+1 i always felt those three strap road shoes put you in like star trek status when dawning a kit. it's the reason i'm going for sidi's not one of the mission workshop ones.

i skid with my eggbeaters never popped out, though I do replace my cleat regularly... Also while CX racing and stuck in thick mud and pedaling through, still no popping out...

Same here and in all my travels I think I have only seen 1 or 2 people with road shoes... Same actually goes for here in PDX. The only people I see with road shoes are the roadie crowd.

I have used the SPD SLs and I think they are great is you dont need to walk around that much and if you dont need to get in and out of you pedals as fast. They are not as fast as just putting a foot down on a pair of eggbeaters with 4 contact points...

maybe try again? The cleats are adjustable just like any other. I do agree with you somewhat on the float. I can wiggle my feet smoothly but the springs force my feet back into position

I use DZR shoes (GMT-8) with shimano double-sided mountain pedals (M 520L). I commute six miles to school with them on a Kona Paddywagon at 70 gear inches.




I went from platforms and street shoes to this, and the difference was huge. Clipping in and out is super easy. I had never used clipless prior to this and I had it down after one ride. I never have to look down to clip in with the double sided pedals. Definitely go for double sided over the ones with platforms on one side. It's easier to just clip right in than to use the platform side and then have to flip the pedal to clip in.

The shoes are stiff enough to make a big improvement in feel. Even when I wear them on bikes with platform pedals they feel better than street shoes. They are still comfortable enough to walk in all day long, though I wouldn't wear them to go jogging or anything. The cleats are recessed enough that I never have any problems with scratching floors or clicking on tile. They do, however, grind slightly on concrete. It's not that big of a deal for me though.

I have always stayed clipped in when I mean to, and can skid if I feel like (though I almost never do).

I would highly recommend this combination, but there is one criticism to make. These cleats and pedals have a pretty small amount of float, so expect to spend some time getting the cleats into the perfect spot. As I had never adjusted clipless cleats before getting these pedals, my knees were very unhappy for a few weeks while I got everything dialed in.

i just rode my first ride with rondels and spd's and for some reason when back pedaling or attempting to skid it didnt feel as strong as my straps plus platform pedals. i did notice a huge difference in power transfer when pedaling though. shoes too loose? anyone have this issue?

Adjusting cleats: very tricky.

Standing on both feet, raise your heels just enough to break ground.

Feel where the balls of your feet press into the floor.

That gives you the fore and aft of your cleats.

Stand and lift your heels again.

You might feel the pressure on your foot a little more to the center of your foot than on the actual ball of your foot.

This will give you left and right.

I have both my cleats adusted as far to the outside as possible.

Next, walk wiith wet bare feet on a surface that will show your footprints clearly.

If you walk with your toes out, look at the total angle your toes stick out on each foot, and adjust the angle of your cleats in the other direction, but only half the angle.

So, if you walk with the toes of your right foot turned out 20 degrees to the right, adjust the angle of the cleat on your right shoe ten degrees to the left.

You don't need to actually measure the angles.

You can eyeball the angle you walk with your toes out and estimate half of that as a correction in the other direction.

Interestingly, when you turn your shoe over to make this adjustment, you will make the adjustment in the same direction your toes stick out (toe out to the right, cleat angled to the right, half as much); and, when you turn the shoe back over, sole down, the cleat will angle in the opposite direction (to the left), the correct direction.

If you could make a perfect angle adjustment, you would want zero float cleats; and, since you can't make a perfect adjustment, you want cleats with some float (normal).

If you go to someone who has credentials and does this for a living (not a bike shop), he will use zero float cleats since he can get the angle exactly right.

If you walk with your toes out, and if you have made a cleat correction inward, your heels might occassionaly hit the the crank arms.

You can reduce the angle, move the cleats more towards the center, or just live with an occassional heel strike.

I hit on the right crank arm regularly, but I don't notice except to note that I have polished the right crank arm with my heel.

I've made plenty a jump in retention, starting with single gates, to double gates, to Hold Fast straps, and now recently clipless. I never enjoyed cages, the were too clumsy for me. The Hold Fasts were loyal to me, I love them and still have them. Now I use my Crank Brothers Candy SLs and a pair of DZR Strasses. It feels so natural to me, very comfortable, and pretty easy to get use to. Still mastering clip entry but it's nothing frustrating. I just feel secure in the feet, and don't have any regret.

dsh wrote a review thread for it, so it's somewhere here in the forums.

I recently posted about this, but I'll say it again.

I bought a pair of Ovis's and I have the same problem. The leather uppers are simply too stretchy to offer the ultimate power-transfer clipless setups promise. Way too sloppy. I get much more efficient power-transfer from Scrod's Catalina straps and platforms. I also had trouble with the cleats grinding on textured surfaces (like cobbles), which got really annoying.

i noticed a little slop on my upstroke too but not really any less than when I used clips and straps, at least set up so I could get out of them easily. I mean they are not racing shoes so I dont expect them to offer what those do...