Look, Shimano, or Speedplay?

[alpinerabbit]

speedplays (had them for a couple months now) are great, the walking not so (get a pair of coffee shop caps), if they could give me the eas of entry on spd(mountain) shoes, I't go for it.

[ny biker]

I just switched from SPDs to Speedplays to help with some knee issues and am quite happy with them.

[tulip]

Why do you want to switch? What kinds of problems are you having with your SPDs (knee pain, difficulty in getting in and out?) That would tell us more information and help in making suggestions.

I've used SPDs since the early 90s when I switched from my first-generation LOOKs that I had had since 1986. I don't know when the notion came into existence that SPDs are not for road bikes. Somehow, I missed that memo.

[colby]

I have Speedplay Light Actions on my tri bike and recently on a bike trip decided to use Speedplay Frogs on the road bike, which I'll be putting on my road bike for commuting and whatnot (I previously had SPD-SLs and then someone borrowed my bike and put platforms on).

The Frogs have super easy entry (on either side of the pedal), though as a customer of SPD-SL and then the Light Actions I missed the familiar "click" to confirm I was actually properly connected with the cleat/pedal. Getting out of them was even easier than any pedal I've used (other than platforms). The float is not as great as the Light Actions (which are free float) in the inward direction, but that's not normally a problem. Honestly, my biggest problem was getting into them, but that was a familiarity thing - they hadn't yet become second nature. The pedal/cleat is where I expected it to be, it's just a different motion. The cleats are effectively hidden in my Keen SPD-compatible cycling shoes, you can barely hear them hit the ground. I won't be racing in my Frogs, but I really think they are a good all around pedal.

The Light Actions are also dual sided entry and easy to get into and out of with the familiar "snap" of cleat to pedal. The pedal is small and the cleat is large, but it's a big rectangle and I don't find it as obtrusive or as hard to walk in as the SPD-SL style cleat. I really like them. Something about the shape/angle of my hips to knees to feet made them agree with my body MUCH MORE than using SPD-SLs.

My dad has SPDs on his road bike and he seems fine with it. I don't really see that there's a HUGE advantage between 2-hole shoe compatible (SPD, Frogs, etc) pedals/cleats and the full-on road/race-style pedals/cleats, but there probably is some marginal gain. The biggest jump is between platform to cleats at all. That said, I would put Speedplays on my next bike in a heartbeat.

[bonnypriest]

Why do you want to switch? What kinds of problems are you having with your SPDs (knee pain, difficulty in getting in and out?) That would tell us more information and help in making suggestions.

I've used SPDs since the early 90s when I switched from my first-generation LOOKs that I had had since 1986. I don't know when the notion came into existence that SPDs are not for road bikes. Somehow, I missed that memo.

It's not that I don't think they're for road bikes...and everything is great while riding. No knee problems, no foot pain, but...I STILL have difficulty getting into the stupid things. Sometimes it feels easy, but most of the time it takes me several tries to get the second foot in (sometimes the first foot take a couple tries too). I guess it's not such a big deal, but it's just a little frustrating.

Oh...I just wanna thank everyone for your responses. I hope all your awesome info helps others as well. You girls are amazing!!! I love TE!

[sarahkonamojo]

Shimano 105

[chicagogal]

Looks

[colorisnt]

I have looks, but I wouldn't recommend them. They are very difficult to learn (at least they were for me and many others in my cycling club in IN) and they are hard to get/in out of.


If there is nothing wrong with the SPD's don't bother switching. I dont' mind my pedals now at all, but learning sucked.

[JuneHawk]

I looked a lot of pedals (choosing a husband was easier) and finally went with Time iClic pedals. My reason was the float. It has a float of +-5°. The cleats, however, are huge.

[lawnchick22]

speed play

[chicago]

speedplays... because I think they look cool:

edit... oh and mine are lightactions...