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Look & SPD

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Cycling Equipment
Published
23 April 2003
Last activity
28 April 2003
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Paul Westall
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  1. Can someone enlighten me about pedal cleats? Am I correct that Look and SPD are the main cleats?
    Which do people prefer, pros and cons. Also, do most Campy pedals use Look cleats, or does Campy
    have their own/ TIA Paul

  2. "Paul Westall" <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

    Quoted message said:

    Can someone enlighten me about pedal cleats? Am I correct that Look and SPD are the main cleats?
    Which do people prefer, pros and cons.

    There are many others, especially Time. What's best for you depends on many factors, including what
    you use them for, how much you want to pay, etc.

  3. "Paul Westall" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    "]news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Can someone enlighten me about pedal cleats? Am I correct that Look and


    SPD

    Quoted message said:

    are the main cleats? Which do people prefer, pros and cons. Also, do


    most

    Quoted message said:

    Campy pedals use Look cleats, or does Campy have their own/

    At one time both Shimano and Campagnolo sold Look rebadged pedals (a fine and sensible situation
    which of course ended).

    The current Campagnolo ProFit is a minor enhancement from Look's basic design ( the wearing edge is
    metal/metal instead of nylon) in a smaller lighter body.

    --
    Andrew Muzi yellowjersey.orgyellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April 1971

  4. In article <[email hidden]>, "Paul Westall"

    Quoted message said:

    Can someone enlighten me about pedal cleats? Am I correct that Look and SPD are the main cleats?
    Which do people prefer, pros and cons. Also, do most Campy pedals use Look cleats, or does Campy
    have their own/ TIA Paul

    It is fairest to say that Look and SPD are the two most popular systems, and further, that they
    represent the two basic forms most other systems take.

    Look is a wide, road-oriented, non-walkable cleat. Basically, it has a big plastic triangle for a
    cleat that essentially becomes the sole of your shoe. This is exactly as easy to walk in as it
    sounds, and you can identify serious roadies by their awkward but hilarious off-bike gait.

    The upside is excellent power-transfer, very positive engagement, and a generally comfortable
    pedalling platform.

    SPD is a small, recessed cleat. In short, you usually get a basically normal shoe with an SPD cleat,
    and you can walk around in them without trouble, more or less. The engagement is not as positive as
    with a Look cleat, and some report that the narrower cleat causes "hot spots" on their feet. The
    walkability is partly a convenience feature, and partly for MTBers who actually have to put their
    feet down sometimes.

    There are loads of variations. Both Shimano (SPD-SL) and Campy (?) have "Look-like" un-walkable
    pedal systems for roadies. Lots of makers (Speedplay, Time) have cleat/pedal setups that are similar
    to one or the other of these designs, or sometimes rather different, but generally are either
    walkable or not. There are also clones (VP, Wellgo) that are completely compatible with SPD cleats
    and pedals.

    Of the SPD-style designs, XC riders have adopted the fairly new Eggbeater pedals as pretty much the
    perfect design. Super-simple, four points of entry, and very mud-friendly, which is something you
    can't say about ordinary SPD.

    --
    Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

  5. Paul-<< Can someone enlighten me about pedal cleats? Am I correct that Look and SPD are the
    main cleats?

    Road SPD have not been made by shimano for a while. Ritchey makes a road SPD clone but not shimano.

    The main road pedal systems that we see now are-

    LOOK Campagnolo shimano-SPD-r and SPD-SL Speedplay Time

    There are others but these are the most popular, IME.

    << Also, do most Campy pedals use Look cleats, or does Campy have their own/

    Similar to LOOK cleats but unique to Campagnolo pedals.

    Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
    (303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

  6. A dumb q have felt a hot spot - got some (used) spd-r or -l (not in front of them now) but the
    length of the axis the distance from the threads to the pedal seem ~2cm greater - putting my feet
    farther apart! Methinks this is not a good thing! Is there a purpose in this desgn? tnx Chuck

  7. Shimano does make the A515 which is a one sided spd pedal. I would consider this an spd road pedal.
    I was using spd's and then thought I'd try Looks. Once I got clipped into the Looks I was
    comfortable. Sometimes getting in quickly was less than easy and sometimes at lights I nearly bought
    the farm due to the slippery plastic cleat and slippery shoe bottom. I have since switched back to
    spd's on all 3 road bikes. I'm a bit concerned about hot spots with spd's but have recently
    purchased my first new pair of shoes in about 5 years and hope new Sidi Dominators will be
    comfortable.

    [email hidden] (Qui si parla Campagnolo) wrote in message
    news:<[email hidden]>...

    Quoted message said:

    Paul-<< Can someone enlighten me about pedal cleats? Am I correct that Look and SPD are the
    main cleats?

    Road SPD have not been made by shimano for a while. Ritchey makes a road SPD clone but not
    shimano.

    The main road pedal systems that we see now are-

    LOOK Campagnolo shimano-SPD-r and SPD-SL Speedplay Time

    There are others but these are the most popular, IME.

    << Also, do most Campy pedals use Look cleats, or does Campy have their own/

    Similar to LOOK cleats but unique to Campagnolo pedals.

    Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
    (303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

  8. I am using SPD 959 pedals on my road bike, I bought them for my Mt bike and, after testing on the
    road bike, did not take them off. My Sidi Dominators have a very stiff sole and I have had not "hot
    spot" issues. Still, the Sidis make me walk a bit gingerly as they are so stiff and have hard
    plastic tread pieces. It's nice to be able to clip in quickly at lights and not have the shoe skid
    off if my cleat/pedal alignment was slightly off the way I did with Looks.

    Tim

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

    Quoted message said:

    Shimano does make the A515 which is a one sided spd pedal. I would consider this an spd road
    pedal. I was using spd's and then thought I'd try Looks. Once I got clipped into the Looks I was
    comfortable. Sometimes getting in quickly was less than easy and sometimes at lights I nearly
    bought the farm due to the slippery plastic cleat and slippery shoe bottom. I have since switched
    back to spd's on all 3 road bikes. I'm a bit concerned about hot spots with spd's but have
    recently purchased my first new pair of shoes in about 5 years and hope new Sidi Dominators will
    be comfortable.

    [email hidden] (Qui si parla Campagnolo) wrote in message


    news:<[email hidden]>...

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    Paul-<< Can someone enlighten me about pedal cleats? Am I correct that


    Look

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    and SPD are the main cleats?

    Road SPD have not been made by shimano for a while. Ritchey makes a road


    SPD

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    clone but not shimano.

    The main road pedal systems that we see now are-

    LOOK Campagnolo shimano-SPD-r and SPD-SL Speedplay Time

    There are others but these are the most popular, IME.

    << Also, do most Campy pedals use Look cleats, or does Campy have their own/

    Similar to LOOK cleats but unique to Campagnolo pedals.

    Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
    (303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

  9. that dangerous slippage, combined with walking like a goof is driving me away from Look. I have the
    one sided Shimano 'road' pedals and while they're nice, there's no reason not to go double sided.

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

    Quoted message said:

    I am using SPD 959 pedals on my road bike, I bought them for my Mt bike


    and,

    Quoted message said:

    after testing on the road bike, did not take them off. My Sidi Dominators have a very stiff sole
    and I have had not "hot spot" issues. Still, the Sidis make me walk a bit gingerly as they are so
    stiff and have hard


    plastic

    Quoted message said:

    tread pieces. It's nice to be able to clip in quickly at lights and not have the shoe skid off if
    my cleat/pedal alignment was slightly off the


    way

    Quoted message said:

    I did with Looks.

    Tim

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

    Quoted message said:

    Shimano does make the A515 which is a one sided spd pedal. I would consider this an spd road
    pedal. I was using spd's and then thought I'd try Looks. Once I got clipped into the Looks I was
    comfortable. Sometimes getting in quickly was less than easy and sometimes at lights I nearly
    bought the farm due to the slippery plastic cleat and slippery shoe bottom. I have since
    switched back to spd's on all 3 road bikes. I'm a bit concerned about hot spots with spd's but
    have recently purchased my first new pair of shoes in about 5 years and hope new Sidi Dominators
    will be comfortable.

    [email hidden] (Qui si parla Campagnolo) wrote in message


    news:<[email hidden]>...

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    Paul-<< Can someone enlighten me about pedal cleats? Am I correct


    that

    Quoted message said:

    Look

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    and SPD are the main cleats?

    Road SPD have not been made by shimano for a while. Ritchey makes a


    road

    Quoted message said:

    SPD

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    clone but not shimano.

    The main road pedal systems that we see now are-

    LOOK Campagnolo shimano-SPD-r and SPD-SL Speedplay Time

    There are others but these are the most popular, IME.

    << Also, do most Campy pedals use Look cleats, or does Campy have their own/

    Similar to LOOK cleats but unique to Campagnolo pedals.

    Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
    (303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

  10. In article PCFpa.617106$S_4.664847@rwcrnsc53 said:

    that dangerous slippage, combined with walking like a goof is driving me away from Look. I
    have the one sided Shimano 'road' pedals and while they're nice, there's no reason not to go
    double sided.

    Or four-sided, as with the very light and popular Eggbeaters. If you're looking for walkability and
    not invested in a pedal system already, there's no reason not to use them on a road bike, too.

    My only current excuses for not buying Eggbeaters is that I already have three pairs of SPD pedals,
    and I like the Shimano DX platform SPDs for mountain biking.

    --
    Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

  11. A Muzi <[email hidden]> wrote:
    : At one time both Shimano and Campagnolo sold Look rebadged pedals (a fine and sensible situation
    : which of course ended).

    : The current Campagnolo ProFit is a minor enhancement from Look's basic design ( the wearing edge
    : is metal/metal instead of nylon) in a smaller lighter body.

    Does that mean that you could buy one pair of shoes, and use it with all kinds of Look-clones:
    Shimano, Campy ProFit and so on?

    --
    Risto Varanka | helsinki.fi~rvaranka varis at no spam please iki fi

  12. I've begun peeing on the bike as well, stopped though 😉

    Yes, its all about the recessed cleat with a rubber soul.

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

    Quoted message said:

    In article <bn_pa.335715$OV.364680@rwcrnsc54>, KBH <[email hidden]>


    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    Does safe slippage seem less odd?

    Congratu^%&inglations to Look, but the combination of smooth, hard


    plastic

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    shoe bottoms and smooth hard metal pedals can caused some painful mishaps getting clipped in.
    Sometimes its nice to just put your pedal down and


    get

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    clipped in _after_ you cross the intersection, and that's easier


    (possible)

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    with SPD

    I really don't agree with this analysis - I have been using both SPD and


    Look

    Quoted message said:

    for many years and I find Look is vastly easier to clip in on the first


    try,

    Quoted message said:

    and I find that if you use a road bike shoe with a smooth sole, they slip easily on SPD pedals.
    Only shoes with some rubber on the bottom are much good for pedalling while unclipped.

    Quoted message said:

    As for walking, depends on what your priority is. If its difficult to go [censored] in the woods, much
    less hike up a hillside to get a view or walk


    more

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    than 12 feet to accomplish something, then those aren't very useful shoes for anything but being
    on the saddle, and part of the fun of riding recreationally is checking stuff out.

    I have no problem taking a [censored] in cleats, why does that require walking? :-)

    I agree that SPDs with a rubber-soled shoe are a lot better for walking. But a smooth-soled road
    shoe with no rubber lugs still sucks for walking even if it has SPD cleats on it.

    --Paul

  13. Quoted message said:

    A Muzi <[email hidden]> wrote:
    : At one time both Shimano and Campagnolo sold Look rebadged pedals (a


    fine

    Quoted message said:

    : and sensible situation which of course ended).

    : The current Campagnolo ProFit is a minor enhancement from Look's basic design ( the wearing edge
    : is metal/metal instead of nylon) in a smaller lighter body.

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

    Quoted message said:

    Does that mean that you could buy one pair of shoes, and use it with all kinds of Look-clones:
    Shimano, Campy ProFit and so on?

    No. Campagnolo's ProFit cannot use Look cleats nor the reverse. Shimano's new design is slightly
    out-of-plane so it can't engage Look cleats either

    As mentioned here today regarding SPD, pedal designers go out of their way to ensure
    imcompatibility. This relates both to design patents and to obstinance, IMHO.

    Notice that Welgo's (Ritchey) cleat is damn near compatible with SPD - just enough to hurt someone.
    And Exus' excellent Look type pedal will perform flawlessly with Look black cleats but will not
    release red ones. ( I am one of the three people on earth to use Look black cleats which is how I
    discovered that)

    I am convinced that Look's prescient 1980's design is the consummate clipless design for riding
    bicycles. Since other people have other criteria besides riding bicycles( selling pedals, walking
    after riding, etc) there are other pedals to suit those needs and they are not Look-compatible.
    --
    Andrew Muzi yellowjersey.orgyellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April 1971

  14. Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

    The main road pedal systems that we see now are-

    LOOK Campagnolo shimano-SPD-r and SPD-SL Speedplay Time

    While I'm usually a Campy fan, I use Speedplay pedals. The float is great, and clipping in and out
    is easier than any other system I've tried. The power transfer is about as solid as you want.

    The big cleat eliminates hot spots, and lasts lots longer than the Look cleat.

    The only drawback is the price. They are way too expensive - but worth
    it.

    They are also sensitive to dirt. The cleats easily get pack with dirt, and then you have a problem
    clipping in.

    Just about everyone I know who has tried Speedplays has stayed with them.

    -Dondo

  15. KBH said:

    I've begun peeing on the bike as well, stopped though 😉

    Yes, its all about the recessed cleat with a rubber soul.

    Rubber soul. Now that is just too much 😉))))))

    --
    Perre

    You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

  16. A Muzi <[email hidden]> wrote:
    : <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    : "]news:[email hidden]...
    :> Does that mean that you could buy one pair of shoes, and use it with all kinds of Look-clones:
    :> Shimano, Campy ProFit and so on?

    : No. Campagnolo's ProFit cannot use Look cleats nor the reverse. Shimano's new design is slightly
    : out-of-plane so it can't engage Look cleats either

    I was thinking more of shoe/cleat or shoe/pedal relationship. Say you have a Shimano shoe that's
    listed as "Look-compatible", so could you put a Campy Profit cleat on it and happily go with
    Campy pedals?

    Maybe that's not very close to ideal... I hear even using some Shimano shoes which can take Look
    cleats is less than ideal. (Shimano was primarily thinking of their own cleats.)

    --
    Risto Varanka | helsinki.fi~rvaranka varis at no spam please iki fi

  17. Quoted message said:

    : <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    : "]news:[email hidden]...
    :> Does that mean that you could buy one pair of shoes, and use it with all kinds of Look-clones:
    :> Shimano, Campy ProFit and so on?

    Quoted message said:

    A Muzi <[email hidden]> wrote:
    : No. Campagnolo's ProFit cannot use Look cleats nor the reverse. Shimano's new design is slightly
    : out-of-plane so it can't engage Look


    cleats

    Quoted message said:

    : either

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

    Quoted message said:

    I was thinking more of shoe/cleat or shoe/pedal relationship. Say you have a Shimano shoe that's
    listed as "Look-compatible", so could you put a Campy Profit cleat on it and happily go with Campy
    pedals? Maybe that's not very close to ideal... I hear even using some Shimano shoes which can
    take Look cleats is less than ideal. (Shimano was primarily thinking of their own cleats.)

    Most modern road shoes can accept either two-bolt or three-bolt cleats. I don't know of any current
    Shimano road shoes that can't accept a Look or Campagnolo cleat.

    --
    Andrew Muzi yellowjersey.orgyellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April 1971

  18. I have Shimano SH-R072 road shoes that work with Look cleats/pedals, but I don't think they are
    listed on the current Shimano site.

    I bought a pair a year or so ago from a bike shop when I was out of town (no LBS here) and liked
    their width (wider than others I had tried, which I liked, but not mega-wide) so well I just bought
    two more pair from Penn Cycle:

    penncycle.comitemdetails.cfm

    Maybe other local bike shops have them too.

    Frank

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

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    : <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    : "]news:[email hidden]...
    :> Does that mean that you could buy one pair of shoes, and use it with all kinds of
    :> Look-clones: Shimano, Campy ProFit and so on?

    Quoted message said:

    A Muzi <[email hidden]> wrote:
    : No. Campagnolo's ProFit cannot use Look cleats nor the reverse. Shimano's new design is
    : slightly out-of-plane so it can't engage Look


    cleats

    Quoted message said:

    : either

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

    Quoted message said:

    I was thinking more of shoe/cleat or shoe/pedal relationship. Say you have a Shimano shoe that's
    listed as "Look-compatible", so could you put a Campy Profit cleat on it and happily go with
    Campy pedals? Maybe that's not very close to ideal... I hear even using some Shimano shoes which
    can take Look cleats is less than ideal. (Shimano was primarily thinking of their own cleats.)

    Most modern road shoes can accept either two-bolt or three-bolt cleats. I don't know of any
    current Shimano road shoes that can't accept a Look or Campagnolo cleat.

    --
    Andrew Muzi yellowjersey.orgyellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April 1971

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