broken ankle & pedals

Hello everyone,

I broke my ankle in August (yes, bicycling). It's all better now, mostly, after surgery and screws and a steel plate and physical therapy, but I am shopping around for new pedals. I was using SPDs when they failed to let go of my ankle and it broke on the road.

I would like a pedal that works more consistently. I tried the Look Keo Carbon, and I cannot get my foot out of the pedal, even with the tension adjusted all the way down. The right foot can do it, with effort, but the healed/broken ankle just can't put that much force on the pedal and twist at the same time to get out because of the metal plate screwed to my bone prevents this.

Does anyone have any recommendations for what kind of pedals would be easiest to get out of? I'm looking at the Speedplay Light Action Stainless, and the Look Easy (though I hate the plastic/cheapo way the Look Easy pedals look).

I also had problems with hotfoot in the past and wanted a pedal with a larger platform than the SPDs I was using before. I already bought a pair of shoes with a carbon plate to help with this, but haven't tried them out yet.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. If I posted this in the wrong section, please advise and I will repost elsewhere.

Thanks!

Christine

How about Speedplay Frogs?

Zero tension to release, and lots of float to compensate for lost flexibility. Fairly large platform. No moving parts to jam.

(I have a pair on my Waterford road bike. My Surly Cross Check commuter bike has BMX platform pedals.)

Edit to add link: http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.frog

Don't have any personal experience of Speedplays, but from everything I've heard of them they sound like they might work well for you. Whatever pedals you end up with, make sure they get cleaned and lubed - my spuds get very stiff if I don't put a bit of lube on the adjustment screws and springs every now and then.

Try for Speedplay Light Action if you are looking at road pedals. If it's mountain pedals, use the Speedplay frogs.

KnottedYet,
Thank you for your help. I wanted to hear from someone who used the Speedplay pedals, as you can't always believe the advertising. :-) Thanks!

DirtDiva,
Yes, I always try and make sure my pedals are well cared for. That's why I was so irritated when my SPDs failed. Ah well. Thanks for the tip!

bike4ever,
You must have read my mind. I was thinking of starting with the Light Action on my road bike and then trying the Frogs on my mountain bike. I just didn't believe the ads when they spoke about the lack of force release. Thanks for your help!


cheers,
Christine