After much research (reading forums, talking to the LBS, asking those who ride them, briefly trying them) I bought the Speedplay Zeros last year as a transition from my SPD pedals.

I had read all about them taking care of knees and being good on cornering and great for entry/exit.

The verdict for me: they were excellent to clip in/out (double-sided entry is awesome) and were excellent on corners...on the knees, not so much.

What I found was that there were too many moving parts involved with the cleats for my body - adapters, shims, plates, springs - and that the cleat never really felt like part of the pedal, which I had read so much about. I was hoping this would be the case, but the platform never felt like more than the lollipop center.

That being the case, I could never quite get the pedal stroke down to avoid irritating my knees in various locations - side, front, back, inside, you name it (yes, my bike fits). I felt as if my foot could never find the middle and was always "rocking" from side to side. Pushing up hills and in large gears always exacerbated the issues.

So I switched to the Ultegra 6700 today, which matches my other components. On the ride to the office this morning, my feet felt much more stable and I was encouraged with the initial experience. While I'm obviously hoping that the Ultegras take care of the "rocking" and thus eliminate any pain I have, I'll miss the double-sided entry on the Speedplays.

I know my experience (just like any on these forums) only applies to me, but I wanted to contribute to the board and give this perspective to anyone considering a pedal switch.

I found the complete opposite.

My knees improved after using them and I love the direct connection I feel compared to my SPD pedals and shoes. I've pulled out of SPDs but have never pulled my speedplays.

I'm glad you found a change that made you feel more confident on the bike. Everyone needs that. I'm only confident about anything with 2 wheels when the tires make me happy.

Never tried the speedplays but I had a similar problem with my Time Atac's. I've been riding on the Time's now for about 10 years on my MTB.. I love them there, nice and worn in giving me plenty of movement for the slow rock gardens and tricky technical climbs. I didn't have the funds for a new set of pedals when I bought a road bike however, so I moved the Time's over. With all of that movement however I felt totally out of sync from what I was trying to do. I too ended up with a set of 6700's and the larger platform and less float has made all of the difference. Very happy with the purchase.

Yes, speedplay rocks! I had the same problem. Check this website:
https://www.epdoc.com/mvv/speedplay/index.html

The outside of the pedal gets worn out and your foot rocks from side to side. Also there is a tremendous amount of float I could not get rid of. I would tighten both float screws the most I could and my feet would still float all over the place. I hated speedplays. I bought spd-sl 105s and they are much better. My knees are much happier.

If you could adjust the float to less than 5 degrees and the pedal wouldn't get worn out it would be a good peddle.

Rocking doesn't bother me oddly. Maybe I'm not fussy enough.

I will admit the one thing I really don't like. I get serious grease/dirt/grime stains on my calves from the pedals. They get dirty.

You're all wrong of course.

ive got speedplays on two of my bikes and i love them.

my only problem with them is with sand/dirt. step down on some muck and the peddle is rendered pretty much useless. i couldnt feel that hard engaging click i normally do when my cleats are clean. so it's regular cleat maintenance for me. anytime my foot touches down on anything except asphalt/concrete, later that night i'm cleaning them out. hassle, but worth it for a solid pedal.

a buddy of mine has the icliqs and he loves them, keeps going on and on about how effortless it is to clip in (not the case with speedplays, for me anyway) and about how stable they feel.

I am with this guy! My Speedplays work awesome.

Dumped mine too and went back to Looks, could not get over the outside rock on every pedal stroke.

pedals are not the end all fix, alot of these issues sound like a fit issue, spend the 200 bucks and get a complete fit, I think you guys might be suprised

iClics are indeed easier to clip into than Speedplays. However, I got a cleat rocking with my iClics just as I did with Speedplays.

When my Speedplay cleats started wearing and they were allowing my foot to rock, it killed my knees fast. No changes to fit, no changes to training, just the pedals slowing getting worse until they got out of hand. Strangely enough, when my iClic cleats did something similar, no pain at all. Just felt really unstable attacking or sprinting, so now I'm on RXS's and hoping the brass cam holds up better.

Speedplays are great if you have money to replace pedals and cleats when they're toast. Shimano is great if you don't want free float and don't want to think about your pedals ever again after putting them on the bike.

Yeah, you're doing something wrong. My knees give me no issues after going to Speedplay.

Your experience with Speedplay pedals isn't very common. Because the cleats are made of metal, they last a long time. I have been riding with Speedplay for about four years and I am on my second set of cleats.

i have another problem with speedplays..i like the float, and once i got used to them, the entry.. but they give me really bad hot spots on my feet on longer rides. Now granted it may not be totally the pedals fault, and i am going to try another pair of shoes to rule out that part of the equation.

Weird. It also happened to a friend when he continued riding worn out cleats, but in his case, his IT band took a hit.

Rocking??? Never noticed that....Could you guys possibly need shims to cant your feet?? I use the cants and I really like my Speedplays...I'm riding the X2's...Easy to clip in, easy to clip out...Love the free float! It's not like my feet twist around all over the place, but they go where they want...

The only complaint I have is the problem with sand and mud getting into the cleats....you have to be careful

Oh yea and the poster above who complained about the grease marks on his calves...I hear ya!

You should consider what causes your feet to rock. IT band trouble from rocking feet most likely indicates that you need varus wedges in your shoes, not different pedals. Thats only a guess though...

Pcad uses Looks.

For the record, I used Lemond Wedges and still had cleat rocking. 2 in one shoe, 3 in another.

I have all sorts of knee and leg issues, and Speedplays are the one pedal which have meant pain-free riding... I have never had any kind of hot foot or had it feel like a lollipop - that sounds like a shoe issue.

That being said, if it doesnt work for you, it doesnt work for you. The main thing is that you have found something that works.

You are also wrong.

10 years on Speedplay. Switched to Keo a couple of years ago. That was a considerable investment considering the Pcad Velo Fleet.


Never looked back.

I'm about to dump my speedplay pedals.

Was this post meant for this thread?

A good part of the problem here is not the pedal, but your shoe. you need a 4 bolt shoe eliminating the adapter, and giving you virtually no stack height, to really get the advantage you're alluding to here.

I think what you're describing here is the "free float" Most other pedals with "float" still have some spring tension that tends to push your foot back to the starting position, when it moves from center. Speedplay pedals have "free float" in that within the range of available float, there is no tension on your foot encouraging it back to the starting position.

Some people simply do not like the feeling that free float gives because it makes them feel like their foot is not secure or is "rocking" around. That's simply a personal preference, and a valid one.

However, for anyone contemplating using Speedplays, Most Speedplay users will tell you they got over that feeling within one or two rides. And the very few that don't, tend to not stick with Speedplays.