The Low-Down on Road Pedals -- gimme yer thoughts

[hulagirl]

I live in Hawaii about 3/4 mile from the beach. Our yard is sand. Our dogs bring sand in the house, we train at the beach, it's all sand, sand, sand.

I have Speedplay Light actions and have NEVER had an issue with them. Many ladies that I train with use Speedplay Light Action...many, many, many triathletes here use them.

I came to them from SPD Keen's actually. And they (Keens) ARE very flexible and very, very narrow. I have also ridden in Mtn. Bike shoes and touring shoes.

I picked Speedplays because:

1. They are very, very small and light. Won't catch on sharp turns.
2. They are double sided and I don't have to look down like everyone else to flip my pedals to clip in. This is 100% similar to SPD pedals and something I really like.
3. The cleats on the shoes are a lower profile than Look or SPd SL.
4. The cleats on the shoes are super easy to maintain/clean. The springs are on the cleats on SPD SL and Look shoes. On Speedplays you can unscrew the plate and there are 2 pieces, then the shoe. So I unscrew, use a wire brush to clean things up, dry lube and screw them back together. Super easy, no springs and moving parts to worry about.
5. The pedals are very easy to clean - wire brush, compressed air and done.
6. And most importantly - these are the closest to SPD pedals than the LOOK or SPD SL type in terms of clipping in/out and double sided.

-- use cafe covers on your shoes or bring a pair of slippers (flip flops) to walk around in if you stop for a long time.

-- I use SIDI triathlon shoes
-- I also have the same pedals on my Bike Friday that I use for touring.

I do NOT think you should discount the Speedplays due to some folks thinking they get mucked up with sand. They don't. Or else no one would use them in Hawaii or for triathlons! I have raced in the rain/sand with them and there are no issues. If, however, you never clean your gear, things will add up. But I clean my gear after every use because it's not cheap! And salt water kills! ;-)

ETA --- I can document the ease of cleaning the cleats for you if you want. I probably should do it today as I'm 1 week out from a race.

[zoom-zoom]

There are a couple of instances where I think the Speedplays could be problematic, though. We don't have a paved driveway, so there's no easy way to come and go without walking through a mix of sand/dirt/grass for a short distance on a regular basis. I also do at least 1 race/year with a grass transition area and a few yards of running on asphalt before we can mount and after we dismount. Looking at the Speedplay cleats makes me assume that these scenarios could really cause some headaches, since the mechanical bits are on the shoe, rather than on the pedal.

[Miranda]

You will love the support and difference of getting a full carbon road shoe, and wider more supportive road pedal makes!

I have both, and all of my foot pain issues disappeared.

I ride the Look "Elle" pedal. It's touted to be for ladies, being lighter weight riders than men. The Elle has one of the lowest release tensions in newton meters, in terms of ease of getting out. I've never had a problem of them releasing unintentionally either. They are heavier than Looks top of the line carbon pedals. Which a little heavier weight will make the pedal hang down more in position, thus lil easier to "catch" it to clip in.

My close second to the Elle was Shimano Ultergra or Durace. Very solid connection. However, I felt they were slightly harder to get out of compared to the Look Elles.

It's just practice catching your foot to get clipped in. Even though I've done it many times, sometimes I still miss. To me, it's only a second to flip the pedal over.

If you can't get clipped in, just take your foot off, let the pedal hang, and try again. You don't even need to look down to do this. Simple.

Oh... for DH at the intersections... maybe he needs to learn how to track stand? lol

[hulagirl]

There are a couple of instances where I think the Speedplays could be problematic, though. We don't have a paved driveway, so there's no easy way to come and go without walking through a mix of sand/dirt/grass for a short distance on a regular basis.

Totally understandable. I too do not have a paved area from my back door to the road. Again, my yard is sand with a bit of topsoil to hold what little grass we have. I have not had any problems.

I also do at least 1 race/year with a grass transition area and a few yards of running on asphalt before we can mount and after we dismount. Looking at the Speedplay cleats makes me assume that these scenarios could really cause some headaches, since the mechanical bits are on the shoe, rather than on the pedal.

I compete in triathlons so I have experienced every type of transition you could imagine. (Ok, except for gravel!) All of them take place at the beach. The longest transition I had to do was a run with our bikes for a quarter of a mile down the bike path. You could run on the paved path or run in the sand. Both were evil! I did not have any issue clipping in our out after that triathlon.

And I should note that I'm covered in salt water when I get on my bike. I do not race in socks, so the salt water is dripping down into my shoes and everything is covered in sand, dirt, leaves, sticks. That's part of triathlon.

Again, I do not think pro/elite/age group triathletes would compete in SpeedPlays if there were concerns or issues with the cleats.

There are other reasons to not try them, but cleat issues with dirt/sand just doesn't happen.

[zoom-zoom]

I ended up going with Shimano 105s and the road version of my mtn. pedal. I can't wait to see how this combo works.

I decided on the Shimano SPD-SLs in large part because my hubby said that is the pedal he would like to try once his LOOK Keos wear out. So I figured I could at least play guinea pig, first. And I couldn't really find negative reviews...and I scored them on Amazon for <$64, including shipping.

[Owlie]

Awesome!
I'll certainly keep these suggestions in mind if I decide to make the switch.

In the meantime: Zoom-zoom, I know your Dominators didn't fit you, but could you comment on the sole stiffness? (My feet are pretty narrow overall--B, but barely--and with a narrower heel, so Sidis should fit me reasonably well.) I'm not quite ready to give up on SPDs just yet, since I'm not getting those angry spots on my feet. They just ache.

[zoom-zoom]

They were pretty stiff and light. A nice shoe...though the heels were always a little loose on me. It's why I never even tried the men's Dominators or Megas. I knew if the women's were big through the heels that the men's version would be worse. My LGs are MUCH snugger through the heel, but still roomy enough through the toes. I'll bet women's LGs would be a good fit if you have narrow heels.

I totally get that foot ache. That's what led me to decide that it was time to switch to real road pedals. I started to feel on long/hard rides like my shoe was flexing over the lateral sides of my pedals, creating a bit of a hot spot and irritated peroneal tendons. Hopefully the stiffer shoes and larger pedal platform will solve that.

[Owlie]

They were pretty stiff and light. A nice shoe...though the heels were always a little loose on me. It's why I never even tried the men's Dominators or Megas. I knew if the women's were big through the heels that the men's version would be worse. My LGs are MUCH snugger through the heel, but still roomy enough through the toes. I'll bet women's LGs would be a good fit if you have narrow heels.

I totally get that foot ache. That's what led me to decide that it was time to switch to real road pedals. I started to feel on long/hard rides like my shoe was flexing over the lateral sides of my pedals, creating a bit of a hot spot and irritated peroneal tendons. Hopefully the stiffer shoes and larger pedal platform will solve that.

Okay, thanks. Not in the budget right now, unfortunately, but at least I can go find somewhere to try them on and hang out on STP or Nashbar or somewhere!
I don't feel like it's anything to do with the cleat, necessarily (though I may be happier with a larger pedal platform eventually). No hot spots or anything. I just feel like I've walked the whole way.

[nscrbug]

I ended up going with Shimano 105s and the road version of my mtn. pedal. I can't wait to see how this combo works.

I decided on the Shimano SPD-SLs in large part because my hubby said that is the pedal he would like to try once his LOOK Keos wear out. So I figured I could at least play guinea pig, first. And I couldn't really find negative reviews...and I scored them on Amazon for <$64, including shipping.

Nice choice! I think you'll be happy with the 105's. I have a set of 105's on my Trek 2100 (backup bike)...and Ultegras on my C'dale Synapse.

[zoom-zoom]

Nice choice! I think you'll be happy with the 105's. I have a set of 105's on my Trek 2100 (backup bike)...and Ultegras on my C'dale Synapse.

Oops, I just noticed that I wrote "road version of my mtn. pedal"...I meant shoe. That's what I get for posting after my bedtime.

Glad to hear you like your pedals. I'm eager to try them!