FPD clipless pedals

Paul Luton [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

Following the commendations for clipless pedals in this group I am trying a
cheapish pair from the CTC shop branded FPD. ( SPD style ). Initial feeling
is fine but a bit more tricky to disengage than I would like - a twist then
a wriggle seems often to be required. Does anyone else have experience with
this brand ?

A friend had a pair and (I'm sorry) was not impressed. The bearings on
his seemed to tighten up with pedalling to the point at which the pedal
no longer turned. He now runs some Shimano ones.

In terms of ease of use, he falls over more than anyone else I know, but
they didn't seem to increase the amount of time he spent on the floor!

Jon

Paul Luton said:

Following the commendations for clipless pedals in this group I am trying a
cheapish pair from the CTC shop branded FPD. ( SPD style ). Initial feeling
is fine but a bit more tricky to disengage than I would like - a twist then
a wriggle seems often to be required. Does anyone else have experience with
this brand ?

Thanks for any comments . Paul

I have a pair of FPD clipless pedals. The bearings are now a bit loose
after 2 1/2 years of neglect, and almost daily use, but apart
from that they seem to work fine. I can certainly disengage
easily with a flick of the heel. I have set the release tension
to be pretty low, perhaps this would help?

On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 22:22:00 +0100, Jon Senior

jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk said:

Paul Luton [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

Following the commendations for clipless pedals in this group I am trying a
cheapish pair from the CTC shop branded FPD. ( SPD style ). Initial feeling
is fine but a bit more tricky to disengage than I would like - a twist then
a wriggle seems often to be required. Does anyone else have experience with
this brand ?

A friend had a pair and (I'm sorry) was not impressed. The bearings on
his seemed to tighten up with pedalling to the point at which the pedal
no longer turned. He now runs some Shimano ones.

Yeah, I bought a pair once and was very unimpressed. I tried the
double sided ones, spd fitting one side and regular platform cage the
other (needed something I could cycle with whilst sometimes wearing
great clomping safety boots).

Bearings were rough as a badgers [censored], and got worse even over the
short period I persevered with them. Like you I found the
engage/disengagement a bit clumsy, noticeably less slick than genuine
SPD's. The pedals also corroded very quickly in places. Granted, I
tried them in tough conditions, commuting on wet and salty winter
roads but I was still surprised at how fast rust appeared. This seemed
to be because the finish/plating and fasteners were of poor quality.
It was cosmetic only of course, but still disappointing.

These pedals looked and performed like they were years old after only
a couple of months commuting. I took them off and threw them in the
bits box. I thought about them some time later and considered ebaying
'em, but decided I'd be too embarrassed to sell such [censored] poor
equipment.

I was also dissatisfied with the cross compatibility between the FPD
and genuine Shimano SPD pedals. The FPD box did say "SPD Compatible"
and I took this to mean I'd be able to mix and match my different
shoes and different cleats, but not so. Perhaps I expected a bit much
from the compatible claim so shouldn't grumble, but it's worth knowing
if anyone is considering trying the FPD brand that mine didn't want to
play nicely with my Shimanos.

I could only get one pedals cleats to (just about) work with the other
by adjusting the tension a /long/ way. So swapping between
"compatible" spd equipped shoes would mean allen key adjustment and
back again each time, obviously not practical.
--

"Bob"

'The people have spoken, the [censored]'

Email address is spam trapped.
To reply directly remove the beverage.

Paul Luton said:

Following the commendations for clipless pedals in this group I am
trying a cheapish pair from the CTC shop branded FPD. ( SPD style ).
Initial feeling is fine but a bit more tricky to disengage than I
would like - a twist then a wriggle seems often to be required. Does
anyone else have experience with this brand ?

Make sure you're using the correct cleats, and try reducing pedal
retension force if not done so already (via allen socket on top of pedal,
probably).

I used single-sided FPDs for a year or two. Bearings were fine,
disengagement was fine. I found clipping in fiddly because the tiny
pedals are evenly weighted, meaning they point any old way up before a
foot is on. Flipping was annoying and dangerous. I should have got Look
pedals sooner.

~PB

Paul Luton said:

Following the commendations for clipless pedals in this group I am

trying a

Quoted message said:

cheapish pair from the CTC shop branded FPD. ( SPD style ). Initial

feeling

Quoted message said:

is fine but a bit more tricky to disengage than I would like - a

twist then

Quoted message said:

a wriggle seems often to be required. Does anyone else have

experience with

Quoted message said:

this brand ?

I've had two FPD sets of pedals. One on my commuter bike, double-sided
(SPD-type cage on both sides), and a single-sided pair on my less-used
touring bike. I also have a set of Shimano double sided SPD pedals.

The double sided FPDs are fine - I would say as good as the Shimano.
The single sided is not. After 6 months of light use, the pedals are
stiff and do not "spin" easily.

The double sided FPDs were not much cheaper than the Shimano
equivalent, the single-sided ones were very cheap (12 quid?) as I
remember.

Don't know if this helps much.

Toby

In message <[email hidden]>

Pete Biggs said:

Make sure you're using the correct cleats, and try reducing pedal
retension force if not done so already (via allen socket on top of pedal,
probably).

Retension force as low as it will go - without the clip falling apart.
After a great day of riding in Surrey/Hampshire and glorious sunshine I am
feeling more confident with unclipping. I will have to see how long
they last.

Thanks to everyone who responded,

Paul

--
CTC Right to Ride Representative for Richmond upon Thames