Clipless Pedal Questions
 

I know it's against the stereotypical bicyclist, but I'm a heavy person who rides/works out a lot. I ride about 50-100 miles per week and work out 6 days per week, I'm rapidly losing weight but never the less I am a heavy person and will be for a while.

Anyhow, I am looking at buying some clipless pedals and was wondering what kinds of pedals heavier people are using (if there are any in this forum). I was looking at the Speedplay X2/X3 or Frogs but wasn't sure about their strength under intense weight. Anyone else have any input or ideas on this? I obviously have to buy shoes as well so I can get whatever mates well with the pedals I buy. I want something that is going to last a few years and I'm not opposed to maintanence. Having never had clipless pedals but having a less than perfect ankle I think I'm going to want pedals with some decent float, that's why I was looking at the speedplay. I'm a little concerned about the ease of entry and exit of these though.

Any information/insights that people can share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all ...

Sean
http://www.seanwillson.com/

I think the Speedplay pedals will work for you. Depending on how heavy you are, you will want to get the steel spindles instead of titanium. Speedplay rates their ti spindles up to 180lbs. I think many other pedal manufacturers have similar ratings. I know of plenty of people in the clydesdale category who run clipless pedals without problems. If you're particularly powerful, you also want to make sure your shoe's soles are stiff and durable. Make sure you use loctite on those cleat bolts too. You definately don't want a bolt coming loose or worse pulling out in the middle of a powerful upstroke.

BTW, I'm not sure there is a stereotypical bicyclist. It would be like stereotyping pedestrians. There are all types of cyclists out there which is why bike and cycling accessory manufacturers have such a wide range of sizing options. The great thing about cycling is that it's readily available to almost everyone and almost all sizes and shapes of people participate.

Is there a rating page on their sight that has the recommended weight ranges for their pedals? I've been looking for this information from various manufacturers but haven't found any yet. Thanks for the help, I'll keep looking.

Speedplay used to have a small blurb on their website (can't seem to find it now - maybe it's hidden in their FAQ somewhere) about weight limits on their titanium spindles but I have not seen any such limits on their steel spindles. You might want to try calling them directly.

Speedplay recommends no more than 185 for their Ti pedals. They also recommend the X3's for the casual rider only.
Personally, I think the Frogs are a better all around pedal.

I used to have Frogs on my roadbike but [1] didn't like all that much float.. especially universally, [2] didn't like that I had to go toe-in and [3] they required special 2-bolt style SPD adapters to be installed with my Sidi road shoes and I even had to modify the cleat box of the adapters... the whole setup added a lot of stack height and flex and was rather hokey. I switched to Zeros and all my problems were solved since they mounted nicely to the Sidis, I could adjust inboard/outboard float independently and I can just stomp on them to click in.

I agree that Zero's are good, but I get off and walk around alot, so Frog's work best for me. I've nebver used road shoes.

Yes... if one does a lot of walking, road shoes and road cleats can be a bit painful. I was on one ride last year where we were island hopping via ferries. One of the days, we arrived off the ferry after a long ride and had a choice of either riding an extra 10 miles to the campsite or popping our bikes on a truck and following along in a bus. I opted for the latter since it had already been a long day. Although my bike made it on the truck, the bus was full so I had to wait around for it to return. To kill some time (about an hour) some of the other riders and I walked around the small town surrounding the ferry dock to an ice cream shop. Being an island, there were some hills involved. Walking around like a duck with road shoes and big cleats on hills gave me painfull shin splints and I almost couldn't ride the next day. I probably should have just ridden to camp in the first place.

I don't mean to take this thread off topic, epicycle, but, khuon....what about carrying a light pair of shoes with you? Like flip-flops, or a light sandal? I've thought about this...I'm not sure what I'll do.

After thought.....Of course, if you have no idea you will need them, it makes sense that they wouldn't be practical to tote around. :p nevermind! d'oh!

I've thought about it actually but it would be a pain to carry it along. Sometimes I'll just walk around barefeet.

As a matter of fact, I almost accidently had to ride a century with my sandals. I had thrown my cycling shoes in my gear bag and wore my sandals in the car with the intent on changing at the baggage dropoff. After dropping off my bag, I proceeded to the start line and tried to click into my pedals... ewps! I sheepishly went back to the gear truck and asked if I could retrieve my bag for a second. The guy loading the truck waved me in so I could find my bag among the 4000 or so other bags and shouted out to the crowd, "MAKE SURE YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR THE RIDE OUT OF YOUR BAG BEFORE YOU HAND IT TO US!" I was a little more than embarassed at that point. :D

Since we're talking clipless .. how easy should it be to twist out? I have to give a decent amount of effort to get out of mine. I don't think I could in a real emergency. Anyone?

Any other on topic comments about pedals for heavy folks? I read all of the threads on the roadreviews site about the speedplay frogs, x2/3, and the zero float adjustable ones as well. I'm not concered about price but I'd hate to pay that kind of cash only to find they don't work for a heavy rider. Are any of your guys heavier? Know of any pedals heavy riders recommend? I don't think I'd mind the float at all, I worry about being heavy and being able to exit fast enough. Obviously I'd fall a bit harder than most. Any recommendations based on that?

Thanks all .. FYI I dropped an email to the speedplay folks last night, not sure when I'll get a response. I'll keep this thread posted.

Sean
http://www.seanwillson.com/

It depends on the pedals. I have Time ATACs on my MTB and Speedplay Zeros on my roadbike. The Zeros require more effort than the ATACs. Neither have adjustable tension like the SPDs but IMHO, that's not a detriment. My ATACs have the Stan's No-Tubes titanium spring upgrade and although I don't think they release with less tension, they do release smoother. Also, I understand that the Speedplay X pedals have an easier release tension than Zeros and that Zero-Track (the red Zeros) have a higher release tension than normal Zeros. Keep in mind that many cleats "wear-in" and will become easier to release over time... until they "wear-out" and thus become almost impossible to release. :D

Rub the cleats on the shoes with candle wax or similar and see if release is any easier. If they're SPDs, there should be an adjustment screw to ease or tighten the tension.

I have adjustment screws but haven't messed with'em yet (only had the bike a year :rolleyes: ). I'll try the wax thing also. Thanks

If you are just starting to use clipless . I would start with an inexpensive pair of Wellgo ,which for the money are as good as they get. Be sure to go with cromemoly axles though.

Are any of your guys heavier? Know of any pedals heavy riders recommend? I don't think I'd mind the float at all, I worry about being heavy and being able to exit fast enough. Obviously I'd fall a bit harder than most. Any recommendations based on that?

Sean - I'm 6'2" and 205lbs. Don't know if that qualifies as "heavier", but I've uses a set of speedplay X2s for 2.5 yrs and approx. 7,500 miles without any problems. I'd say I've put them through a good test as far as standing on them in climbs, sprinting, and just riding hard. As for as exiting fast enough, practice makes perfect. Have to confess I fell twice when I first got them. Now it's an immediate release without having to think about it.

I'd go with the speedplay (well at least thats what
I did!). They are easy to clip into and out of,
they are easy on the knees and except for the titanium
models there are no weight limits.

Stor Mand you should be able to unclip quickly in an
emergency, if you can't either adjust your pedals/cleats
or change em.
I can get out of my speedplays in the time it takes to
dump over while on rollers (and i have the scars to prove it!).

Marty

As a "heavier" cyclist (250 lbs, 6'4") I've had success with Shimano SPDs, and SPD-Rs. No problems whatsoever. I ride about 2,000 miles in the summer, plus (who knows?) how many miles on the trainer in the winter.

I just got Shimano SPD-SLs and will be trying them soon (I'm having a difficult time getting the cleats mounted on the shoe; I can't get the cleat screws to catch, they seem too short). I really like the platform on the SPD-Rs and the SLs (at least by looks)--nice and wide for lots of stability. Makes me feel very comfortable when standing.

That's my two cents.

EDIT::
Rode with the SPD-SLs tonight for the first time...25 miles. The SLs are SWEET!! Easy in and out (though it took time to get used to the clip in angle). Once I got used to them, they were great. Nice stable platform, and the easiest in/out I've experienced (though I've never tried anything but the various Shimano SPD series). Purposely pushed a lot of hills out of the saddles just to give them a test...felt like climbing stairs.

Had to break down and get new shoes at the LBS (Sidi's). Seems my old shoes (Diadora) were not really compatable as the manufacturer suggested. Loved those old Diadora too. :(