DieselDan

Fail. I have operator add this to his collection.

sstorkel

Yes, you did.

deep_sky

I have found Look Keo Easy's the easiest to disengage out of. They take more precision in getting in than spd's in my experience. I eventually put the easys on my trainer bike and upgraded to the sprints because the cheaper the pedal, the lower quality of bearing they use, and I have beaned myself in the crotch more than once because the easys could not get around fast enough and my foot slipped off the underside of the cleat. Ay yay yay that is PAINFUL. I used to have spd m520 pedals, but since upgrading to road shoes instead of mtb shoes, I found I needed a larger contact area to support the foot than the spd cleat interface (with pontoons) could provide.

Pinyon, I would recommend hitting the hardware store and see if you can find that really rough paper that they put on handicap ramps made out of plywood to provide more traction for the disabled. It's like really rough sandpaper with a sticky backing to it, made by 3m. Comes in strips, so you can cut it to shape. I actually had that on the underside of my easys because i was tired of slipping off of it when the pedal could not get around fast enough and beaning myself in the crotch with my saddle.

Pinyon

If you have knee issues, float is definitely a consideration. Modern SPD pedals float enough for my knee-tracking issues, though. Even though it is expensive, many people end up having to change to another system, though. It depends on what your issues are.

I don't like Look Keo pedals. The bigger foot platform does feel better, but there is just no way to pedal at all without being clipped in. My foot also pulls out of Keos a lot more often than SPDs. Usually when I'm pulling up hard on a steep hill.

Even after 1.5 decades of riding clipless, I insist on being able to pedal across the damn street without being clipped in. It has been over 20 years since the last time that I was hit by a car while riding on the road, but I'm still funny/paranoid about some things. Being able to pedal HARD to get out of an intersection without being clipped in, is one thing that I don't compromise about. Period.

I've never tried speedplays. Everyone that I know that has them never goes back, even to the point of putting them on their mountain bike (not as much mud here in arid Colorado). I consider the cost of switching rather expensive, though.

I also like that the spin bikes at my gym use SPD pedals. I can use the same shoes to ride to work, go on a training rides, or at the gym. Simple is better.

DieselDan

You haven't been doing this long have you?

sstorkel

Do you want to continue your idiotic single-sentence sniping, or do you have a rational explanation for your ridiculous position?

Rhodabike

I used SPD's for about 7 years and never found them easy to get into - not even after using them for commuting and getting in and out about 12 times per commute. On long rides my feet would burn as the small pedal didn't support them all that much.
Now I have Look Keo's on my road bike and use a studded platform pedal on my commuter. The Looks were easy to get into right from the start.

DieselDan

No, as the clamping mechanism doesn't float, the cleat does. Always have with Look's original design, which they modified from their own ski binder, to when Shimano copied and shrunk that design for the SPD.

sstorkel

In any mechanical system composed of two parts that must interact, changing either part affects the operation of the system as a whole.

In the case of clipless pedals, changing the clamping mechanism can affect how much float is possible for any given cleat. Or you can go the opposite route: the clamping mechanism can remain unchanged, but changes to the cleat can determine whether float is allowed or not.

Shimano SPD pedals are an example of the latter: the design of the clamping mechanism remains unchanged, but the amount of float depends on whether you're using the SH-51 cleat or the SH-56 cleat.

Look's original "delta" pedals are actually a hybrid system. Black cleats never float. Red cleats, on the other hand, allow for up to 9 degrees of float. For many pedals, the exact amount of float was adjustable. The Look pedals I used in the 1990's, for example, allowed you to select either 0, 3, 6, or 9 degrees of float. This was done by turning a dial, which changed the shape of the clamping mechanism subtly. Those particular pedals illustrate my point perfectly: both the clamp and the cleat matter!

deep_sky

Current Look pedals don't have an option for changing the float, though, just the tension on the clamping mechanism, as far I could find looking over the pedals. I have the red pedals now, and am wondering if I need more float. From what I know (could be wrong, it's happened to me before), I'd have to change to speedplays to get more than 9 degrees of float.

sstorkel

This is my understanding, too.

I used to think that I had knee problems and needed lots of float. After getting a professional bike fit done, I find that the minimal (4-6 degrees?) float provided by SPD pedals is more than enough to keep my knees comfortable. That said, there are a number of pedals which provide more than 9 degrees of float. Speedplay and Crank Brothers come to mind immediately, though there are probably other possibilities.

deep_sky

Most of my knee pain now is off the bike. Walking, and hiking cause my knees to hurt (am using appropriate shoes for the job), but doesnt hurt on the bike. It used to be this way before I upgraded from the grey to the red cleats, and while all pain went away for awhile, now I am back to hurting off the bike, which makes me wonder what the heck is going on

Rhodabike

Aren't the KEO cleats color-coded as to how much float there is? Or is it the pedals?

sstorkel

As I understand it, the cleats are color-coded for the amount of float they provide: black cleats have 0 degrees of float, grey have 4.5 degrees, and red allow 9 degrees.

Bikeforumuser0022

Are you referring to skateboard tape?

https://skateboard.about.com/od/board...ToGriptape.htm

mcyak

Probably already been suggested but ..
Put the bike on a mag trainer for a week.
Practice clicking in and twisting out
It's Like riding a bicycle.
Once you get the hang of it it's yours forever.

deep_sky

Wavy - yep thats the stuff. On my easys I put a strip along the pedal spindle length so my shoe would have some traction on the pedal if i didnt spin it around fast enough to clip in when moving from a standstill. my sprints have much better bearings so they spin fast enough to make it around in time to clip in.

I found the whole clicking in/clicking out thing to require practice with the real deal. I had no problems on the spin bike, but when I actually had to care about my forward motion and balance, it was a whole different ballgame. It took a few falls before my brain got the hang of it and I didn't need to think so hard about it. a year later, its second nature, and i do it without thinking once i slow down to a certain speed.