New Pedals-Help!

[Catrin]

I am thinking of trying a different set of pedals for my road bike and wanted input from anyone on their opinions of the different brands. I currently am using Speedplay but am not in love with them. I develop hot spots in my foot and also they can be extremely hard to clip out of. Any thoughts of ideas would be appreciated.Smile

What kind of Speedplay pedals are they?

[angmom]

They are Light Action. I keep them quite clean, lube them and still have lots of problems unclipping. Any advice is appreciated.

[indysteel]

I have Keos. I like them...but I often get a bad hot spot in my right big toe. Having read about a zillion threads, here and elsewhere, on hot spots, I can tell you that there's no one solution to them...or any solution for that matter. There are a lot of things that seem to be a factor: shoe width, insoles, pedaling technique, cleat placement, pedal system, and biomechanical issues, e.g, leg length discrepancy. Just to name a few.

I've tried nearly everything with no real success. I get by on wearing very thin socks and appying Tiger Balm every 20 miles or so to my big toe.

If I were you, I'd start by changing out my insoles. I use esoles, but lots of people have found success with Specialized Body Geometry insoles. Did you have a shop actually "fit" your cleats or did you use put them on yourself? If it's the latter, you might find a good fitter in your area and make sure you cleats are where they ideally should be.

[angmom]

Thanks for the tips on foot hot spots, I will give the esoles a try and see if that helps.
The cleats were installed by my local shop. If anyone has ideas as to why I'm having difficulties clipping out they would be greatly appreciated. On my backup bike I have plain SPD's and can clip in and out so easily. I've already had a few to many spills by not being able to clip out and don't want anymore. Hurts your pride and body!!

[Catrin]

I don't know how adjustable those pedals are, but perhaps they could be tweaked? I have Speedplay Frogs and have no problem clipping/unclipping...

[westtexas]

Have you considered that it isn't a pedal problem but rather one with your cleats? When I got fitted on my bike the guy changed the positioning and tightness of the cleats to my shoes and it made getting in and out of my 105s much easier.

[azfiddle]

Here's my 2 cents worth. I used a pair of older Shimano (comparable to old style Look with Delta cleats) and they were generally okay. I have used SPD's on my errand bike with no problems, but prefer the platform pedals.

I gave Time pedals a try on my new bike and spent the last 10 weeks trying to be happy with them because I could not really ever get the hang of clipping in with them, though I didn't have any problems while I was riding or getting out.

Just today, I finally went out and bought a pair of Look Keo Elle pedals and they were instantly SO much easier to snap into. I haven't actually ridden in them but what a relief to be able to clip in without a struggle.