8086bruce

The a600's were my first real road pedal and I went the spd route so I could still walk around in the shoes. The A600's are light at 285g and are smooth but i do get hot spots from time to time.

I don't race but do ride 5-6 days a week year round(trainer in the winter).

Should I be looking at the spd-sl's for my type of riding? Or just stick to the spd's?

Thanks

iamtim

For my part, I greatly prefer the SPD-SL type pedals (I ran Ultegra SPD-SLs for years, but currently I'm running Look Keo Classics.) I ran the SPDs for a while, I did not like them at all.

I don't race either and I ride less than you do, but I wholeheartedly recommend SL types.

8086bruce

Thanks! I figured I was on the wrong pedals.

Just to to clarify I do ride a lot but with 4 kids it's 10-16 miles a day with about 4 longer rides a year.

mercator

If you are getting hot spots, perhaps the issue is the shoe?
I use both spd and spd-sl pedals, and while the benefit of the larger platform on the spd-sl is noticeable, I don't have any problems with hotspots using spds and a good shoe.
The SL pedals are much less likely to release by accident.

8086bruce

Shoes seem good and the fit is good. Maybe it's nothing more than that time a year and it's time for some new gear. I just see a lot more guys using sl's and makes me wonder what if anything I'm missing.

jralbert

I've got little to add to what the other posters have said, except to add another voice to the chorus: the larger platform of the SPD-SL design feels more positively engaged, more stable, and in my experience has been no harder to deal with in frequent clip-in-clip-out scenarios than the SPDs - I commute on both, and vastly prefer the SPD-SL. I also found the larger SPD-SL cleat no worse to walk around on than the smaller SPD cleat, and less prone to skating. Go for it!

8086bruce

105c or 6800c be good chooses? I have the dark grey 6700 group on my bike.

MegaTom

The pedal in and of itself will not alleviate your hotspots as much as a stiffer shoe will. You can get very stiff, even road-specifc, shoes that will work with your current SPD pedals. Then you can have a pair for training/fast rides, and one for walking around in, with the same pedals.

chaadster

I currently ride both A600 and Mavic SL Ti (which are a Look 3 bolt type), and I have to say, I don't notice a meaningful difference between the two. Stability, engagement, propensity to release...about the same, and nothing I'd come even close to describing as a performance deficit.

As has been said, get good, stiffly soled shoes, and you'll be just as powerful and efficient on either pedal.

And being honest, I gotta say that I kinda think exposed cleat road shoes/pedals are just about the dumbest bit of kit going. What do they really do, and for whom?

Don't get me wrong, I love my Bont/Mavic combo-- wicked stiff, low stack, and 0º cleats for a very connected feel-- and they're better than my Diadora/A600 combo, but only because of the stiffness of the Bont shoe and smooth bearings of the Mavics. And I'm a big, powerful, aggressive rider, so I'm not talking about putzing around with these things; I'd ride either on any road ride anywhere...well, except on the fast group ride, which is is all the Mavic, since I'm a *****-assed conformist.

8086bruce

Thanks for the info! Maybe I'll just try a diff shoe and see how it goes. If i get a shoe that will work whith spd or spd sl I guess I could always switch pedals down the road.