Which pedals?

Resound said:

There's probably been threads about this before, but I'm starting another one. :P I'm thinking about getting clipless pedals. The question is which ones? I get the impression that Look pedals are a trifle dodgy...is this a wrong impression? Other than that, SPDs, eggbeaters etc, which are the way to go? Tell me your thoughts, your preferences, your good and bad experiences and so on.

I recently switch from SPD's to LOOK's. I decided to switch because of slight difficulties clipping in quickly because the cleat was so small and I found that the lack of float in the SPD's was causing knee problems. I narrowed down my selection to LOOK's or Speedplays but choose the LOOK's because they are significantly less expensive than the Speedplays and provide enough float to ease my knee pain. It took me a little while to get used to them but now that I have they work great.

Dan.

"BanditManDan" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Resound said:

There's probably been threads about this before, but I'm starting
another one. :P I'm thinking about getting clipless pedals. The
question is which ones? I get the impression that Look pedals are a
trifle dodgy...is this a wrong impression? Other than that, SPDs,
eggbeaters etc, which are the way to go? Tell me your thoughts, your
preferences, your good and bad experiences and so on.

Quoted message said:

I recently switch from SPD's to LOOK's. I decided to switch because
of slight difficulties clipping in quickly because the cleat was so
small and I found that the lack of float in the SPD's was causing knee
problems. I narrowed down my selection to LOOK's or Speedplays but
choose the LOOK's because they are significantly less expensive than
the Speedplays and provide enough float to ease my knee pain. It took
me a little while to get used to them but now that I have they work
great.

Lack of float with SPDs? Unless I'm very much misunderstanding what you
mean I have a hard time believing that.

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DRS said:

Lack of float with SPDs? Unless I'm very much misunderstanding what you mean I have a hard time believing that.

Perhaps your SPD pedals had some type of float adjustments but mine didn't (or anyone elses that I've seen for that matter). Are you possibly getting SPD's and Speedplays confused? Just to clarify I'm talking about old style SPD's and not Speedplays or SPD-SL's.

BanditManDan said:

DRS said:

Lack of float with SPDs? Unless I'm very much misunderstanding what you
mean I have a hard time believing that.

Perhaps your SPD pedals had some type of float adjustments but mine
didn't (or anyone elses that I've seen for that matter). Are you
possibly getting SPD's and Speedplays confused? Just to clarify I'm
talking about old style 'SPD's' (http://tinyurl.com/56ftq) and not
Speedplays or SPD-SL's.

*scratches head*

Could somebody please explain to me what is meant here by "float"? I
have SPDs (very similar to the above URL), and a pair of dicky knees, so
any information on how I can make life easier for my knees would be very
much appreciated.

Cheers, and thanks.

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My Usenet From: address now expires after two weeks. If you email me, and
the mail bounces, try changing the bit before the "@ to usenet".

Resound said:

There's probably been threads about this before, but I'm starting another one. :P I'm thinking about getting clipless pedals. The question is which ones? I get the impression that Look pedals are a trifle dodgy...is this a wrong impression? Other than that, SPDs, eggbeaters etc, which are the way to go? Tell me your thoughts, your preferences, your good and bad experiences and so on.

I have Looks - 1998 vintage - and they are still going strong. I love em! I find that I go thru cleats (the red ones -you can get black ones too which have less float??? I may be wrong here - pls correct me somone!) every 6 mth or so but I also buy them in "bulk" (ie 3 prs in a pack) thru Cecil Walker who discount them this way. I will be getting Looks on my new road bike ( 2006 I hope!!! maybe.. perhaps.. well.. we'll see!!!) unless I come across something that is a must must have instead.

Perhaps if you clarify what you mean by "a trifle dodgy"???

In article <[email hidden]>,
BanditManDan <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

DRS said:

Lack of float with SPDs? Unless I'm very much misunderstanding what you
mean I have a hard time believing that.

Perhaps your SPD pedals had some type of float adjustments but mine
didn't (or anyone elses that I've seen for that matter).

They don't have adjustable float, but they do have 6 degrees of float.

--
Shane Stanley

In article <[email hidden]>,

Stuart Lamble said:

Could somebody please explain to me what is meant here by "float"? I
have SPDs (very similar to the above URL), and a pair of dicky knees, so
any information on how I can make life easier for my knees would be very
much appreciated.

Float means you can rotate your foot. Some set-ups allow none, others
allow varying degrees. Some people claim extra float has solved their
knee problems, while others claim eliminating float has fixed theirs. It
depends on your pedalling action.

--
Shane Stanley

"BanditManDan" <[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

DRS said:

Lack of float with SPDs? Unless I'm very much misunderstanding what you
mean I have a hard time believing that.
Perhaps your SPD pedals had some type of float adjustments but mine

didn't (or anyone elses that I've seen for that matter). Are you
possibly getting SPD's and Speedplays confused? Just to clarify I'm
talking about old style 'SPD's' (http://tinyurl.com/56ftq) and not
Speedplays or SPD-SL's.

There's no float adjustment but that doesn't mean there's no
float. As far as I am aware all SPD pedals have float.

"Available with 6 degrees of "float" (3 degrees each direction),
or fixed / no float."
http://www.icyclesusa.com/catalog/shimano-spd-cleats.htm

I can clip into SPD pedals HEAPS faster than SPD-SLs
which are quite similar to LOOK pedals. It must just be
your style or what you are used to because SPDs can
just be smacked into unlike the SPD-SLs which you have
to make sure you don't flip onto their back. I am much
quicker with the SPD-SLs now, I must admit.

hippy

"Resound" <[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

There's probably been threads about this before, but I'm starting
another one. :P I'm thinking about getting clipless pedals. The
question is which ones? I get the impression that Look pedals are a
trifle dodgy...is this a wrong impression? Other than that, SPDs,
eggbeaters etc, which are the way to go? Tell me your thoughts, your
preferences, your good and bad experiences and so on.

Commuting = SPD
Racing = SPD-SL
MTB = I'd like to try the Eggbeaters and Time
also get good reviews.

If you are anti-Shimano.. tough! :-P

hippy

"warrwych" <[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

I have Looks - 1998 vintage - and they are still going strong. I love
em! I find that I go thru cleats (the red ones -you can get black ones
too which have less float??? I may be wrong here - pls correct me
somone!)

Red = 9 degrees float
Black = 0 degrees float

Quoted message said:

every 6 mth or so but I also buy them in "bulk" (ie 3 prs in a
pack) thru Cecil Walker who discount them this way. I will be getting
Looks on my new road bike ( 2006 I hope!!! maybe.. perhaps.. well..
we'll see!!!) unless I come across something that is a must must have
instead.

SPD-SLs seem to have attracted many favourable comments,
even from long-term LOOK fans.

hippy

"Resound" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

There's probably been threads about this before, but I'm starting
another one. :P I'm thinking about getting clipless pedals. The
question is which ones? I get the impression that Look pedals are a
trifle dodgy...is this a wrong impression? Other than that, SPDs,
eggbeaters etc, which are the way to go? Tell me your thoughts, your
preferences, your good and bad experiences and so on.

--
Resound

I use SPD on my mtb and SPD-SL on my road bike. Both have
float. The SPD's I find a lot easier to clip into, although I've only
been using the SL's for a few weeks.

The SPD's are double sided and you don't have to be too accurate
with your foot placement to clip in. Also I find if I do happen to
miss with the SPD's I can manage a couple of revolutions with
one foot not clipped in if needed.

The SL's are single sided and I find I have to be a lot more
"careful" clipping in. I'm sure that will get easier with more
practise. If I do miss with the SL's though, and turn the pedal
over... on a hill... I'm walkin'. Now I understand what that
other thread was all about.

Mick

hippy said:

I can clip into SPD pedals HEAPS faster than SPD-SLs
which are quite similar to LOOK pedals. It must just be
your style or what you are used to because SPDs can
just be smacked into unlike the SPD-SLs which you have
to make sure you don't flip onto their back. I am much
quicker with the SPD-SLs now, I must admit.

hippy

That's interesting, most people I've talked to say the opposite including myself. Glad to hear that you've mastered the SPD's so well, sounds like your pedals are better balanced than mine were. I had to flip over my SPD's the same way as the LOOK pedals to clip in but since the cleat was larger I was able to hit the pedal better with the LOOKs.

"BanditManDan" <[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

hippy said:

I can clip into SPD pedals HEAPS faster than SPD-SLs
which are quite similar to LOOK pedals. It must just be
your style or what you are used to because SPDs can
just be smacked into unlike the SPD-SLs which you have
to make sure you don't flip onto their back. I am much
quicker with the SPD-SLs now, I must admit.

hippy

That's interesting, most people I've talked to say the opposite
including myself. Glad to hear that you've mastered the SPD's so well,
sounds like your pedals are better balanced than mine were. I had to
flip over my SPD's the same way as the LOOK pedals to clip in but since
the cleat was larger I was able to hit the pedal better with the LOOKs.

Ahh.. I should've mentioned. Those ones you showed the
picture of are the evil single-sided ones. They suck afaik.
I have the double-sided caged, double-sided cageless
and spd+flat pedal versions. The worst of these for
clipping in is the spd+flat pedal version, because you have
to make sure you get the right side up. Because they have
a large flat pedal on the other side though it's not really
an issue, unlike road pedals (SPD-SL, LOOK, etc) where
your foot will slip off the back of the pedal..
Double-sided SPD are great for commuting where you
need to regularly unclip and clip-in (unless you trackstand).
I trackstand more now with the SPD-SLs because they are
a bit harder to clip-in quickly with.

hippy

Resound said:

I get the impression that Look pedals are a trifle dodgy...is this a
wrong impression?

Hmmm... My first Look pedals were actually Shimano 105s, bought in the late eighties. Since then I've also bought a set of Look PP296 and Look PP396 pedals, and all three sets are still going strong on three different bikes, though the Shimano ones look really amazingly scuffed these days.

There's no better pedal, IMHO, and if you trundle along to a race meeting you'll find that perhaps 50% of roadies agree.

I've tried SPDs (I bought a pair of M747s and a pair of M646s), but found them a PITA to clip into, much harder than Looks. Also, the teeny weeny pedal makes your foot hurt on long rides.

The SPD-SLs are better than the SPDs (or so I hear), but then they should be, as they're a shameless copy of the Looks.

Regards,

Suzy

In article <[email hidden]>,

suzyj said:

the teeny weeny pedal makes your foot hurt on long rides

Not with decent shoes.

--
Shane Stanley

"Shane Stanley" <[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

suzyj said:

the teeny weeny pedal makes your foot hurt on long rides

Not with decent shoes.

Yeah.. I reckon that's a myth propogated by the latte-set. 😉

Both of my shoes hurt my feet just as much and it has
nothing to do with cleat size. Moreso the sides of my
feet, when I've over-tightened the straps.

hippy

warrwych said:

I have Looks - 1998 vintage - and they are still going strong. I love em! I find that I go thru cleats (the red ones -you can get black ones too which have less float??? I may be wrong here - pls correct me somone!) every 6 mth or so but I also buy them in "bulk" (ie 3 prs in a pack) thru Cecil Walker who discount them this way. I will be getting Looks on my new road bike ( 2006 I hope!!! maybe.. perhaps.. well.. we'll see!!!) unless I come across something that is a must must have instead.

Perhaps if you clarify what you mean by "a trifle dodgy"???

I've read a few posts where people said that they broke the Look pedals quite easily. They implied that they were somewhat flimsy. From the other posts I've read here, it sounds like that's not the case.

suzyj said:

Resound wrote:

The SPD-SLs are better than the SPDs (or so I hear), but then they should be, as they're a shameless copy of the Looks.

Suzy

The SPD-SL's are fantastic, way better than normal SPD's and better than what I've tried of LOOK's models.
As my new high-end pedal I might be tempted to give LOOK's KEO a spin to replace my SDP-SL dura-ace, just to shave a few grams of my racing-setup 😄

I went from look's to time impact about a year and a half ago.

The looks were fine, but the cleats were not. They never lasted long at all.

Even though the Time cleats cost twice as much, I reckon its a better deal
in the long run. Cant comment on how long the pedal itself will last though,
but its still going strong.

Paul

"Resound" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

There's probably been threads about this before, but I'm starting
another one. :P I'm thinking about getting clipless pedals. The
question is which ones? I get the impression that Look pedals are a
trifle dodgy...is this a wrong impression? Other than that, SPDs,
eggbeaters etc, which are the way to go? Tell me your thoughts, your
preferences, your good and bad experiences and so on.

--
Resound