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.