Bebop Review
 

Well I asked you folks for some input a little while back regarding Bebop pedals. Seems no one on this forum has em'. What everybody does seem to have are Time ATAC's. I can't for the life of me understand how so many people can rave about a product and my personal experience with them be so negative. For me, they were not easy to clip into. I felt they required a little too much oomph to engage. On the other side of that equation, I couldn't get unclipped from the damn things either. Now I'm sure with a little finagling (more than I had already finagled) would have produced better results. I assure you I tried very hard to like them, but alas, they just didn't like me. "Isn't this supposed to about Bebops?" you ask. Yup!

I went for my first ride with my new Bebop pedals this last Sunday. I ran out of water and I got myself sun burned pretty badly in the process, but that's another story :D I bought the chromoly version (which is on sale at aardvark by the way).
The first thing you notice about these things is that they are "TINY". They are dwarfed sitting next to my ShimaNO 636 pedals. The plus side to that is that they weigh almost nothing! These are some of the lightest pedals you can buy these days at 210 grams for the pair.

My shoes don't allow for much rotation when mounting the cleats, but there is a great deal of "real" float to play with. These pedals allow you to rotate your foot and feel exactly where you are at. You can move around on these pedals and know where they are going to disengage. I could not get that same input from the ATAC's. The float is free on the Bebops with no springy resistance. There is also no vertical slop whatsoever, just efficient pedaling. The 636's on the other hand had too much slop in this area. Bottom line, you can get in and out of these babies with very little effort. With a few more rides I anticipate I'll not even have to think about them...

As for wear and tear, I think thay are very well built, but only time will tell. The cleats are suspect due to the way they are built, but they used some good quality stainless steel and spring steel for materials. They are actually very simplistic in design. Maybe that's why they work so well :p

So my initial impressions of this pedal are all very, very positive. I've had Onza HO's (lots of broken bones), ShimaNO 636's (great pedal but heavy), Time ATAC's (no comment) and Bebop chromoly's. They are the best pedal (for me) that I've tried so far and I don't think I'll be looking for any new pedals for quite some time. My bike has lost some weight and I've gained a little more confidence. :) :) :)

I will post a link to some pics ASAP.

Okay...here's some pictures for those that want to see what these little boogers look like and the pedals that they replaced

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/Album...917&a=13691326

Thanks for the review, your not kidding about the size, there tiny!

Great review!

I currently have Speedplay frogs that I love for many of the same reasons that you mention about the bebops. The float is incredible, clipping in and out is positive and effortless. I don't think I could ever ride SPDs again.

Like the Bebops, I also believe the weak point of the frogs is the cleat system. All the mechanics are on the shoe. I am a stickler for maintenance and lubrication yet I find myself rebuilding them way to often. I have often thought about giving the Bebops a look. After this review how can I not?

Nothing like hearing it from a 'real' person. Advertisements are supposed to make them sound great and magazine reviews are suspect if they are getting ad money.

This is the big advantage to the Look pedal system. The Look cleat is just a simple piece of plastic, easy to engage, and light. Oh, yes, they were the first, and more pros ride them than any other brand.

Bebop pedals ?

When I see those small pedals I wonder how they feel through the shoe. I use an inexpensive shoe the specialized sport that has the type of sole you can walk around in so its not a super stiff carbon type. Using mtb bike style double sided pedals also and can feel the pedal as I ride but the broad platform is confortable. Any feedback on this ?
I have looked at the look pedal and it would seem much more confortable than the tiny platforms.

Hammer till ya puke*S*.....Dudley

Ride with what you are comfortable with. If it aint broke don't fix it... :p

I liked the 636, but I guess I'm a weight weeny. I really didn't have or should I say notice a lot of contact with the 636. The switch wasn't noticable at all. You may have completely different results with the softer soles and a small platform may be able to be felt thru the shoe. Never know til' ya try...

Velonew recently did a tech review of the Egg Beater peddles by Crank Brothers. Simple design. I don't have access at the moment to my VeloNews which is at home, but I think the price was listed as $120. 282 grams.

http://www.crankbros.com/ThePedal.htm

Bicycling review:
http://www.bicycling.com/daily/gear/report0019.shtml

Those are some trippy lookin' pedals! I guess we'll find out if they are up to snuff in October when they go into production...

I have used the bee bop pedals for about a year now. I like 'em alot! they feel similar to speedplay frogs in general (speedplay and beebop actually had a patent infringement suit going for a while). Regarding the small size and how it will feel on your foot: You have to take a look at the cleat. The cleat itself gives you a relatively large platform for weight ditribution. The only downside is that I origionally put them on my mountain bike and the cleats were getting beat up quickly. Since the spring part of the mechanism is on the cleat instead of the pedal, this became an issue. I took them off the mountain bike and put them on my road tandem and they have lived there happily ever since! ;)