rockabilly808

Please bear with my stupid questions folks
When peolpe talk about float in road pedals what exactly does that mean?
my other questions are:
1. when converting to clipless did any of you find that the way you pedaled changed?
2. I'm looking at these pedals and a wonderring if anyone has any experience with them and can offer any pros or cons about them.
3. are they compatible with the specialized BG comp shoe?

Thanks very much for any info/advice.

ridethecliche

Float is kind of like a lateral (side to side) rocking motion that allows your knee to get into a natural neutral position that is comfortable to it.

Are your shoes 3 hole or 2 hole?

I'd suggest just going with shimano pedals, I don't know how good the nashbars are.

Zinn-X

float lets you to rotate your foot a certain number of degrees while clipped in. a pedal with minimal float, like SPDs makes it so your foot is always in the same position. this can be bad for your knees if you have knee issues. a pedal with a lot of float lets you rotate your foot and stay clipped in, which can allow you to keep a more natural knee position. wtf i'm rambling time for be.d

roadwarrior

A better way to describe this, rather than "float", is "self-adjusting cleats". In other words, you can move your foot, within the parameters of how much movement the cleat/pedal will provide, into a natural position. Versus some of us that used "fixed" and have been fitted and tested and have our feet and leg straight and in the correct position, for me (and this differs from rider to rider). My foot will not move when clipped into the pedal. And example, in the Look Keo line they provide three cleats with differing amounts of "float"...9 degrees, 4.5 degrees, and none.

That's different than the amount of tension in the pedal when it comes to clipping in and out. That's adjustable on most pedals and there is typically a small allen screw that will allow you to make it real easy, to increasigly more difficult when it comes to getting in and out of the pedals. Why would you want them real tight? If you are racing and sprinting, you do not want your foot coming out of the pedal during the sprint. In the Keo line, Look offers three levels of pedal tension. As the pedal gets more sophisticated (number of bearings in the spindle, pedal material, etc...) the tension levels increase.

Referring to the pedal you linked....I think it has a lot to do with the amount of riding and how aggressive your riding is. I can get about three years out of a top end set of pedals. Those would last me about a month, tops. One gets what one pays for. YMMV.

Zinn-X

I dunno about you, but on super steep hills, I find it helps to rotate my foot inward a bit. I have different foot positions for different riding conditions. I think having one "correct" position is limiting yourself

earleybird

the critical thing is setting up your shoe clip position correctly. If you get it just a little bit out of alighment your knees and ankleswill hurt like hell after even a short ride.
I suggest you start by making sure you have the centre of the sole of your feet exactly over the centreline of the axle spindle. If your foot is too far forward you will lose a little power but too far behind the axle and your ankle is going to be painful as well as a significant loss in power because you will feel like you are trying to turn the pedals with your toes which will force your feet to tense up as you attempt to get some purchase.
Then you need to adjust the position of your foot in or out from the crank and finally the angle your foot makes with the straight ahead line of the bike. Its a question of trial and error but you know when its just right .
Suggest you go for medium float at least to start with as it will compensate a little for incorrect shoe/pedal fixing position.

When its just right I spray my shoe sole with aerosol paint so I have a permanent template.

roadwarrior

Thanks for the advice.

I started racing at age 8, raced in Europe on a espoir (you can look up what that means) team for two years before Lance was born, and sell and fit bikes in my spare time.

I'll ride about 8,500 miles this year, generally about 10,000 miles, and in my racing days used to race over 10,000 miles a year.

But I'll take another look at my setup based on this input.



Gotta love BF.

Zinn-X

I have bad knees and what works for you may not work for me. There's no need to be a dick.

roadwarrior

Telling me that I was "limiting myself" followed with the smilie that you selected seemed to send a message.

And you didn't say, "I have really bad knees and as a result cannot ride with fixed cleats." Had you stated what you intended to say, you would not have received my response, which was to help you understand that I know what I am doing. I started riding Look clipless when they were invented.

...and I'm not being a dick.

Zinn-X

are too!

dick.

elgalad

STFU.

If you don't have something useful to add to the thread then piss off.

To the OP:

I have look pedals with the red cleats, which give the biggest amount of float. I find them to be useful because they give you a little more play in terms of getting your feet in the right position. I have had some minor knee problems as well, so the floating cleats just make me feel a little bit more confident in putting out power without worrying about hurting myself.

If you're looking for some relatively cheap pedals, Look have some budget pedals, but I'm not sure of the price. Best to go with a proven brand, plus most LBS' will stock them, so warranty issues, etc. will be easier to handle. The Specialized BG Comps should be compatible with any of the look or shimano pedals, or pretty much any road pedals

roadwarrior

Is that you Pee Wee?

"I know you are but what am I?"

The great thing about this forum is you can have discourse with small children. Or adults that act like them.

Zinn-X

you all suck.

elgalad

+1

People come here looking for advice, and all they get is ignorant trolls taking over their thread. It's not a very good first impression for road cycling.

roadwarrior

Thanks for proving our point and removing all doubt.

And another informational thread comes to a screeching conclusion.

Zinn-X

i gave my advice before you and bozo decided to teach self righteousness 101.

both of you are just as guilty as i am of dragging this thread off course. you get to feel the smug satisfaction of being "right" while i enjoy just ****ing with you. this way everybody wins. goodnight.

GavCB

To the OP, I have the Nashbar Z11 pedals: they are my first pair of clipless. They seem to working out okay now. I took a bit of time to try and get the cleats in the right place, and I have the tension quite loose as, around where I ride, there are a lot of lights and stop signs and I'd like to try and avoid embarrassing disaster if at all possible. There seems to be a reasonable amount of movement in them using the included cleats, and I think that helps in relieving any 'hotspots'.

As far as has my pedaling changed, I think it has. I went straight from flat pedals to clipless (missed out the toe-clip stage), and I'm finding it's a lot easier to pedal 'in circles' so to speak. I think I still need to work on my pedalling motion, but so far it seems to be comfortable; I am, however, just a noob, so I reserve the right to change my opinion at a later date!

DigitalRJH

To the OP. I would suggest float, as you have seen what it is described here. Also, Nashbar makes good stuff. I used their clipless pedals on my MTB (still do) and on my road bike for my first time. I used the Ventoux pedals for a few years. I loved them. Affordable, durable, 6 degrees of float, spun easily, and also were easy to clip in and out. After I few years I decided to try their Z71Ti pedals, (a shimano knockoff), I hated them. The right pedal was just a nightmare to clip out of so I finally did what I should have done and got the Shimano Ultegra's.

I think that for your first set the Nashbar's will be fine, like I said, I was very happy with the Ventoux's, I didn't want to spend a bundle on my first set. When you first start out the most important thing is being able to clip in and out easily, so I'd recommend setting the tension as low as you can.

Also, your shoes will be compatible with any of those look style pedals if they have the three hole pattern on the bottom of the show, which most do.

And your pedaling style will change because now you can use the upstroke as part of you cadence, pulling up and pushing down, plus it is much easier to pedal in smooth circles since your feet will not slide on the pedal.

operator

If you can (new problems notwithstanding), use NO FLOAT. The feeling you get from changing to even 4 deg float to 0 deg is TREMENDOUS.

With any float you'll never be completely experiencing the clipped in feel you are supposed to get with clipless.

operator

If you are going road, please don't buy those pedals. You can get 105 level SPD-SL's, genuine from PBK for the exact same price.

roadwarrior

Oh, forgive us.

We didn't realize that after you provide you pearls of wisdom, the thread's closed. Which were really deep, by the way. Especially the thread on ceramic bearings..your contribution..."You're an idiot." That was helpful.

To all members of Bikeforums...check for a Zinn-X response before responding to any thread.

roadwarrior

Exactly, and they will last a lot longer.

earleybird

He's not going racing operator nor is he presumably going on 120 mile daily rides He's relatively new to road cycling and presumably riding for pleasure so he doesn't need to experience the `fully clipped in' experience at the expense of possible discomfort or injury. A litle float is sensible until he learns to set up his shoe/clip/pedals correctly . it should prevent possible discomfort at least.

Duke of Kent

It's one thing to have a smooth pedal stroke, it's another entirely to "pedal in circles".

Guess which one is actually possible and will make you faster?

gamecockbarista

plus free shipping!! (pretty quick too)