Wow - I don't know which website is worse - that one or the one for bebop pedals. Anyway, I'm in the market for some pedals and have it down to:

Speedplay X/5
Speedplay Zero
Crank Brothers Quatro SL

Call me silly, but I just don't like the way Looks well... look, I guess. I don't get from the pictures how the clipping works. Everytime I'm sold on Speedplays I start thinking about the "CRUNCH" sound of walking around... where do I get the cleat covers?

I think what it comes down to is that you need to get a shoe that will take most of the cleat systems out there and then take an educated guess at your pedals. If they don't work out, try and trade them or ebay them and get another set... sucks, but it's the way it goes. Same with Saddles!

I order Look KeO's last week - carbon w/ CroMo spindles. They just came in - they look (and feel) sweet. Can't wait to slap them on (to replace my Time Impact's).

The only beef I've heard on Speedplays is that the pedal body is not indestructible. If you smack it real hard in a corner, it is done.

Well golly that sure is important to note. Thanks!

Call me weird but I still prefer one type of pedal and shoe mounting system and I prefer to be able to walk to and from my bike whether it is mountain or road. I have what I guess is now called "mountain" SPD's on 4 bikes - a commuter, two road bikes and my mountain bike. I can use any of four pair of shoes including two older shimano ROAD shoes as well as wider pairs of Specialized "mountain" shoes. I Can walk normally in all of these shoes.

I don't see why the original-type SPD are constrained to mountain bike riding.

get Speedplays X ,no hesitations. Incredibly easy entry- makes me regret the time i wasted on Shimano pedals trying to guess how to clip at every stop in the interchange- plus comfort ,no feet numbness on 3-4 hour rides. I haven't tested them on longer rides yet but i'm optimistic. You'll get over the weird feeling of free floating no later than on your second ride with them. Leave the weight matter last, it's not that serious but they are the lightest in the market. Best upgrade i've done so far

My Speedplay Zero pedals have taken quite a few hits during crashes but seem no worse for the wear. As far as smacking the pedal during a corner, that's very unlikely because the pedal is pretty much buried into your cleat when you're attached. You would probably be making shoe contact before pedal contact.

If the sole of your road shoes is hard enough then you don't get numb feet but in that case walking around is kind of difficult on tarmac and impossible on the dirt

They aren't but they do have drawbacks. Personally, I don't like SPD for MTBing because your float and release angle are coupled to your tension and this constrains the use of bike-body englishing. Also, earlier and to some extent even current model SPD pedals tend to clog up in heavy amounts of mud. For MTBing (and if you're looking for a walkable alternative to road pedals), I prefer the Time ATAC.

There is definitely something to be said for that but since my road riding is limited to just riding (I'm not doing anything when I get to where I'm going except turning around and riding back) I don't have any trouble with my shoes or with limited amounts of walking. I can still stop on my route and go into a business and walk around with no trouble.

One other thing, SPD and some of the other systems use a cleat made of steel which I really find limiting since I leave from my house frequently and I'm always walking around on my hardwood floors/tile with my cycling shoes on to get something I remembered at the last minute. It would be a real PITA to take my shoes off at the door everytime I go out for a ride. Metal points on your shoes and hardwood floors don't mix. That alone gets the SPD-SL/Look brand my $ everytime.

My feet don't get numb after 3+ hours on the bike and clipping in and out is like second nature to me now. I almost never have a problem clipping in or out.

I can pretty much vouch for this. Slid out on gravel in a turn this spring. Ground through the leather of my new rocket 7's but the pedals were unscathed.

Most bike shops will carry them. If you get Zeros then you need to make sure to get the covers specifically designed for Zero cleats. When I got my pedals Zero covers weren't available at the time so I bought some X cleat covers and modified them by trimming off one of the sides to let the adjustable float stops stick through. Consequently the covers don't wrap around and stay on as well. The one nice thing about Speedplay cleats is that because of the metal plate and the overall design, you can walk on them without covers and not degrade the function of the cleats. I often forget to put on cleat covers even when walking on gravel. However, be warned, a lot of wear of the screw heads that hold everything together will make it a PITA when it comes time to replace the cleat.

Here are some pictures of new and old (about 3 full years of riding) cleats. Note that the worn cleats, as beat up as they were, are still functional. I just replaced them as a preventative measure.

Speedplay Zero's for all of the reasons given.

Well, somebody has done it...fact, a metal bodied pedal is more durable over time than a plastic one. But this is a real nit to pic, most people seem to love speedplays.

had looks, now love my Seedplay zeros for the last 1.5yrs

shame on all of you: no pedal porn? not a single pic of a pedal in this thread?

here's my favorite (shimano pd6610):

pedalfile

+1
+1
+1

'cleat covers'?

Good grief this IS the weenie epicenter of the friggin universe. My suggestion would be to STAY ON YOUR BIKE and you won't have to walk so much on the pedals. As if 'cleat covers' are going to make the stupid 1/2" blocks on the bottom of your shoes easier to walk around in.

I don't really know many people who walk on their pedals. If you mean cleats then that's fine advice if your goal is to just spend your day pedalling. Many people enjoy cycling as a part of life and life does happen off the bike. People like to visit places and believe it or not, they're not always reachable by staying on a bike. Props to you for your dedication to the religion of pedalling if you happily cruise through town urinating and defecating in your shorts but some of us really would rather use a restroom. And if that chunk of roadtar adorned in a foil wrapper printed with the word "PowerBar" is the epitome of your culinary spectrum then who are we to argue? However some of us find it more pleasant and with much more appetising results to a lunch break and walk into a restaurant for our sustinance. Maybe you're always in a race but my racing days are over and if turning pedals was the be all and end all of my cycling experience then I could just as easily stay at home and keep the flywheel of my trainer spinning.


Cleat covers generally serve one or possibly even both of two purposes.

• They keep contaminates out of the cleat. This can be important for Coombes, Bebops and Speedplay cleats which can be prone to misbehaving if subjected to things like wet sand, mud and gravel because the actual mechanism is inside the cleat and not the pedal.
• They protect the cleat from damage. Many cleats are made of plastic and can be damaged when walked on. Cleats exhibiting increased wear or damage may not function as anticipated. They may be harder to disengage or sometimes the opposite happens where they disengage prematurely.

I have the lower end of the new SPD-SL pedals and shimano shoes. Nice combo but I prefered my older SPD pedals and mountain shoes.

Much easier to walk around in and you didn't look like a spaceman walking around with your toes pointing up. Also much easier to clip in and out of in case of the need to rapidly unclip. I probably had teh exact same SPD pedals you did - pedal on one side, clip on the other. The cleat was multidirectional so you could unclip in a multitude of directions - not just by twisting your heel out.

Unfortunately I was dumb and got SPD-SL specific shimano shoes instead of ones that have multiple mounting options for different style cleats or else I'd try other types