School me on speedplay pedals..please

[Kingfisher]

Thinking about getting speedplays for my wife bike due to some difficulty getting into her look pedals at times. She has no issues with her mtb pedals because of just stepping into them due to their double sided clip in.

Can anyone tell me about speedplays, (or another alternative) ease of use, in and out?

Thanks

[59dualcab]

Speedplay pedals are awesome. Get her the light action pedals and she will fall in love. My wife rode Look pedals but always looked at the pedals as she was clipping in causing her to get dropped at stop lights. No issues with that now that she is on the speedplays.

[Shortsocks]

Speedplay pedals are awesome. Get her the light action pedals and she will fall in love. My wife rode Look pedals but always looked at the pedals as she was clipping in causing her to get dropped at stop lights. No issues with that now that she is on the speedplays.


100% right. Got Miss.Shortsocks the light action pedals and she never had any problems. Went through 3 other systems.....and in the first 50 yards she was happy. She's loved them ever since.

[jdh]

The only Speedplays I have used are Frog's for 2 bolt MTB shoes.
Clip-in is effortless and you can walk in them.
This ignores the blasphemy of wearing MTB shoes on a road bike but I'm not a religious guy.

John

[KJMUNC]

Swapped from Look 10yrs ago and have loved them ever since. Love the ability for toe in/out micro adjustment and getting in/out of them is as easy as any pedal. Get her the pink ones!

[kramnnim]

Zeros are the ones that have the adjustable degrees of float. They might be a bit harder to actually click in to than others...as in you can softpedal and the cleat won't engage to the pedal until you put more pressure. I assume Light Actions are easier...

[JStonebarger]

I love my Speedplays for all the reasons listed above... but...

Speedplays are for riding, not walking. They clog with dirt/sand/snow very easily and are a PIA to unclog. For road riding/racing or TTs I wouldn't use anything else, but on RAGBRAI or the weekend social/drunk ride -- any time I expect to do some walking -- I use Eggbeaters.

[Bradford]

I have used Speedplays for 18 years now, both frogs and lollipops. To make my life easier, I moved to all Frogs a few years ago so all my shoes work on all my bikes.

I've liked all Speedplays, but love the frogs. Supper easy in and out, plenty of wonderful float, and I can walk around when I get off the bike. Unless you are racing or doing some competitive group rides, frogs and mountain bikes shoes are the best answer.

For me, the first 5 miles was really weird, but by the end of the first ride I was a convert and never looked back. Moving to Speedplays was one of the best 3 or 4 things I've ever done in cycling.

[GRAVELBIKE]

I was a Frog user for ~15 years, but switched to Light Actions this past year. Never going back, at least for road use. At 200#, I'm probably heavier than their target demographic, but I've never accidentally unclipped.

And while I wouldn't walk through mud with the Light Action cleats, dry dirt and gravel is OK in moderation (although YMMV).

[buck-50]

Devil's advocate, Speedplays are pedals you either love or you hate. I've never met anyone who used them and said "they were just OK."

For me they were fiddly and got hard to use any time I rode them in the rain.

When they worked for me, they were as good as any pedal I've ever used. When they didn't work, they were awful.

But seriously, a lot of people really love them so they must be doing something right and chances are I was doing something very wrong. Like walking in them.

[Drmojo]

Cleats wear out, whether walking on them or not. They clog, spring wears and makes entry near impossible
Great if you never walk--I guess you could carry those cleat covers
Small platform gives more "hotfoot" on long rides--100 or more miles
Positives: great float for your knees, light.

[Mark McM]

I love my Speedplays for all the reasons listed above... but...

Speedplays are for riding, not walking. They clog with dirt/sand/snow very easily and are a PIA to unclog. For road riding/racing or TTs I wouldn't use anything else, but on RAGBRAI or the weekend social/drunk ride -- any time I expect to do some walking -- I use Eggbeaters.

Speedplay has addressed this problem with their latest cleat design, displayed at Interbike last month. It includes a rubber covered cleat body for less slippery walking, and a screw in plug to protect the inner workings when not riding:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/photos/speedplay-aero-pedal-system-on-display-at-interbike/323556

[DRZRM]

I've been on Speedplay road pedals for years and like them a lot.

Saw on BikeRumor (http://www.bikerumor.com/2014/09/10/ib14-speedplay-goes-aero-with-zero-system-syzr-nears-production-new-walkable-cleats-and-more/comment-page-1/) that there would be walkable cleats coming out for the Zero and the X pedal, and I'm excited to try them out.



http://brimages.bikeboardmedia.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMG_3069.jpg

[oldpotatoe]

Went from Look, Look type, Campagnolo to SP Zero. Great pedal system. 2 sided, adjustable float, very easy to maintain. AND if ya kill one pedal, you can buy one pedal.

Cleats don't become unusable if you walk in them. You do walk on metal as opposed to soft plastic of most all Look type.

I think Light Action would be a great choice(note-float not adjustable in light action).

[JStonebarger]

Speedplay has addressed this problem with their latest cleat design...

But isn't that one sided? I'm pretty spoiled by the x's double sided entry.

[thwart]

I've liked all Speedplays, but love the frogs. Supper easy in and out, plenty of wonderful float, and I can walk around when I get off the bike. Unless you are racing or doing some competitive group rides, frogs and mountain bikes shoes are the best answer.
Frogs are great. Have never slowed me down one tiny little bit.

FWIW, they do make titanium ones, and now you can buy quite light MTB shoes.

[Mark McM]

But isn't that one sided? I'm pretty spoiled by the x's double sided entry.

Well, all cleats are one-sided ;-)

You're probably thinking of the new SP aero pedals, which are one-sided. However, the new cleats works with both the new aero pedals and the original two-sided pedals.

[Masher]

I'm a new convert to speedplays. First off the foot contact is bigger as the cleat is your platform.. It just looks smaller due to the lollipop design. For walking google Keep on Kovers... Traction for your zeros/la/x series pedals... Keep them on all the time.. No impact on riding... Also have the benefit of catching loose cleat screws..

[rounder]

I am still using speedplay X's. I have them on three bikes and still like them. Started off using Times and have frogs on a mountain bike (that does not get ridden). I like the fact that they are really basic and work.

[jbrainin]

For walking google Keep on Kovers... Traction for your zeros/la/x series pedals... Keep them on all the time.. No impact on riding... Also have the benefit of catching loose cleat screws..

The only "problem" with KeepOn Kovers is that they make it a bit more difficult to disengage from the pedal. Mostly a minor problem, but one that might be an issue for some

[Masher]

Never felt it hindered release... But then I've had the Kovers on since the first week of using the pedals. Needed it to survive the trip from my garage to the street when wearing my shoes... Very slippery tiles.

[mecse]

Speedplay Zero, Light Actions are super duper easy to clip in / clip out of. The motion is completely straight down.

The only downside is that, by default, the cleats are metallic and more difficult to walk in than others. There are various plastic solutions out there, though, for this.

Just do it.

[bking]

ive used them 10 plus years. like them very much. a couple years ago i found these: http://www.keeponkovers.com/Product.html
once they're on you forget about them, and it makes them a bit easier to walk in, and hopefully i dont wear down the cleat to and past the screw and struggle to get them off....again.