Are Speedplay Frogs OK for fixed gear?
 

I've been riding with toe clips and straps and some running shoes that most of the sole came off. I stiffened them a bit with an insole under the existing insole I cut out of a milk bottle. I'd like to try some clipless pedals and have some Speedplay Frogs I could try. Are they suitable for fixed riding? What about Zeros or Light Action pedals?


What kind of clipless pedals are suitable for fixed gears. I know an accidental unclip is dire on fixed gear bikes.

Any clipless mechanism will work fine as long as you understand how it works. All these systems are a compromise between secure and reliable foot retention and ease and consistency of clipping in and unclipping.

I have Speedplay Zero pedals on my geared bike and one of my fixed. I use the same pair of Fizik shoes with both. They work great for me, and I highly recommend them.

Uh-oh...I feel a TL;DR post coming on, but I will try to keep it somewhat under control...

I've been using clipless off and on for years, on both MTBs and roadies so there are not too many versions I haven't used - but Speedplay Frogs and Light Action are among those.

However I did just go through the trials and tribulations of trying to live with Speedplay Zeros and even though a couple of my buddies love them, they are the 1st clipless pedals that I ever pretty much just gave up on and would recommend avoiding.

Everything about them, in theory, appealed to me - double-sided, rebuildable & upgradeable, yada-yada. But IRL, for me at least, they were a nightmare. Not particularly easy to get in or out of, no matter how much I adjusted the cleats (and they are plenty, perhaps too, adjustable). I had actually planned on changing all my roadish bikes to Zeros, if they worked out, because my favorite clipless pedals, that I have been using for a pretty long time, and just put back on, were discontinued and my last set of cleats, which appear irreplaceable, are wearing out.

In fact, right now I am now back to deciding what pedals to get for several bikes, and don't have a clue about what direction I want to go :eek:

Well that wasn't tooo long, was it?

I feel like I post this almost once a week, but these work. Shimano PD-M520 SPD Pedals > Components > Pedals > Mountain Pedals | Jenson USA

I have used them on road, fixed, dirt road races, moutain biking, downhill, casual rides, all types of weather and they have taken a beating. Still work just as good as the day I put them on.

If you are just trying to get a firm sole for a powerful pedal stroke, check out Five-Ten shoes Mountain Biking Footwear | Five Ten. To go less-expensive, use trail running shoes. A very firm one is the Saucony Guide Trail 3. (Old model, but at Amazon). With Saucony, you want an outsole of XT900, not the softer XT600.
As far as going with Frogs, they are great pedals. I have been using the Frog Ti on my road bike for years, and they are perfect, but you should have a better reason than bad shoes to switch to clipless. They will almost definitely lighten up your bike. Are you trying to upgrade the components, to lighten it? The frogs will also give you almost unlimited ground clearance on rough surfaces and in corners.
If you're trying to turn the bike into the lightest it can be, they are an excellent choice. They are more of a performance pedal, though, so unless you are competing or seriously training on your single-speed, there are probably better choices.

Yes, that could be a painful experience. My feeling is this...

Dedicated road pedals are not really designed for a lot of float but mountain bike pedals are. I like SPD pedals, specifically the Shimano XT's. They have a good amount of float and hence a lot of flexibility in the twisting and rocking associated with aggressive riding. Other pedal systems are good to though but I would gravitate towards mountain bike systems as they will most likely be less susceptible to unclipping at an undesirable time.

Just my opinion....

Frogs are Speedplays MTB pedals until they came up with the new syzr pedals.

My experience with Speedplay has been quite opposite to IAmSam's.

I find them fairly easy to clip into and very easy to release from. That is, not so easy they're dangerous--they hold on 100% until I'm ready to get out, then they quickly let me go.

I've only tried one other clipless system. I had some Shimano SPDs in the late 90s and liked them. I like Speedplay Zero even more.

The Zero models are so named because they have an adjustable range of zero-resistance float. You can dial in how far you want your heel to float in and out. Once it reaches that limit, it will stop, and at that point a deliberate, moderate force makes it release. The actual release force is not adjustable.

The only downside to their system is the large "cleat," which is actually the locking mechanism, on the shoe. It makes walking pretty awkward. I've been using coffee shop covers that snap on over the cleats to protect them and give more traction, but these are a nuisance to carry and to put on and off. I just recently changed to their walkable cleats, which are the same as their other models but with the addition of a plastic fairing surrounding the metal parts.

I love to ride fix gears on hills. Unclipping at 200+ RPM scares the **** out of me. (That pedal hitting my ankle might well do me more long term injury than getting thrown from the bike.) I also know I have no clue how my foot is sitting on the pedal when I am pedaling that fast and I sure as heck am not going to look down and see. The ONLY pedals I trust are old fashioned rattraps with toeclips, quality straps and cycling shoes with old fashioned aluminum slotted cleats in good shape. In exchange, I fall over about once a year at a standstill, strapped in. I'll take a couple dozen of those over one of the former.

The other plus - climbing. If the hill gets steep, on a fix gear you pull really hard. A cleat letting go (perhaps for the same reason - you are working too hard to pay attention to details) may mean slamming your knee on the handlebars really hard.

In both of these scenarios, I do pull cleats out, even with good straps and cleats. But the huge difference is my foot goes no farther. Downhill it is just a big heartrate kicking scare, a dab on the brakes, a slide back into the cleat and "whew!". (I've done this at 45+.) I've pulled my foot clear of the straps uphill, but it isn't instantaneous and I have never gotten hurt.

The fix gear I had for a few years with LOOK fixed cleats was scary to ride downhill. It was purely a flat ground bike so that didn't happen often, but still ...

I don't tell others what to do but I have been doing this fix gear gig a long time and am still around to do more.

Ben

Rode with the Frog pedals today. They worked great. It made the 83 inch 44/14 gear so much faster and easier. I can ride most of my rolling ride without much out of saddle climbing. I considered going up a tooth or two on the cog, but with better rolling tires and clipless pedals, I could drop a tooth on the cog and still have fun riding it.

Sure, why not? Considering that people used Cinelli M71 pedals on track bikes, Speedplays would be a piece of cake.

An update. Something I gained big time is cornering ground clearance vs the Superbe Pro pedals I was using. I think pedal strikes in corners are only minimally possible with these pedals.

Are those pedals double-sided?

Yes. As far as ease to clip into while the pedal is moving, I'd rate them as moderately easy.