Pedal Recommendation

danjohnston

 I am looking for pedal recommendations. I have always had speed play pedals since I started riding six years ago. Nothing wrong with them...just feel like I have kind of out grown them. Plus I've got some money to burn and plan on passing my speed plays on to my daughter.  So does the quality of the pedal really affect your power output/transfer?  What brands/models are people using/recommend?  Thanks!

robin sarner

 Speedplay all the way for me.   Many reasons.  

ezellrh

x2 on Speedplay. Just bought my third set (which puts me on them for over a decade I think). What makes you think you "outgrew" them? Are you making a change just to make a change or is there something that you don't like about their performance?

MattAaronson

I use Time RXS pedals. They are great but not very common which has drawbacks. I'm thinking of switching to Look pedals, so a year down the road once the kinks are worked out of the Vector PM and it is mainstream I can seamlessly switch over...

samritter

+1  on the SpeedPlays

I've got speed plays, and getting them on 3 of my 4 bikes( Madone, Allez(commuter), Speed Concept).  The other bike is a mountain bike.  I needed the extra length spindles on my with my new road fit to make the fit much more comfortable.

Now I need to pick up the speed play grease gun for the maintenance as I'm trying to get to the point where I can be self sufficient for most of my maintenance needs.

Alan May

I think the choice has a lot to do with your body type / your weight / and your biomechanics.

As a taller(and thus heavier) athlete, I had less luck with Speedplay(hotspots and numbness) and better luck with with tradtional Looks and Shimano. (I still love the aesthetics of the SP's though :-) ) I've dropped 25 lbs since using them so now the SPs might now be a great choice... I don't know. I am currently riding the Shimano DuraAce pedal and quite happy with it.

I think the ideal time to switch pedals is when you are getting an advanced bike fit. A good fitter can find a pedal with the appropriate attributes (price vs. performance, q-factor, cleat design, etc.) and make adjustments (release settings, shimming) to help solidify one of those really critical touch points (the seat, the pedals, the hands/forearms aerobar and base bar positioning.)

Good luck!

mgraffeo

I'll put in a vote for the under-represented Time brand. I bought a pair of RXS pedals based on Tom Demerly's review at

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/features/rxspedals.shtml

and the reco of a top area cross racer working at the LBS, who suggested that the Time pedal is much better at shedding dirt than the speedplay, important for good transitions. The RXS is phenomenal once you're clipped in, with a spring-type float, meaning you never feel like pedaling on ice cubes, but have plenty of float as needed. They're easy to get out of. The 'cafe cleat' really is not bad to walk around on, and I run through transition in them all the time, no problem. The only drawback is that they're a bit tight to get into (and still that way 4 years later).

From what I understand, the new generation of Time pedals (the ICLIC's) keep the above benefits, but are substantially easier to get into. There's a great deal on competitive right now for last year's base model

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/product-components/2011-time-iclic-pedals-8177.228.0.html

The one thing I've never understood with the Time line is their price vs. weight thought process. Price doubles for a savings of only 30g. In fact, there's one level up (the ICLIC Racer) which is $20-30 more, but saves you a grand total of 3 grams.

Lots of great pedals out there. Hard to say which is the best one. But I've been happy with my choice.

Norton

Posted By Mike Graffeo on 06 Apr 2012 10:50 AM

I'll put in a vote for the under-represented Time brand. I bought a pair of RXS pedals based on Tom Demerly's review at



http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/features/rxspedals.shtml



and the reco of a top area cross racer working at the LBS, who suggested that the Time pedal is much better at shedding dirt than the speedplay, important for good transitions. The RXS is phenomenal once you're clipped in, with a spring-type float, meaning you never feel like pedaling on ice cubes, but have plenty of float as needed. They're easy to get out of. The 'cafe cleat' really is not bad to walk around on, and I run through transition in them all the time, no problem. The only drawback is that they're a bit tight to get into (and still that way 4 years later).



From what I understand, the new generation of Time pedals (the ICLIC's) keep the above benefits, but are substantially easier to get into. There's a great deal on competitive right now for last year's base model



http://www.competitivecyclist.com/product-components/2011-time-iclic-pedals-8177.228.0.html



The one thing I've never understood with the Time line is their price vs. weight thought process. Price doubles for a savings of only 30g. In fact, there's one level up (the ICLIC Racer) which is $20-30 more, but saves you a grand total of 3 grams.



Lots of great pedals out there. Hard to say which is the best one. But I've been happy with my choice.

X2 on the Time pedals. I used the RXS model for years before switching over to the iClic last year. Very happy with it. 

Michele Cellai

I have SP on road bike and Look on TT bike, therefore allowing me more shoes, but I digress.

What I have found with SP is that if I want to pedal with poor form, even when tightened down, I still have too much lateral movement of my leg. This does not happen with the Look pedals.

My MB has Shimano pedals, which I heart and would like to get on my road bike. Bike I am going to look at the Time pedals.

Paul Hough

I've got Dura-Ace pedals on my 3 bikes (2 older dura-ace all alloy, and 1 with the new carbon). I like the wide platform for power transfer, and have had zero problems with them. I However, I have no basis of comparison with others, but I wouldn't change because it's nice to be able to jump on any bike with the same shoes.