Pedal Preference?

[telegirl]

So I have some yelling EGG BEATERS, some SPDs, while still others are screaming SMARTYs.....anone else want to weigh in? I keep thinking I need a bigger platform that Egg Beaters have.....

Suggestions? Pros? Cons? :confused:

[madisongrrl]

I'm a spd pedal girl. Give me shimano 959's anytime and I'll be happy. But different people will swear by different pedals. My brother loves his time atac carbons. He swears that they shed mud beautifully.

Some people say that egg beaters are the way to go, that they shed mud better than spd pedals. I'm not sure that is so true. If you have to ride in terrible enough conditions, mud sticks to everything. This year my teammate and I raced in one of the most awful, rainy, miserable mountain bike races ever. She cursed her eggbeaters and I cursed my spd's.

While I'm pretty new to cross, I'd say you want a pedal in which you can easily stand on for dismounts and easily clip into for mounting your bike. Mud shedding pedals would be a bonus...if there is such a thing. But, the pedals that would work the best, are the ones your most comfortable with for CX (IMO).

[alpinerabbit]

Assuming you are riding road (??) - I vote for Look (mine) or Shimano SPD-SL (boyfriend). Both excellent. Never could get used to SPDs.

[Artisan]

I have Look on my road bike and SPD's on my mountain bike. I tried the eggbeaters on my mountain bike but I couldn't clip out as quickly as with the SPD's. I am also considering going back to SPD's on my road bike.

[telegirl]

Since I was hoping to participate in local cyclocross races, I figured that egg beaters might not offer the stability I wanted, but I know a person who uses them in cyclocross and loves them. I use SPDs on my mountain bike and road bike and was leaning toward them, but then two others told me to look at the Smartys....too many choices....

Thanks for the input!

[velogirl]

I raced my first three seasons on SPD 959s and they do not shed mud worth anything. They're the pits! I switched to Eggbeaters for the last couple of races last season and then used them for mountain biking. I put Candies on my cross bike for this season (to have a larger platform for Adam H-M's unclip the left first technique). I'm pretty happy with them, but can't unclip when I thread my right leg through (so I have to do the unclip the left first technique).

The most popular cross pedals around here are Time ATACs (the old skoolers) and Eggbeaters and/or Candies. The only folks who race SPDs are the newbies who don't know any better (guess it took me 3 years to get past newbie status).

[telegirl]

Well, I am guessing my ineptness will scream NEWBIE louder than my pedals, but thanks for the info Velo- I do have some trouble with my spds not wanting to give up their precious load of mud even now and was wondering how that would work in CX - Ah, the excitement of equipment! Nothing like that new bike/pedal/saddle/tire/air smell to make me smile!

[velogirl]

But it's all fun, right?

What I did like about my SPDs is I could adjust my left cleat to almost zero tension so I never, never had a problem clipping out on my dismounts.

[spokewench]

For cyclocross, I run the above. They both have the same cleat. I run Specialized pedal on my mountain bike so I wanted to keep the same shoes and cleats for my cyclocross bike. We don't have much mud here in AZ unless it has snowed and gotten muddy for cyclocross - these pedals release quite easily and work okay in mud. I've never really found a pedal that works GREAT in mud. The problem that you have in colder climate cyclocross (i.e. freezing) is that you get a big ice clump under your foot and NO Pedals work with this. So you either run around not clipped in on one side or another or you don't wear a cleated show and run flat pedals if it is really bad.


It's gotten so bad around here with snow and cyclocross that I chose to run hiking boots and flat pedals for the state champs. came in second to a pro woman - and she only beat me by one lap - i'm sure she wasn't trying that hard, but I held my own! The snow was about 1 1/2 feet deep and icy underneath - you never went straight! you just rode s-type curves the whole time, if you could actually ride at all!;)

[telegirl]

The fact that you came in second to a pro is majorly impressive, spokewench! I'm out in the NE - Vermont specifically, and we have been getting tons of wet weather. My bro-in-law was at the Nationals in Providence RI last year and talk about wet, ice, cold, frozen snow- He said he spent more time off his bike than on it, so it sounded like what you went through!

I guess I just need to figure out what I feel comfortable with - And, like Velo said, HAVE FUN! :D

Pedals, I think I have narrowed down to staying with SPDs or trying Candys...leaning toward the Candys......Oh, crud....now SHOES!?:rolleyes:

Ummmm, do you think that you Cycloxperts could just set up a hotline for me?? I'll probably need to know what brand of kleenex to use next......

[spokewench]

Actually, I think you already picked it! Kleenex is a brand of paper hankie, synonomous in America with paper hankie!

[Kitsune06]

see, I don't do ccx, but I'm wondering if eggbeater Mallets wouldn't be a good idea, because they've a big enough platform for all that onagain-offagain, mount/dismount stuff, you wouldn't *always* have to clip in. just a thought. Then again, they are sorta heavy.

[velogirl]

Mallets are downhill pedals. Not only are they very heavy (more a concern when you have to carry your bike as you run up hill or over barriers), but they're also really big and have sharp edges (which would hurt when you shoulder or if you hit yourself with a pedal). If you dismount correctly, your left pedal falls right where your spine is when you shoulder the bike -- ouch!

You don't really need a big platform for cyclocross. I would've stayed with the eggbeaters but the candies are pink (and I wanted to add some pink touches to my bike). Silly, I know.

[julypace]

I have been using Shimano SPD pedals on my mountain bike. One of the reasons why I like it is its multi angle release cleats. Some years ago, I was using the single release cleats and hurt my right ankle when I crashed:( because my right foot did not come off (or I could not let my right foot come off quick enough). Since then I have been using the multi release cleats..

Eggeater pedals look promising as far as shedding mud is concerned but do they have multi release cleats?

velogirl - any thought / advice?

Thanx!

[velogirl]

All the Crank Bros pedals use the same cleat (which is cool). Depending on which side you place the cleat, you have a larger or smaller release angle (off the top of my head I think it's 10 degrees or 20 degrees, but don't quote me). I tried clipping out by turning my ankle in toward the bike the other day (just for kicks) and it was a bit tighter but it worked. So I guess the answer is yes, kinda.

FWIW, I don't think multi-release cleats are that much value. Your situation is pretty rare, JulyPace (not clipping out when crashing resulting in an injury). I've found most times I crash my pedals somehow mysteriously release. Not that I crash all that much. Really, I don't.

[velogirl]

BTW, many of you are referring to pedal preferences for mtn bikes. While you can race a mtn bike in a cross race, I think everyone realizes we're discussing pedal preferences for racing cyclocross, right? The technical demands of pedals are different if you're just trail riding versus racing where you need to dismount, run, mount, etc.

[telegirl]

:D Wanted to add pink? Ok, confession time.....I finally decided on Candys because I could get a cool color (set off my ORANGE Lemond) .....notwithstanding the fact that I liked the pedals and they looked like they would give me what I need. AND, I am leaning toward a Sidi shoe (the ones I use for Mtn biking just aren't sturdy, yet supple enough for running), and I have decided on Puffs for my Kleenex choice! ;)

Oh, and Velo, the release angles for the Candys are 15 and 20 degrees (wow, for being off the top of your head, you were wicked close)-

Thanks, everyone, for your input! As hubby says, if you can't go fast, you need to look good..... :cool: And Velo, if you don't fall a lot, how do you know how fast you can go?? (another one of bikehubby's sayings: You never know how fast you can go until you wreck.... He is just quite the Bike Confucious, I know.)

I was hoping to have everything set up for the races at Glouster this weekend, but it isn't going to happen, so i am off to Bikereg.com to find another race....:eek: Am I too old for this?????

Thanks, everyone!!

[spokewench]

Yes, I use the same pedals for mountain biking as for cyclocross - works just fine i get on and off better than most ????

[velogirl]

Telegirl -- here's a suggestion for the Candy/Sidi combination. Use the little shim under the cleat. Because of the large cut-out on the Sidi's, the Candy cleeat can gouge down into the material on the bottom of the shoe and then it's harder to clip out. I was having troubles and the Crank Bros folks told me to do this -- no more troubles.

BTW, I always say "If you can't be fast, you can be flash." I love white on my road bike -- shoes, gloves, saddle, bar tape, etc. Makes me look (and feel) fast.

Spokewrench -- I think most folks use the same pedal systems for mtn & cross. Makes sense -- you can use the same pair of shoes/cleats. I guess what I was trying to say is that a pedal that you love for mtn biking or trail riding might not cut it for cross racing because of the additional demands of getting on/off the bike and also spending more time with your feet on the ground.

I feel this thread drifting into a conversation about shoes.....anyone want to begin?

[spokewench]

Yep - it is drifting into shoes - Sidi dominator (I think that is what they call them)- and no other! I love these shoes, they fit well, they are stiff - I can still run in them, they have really good tread underneath - (if it is not all worn off like the pair I have now) - and the downside is they are very pricey (BUT they last a long time for me) I have to go buy a new pair and I'm dreading spending the money - but I will;)