Shimano Ultegra vs Dura-Ace Pedals
 

Hey guys,

I am picking up my new bike today and also going to pick up some pedals. I am torn between the Ultegra and Dura-Ace pedals and need some help in deciding.

The one thing that I have issues with is knee problems. I don't know if it's the fit of the bike or the pedals or both. I am getting a proper bike fitting done but my question is, once I get the bike fitting done, do I want to have float in my pedals or should I lock down my stroke?

I believe that the Dura-Ace has more options for float (+/- 10 degrees) whereas the Ultegra only has +/- 3 degrees.

Any thoughts on what is better?

Conventional wisdom is start out with more float then decide if it's worth trying less float.

For Shimano SPD-SL pedals, the float is determined by the cleat not the pedal. I believe Shimano makes 6, 2, and 0 degree float cleats which are yellow, blue, and red color, respectively.

If I understand correctly the DA cleats now come with the blue cleat (middle float), while all other SPD-SL come with the yellow (high float). But all cleats are available as separates so if you don't mind paying extra you can mix and match what you want.

I would get the R550 as it now comes with a replaceable skid plate like the higher models. Otherwise you are primarily paying up to 3x more to save ~50g.

the difference between ultegra and dura ace pedals, other than the price.. is the cleat they come with..
the ultegra comes with yellow cleat (6 degrees float) and the dura ace comes with the blue cleat (2degrees float)..minor weight difference... they work and feel exactly the same... I have both. I got a set of the dura ace because at the time i needed to get another set of pedals, the dura ace pedal was on sale and came with the blue cleats... if i had bought the ultegra, which comes with yellow, I would have had to buy a set of the blue cleats too...so I got the dura ace for about the same price as the ultegra and blue cleats would have cost me.... as far as function, I can tell no difference... and the weight difference is so minor that I can not tell it.

there is barely any difference in weight between the ultegra and DA spd-sl carbon pedals, ~20g

I think the main difference is that the DA sits on 3 bearings, where the ultegra sits on 2. Overall the extra bearing makes no difference from reviews.

for the price, go with the Ultegra. If you have DA on the rest of your bike and want it to match, go with the DA.

I use to have ultegra but switched over to Speedplays.

I have no direct experience with Shimano pedals because I generally am using Look pedals, but if I were going to buy a set of Shimanos it would be Dura Ace. Every single person that I've talked to who uses Shimano Dura Ace pedals not only likes them, but heaps praises upon them.

When you get your fitting done, ask the fitter about your crank length. I went shorter, from 172.5 to 165 and it got rid of my knee problems that I was experiencing.

If you have knee issues, you might also want to consider Speedplay Zeros.

meh, as long as you are using 105 or better you're fine, theres not a substantial performance difference and not even a substantial weight difference, I'd buy based on what matched the rest of my group if I wanted shimano pedals.

I use the dura-ace pedals because I need a bigger Q factor and the optional extended length spindles. That's another important thing to think about if you need it. Would wait until your fitting before pulling trigger on pedals. Float is in the cleat, not the pedals and I actually use and like the blues anyway which is what comes with the dura-ace pedals, so win-win for me personally.

Go speedplay.

I'm riding on 10 year old Ultegra (6500?) pedals that still work flawlessly. I can't see any reason to pay the DA premium.

My Shimano drive trains and pedals will stick with me for the long haul. Have DA pedals and they are even better than great.

Float is a great addition to clipless pedals. It really makes it hard to abuse your knees due to improper foot angle. Start with as much float as you can. However, excessive float can make it harder to exit the pedals since you have to twist your foot further before you engage the release mechanism. So it helps to select pedals or cleats that provide only moderate float for the long haul. You can use your experience with the amount you twist against the float to figure how much to twist your cleats. That way you can center your foot in the range of float and manage with a lot less.

Depends on the bike they're going on.
I've always ridden the Ultegras which have served me fine, but last year my wife bought me a real nice bike which I thought deserved the DA PD9000s. They're nice but honestly can't tell the difference over the PD6800s.

I have PD 5700 (non carbon) on one bike, and PD 6800 on another. Can't really tell the difference FWIW

+1 The 105 pedals are a lot cheaper with just a bit more weight. I got the black ones and they go perfectly with my Ultegra crankset.

If you have knee problems Speedplay Zero's are worth a serious look. Plenty of adjustable float. I love 'em.

the 105 metal pedals seem to work fine, but they are a tad heavy.
I believe the 105 carbons sit on 1 bearing whereas Ultegra has 2 and DA has 3. My coworker has teh 105 carbons and he's having issues with them not balancing properly. The pedals aren't going back to their default positions after he unclips. Whereas his 105 metel body didn't have that issue, maybe it's a weight thing.

balance will have everything to do with break in, they will loosen up and fall back proper after quite a bit of use. my alloy 105's did the same thing at first. either way, $50ish bucks for 105 alloy pedals vs $175ish for DA, if you're concerned about weight get Speedplay's or Look's are going to be lighter anyway. price/performance value for DA pedals isn't really that great, but, if they match the rest of your stuff and you happen to have that little OCD-ism of matching stuff, go for it. I'm happy with my 105's, but I have a little of that OCD-ism, so if I had Ultegra i'd probably get ultegra pedals as well :P

I prefer the red cleat with zero float.

set up right they work for me.

Thanks for all the advice guys.

I went into the shop thinking that I would do either the Speedplays or the DA pedals and wound up with Look Keo 2 Max pedals.

The rationale was this:

I am getting a proper bike fit done once I get some time on the bike in a trainer and maybe on the roads (if it ever gets nice enough). Once I "break in" my body to my bike, I will go in for a full Trek fitting. This fitting should dial me in perfectly in terms of adjustments including leg and foot positioning, which will presumably help out my knee.

My LBS convinced me that if I was doing that, I might want to consider a pedal that starts out with some float (the Keo 2 Max provides 4.5 degrees with the included cleats) but gives me the option of locking it into 0 degree float or 9 degree float with different cleats. I understand that the Speedplay Zeros would allow for that and more but my LBS didn't carry them and my dealer and wear over time would require a replacement of the pedal vs the cleat. Plus, I'm used to clipping and unclipping from Shimanos so the Looks were very similar.

He also convinced me that as a newish rider, it would be hard to justify the extra costs to get into a DA pedal as I probably wouldn't even notice the difference in weight.

In any case, I'm pretty happy with my setup thus far ... now to save for some wheels

I have the ultegra SPD-SL and they're fine. About 4 years old and no problems. I think they are the 6700 series.

the first part of that bold is why your dealer sold you on the Looks. There is no other reason for you not to go speedplay.
If you look up Keep on kovers for speedplay, you will see that you would never have to ever replace the cleats on speedplays.

Whaaaaaat?

I only work two days a week at a bike shop and I've sold and installed no less than a dozen Speedplay replacement cleats since Christmas. We sell a lot of the covers too... people are always misplacing them/losing one of them.

We carry Look, Shimano, Speedplay and Crank Brothers. Truthfully they're all equally as popular (in terms of units). I've definitely gotten the feedback that Looks are easier to unclip/clip into than Shimanos, but I have zero issues with my Shimano pedals.

Speedplay! Seriously though I have two pairs of low end SPD-SL and I've been happy for 3-4 years. I am one of those people that doesn't really like any float though