So after resurrecting my old Torpado and updating it with Campy 10 speed Ergos, I thought it's only natural to update my 1st generation Look pedals. I tried Campy Pro-Fit Records but they were too light to self align and were quite difficult to get into. So I tried Pro-Fit Centaurs which were heavier so they self aligned, meaning the rear part of the pedal drops down allowing a known starting point where you can just engage the toe and then step into the engagement. These worked much better but still were a little tricky if the pedal spun and then my foot would slip off the bottom side. This would lead to having to look down to get the right alignment before I could engage. And one fine day, this led me to looking down and when finally engaging the pedal, I look up to see I'm going straight for the curb. So over I go, into the bushes thankfully and not hitting anything too solid and unyielding, I manage to come up out of the bushes only with a few scrapes, a sore elbow and covered in black sticky car exhaust/brake dust residue from the busy Santa Monica Blvd.
And after that, I decide no more for the Campy's and I get a set of Time Espresso 7 pedals thinking my pedal troubles would be now gone. But these are still not the easiest. They are super light and they do self align but it's still never a certain thing of when the cleat will lock into the pedal. Sometimes it's right as you'd hope and expect and other times, it's try, try, and try before I hear the happy click.
Do others have this trouble? I'm not completely klutzy and I keep hoping I'll get used to the modern pedals but I don't. It's always a guessing game. I believe it's due to the lighter weight and while the Campy's were very short, the Time's are a bit longer which allow them to be slightly less likely to start the mystery roulette spinning that happens when you try to engage the wrong side of the pedal and the pedal starts spinning.
Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has difficulty....

I haven't used any of the subject pedals. The only clipless road pedals I've used are various C&V Look models and the early, Look compatible, Campagnolo Record. I never had too much of an issue with the lock in process, unless the cleats are worn. It took a few days to become proficient and I still occasionally flub an attempt but it's much easier than toe clips and straps.

I too use old LOOK type pedals (Forte DELTA standard). Not too hard to get into except I also use toeclips and straps on all my fix gears and SPD on my gravel/in town geared bike for the walkable shoes/boots. So I am a beginner on a regular basis until I've done a couple of pickups.

My fix gear pedals are far from light. I put strong, steel tabs on them to make for an easy flip, then weight the front of the toecips with fender washers to get them to hang down properly. All that weight also adds inertia, further making pickup easy.

Someone on here suggested that you install one pedal that is flat and one that is clipless and ride like that until clipping in and out becomes automatic. Then switch sides. Don't ride with both new pedals until you have no more issues. Might get an odd look but you beats a fall.

I performed some stupid human tricks learning to ride SPD-SLs, some in public. But it became second nature. I've since decided to go walkable, and switched to SPD. But I stayed single-sided, as now I'm used to it. Never tried Campy pedals, though all my groups are Campy or Sachs.

i'm tempted by the large platform Catalyst pedals, though.

This. They work. They last. They cheap.

You just happened upon 2 bad choices...in a row.

I had lots of bikes
Lots of Looks Deltas
Colors
Styles
Campy to Mavic to Forte

Then I switched to the Keo style.

After 6 years, I conclude: little good reason, if any.

I could have bought a bike with the savings.

My girl rides Speedplays.
Don’t even go there....
...if you do, bring money.

I'm a big fan spd pedals and MTB shoes. I find it very convenient to be able to walk around and clipping in/out is rarely a problem.

For me, it is just one bike so changing wouldn't break me, I've just always asked "why". The Deltas work. (I have to ride no-float so float styles don't matter.) I've stocked up on quite a few more years of Forte Pedals and black LOOK and Wellgo cleats. When those wear out I'll look at the current offerings, (Or maybe I'll just hang up the bikes, crawl off and die, I might be that old.)

Thanks Robbie, for helping me keep it simple!

Ben

I've tried 3 systems: SPD mountain, Time ATAC, and Time TBT.
SPD mountain bike pedals are by far the easiest to click in and out of, but they are too floppy for my knees. They allow my foot to roll about its long axis and this messes with my knees.
Time ATAC are harder than SPD, but more rigid, which I like. Can't complain, rode thousands of miles with them this summer.
Time TBT are super hard to click into and out of. Have nearly crashed multiple times. Haha. Times. Like Time pedals. Ha. But they'll allow me to sprint like hell and not mind my knees as much, because the platforms are big and the engagement isn't dependent on cleat wear so they're quite rigid and hold things in place a bit better. For that I am very grateful.

Ive been using LOOK and LOOK compatible pedals since 1989. I also have 2 carbon bicycles with LOOK keo pedals. There is no trick to it ,none. Lean yourself up against a wall and clip in and out a few times to get used to them, and go ride. I always unclip on my right side at street lights, its to the point that I dont even give it a second thought,,the muscle memory thing kicks in.

Practice makes perfect.

+1
But if you have a stroke, things get dicey leaving stoplights.
My L foot does not like to clip in, the bastid.

Shimano or Welgo spd pedals are the only ones that I have used and prefer Shimano. I use them on all of my bikes, even the golden oldies from the fifties and sixties...


On some of my oldies, I use this style of SPD pedal and a set is presently ear marked for my late sixties Torpado touring bike...



They take a few rides to get used to SPDs, the process is sort of like learning to clutch/shift an old standard shift car. At first, you need to think about shifting, or clipping in/out. After a short while, and a come to a stop fall or two, you will have mastered the method and, if you are like me, you will NEVER go back to traps and straps...

My first clipless pedals years ago were Look, probably the first widely available system in the late '80s, and had little trouble adjusting to them.

In the early 2000s I switched to SPD with the least mountain bike looking shoe I could find. These are much better since you can just put your foot on the pedal and get moving then worry about 'clipping in' to your clipless pedals.

The double sided ones, as shown above, are really nice for urban riding (not that I do much of it) or for errands where you may not want to clip in all the time.

[QUOTE=Bianchigirll;21795528]...I switched to SPD with the least mountain bike looking shoe I could find.../QUOTE]

So, these are your shoes?

I have a pile of pedals that should be recycled to the other users out there. I have settled on Look Keo's. The MTB has the SPD system, which works well. The SPD SL for the road bikes are OK but I prefer the 4.4* float the Keo offers. They are light work well.
The Speed Play is the ultimate, from what I have learned. Lots of cleat adjustment and multiple axle choices if spacing is a factor.

I have a hard time paying a lot for a pedal.

At one time, Speedplays were the rage. Everyone had to have “Lollipops.”
They last and last and last. The pedals. Not quite the cleats, and you’d better have cleat covers.

I’ve been thrust into that market lately.
Pedals $100, unless you go with Ti axles.
Cleats $100 (the locking mechanism is in the cleats)
Cleat covers $25. essential to protect those expensive cleats.

The Zeros are not compatible with the X’s. Cleats are pedal-specific
This was a $100 lesson. Zeroes for sale!

I rode MKS MapStage clipless pedals for 20+ years. These use a big friction disc that the cleat engages with by pointing the tip of the shoe inward into the opening then rotating to capture the claw at the back. No springs and no clipping. Super rebuildable but replacement cleats are no longer available.

So I changed to Shimano SPD-R road pedals with 3 bolt Look style cleats. The Dura Ace 9000’s and 9100’s are the ones I have and I like them. Clicking in at traffic lights is not perfect but it is not bad.

Still using 1st generation Looks (and the Shimano and Campagnolo branded iterations). Still work fine. No reason to change.

Clipless Pedals vs. Toe Clips vs. Straps | Which Fixed Gear Pedals are Best for YOU?

The FG city riders make the best decisions since their lives depend on the choices.
This guy is a leader in such guidance

Me too. I bought Keos once, then changed my mind, and sold them still in the box. Didn't seem worth the time & expense to outfit 5 bikes & 3 pairs of shoes.

yeah - since mid-80's. I don't care for the red floater style cleats tho.

If you are doing a lot of urban riding there in LA, which generally involves a lot of stopping, try some clips without straps. That's what I use on most of my bikes and I like it. Easy to get your foot out, and usually easy to slide into the clip sans strap. I leave one food "in" and then do the other by feel. And if I miss it the first time around, I can manage a pedal stroke with a slight scrape, or no scrape if I lean the bike over on the downstroke of the clip. Here in NYC, it's never a good idea to dilly-dally too much at a light when you are trying to get clipped in.

FWIW, I use Look clipless on my road bikes; toeclips, straps, and slotted cleats on my fixed gear bikes.

Thanks everyone for the help and advice. From all these comments, I've noticed a few repeating ideas:

1) Original Looks are the easiest. So I'm not crazy as these were the first clipless pedals I used way back and as usual, of course it takes a little while to get truly comfortable but there were no falls or other misery as it was never that difficult to click into them. The pedal was always aligned and didn't really do the devil's mystery spin that the smaller, lighter pedals do these days. I never had much trouble with them and loved them both for urban and longer rides.

2) Shimano SPD's seem reliably easy. Ok, not a big Shimano person but if something works, it works.

I still have my old Looks, giant white paperweights but might give them a reboot (ha, no pun intended) and see how they compare. I'm not ready to give up on the Time's yet though. I really like the design, float, weight. Also, while they aren't the easiest, at least when I get the wrong side up and try to click into the bottom, my foot doesn't slip off. With the Campy's, if I got the bottom, there was no grip at all and my foot would slip off with a vengeance. Something about that feeling which is frightening and horrible. But with the Time's, they are plastic (carbon) versus metal of the Campy's so the cleat will grab enough to allow me another revolution to retry righting the pedal and clipping in.
Also, although the Time's do self align with the rear down, they are very lightweight (about 99grams each IIRC) and when new, the bearings are tight and sometimes they won't completely align. I might attach a little weight to the back of the left pedal (the one I click in and out of at traffic lights) and see if this changes anything.
Oh, and a big deal is made about how the Time pedals don't require pushing the spring to click into them but instead when the pedal is open, it is held open with a clip and then when clicking into them, the clip is pushed away and the spring closes the pedal to grab the cleat. This sounded like the answer to the problem no one ever had: I mean how difficult is it to step into the pedal and push the spring? I've never had an issue with this and I was slightly unsure if this would feel loose and unnatural on the Time's. Well, I'm happy to report that there is no difference that I can notice. It feels just like any other pedal and I can feel a slight tension when pushing the clip but for the most part, I just step in and click, I'm attached. Although maybe with a blade type spring, there is a different feel; I'm comparing to traditional springs but I think maybe the blade may feel different if it required me to flex the blade when clicking in.

ok, so it's good to know that I'm not crazy and/or completely uncoordinated. I'll give these a little more time or Time.. Then maybe I'll Look for something else. Geez, those French really love their puns, don't they?

Thanks to all.