Speedplay Pedals, pros & cons ?

Murph100

Hi All,



New bike arriving finally tomorrow, a big 'Thanks' to all here who gave some really great advice ! The last piece of piece of the puzzle is the pedals, and after scouring the web, the Speedplays seem to come highly recommended, despite their strange looks. Anyone here using them ? I promise I'll shut up for a while after this.. ; > )


Cheers,

Murph

penexpers

I've never used them but I like the double sided entry. They are quite pricey though.

Murph100

Yup same here, the double sided entry sounds pretty good, but some reviews say the lack of spring loaded self centering can feel a bit like ice skating, hence my concern, being a crap ice skater and all ....


Murph

cantalach

Speedplay pedals have been criticised by bike fit guru Steve Hogg because their standard cleats cannot be positioned sufficiently far back to get the ball of foot ahead of the pedal axle (Steve advocates this to unload the calf muscles and Achilles tendon). There are alternative cleats available that do permit a more rearward set up but these apparently have to be specially ordered and are not usually stocked by retailers.

Murph100

Cheers Cantalach,


An interesting point, I've also just seen from roadbikereview that its definitely a love 'em or loathe 'em affair with the Speedplays, and a lot of problems with entry and longevity, maybe I'll stick with my first choice Time RSX carbons.

Anyone care to defend Speedplay ?


Murph

tunney

cantalach wrote: »

Speedplay pedals have been criticised by bike fit guru Steve Hogg because their standard cleats cannot be positioned sufficiently far back to get the ball of foot ahead of the pedal axle (Steve advocates this to unload the calf muscles and Achilles tendon). There are alternative cleats available that do permit a more rearward set up but these apparently have to be specially ordered and are not usually stocked by retailers.

Mid foot cleat placement is very difficult on most shoes with any pedal system though

cantalach

tunney wrote: »

Mid foot cleat placement is very difficult on most shoes with any pedal system though

It's all relative though, and some pedal/cleat/shoe combinations are (in Steve Hogg's considered opinion) better than others at achieving a mid-foot placement.

E@gle.

They were good enough for carlos sastre in the tour.

One of my club mates is a physio and he swears by speedplay pedals

An up side is that you dont need to buy cleats again

hunnymonster

Mr HM uses them but he's a crap cyclist :P He got them because he was having knee issues with the keo's and it did solve the knee problem.

Murph100

Hmmmmmm guess it will have to boil down to whats in stock, that great old decider


Cheers,


Murph

BaBiT

I've been using speedplay light actions for about the last 12 months and I've found them really good..Have two sets now, got them for a Trek 1000 I had and then got another set put on my Tarmac Pro when I bought it...I find them easy for entry and exit and the double sided entry makes them easy to snap into...If you're a sprinter there may be a bit too much float (the amount your foot can move without disengaging) but I can say on the flat or climbing they are perfect..

SetOverSet

@Murph - there's quite a lengthy review of speedplays in a cycling magazine I was reading last month, pros, cons, etc. (can't for the life of me remember which one ). Still have it in work, so will post tomorrow...

SetOverSet

SetOverSet wrote: »

@Murph - there's quite a lengthy review of speedplays in a cycling magazine I was reading last month, pros, cons, etc. (can't for the life of me remember which one ). Still have it in work, so will post tomorrow...

*Edit* pasted the review from an email but it came out all garbled :(