anyone use Crank Bros. pedals?

[jobob]

Hi -

I'm thinking of going clipless finally, and I was wondering if anyone here has anything to say, pro or con, about the Crank Bros. Eggbeater or Candy pedals?

I've been reading the reviews, all favorable so far as I can find, but I'd love to know if anyone has any first-hand experience with them.

I'm leaning towards the Candys because they have a platform, so in theory one can pedal some without being clipped in - that's important to me on those occasions when I need to scoot across an intersection the moment the light turns green, some of our intersections have very short-duration stoplights.

I also like the fact that they have a reasonable amount of float (6 degrees), and the cleats appear to be compatible with my Shimano SPD-style mountain bike shoes. Oh, and they look cool.

Comments appreciated.
- Jo.

[Veronica]

I have Shimano's double sided pedals on Fluffy and they have been fine for me. They're platform on one side and SPD on the other.

V.

[aka_kim]

I use the EggBeaters and love them. Entry/exit is very easy (easier than SPDs even), but your foot is very secure, and it actually feels like you have a good platform under your foot. At a green light you should be able to immediately clip in, and if not you can still pedal without difficulty.

I haven't tried the Candys, and don't know how they'd work without being clipped in. The SPDs Veronica mentioned would probably work best for that type of thing; that's what I used when I first went clipless.

But the EggBeaters/Candys do look cool (at least to some of us). And they're lightweight!

[jobob]

But the EggBeaters/Candys do look cool (at least to some of us). And they're lightweight!

Heh, in my case the weight isn't such a deciding factor, considering all the stuff I schlep around along with 2 bottles of water on a lugged steel frame ... there is absolutely nothing aerodynamic about my Pokey

Thanks for your input, Kim - your comments are similar to what I've read on the net. Nice to hear them from someone I know (in a virtual sense).

And Veronica, thanks, I've been looking into the Shimano double-sided pedals too, they're high on my list. I'm just weighing the various options before I take the plunge.

- Jo.

[Surlygirl]

Hi Jobob,
I had the Shimano two sided to start with and my LBS said get rid of them. No float, bad for your knees and I found them hard to get out of clipped in. I changed to the Candies because they do have a small platform and they are so easy to get in and out of. I love them.

[Veronica]

That's interesting that your LBS said they have no float - they have 8 degrees according to the Performance catalog. I've been using mine for about a year now and have had no problems with knees, or clipping out.

Veronica

[Veronica]

Jo, did you want to use SPD cleats or Eggbeater cleats? You can put either into your shoes.

SPD cleats have more float - 8 degrees. Eggbeaters have 6.


Veronica

[Surlygirl]

Hi Again,
Ooops they are the Terry Clipless pedals. I still have them if anyone wants them. You can see them at the Terry site. I only used them half a season so they are in good shape.

[jobob]

Well, I'm trying out the Candys (eggbeater clips) this afternoon & tomorrow, I'll let you know how it goes. My husband put Candys on his bike a couple of days ago and he really likes them. I've been test-riding my pedals on my hybrid hooked up to the trainer, using my husband's shoes (yes I hate to admit my feet are practically as large as his ) because I wasn't ready to use the pedals on my road bike on the training ride this morning. And yes, they are very easy to clip in and out of out of, altho I was having a bit of difficulty clipping in to one of the pedals - oddly enough only on one side of the pedal (my husband wouldn't believe me until I demonstrated about 10 times on each side of the pedal) but we'll see if that changes when I'm actually using my own shoes - I might need to tweak the mounting. I just put the cleats on my shoes and my personal mechanic is putting the pedals on Pokey even as I type this. Onward through the fog...

- Jo

[jobob]

I'm not 100% sold on the Candy pedals, yet. I'm having a bit of trouble with the clip mounting on one of my shoes. When I was practicing with my husband's shoes on the trainer I was having a bit of trouble clipping into left pedal, but with my shoes on my bike on the open road it's the right pedal I'm having a hard time clipping into. So I've been experimenting with moving the cleat back a bit on my foot on the right shoe, changing the angle a little bit, adding a shim, that kind of thing, and it seems to be helping. I have no problems whatsoever clipping into the left pedal, so I know there's hope!

I think part of the problem for me is that while sometimes the pedal makes a reasuring little click to let me know the cleat is engaged, often times it makes little or no sound so I have no audible cue that I'm in. I'm learning that if I put my weight more into the pedal to get it engaged, more like a stomping motion, then I get that click.

The good news is that while I'm having a bit of problem with clipping in, unclipping is no problem. This is good.

I think if/when I get the cleat adjusted on my right shoe so it works as well as my left, and get that stomping motion down, then I'll be pretty happy with these pedals. Maybe

- Jo.

[aka_kim]

The Egg Beater cleats have different release angles to make one side easier to clip out than the other, I wonder if that also makes for more difficult entry?? You shouldn't have to stomp to get into a pedal -- that's why I hated Time ATACs when I used them, if I stomped wrong, my foot flew off the pedal. Ouch.

I wonder if there's a difference between the Candys and Egg Beaters? I have an extra pair of Egg Beaters that I plan to put on my mtn bike this spring, but I could loan them to you if you want to see if they're any easier than the Candys.

[grannydea]

I have to agree with Veronica, I have shimano pedals on the road bike and I have never in 3000+ miles had any trouble with cliping in or out.
Dea

[jobob]

Originally posted by aka_kim
The Egg Beater cleats have different release angles to make one side easier to clip out than the other, I wonder if that also makes for more difficult entry?? You shouldn't have to stomp to get into a pedal .

It's not really a stomp, I just need to put a bit more pressure on the pedal than I had been.

I moved the cleat back a little bit more and I think that did the trick! What that did was slightly increase the angle between the front hook of the cleat and the sole of the shoe. Now when I put my foot on the pedal and push down and forward, 9 times out of 10 I immediately get that nice reasuring little click from the back hook of the cleat telling me all is right with the world. It think the one time in ten when it doesn't immediately engage, the egg beater part of the pedal might not be in a good spot relative to the platform to immediately engage - I either try again or flip the pedal over. This all sounds more complicated than it is but I've been thinking a lot about it

I wonder if there's a difference between the Candys and Egg Beaters?

The Candys have the platform. I thought the platform would be a good thing to have, to pedal on when I'm not clipped in. The egg beater part rotates independently of the platform. Now I'm wondering if that 1 time out of 10, when I don't immediately clip in, the position of the eggbeater part relative to the platform might be a little off - the loop of the eggbeater might not be in the right place for it to be immediately engaged. Perhaps if there's no platform to get in the way that might not be an issue....

I have an extra pair of Egg Beaters that I plan to put on my mtn bike this spring, but I could loan them to you if you want to see if they're any easier than the Candys.

That would be super, thank you !!! I'll contact you via PM.

- Jo.

[newfsmith]

I used eggbeaters for a while on my road bike. I found that I needed to angle my foot a little to click in, sort of the reverse of disengaging. I ultimately gave them up because I didn't like having to decide which pair of shoes to put on and then having to go change if I changed my mind about which steed. I decided I wanted all of my bikes to have the same pedals.

[jobob]

I've gotten the hang of the Candys and wow, you folks are right, clipless is the way to go [chorus of "Duh's" in the background]. Yeah I can be slow on the uptake sometimes ...

What I really notice is the added ease of going up hills - for long inclines I find I scooch back in the saddle a bit and pull up and over on the pedals as well as push downward, makes quite a difference. I was motoring up some hills today, and even the Dumbarton bridge took noticeably less effort. Now all I need is helium in my tires and I'll be all set

Come to find out there are some muscles in my legs and butt that previously just gone along for the ride, they're putting up a bit of protest now that they've been put into service, but not as badly as I had initially feared !

Time to dig up that pedaling technique article I had bookmarked and actually put it to use... here it is if anyone else wants to see it ...
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?stor...tegory=cycling

Thanks to everyone for their advice!

- Jo