Pedals arrived yesterday and after a trip to our only purely
road LBS Sidi shoes completed the requirements. I went for
SPD-SL R540 pedals, they are the black ones that are
basically a copy of the dura ace ones but in black resin.
They're only 330g a pair and come with floating cleats which
are about £12 to replace. They are specified as 6° float but
they have a c.8mm of lateral float too. Shimano literature
states the wear indicators for replacement, and after the
spin in the park I can see that this might go down VERY
quickly. I am reminded of the 'Shimano is the Microsoft of
the cycling world' statement I heard on this(?) NG recently.
It certainly seems to my cynical mind they've deliberately
designed longevity out of the equation! I'm getting less
happy with Shimano as time wears on. Or should that be
$himano ;-) The pedals themselves seem pretty good from my
inexperienced veiw point. I've got them on the lowest
setting and I can envisage that being a little too low. I'll
up them a little after they've clobbered my shins. They spin
round at rest to the perfect entry position, with them being
brand new, the motion is well damped and a bit slugish, but
I expect that'll loosen up quickly. The entry itself is very
easy and it is difficult to prevent engagement, even if you
could use them without slipping off unengaged, which you
can't. You can definitely use the other side in ordinary
rubber soled shoes, even if the shops are way off. Getting
out of them is a doddle and I didn't fall over in the park;
though my followup to this may be from hospital in the early
hours after my commute to teach this evening;-) The shoes
are Sidi Dynamics in plain black (with a dash of red on the
straps). I take a 45 virtually always, but these are a 46,
do other people find this? They were £60 from local LBS and
the pedals were £30 from cycle-express.
--
Mike W