Grrr...2nd bloodied knee courtesy of SPD-SL pedals!

[nscrbug]

I'm sorry you're having such trouble with the 105's...it is rather surprising to hear of such issues. I don't want to sway your decision, but...I used to have the TIME RXL Carbon pedals on a previous bike that I sold. They were fine at the beginning, but roughly a year later they got to the point where they were extremely difficult to unclip. So much so, that I sold them with the bike just to get rid of them. And yes, the TIME RXL cleats do wear quickly...much quicker than my SPD-SL cleats. Just some food for thought.

I think if I were in your shoes, I'd give the LOOK pedals a try.

[grey]

I have the same pedals. Thankfully no issues yet, they've been just fine. However, after reading this thread, if I ever do have trouble I think I'll switch to Look, everyone here seems to like them! Sorry about your poor knee. I hate road rash.

[Catrin]

The reason I am riding Frogs on my Gunnar is the THREE sets of SPD pedals we tried to install on that bike would not loosen enough for me to either get in nor get out without a great deal of effort and cursing - even falling over didn't release my foot. We tried three different models

I don't know what the problem was with the SPD pedals we tried (all of them mtb, not road), but I am kind of glad they didn't work out because the Frogs are so much easier...

[zoom-zoom]

I don't know what the problem was with the SPD pedals we tried (all of them mtb, not road), but I am kind of glad they didn't work out because the Frogs are so much easier...

I have found that the mtn. SPDs loosen with time (I have mine on the loosest setting and need to go tighter, since I've pulled-out a couple of times, which could be bad on a hard cyclocross race or going up a hill), but I'm not sure that's as true with the road ones...and I'm not waiting around to find out.

[limewave]

I have Look Pedals on my road bike and love 'em.
I have SPD's on both my mountain bikes and they work well. Although they can get sticky if its muddy out or if there's a hike-a-bike section.

Sorry about your bloody knee! It's a bad feeling when you can't unclip.

[GLC1968]

Yeah, there is definitely something wrong with those pedals. I've used nothing but SPD-SL's on all my road bikes for the past 7 years and never had those kind of issues!

[Mama Coosa]

It does kinda sound like the Shimano pedals are defective. Just out of curiosity, what color are the cleats?

Look makes a great light-action spring pedal that's easier to get out of than their regular pedals.

And you should always keep an extra pair of cleats around regardless of what pedals you ride.

[zoom-zoom]

It does kinda sound like the Shimano pedals are defective. Just out of curiosity, what color are the cleats?

Look makes a great light-action spring pedal that's easier to get out of than their regular pedals.

And you should always keep an extra pair of cleats around regardless of what pedals you ride.

The cleats are black with the yellow walking "pontoons." They came with the pedals, so compatibility shouldn't be an issue.

I looked at the "easy" pedals and it appears that the tension setting is 8, without the option of adjusting tension. Keos have 8-12, and are adjustable. I can't find advertised #s for Shimano SPD-SLs, but I've found a few comments online that suggest that Looks are generally easier to get in and out of than Shimanos.

[zoom-zoom]

Hubby picked up a set of Look Keo Plus pedals...I have high hopes that they will work well for me.

[RubyTuesday]

I am also riding with Shimano 105's that I purchased from Performance (aka Nashbar). They were pretty easy to use when I first got them and I left them on factory settings. I have since moved my right foot back to the easiest setting and still find them hard to upclip now and then. Getting my right foot clipped back in after a stop is really getting annoying. I need to find something else, I think.

[zoom-zoom]

Are yours the black ones? I'm really starting to wonder if there was a wonky batch. Either of the pedals or the included cleats. Our LBS buddy was perplexed, too.

[RubyTuesday]

Yes Kristen, they are the black ones. Purchased about a month ago.

[zoom-zoom]

Yes Kristen, they are the black ones. Purchased about a month ago.

I am very suspicious, indeed. All 3 of us who have had issues with this pedal have the exact same model purchased within about a week of one-another.

Got my Look cleats on my shoes. I will get in a ride tomorrow. Going to have to get different cleats, though--the ones that came with the pedals have none of the rubber grip things on them (why would Look even make cleats without them--they are slippery!?), which will be a no go for running through duathlon transition area.

[pll]

(why would Look even make cleats without them--they are slippery!?)

There are the purists and weight weenies... I hope you have better luck with the Look pedals. I'd suggest you buy two sets of cleats. I wore off the rubber in my left cleat (I unclip my left foot at stops) in less than a month when I started using the Look pedals. I replaced only that cleat and it has held since then.

[zoom-zoom]

Now I am 100% certain that there was something very wrong with those black Shimano 105 pedals and I am contemplating contacting Shimano so that they can dope-slap their quality control peeps...since there are at least 3 of us with the same issues on the same pedals.

Today I did a ride with Look Keo Plus pedals and I think it actually ticked my hubby off how easily I popped-in to take off. Clicking out was a piece of cake, as well. If I had to unclip for an emergency stop I actually could, with these pedals. I actually think I may tighten the resistance, since on the lowest setting I'm a bit suspicious that I could come unclipped if I pulled up hard in a sprint and rotated my ankle a bit.