Hi,

I'm seriously considering changing from my Crank Brother's Acid pedals to the Time Z / Time Z Control pedals, which I believe use the same mechanism as the Time ATAC pedals.

But I seem to recall threads talking about how the ATAC pedals are more difficult to clip out of than most other pedals.

Am I on crack and totally remembering this wrong, or is this something I should be concerned about?

I found that to be the case. I actually preferred the ATAC's though.

After learning on ATAC's, I found unintentionally unclipping was a problem after switching to Candy's and Eggbeaters. I got used to them after a dozen or so rides though.

Interesting. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Any trouble with not clipping out of the ATAC's when you're close to falling over, or hit something unexpected?

Crank brothers are way easier to clip out of, imho. I tried to switch over to time atac aliums after 5 years of riding crank brothers eggbeaters and candys. I gave it about a month, but I hated them.

Update 09/20/2010
So I picked up a pair of time atac xs pedals on a whim, and they are just as easy to get in and out of as the crank brothers pedals I've used. Maybe they are easier to use than the Aliums? Beats me, but they are now my pedal of choice, since they have a way better track record for reliability.

I've used both, neither is particularly hard to get used to IMO. (current preference is ATAC btw)

+1
I've used both on the trail and still have Crank Bros. on my commuter but I like the crisper action, getting in and out, of my Time ATACs. It just feels more defined to me.

+1

I've used ATACs since ive been riding clipless, 12 years or so now, but Ive also ridden eggbeaters for awhile. a few months back I needed a new set of cleats and the ATAC cleats were 30 dollars but the shop had eggbeater candy's on sale for 37, so I decided to give them a try. The eggbeaters are ALOT easier to get in/out of, but I kept unintentionally popping out of them(3-4 times per 5 mile loop). I even tried the 20 degree setting but that puts the toe release angle at 15 degrees and apparently I point my toes out alot when turning so It caused me to come out even more than on the 15degree heal release angle.

I do think that eggbeaters are alot easier to get in and out of and do make good pedals for those new to clipless but I personally prefer the TIMEs. I feel alot more secure and never unintentionally come out of them. I winded up giving the eggbeaters to my GF who's just learning to ride with clipless and she loves them more than the Times I started her with.

Time

Thanks for all your replies!

There's so many contradictory opinions - I've decided to get them and see. The difficulty in getting in and out mostly worries me in the unexpected, emergency release situation, but - only one way to see! They seem to be rather popular among mountain bikers - they can't be *that* bad, right? :-)

I've used both and much prefer ATACs to Eggbeaters. The ease of clipping and unclipping coupled with a slightly larger platform (which is handy in cases where I can't get clipped in right away) make the Time pedals much better for me. That said the eggbeaters are nice and light, and clear mud well if that's an issue for you.

As far as not being able to unclip when you need to... it was never more of an issue for me with one over the other. You just kinda get used to getting out of them when you need to. I don't even think about it anymore..

Just wanted to update this thread on my results -

I ordered a pair of Time Control Z pedals first. They were as many people in this thread described - they took more force to clip out of then other clipless pedals I've used (including crank brothers), but unlike with the Crank Brothers pedals I can always feel exactly when I clip in or clip out which is really great. I found that with the Crank Brothers, I always had to overcompensate when clipping out to make sure I was actually clipped out, something I didn't have to do with the Control Z's, so it wasn't quite as big of a difference as you might think. The Control Z's also got a little easier to work with after initial break-in, but still required more force. I did prefer the feel of the Control Z's over the Crank Brothers personally, but the extra release tension was a little bit annoying and I wasn't sure I would want to recommend them to someone new to clipless, and I didn't know if it would be an issue with mountain biking where emergency clipouts are more frequent and more difficult.

I also needed pedals for my mountain bike, so I thought I would try one of their other pedals - Time ROC Atac Carbon's. I've been on about 3 road rides and 1 mountain bike ride with them. They definitely have less release tension than the Control Z's. They're at least as good if not better than the Crank Brother's pedals in release tension. They also retain that distinct "you've clipped in" or "you've clipped out" feeling that the Crank Brothers pedals don't have, so I would say overall they're undoubtedly easier. I believe they have a tension adjust so I could make it require more force to clip out if I wanted. It's my understanding (though I'm not 100% sure on it) that all modern Time pedals have this lower release tension, except the Control's, Control Z's, and Aliums. Look for the adjustable release tension.

For more details, scroll down to my comments in post #24 in this thread:
https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.ph...29#post7022029