They were my first set of Look style pedals and they still feel like they did when new. My only complaint is that there's no wrench flats on the axle so you have to use a hex wrench to install/remove them, but that's pretty minor in my book.

My knees track really straight through the pedal stroke, so I find float kind of a distraction. Of course, I'm a mere sprout of 52--I may sing a different tune in a few years. The only time my knees have ever bothered me was when I had my saddle a little too far forward--the perils of doing your own setup. Took me a couple of days to figure it out, but now I know that if the knees hurt, it's too far forward. If the back hurts, it's either a little too high or too far back.

oldbobcat

Hear, hear. My bikes and garage are a plethora of Look Delta clones--Wellgo, Forte, Mavic, and even one token pair of old Looks. They're all a bit heavier than the new Keos but my racing days were over before I switched from toeclips.

I like no-float but your mileage may vary.