Look, or Speedplay?

The "ice-cube" feeling is the unique Speedplay free float without any centering action. I've just ridden on new Speedplay Zero's a couple of times now, coming from Look fixed cleats. It does take a little getting used to the free float, but not a big deal to help protect the knees.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by dhk
The "ice-cube" feeling is the unique Speedplay free float without any centering action. I've just ridden on new Speedplay Zero's a couple of times now, coming from Look fixed cleats. It does take a little getting used to the free float, but not a big deal to help protect the knees.

I´ve tried both and I´m sticking with my Look´s.
But I must add that´it is only out of habit. The Zeros were exellent I just liked my looks better.

Speedplay for me........as for walking, I had to walk 7 miles to home when I punctured (stupidly left kit at home and too late for shops). They seemed fine to walk in with coffee stop cleat covers.

Great pedals

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by lokstah
The Speedplay re-lubing issue isn't a big deal, in my opinion. Squirt a little White Lightning in there every other week or so; takes two seconds.

Your knees deserve it! Well, at least mine do. 😉

Iv'e been riding on Zeros since last May. You do need to use the coffee shop covers pretty religously. I found that when I used the wax based lubes even they would attract some dirt. I decided to clean all of the lube off and try and go no lube at all. This seems to work very well and I've been riding this way for several months now.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by davidbod
Iv'e been riding on Zeros since last May. You do need to use the coffee shop covers pretty religously. I found that when I used the wax based lubes even they would attract some dirt. I decided to clean all of the lube off and try and go no lube at all. This seems to work very well and I've been riding this way for several months now.

Hmm, interesting. I've got a pair of covers but I almost never use them; where I'm walking, I don't pick up much grime at all. I guess it depends on how much walking you do and where you do it.

I have the worst knees on the planet. After training for various multi-sports, the only thing I can still do is cycle. Even swimming doesn't work. Why can my knees tolerate long distance cycling? The answer is simply Speedplay. I use Frogs on the mountain bike and X-2's on the road bike.

Are Speedplays the best pedals on the planet? I wouldn't know. What I do know is that, without compare, they are the best pedals for me. 😄

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by nyterider03
I've ridden Look, Shimano and Speedplay. I love my Speedplay's, never had any problems or felt like I was pedaling on ice-cubes.

I say the same, they are fantastic:
SPEEDPLAY X/1 Titanium 150 gr + 90 gr cleats

Now I bought one another pair for spares

Speedplay bought em, love em, wouldn't trade em. Best for my knees. I'm sure alot of others too.

I use Look but now after a pair of Zero titaniuma speed play
want to buy online need best price.
thanks

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by raffcarnio
I say the same, they are fantastic:
SPEEDPLAY X/1 Titanium 150 gr + 90 gr cleats

Now I bought one another pair for spares

Bebop SLs, 195 gr + 65 gr low profile cleats.
Two sided entry.
Much cleaner design than Speedplay.
Twenty degrees of float.
Plus much cheaper for the same weight.
Great pedals.

I use Time ATAC SPD pedals on my hybrid for commuting, and Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL pedals on my road bike. Love the Time pedals, very easy to clip in and out and have never unclipped accidentally, and SPD shoes are dead easy to walk in due to the small cleats, as some people have pointed out. The Ultegras do have a bigger platform and seem more elegant for road cycling though.

Does anyone else have the following problem: when I am setting off, I start standing over the top tube, clip my right foot in and push on the pedal, which starts the bike moving, then I sit on the saddle and clip my left foot in, then I'm good to go. If I "miss" with the left foot, I just push the pedal down while unclipped, to keep up momentum (this is important e.g. when pulling away from lights), and I can do this fine with the rubber-soled SPD shoes and Time pedals. But with the plastic-soled SPD-SL shoes, it's almost impossible to push the pedal if not clipped in - you slip off it. This can result in anything from a slow, wobbly start to a horizontal track stand or a crushed pair of happy sacks as I land on the saddle. Anyone else get that problem?

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by mjw_byrne
... Anyone else get that problem?

No. I use Speedplays. 😉

Touché :-)

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by rollers
No. I use Speedplays. 😉

i've done this and i use speedplays. it's just a matter of practice to accurately get the foot inserted on the first try.

doesn't matter if you're on looks, time or speedplay, if you miss the pedal/cleat interface, the foot and slip off the pedal and create the exciting scenario described. 🙁

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by drewski
i've done this and i use speedplays. it's just a matter of practice to accurately get the foot inserted on the first try.

doesn't matter if you're on looks, time or speedplay, if you miss the pedal/cleat interface, the foot and slip off the pedal and create the exciting scenario described. 🙁

This person speaks truth.

Speedplay all the way. I neverhad an issue with the "ice cube" feel or a small platform. They are light and comfortable and the easiest pedal to click into that I have ever used.

By the way, I like the dog. I had a chessie when I was a kid. Smartest darn dog I have ever had.

Just bought a third pair of Speedplays, if that reinforces the vote I logged months ago on this thread.

With the possible exception of some of the interesting Speedplay-esque pedals released in the last 5-6 years (Coombe, anyone?) I don't think any road pedal offers the combination of light weight and dual sided entry that these babies present.

It's a friggin' brilliant design, plain and simple. There are likely (and will always be) some better options out there, but for me, Speedplays fit the bill in terms of availability, price, and great performance.

I consider the new Shimano pedals to fall under a Look type system. It uses Look 3 hole drilling. And IMO, the new Looks (including Shimano) are superior in every way to the other pedal manufactureres out there, with maybe the exception being time. I prefer the Looks, easier to get into than Times. And way wider and more supportive pedal platform than Speedplays, which create hotspot feeling with many Speedplay users.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by BaCardi
I consider the new Shimano pedals to fall under a Look type system. It uses Look 3 hole drilling. And IMO, the new Looks (including Shimano) are superior in every way to the other pedal manufactureres out there, with maybe the exception being time. I prefer the Looks, easier to get into than Times. And way wider and more supportive pedal platform than Speedplays, which create hotspot feeling with many Speedplay users.

I couldn't disagree more. Having owned Looks, Times, SPDs and BeBops, the BeBops have the following superior features:
--recessed cleat for walking (only beaten by SPD)
--highly durable cleat (only beaten by SPD)
--20 degrees of real float (only matched by Speedplay)
--Light weight with a stainless spindle- not matched by anyone
--Easy, two sided entry (They're all pretty easy so maybe this isn't a feature

I've gotten "hotspots" with full sized pedals riding with a tennis shoe. Hotspots with high quality shoes don't exist...they only exist with poorly designed shoes.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by artl
I couldn't disagree more. Having owned Looks, Times, SPDs and BeBops...

...I've gotten "hotspots" with full sized pedals riding with a tennis shoe. Hotspots with high quality shoes don't exist...they only exist with poorly designed shoes.

Good points regarding hotspots and shoe design. Additionally, the small-platform/hotspots issue attributed to BeBops and Speedplays alike has always struck me as something of an urban cycling myth, derrived from the way the things look and not necessarily how they're engineered, or how they perform.

I don't have any first-hand experience with BeBops, but Speedplays utilize a design which sort of flips the traditional pedal/cleat relationship. The Speedplay cleat, afixed to the shoe, functions similarly to a Shimano, Time, or Look pedal -- it's a broad-platformed binding mechanism that receives its mate: a smaller, fitted block (the pedal itself). There simply isn't any real justification for the belief that the tiny lolipop contributes to foot pain because it's too small; as a unit, the combined Speedplay system is a whole lot of platform under your foot.

Because it's merely a block, fitted to lock into a cleat, the designers didn't face any real weight penalty for making it a dual-sided device.