When everybody talks about the float that Speedplays have, how "slippery" is the float? Reason I ask is that I'm currently riding a set of Performance Forte Look-style pedals that have 9-degrees of float and although the cleat floats around like it's supposed to, it's not "slippery", per se. It's a nice snug fit that's effective, but doesn't lock my heel in place. With the Speedplays, is your shoe basically just held in place from unclipping from the pedal vertically, while allowing generous and non-inhibited movement side-to-side? Is it so slippery that you have to focus on keeping proper foot orientation?
Questions from one who's never ridden Speedplays, but has heard about them for years . . .
Speedplays are great, I've used them for years, your foot can rotate as far as needed with no resistance. As some other people have noted it can take a little while to get used to them, but watch your legs and the legs of people in a paceline and you'll see how much the knee normally moves from side to side during pedaling, speedplays allow that movement. There are a few downsides to them: high cost, cleats need replacement once in a while and you can;t walk very far on the cleats (and risk falling down on slippery surfaces), but for riding, I really like them.
i ride speedplays and consider them a very good pedal. i've had them for 4 seasons and haven't had to perform any maintenance. i read earlier in the thread about stack height. they are NOT too high off the pedal. in fact, you'll find that once you clip in, your feet are just as close, if not closer to the pedal than most other brands. additionally, they are an affordable pedal...you can get a low-end model for around $100. the hotspot is only a concern for soft soles...but if you're riding road, why would you ever use anything other than a stiff sole? there is a large degree of float, so if that's not your thing, this isn't a pedal you'll like.
