rishardh

Hoping to get some feedback on you experiences. I ride SPDs on our Tandem cos the sole of MTB shoes have more rubber that Road shoes so my thinking was they will not slip when I plant my foot on the ground when stopping. I want to drop some weight of the tandem by switching to KEOs and have seen pics of many teams with Road shoes so maybe it's not as bad as I think. Should I go for it?

jgg3

I have always had road shoes (30+ years). I have also experienced a few slips on the tandem (2 years), but I find that over time, you just learn how to handle it properly (i.e. don't try to push off with the shoe), and it really isn't a big deal as some seem to make out.

I use Look ARC, am thinking of Keo as well, just choking at having to buy two sets (so I can use the same shoes on two bikes).

MB1

I can't imagine that pedal and shoe weight will ever make a performance difference on a tandem. Still, if you want to shave off some weight try the titanium crank brothers pedals.

Look Keo Carbon 230g @$239

Crank Bros 4ti// 167g @$450

Either way that is a chunk o' change on a tandem.

Aemmer

It's easier to ride the road bikes with Mtn bike shoes than ride the Mtn bike with road shoes. I would prefer one pair of nice shoes than 2 pair of ok shoes. Switched to Mtn bike pedals back in 1990 on all my bikes when the Shimano SPD 737 came out and never looked back. Think I still have a few pair of 80's vintage Look pedals in the garage that haven't been used since.

Camilo

How much weight do you think you'll save?

sch

Pilot on my tandem used Keos for awhile as he had Look on his Scott singleton and
liked them. After 6mo of fiddly-faddle with clipin hassle at start off he gave up and
went to double sided SPDs. I much prefer ATB shoes for the walking comfort.
With 3 pairs of Speedplay X2 on various singletons, Frog on the bent it took awhile
to get around to trying eggbeaters. They feel good and clip in easily but clip out
is a bit stiff at times.
It didn't enhance the Keo experience to have a chunk of plastic fall off the all plastic
cleat on one ride about 15mi out (cleats had ~1400 miles on them). Couldn't clip in at all.
FWIW the Keo has a slightly different and INCOMPATIBLE cleat from the other Looks,
something my pilot did not know until he tried the Scott shoes on the tandem one day. Would not clip in.
Keos take red cleat, others take black cleat.

rishardh

Thanks for your input. Sorry guys, I should have given more details. Our starter tandem a Burley Zydeco were fitted with two sets of Nashbar SPD/Platform Hybrids which are 550g a set. We upgraded to a Burley Rivazza and was thinking of the KEO Easy model to keep it light. Looks like you can get them for around $70 and it's listed as 230g a set. As per my calculation the net difference is around 600g, 1.4lbs I think.

We use KEO Classics on our singles so we got the shoes and know the kick and clip drill. Do not know anyone using the KEO Easy model though. Have to look into it. As pointed another option are the Egg Beaters but they seem to be pricey and by the looks of it too much float for road use.

cornucopia72

For many years we used road shoes and every once in a while I will slip when I needed to have a firm plant. Switched to Speedplay frogs and love them.

jgg3

Actually, both original "ARC" and KEO cleats have multiple colors, indicating how much float they have. Black is fixed, red is 8 degrees (I think) and gray (Keo only) is 4 degrees. But it is true that the cleats are not compatible; this is very clear on most web sites and catalogs I have seen.

72andsunny

I use (classic) Look pedals/cleats. I don't have any problem with slipping, though I usually put down both feet when stopping...I may have started doing this because I was slipping; I can't really remember as I started using clipless pedals (the Looks) and riding the tandem at acout the same time. Walking in Look cleats is not easy, though with Kool Kovers, it's not that bad...and replacing Kool Kovers every couple of years is cheaper than replacing cleats every few months.

As far as weight, you can do much, much better with other pedals (such as Speedplay). Most people who choose to use Looks do it for the larger platform size...

bikeriderdave

Think about how you ride your tandem. In my experience, the issue is not slipping on starts and stops, but traction (and shoe wear) when you stop and walk around. If you do stop to smell the roses every once in a while, you might want to investigate "walkable road shoes." I use road pedals/shoes on the light, "sport" tandem that I ride with my wife, but MTB pedals and shoes on the tandem that I ride with my nine-year-old, and on our triple. You can get reasonably light and inexpensive pedals that are compatible with MTB shoes; for example, the Shimano PD-A520, which are available through Amazon for less than $60.

Xanti Andia

We stick to SPDs because our bike riding is often combined with some walking, in and out of a store, on the rugby pitch when we go to our son's games, at friend's houses or whererver our tandem took us. We use the tandem for transport almost as much as for sport riding.

uspspro

Keo/look cleats wear out pretty quickly. Using cleat covers makes for easier walking and less wear on the cleats.

FWIW, I commute in my road Sidi shoes with Look Keos everyday. I use cleat covers. I also have a system for saving money on cleats.

I use my right foot as my support (down) foot at stop lights/signs, etc... So it gets worn out way faster.

When I switch the cleats out, I throw out the right cleat and save the left cleat. The second time around (when the right cleat is fried) I swap in the left cleat from before. Now I have a half-worn set of cleats. The third time, I throw out both cleats and start the process a new. Basically, I end up buying buying two sets of cleats, for every three sets one would use without saving the half-worn left cleat.

No way a right side cleat would last me 1400 miles.

rishardh

After reading your input I decided to stay with our SPD shoes. The roads around here are concrete and they are shaven/grinded smooth by cars rolling over them and can be slippery. The last thing I want is to drop my stoker. I also decided not to put on the 550g per set Nashbar pedals. Instead I found the Forte Pro Road pedals that are SPD at Performance which they claim to be 260g per set. Price is not bad either. Thanks for all your advise.