OK, I'm finally fed up with SPDs.
It has to be confessed that the SPDs I'm talking about are clones, not
the real thing. But nevertheless I had a number of 'offs' today where
my pedals simply failed to release, and a couple of very scary moments
on particularly difficult technical sections where I wanted to bail out
and put a foot down but could not because my pedals wouldn't release.
And the fact that I wasn't confident they'd release made me ride more
cautiously and less well overall. This isn't to say I didn't have a
great time - I did - but they definitely took the edge off the day.
They also weren't clipping in at all easily which made getting going
after an off on the technical stuff difficult.
They were (by the end of the ride) on their slackest setting. They were
nice and clean at the beginning of the ride, although it's fair to say
they didn't stay that way (but that is the nature of mountain bike
riding in Scotland in winter).
So while it's possible that real Shimano SPDs would have been fine I'd
rather try something completely different.
My priorities are:
* They've got to be easy to clip into, secure while you're in, and easy
to clip out of. Even when filthy and with mud-clogged shoes. Galloway
in winter is _MUDDY_.
* They've got to be easy to service. It's got to be easy to strip them
and get more grease in, and to replace bearings when needed.
* The cleats have got to fit shoes with SPD-style bolt holes.
Cost is a lower priority but at the same time if it's really expensive
it has to justify that by really performing well.
Under consideration at the moment are:
* Egg beaters. I have to confess they don't appeal very much. I note
reviewers talk about their tendency to roll when you're clipping in.
On the positive side they're pretty minimal and here's no 'platform'
to get beaten up and tatty looking. And allegedly good at clearing
mud.
* Time ATAC. Chunky, ugly, and (except the carbon ones) heavy. They're
going to get beaten up and tatty looking in no time. But allegedly
good at clearing mud.
* Speedplay Frogs. Small, light, elegant, fragile-looking. The platforms
(which are, let's face it, basically plastic) don't look as if they'd
survive a serious argument with a lump of granite.
As you can see I don't have an obvious winner. The carbon ATACs are more
or less a hundred quid. So are the LOOK egg-beaters (which seem to have
bigger bearings than the Crank Bros ones). The cheap ATACs are stupidly
heavy. The cheap egg-beaters allegedly rust.
Helpful responses would of the form 'I've tried both X and Y, and I
preferred X for the following reasons...'.
--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
... a mild, inoffensive sadist...