kwrides

I just took my 1st ride on my new Speedplay LA pedals (thanks CD). I have a few comments and a few questions. As always with reviews, this is just my opinion, ymmv.

The good:
- They are the ultimate "stomp and go" pedal. Better than my CB Quattros and better than my SPD 520s. Really. I did MANY stops and starts. Easy to clip out of, easy to clip into.
- I tried as hard as I could to accidentally disengage and couldn't do it.
- When I first started riding on them I thought, "OK, I'm going to hate this free float thing", but I very quickly adjusted. It is clear to me that my pedal stroke is not as smooth as I thought. The only time this really bothered me after the first few miles was when climbing out of the saddle. BUT, this is a result of my pedaling style, not a problem with the pedals. If you hate free float, buy Zeros, Light Action is not the pedal for you.

The not so good:
- I could feel the pedal constantly. It was like there was a constant pushing back on the ball of my foot. I've never feel this on my Keos or Quattros.
- I felt like my foot was forced forward in my shoe for some reason. I could feel my toe pushing on the toe box of my shoes. Not sure if this was the pedals or my positioning of the cleat, or what.

OK, on to the questions. I only rode 15 miles, but I was already experiencing what has led in the past to "hotfoot". Putting both "not so good" items together, I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this. Do you just get used to it? Has anyone ridden Keos or SPD-SL and then switched to Speedplay and noticed this? Or not? Am I doing something wrong?

Tulex

There is some talk about the pain thing here.
https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycling/532159-foot-pain.html

As for the feeling the pedals, I have very stiff shoes, so I don't feel anything.

AngryScientist 

are you certain your shoes fit you properly and are properly tightened before riding? due to speedplay;s large cleat surface area, i cant imagine getting "hotfoot" symptoms if you have everything working correctly.

i would look at some of the online advisors for cleat placement, and double check the fit of the shoes.

for what its worth, i ride zeros, and i love them, i'm pretty sure lots of the pros ride speedplays too, so i dont think its an inherent problem with the pedals, just user interface...

JayC

Ive been riding the Light Action longer than about any other pedal Ive ever owned. I like them. My first clipless was Speedplay and I hated them because the cleats got gunked up too easily. The LA do not have that problem. I have managed to pull out of them once but other than that, they've been very solid.

kwrides

No problems with Keo's or with Quattros, both in the same shoes, so it's not shoe fit.

Thanks for the advice though.

kyriefurro

It still might be. I didn't have any problems with my feet until I added the Speedplay pedals. That was when I discovered how poorly my shoes fit and how weird my feet are . If you have foot or shoe issues, the increased float can allow your foot to move out of position on the pedal, causing hot-foot, numbness and other issues.

kwrides

Good point. If this is the case, the easiest solution is to go back to my old pedals.

kwrides

Well, I switched back to my Quattros and no hotfoot. Interesting to think that allowing you to be more anatomically correct actually caused me a problem.

I still stand by my statement that these are the ultimate "stomp and go" pedal and I can definitely see why so many of you love them.

MIN 

what shoes were you using the pedals with? seems that some shoes are more prone to this than others.

redtires

Another question..did you have to adjust your saddle height? I know when I switched from my Looks to Speedplays...it was nearly a centimeter lower. I'm curious if you are being forced to pedal in a more "toes down" fashion to make up for some foot to spindle distance change.

fishtime

Hey my 2 cents on LT. Actions.
I just got mine to help with knee pain. I have had similar findings with pedaling out of the saddle. It seems to be way to much inner float when I climb. My heels seem to hit the cranks at times. MAybe I should have got the zeros or the x's. I did upgrade to the stainless steel models. The do not come out as you pedal, this is very nice! I do use shimano road shoes, I think 85 model.

I have been riding shimano 520's and spd's in spin class, the knee pain is less but maybe the cleat placement might be my issue as well as yours. I too felt a hot spot under my feet. I did follow the directions for set up and maybe i should get a professional cleat fit and maybe a re-bike fit.

Good luck to you. Keep us posted!

Carbon Unit

I have used the Light Action pedals since November of 2006. I like them. I have never clipped out accidently and have never had a hot spot. I am using Shimano R151 shoes which have very stiff soles. You may also look at adding different foot boards which might resolve the problem.

Before I bought my Speedplays, I had SPD-L pedals for about a month and hated them. They were too difficult for me to clip in and out of.

daxr

I've got 250 miles on my Light Actions now, including a century yesterday. Out of the box, they are easy to get used to and work well. On my Sidi's they feel solid, though moreso on the left one, where I have a bit of pigeon toe. The right feels a little sloppy sometimes from the "float", but that's gotten less as I've adjusted to it, and there's some unlearning of bad habits developed during a year of riding platform pedals.

In any case no knee or ankle or foot pains, except toward the end of the 100 miles yesterday I had one toe that felt like it was hot enough to catch fire. I blame that on my cheap-ass socks.

cedricbosch

Free-float does not inspire very much confidence when doing a balls-out sprint, imo.

Carbon Unit

I am on my second set of cleats with my Light Actions. The first set was much looser and my feet would move from side to side as I pedaled. The cleats I have now do are much better. My feet track very straight as I pedal. Maybe I tightened the screws better this time or the last set of cleats was just worn out.

winders

I bought the Speedplay Zero pedals because I wanted to control the amount of float. I can get as much float as the Light Action pedals (15 degrees) or as little as zero float. The cost difference is not even worth mentioning.

I like almost no float to the inside and just a few degrees to the outside.

S-

Carbon Unit

Anyone out there have expereince with both Light Action and Zeros? I like my Light Actions but when they eventually wear out, maybe I will try Zeros next. However, I hear that the Zeros have a much stronger spring making them harder to clip in and out. Since I don't race, I am not sure if I would benefit from the Zeros.

Carbon Unit

Anyone out there have expereince with both Light Action and Zeros? I like my Light Actions but when they eventually wear out, maybe I will try Zeros next. However, I hear that the Zeros have a much stronger spring making them harder to clip in and out. Since I don't race, I am not sure if I would benefit from the Zeros.

Tulex

I don't have experience with LA, but the Zeros do clip in hard. I have to really step on mine to get them to clip in.

lambo_vt

I haven't ridden the Light Actions and I don't race, but it does take a firm step to clip the Zeros in. I still miss the pedal on occasion but I haven't had any trouble making the things clip in. Clipping out is nearly effortless though and I can't imagine needing it to be easier.

DaveSSS 

A few notes about Speedplay in general. If you are switching from another brand, you may find that you need to move the cleat as far back as it can go, if you're using the 3-hole adapter plate. Speedplay positions the center of the pedal further forward than some other pedals. If you have an error in the cleat position, it's better to be further back than too far forward.

I've been using the X-2 pedal for about 10 years with no problems. When I recently bought custom D2 shoes, one of the optional feaures was 3-hole drilling just for speedplay pedals. D2 moves the pattern back 4-5mm. I chose this option, but then had the 3-hole adapter nearly all the way forward instead of nearly all the way back. After using the shoes for a few weeks, I modified my soles for direct mounting of the cleats without the 3-hole adapter. There is no cleat fore/aft adjustment now, but that's actually a good thing once it's set.

The experts at D2 suggest placing the cleat at 95% of the heel to ball of foot position, rather than right over the ball of the foot. That's a difference of 6-8mm for most people.

https://www.d2shoe.com/index.php?opti...d=39&Itemid=66

PaulRivers

On another pair of speedplay pedals I'm currently trying to solve exactly the same problem. I have a pair of older mid-range SIDI's with a plastic sole. I had put in a new footbed, but still felt like I was pushing my across a small steel rod.

Yesterday I replaced those insoles with the Superfeet green ones. It's better, but my feet are still getting numb.

I'm currently debating whether to buy a new road shoe with a carbon sole (much stiffer - I imagine it's much more difficult to feel the cleat through that). Or, since I rode a shoe with spd's all winter and never had any hotspot issues, if I should just call it quits and go to a mountain bike shoe with mountain cleats (my mountain bike shoes are Specialized, maybe a different brand fits my foot better?).

Sorry I don't have solution, but I have had the exact same problem myself for about 2 years now. I can still feel the cleat, but I was able to get rid of the "hotspot" issue by moving the cleat back on the shoe.

Hida Yanra

I've been using the LA for a few years, I have been through various pairs of cleats.
My thoughts, YMMV:
I do like them a lot as a beginner clipless pedal- but I'm moving to LOOKs in the near future.

Reasons:
- I just moved to the PacNW and the pedals/cleats are really sensitive to mud getting into the mech, this is also hard to clean out without taking the shoe off and getting a brush up into it.
- I'm going to start racing cross- and speedplays just won't work. I'm not going to run a mish-mash of pedal systems, so off they go.
- I'm a bit sloppy on climbs if I'm not paying attention, and the LAs exacerbate/allow that much more so than other systems.

just my thoughts

DaveSSS 

I've got older Sidis G-5's with the deeply recessed plastic sole that have speedplay cleats mounted. I haven't used them in years, but back when I did, I had no forefoot pain problem. I suggest to those having this problem, insoles with better arch support. You need the arch area to take some of the load. Heat formable insoles might be a better choice.

https://www.yoursole.com/products/footbeds/slim/sport/

merlinextraligh

The first couple of times you do it. After you realize there's no way you're coming out inadvertantly it becomes a non issue for most people.