Which Road Pedals?

[dome]

Hi guys

Been riding Shimano SPD's on my mountain bike for 15 years or so(feck, I am that old) I bought my first road bike 2 years ago and have been using the SPD's on it but on longer rides they've not been as comfortable so I've decided to go over to road SPDs for that bike.

Shoes are on order (Shimano) but I was looking for opinions on pedals, Shimano SPD-SLs, Look, Time etc? What do you guys recommend?

[itsnotarace]

Look and Shimano are very similar systems, although £ for £ the Look's are generally lighter - for example Look Keo Max2 260g per pair, SPD-SL Ultegra are 317g per pair.

[MadDad]

I use Speedplay Zero's, excellent pedals, high ground clearance on corners, double entry system. CLeats tend to be a bit clunky when you are off the bike but once on the bike you feel 'connected'!

They are not cheap, but IMHO they are worth it.

[Jimbo.]

Shimano: best bearings in the business.

[Rouleur]

I've run SPD-SLs for years but I thought I'd try Looks on my new bike. I've only used them twice but I find them easier to clip in to and as said they're a fair bit lighter too.

I've read that the bearing aren't the best but I guess you have to do big mileages to have a problem with that.

[Rocksteadyeddie]

Pedals are a bit of a personal thing. I've always used SPDLs and see no real reason to change. Once you've bought into one type or another and have several bikes and pairs of shoes you end up pretty committed and unlikely to change.

[amnesia182]

MadDad said:

I use Speedplay Zero's, excellent pedals, high ground clearance on corners, double entry system. CLeats tend to be a bit clunky when you are off the bike but once on the bike you feel 'connected'!

They are not cheap, but IMHO they are worth it.

+1... I love mine

[Andy OH]

Rocksteadyeddie said:

Pedals are a bit of a personal thing. I've always used SPDLs and see no real reason to change. Once you've bought into one type or another and have several bikes and pairs of shoes you end up pretty committed and unlikely to change.

Exactly this ^^^^^^.

Pedals are a very personal thing. When I first started road riding I bought Shimano SPD SL's, the basic ones. They are still on that bike which is now my winter bike and are excellent value for money. After many thousands of miles they have been faultless and need hardly any maintenance. I use Shimano shoes during the winter months.

I use Look Keo Max 2 Carbon pedals with Sidi shoes on my carbon summer bike and these pedals have been faultless too.

On the recommendation of a friend I bought a set of Speedplay Zero stainless steel pedals. These cost me £145 and I persevered with them for a couple of months and ended up selling them for £80 after the two months. I could not get used to them and much prefer the SPSD SL type pedal.

It's very difficult to try pedals and if you buy some and don't like them it can end up costing you a fair bit of money, as I found out much to my expense. If you can try different types of pedals from friends, if they'll let you, and then make up your mind.

Good luck.

[fast westfield]

Time for me as the float suits me and they have a fair size platform for you shoe/foot to sit on so good for comfort, when you fit the cleats you have a choice of offsets so read the instructions and remember the shoe is upside down when you are screwing the cleats on and then adjusting them.

[dome]

Thanks for all the input guys. Since I've never had an issue with Shimano pedals I think I'll start with a pair of them. I still have my original, 15 year old, spds on my rat so I really can't fault them. The road bike is a carrera vanquish with 105/Ultegra so I'll see what I can find along those lines.

[anonymous-user]

personally I prefer Look

the exception being some rather tasty Dura Ace SPD-R that I acquired about 9 years ago and are still, pretty much, as good as pedals get imo

[nammynake]

This month's Cycling Plus has a review of a dozen or so pedals.

[amnesia182]

nammynake said:

This month's Cycling Plus has a review of a dozen or so pedals.

You mean last month's... April's issue came out today (2nd March).

[dome]

Well, I have a set of these winging their way to me. Couldn't resist the gold pimpiness.

http://ukcyclesport.com/index.php?option=com_conte...

They were cheap and I think they look cool so I'll see how I get on.