Pedals: Time Atac - Crank Bros Eggbeaters - Look

[p nut]

Going down the path of switching from Shimano SPD pedals. I ride one system for everything from road, gravel, Mtn, fat. I’m having issues with Shimano clogging up with mud and snow. Pros and cons with all. Although I want to try Eggbeaters, I’m intrigued by Time more. Look seems like SPD copy.

Anyone with experience with all platforms? Understandbly, they are probably more maintenance than Shimanos, which I’m fine with. Just don’t want to be stuck again with mud and or snow caked on the pedals. Thanks.

[joosttx]

Going down the path of switching from Shimano SPD pedals. I ride one system for everything from road, gravel, Mtn, fat. I’m having issues with Shimano clogging up with mud and snow. Pros and cons with all. Although I want to try Eggbeaters, I’m intrigued by Time more. Look seems like SPD copy.

Anyone with experience with all platforms? Understandbly, they are probably more maintenance than Shimanos, which I’m fine with. Just don’t want to be stuck again with mud and or snow caked on the pedals. Thanks.

I ride Atac’s. Love them. Can tolerate more mud and crud than spd’s. More float too

[HugoBear]

I have Time ATAC’s on 3 bikes and like them.

[dustyrider]

Time atacs. I have a few pairs in use that are pushing 3 decades at this point. I have never maintained them but replaced a cleat set or three. Folks say crack brothers are better now, but they burned their bridge with me forever! I’ve never ridden look pedals.

[zlin]

I ride crank bros. They are fine for mud and I like the walkable cleats but are not comfortable if not clipped in. Eg a quick trip in sneakers isn’t great.

[FlashUNC]

ATACs all the way.

[kiwisimon]

Have only used ATACs on my own bikes MTB and commuter but never liked the SPDs on loaners for lack of float and clogging up.

[Rekalcitrant]

I’ve used ATACS for years. In my experience the engagement and release is more solid than anything else. You really know when you are in and out of the pedal. They also seem to handle mud and crud better than SPDs. But, there are some issues to keep in mind. I repeatedly broke pedals at the point where the pin goes through the pedal body—I think 6 pedals in total—and was routinely sending them back to Time until they sent me the more expensive carbon bodied ones. I’ve seen others who have had the same problem, even though to my knowledge Time doesn’t acknowledge that it’s an issue.with the carbon ones I didn’t have the same problem, but yikes they are expensive. I also had a problem that I know others have had with the pins working loose and the pedals effectively falling apart. I figured out I could solve that by putting crazy glue on the pins, pushing them back in, and then epoxying over their ends. It’s also worth noting that like crank bro’s pedals, the bales of the pedals end up pushing against the soles of the shoes and can cause damage to carbon soles. Using plates and careful shimming can address this, but can also make it tougher to clip in. Lastly, while I honestly can’t figure out why this is, no amount of practice ever got me to the point where I could clip in under pressure as flawlessly as I can off the couch with SPDs. Since starts are huge in CX, that was always a problem. So now I’m back to SPDs and I also have a pair of the newer Look pedals. The Looks are an SPD copy, but I like them. They are generally a touch heavier than corresponding SPD models, but to me they feel a bit more solid underfoot and the engagement feels a tiny bit more predictable and they disengage at a slightly bigger angle, which I like for CX.

[Gummee]

ATACs have bearings all the way round.

Egg Beaters and Candy-s have a bushing in the middle.

Haven't tried the Look pedals.

...and as a note... I rode ATACs a bunch of years ago now.

M

[scoobydrew]

ATACs.

Have them on all my bikes, including road bikes.

[joosttx]

I’ve used ATACS for years. In my experience the engagement and release is more solid than anything else. You really know when you are in and out of the pedal. They also seem to handle mud and crud better than SPDs. But, there are some issues to keep in mind. I repeatedly broke pedals at the point where the pin goes through the pedal body—I think 6 pedals in total—and was routinely sending them back to Time until they sent me the more expensive carbon bodied ones. I’ve seen others who have had the same problem, even though to my knowledge Time doesn’t acknowledge that it’s an issue.with the carbon ones I didn’t have the same problem, but yikes they are expensive. I also had a problem that I know others have had with the pins working loose and the pedals effectively falling apart. I figured out I could solve that by putting crazy glue on the pins, pushing them back in, and then epoxying over their ends. It’s also worth noting that like crank bro’s pedals, the bales of the pedals end up pushing against the soles of the shoes and can cause damage to carbon soles. Using plates and careful shimming can address this, but can also make it tougher to clip in. Lastly, while I honestly can’t figure out why this is, no amount of practice ever got me to the point where I could clip in under pressure as flawlessly as I can off the couch with SPDs. Since starts are huge in CX, that was always a problem. So now I’m back to SPDs and I also have a pair of the newer Look pedals. The Looks are an SPD copy, but I like them. They are generally a touch heavier than corresponding SPD models, but to me they feel a bit more solid underfoot and the engagement feels a tiny bit more predictable and they disengage at a slightly bigger angle, which I like for CX.

I have had the pin issue twice. Both times I bought some ATAC-12’s at a ridiculously low price off of eBay. I surmised that these pedals were factory rejects.

[p nut]

Thanks fellas. I got a pair of EB’s to try out. Now onto search for some Atac XC’s.

[pdonk]

I have 2 pairs of atacs, one pair is about 8 years old the other close to 15. Both work well, never any problems with them in muck and the limited amount of slush I ride in.

Used them on both my road and mountain bikes. The larger platform was nice on the road bike and prevented foot wobble.

[BikeNY]

Another Time ATAC fan here, I've been using them exclusively for 25+ years. I've got a number of sets and use them on all of my bikes. I have never had them fall apart or had pins fall out. I will note that I only use the old style, and many of my sets are like 20 years old!? I've done zero maintenance on them, just new cleats every once in a while. I've broken a couple of bodies over the years from smashing them into rocks while mountain biking. The other thing I like is that they are rebuildable. When I break one, I keep all the parts in case something breaks on another set. I have the regular ones, the carbon ones, and a couple of the titanium axle version.

To be fair, I haven't used anything else in a long time, but I've always gotten along very well with the ATACs. Consistent and easy entry, a bit of float, and I can get out instantly. If it's really muddy they can cake up a bit, but it usually just takes a bit more pressure and the cleats will engage. Snow is a hit and miss affair, as it depends greatly on the consistency. I've actually changed to a set of composite flat pedals and winter boots for fatbiking now, and I think it's the way to go.

For reference, these are the style I use. If anyone has some of these 'outdated' pedals laying around, I'll take them!

[Dekonick]

Time ATAC's - for the last 15 years.

[marsh]

I have the ATAC's with the big platform, love 'em. I have a few pairs of the
regular platform that I'm not using if you want to try them out.

[kppolich]

Eggbeaters are great for shedding mud and such, however the con with that is that you ultimately have less pedal under your foot.

No issues in 4 seasons of cross with eggbeaters, but the float can be a bit much sometime, even with 2 degrees you can set with the cleats.

[p nut]

Referencing Rekalcitrant's post, anyone else using plates to keep the pedals from digging into the soles?

[kppolich]

Referencing Rekalcitrant's post, anyone else using plates to keep the pedals from digging into the soles?

with Eggbeaters yes, I use these from CrankBro's because they do dig in over time.
https://live.staticflickr.com/7924/46336536215_6006eefc3c_c.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/7815/33275398818_059be150da_c.jpg

[p nut]

with Eggbeaters yes, I use these from CrankBro's because they do dig in over time.
https://live.staticflickr.com/7924/46336536215_6006eefc3c_c.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/7815/33275398818_059be150da_c.jpg

Thanks. I will order a pair.

Also placed an order for Atac pedals on Merlin. Hope I don't run into durability issues I keep reading about.

[rrudoff]

Old Style Time ATACs here too. I have perhaps 6 pair that never seem to wear out, just need new cleats once in a while.

[John H.]

I have used all of the above- Look X-track (SPD style), SPD (most recently 9100 race), Time Atac, and Eggbeaters.

They are all really good pedals but it also depends non where you are riding, what cadence you ride, how much power you put down, what shoes you use and what your tolerance for creaking is.

For me- The best solution has been eggbeaters with the #2 tread adaptors. This makes for a rock and creak free interface with my shoes. Stays quiet at all cadences.
Look was the next best one that I have used.
Time and SPD work great- But they don't stay quiet for me- Especially for gravel use.

[superbowlpats]

I've always used spd's for mtb and cx but got tired of them clogging with mud and snow/ice. Tried Candys last year but never got the hang of clipping in with them. This year I'm trying ATAC 8's on my CX bike. If i end up liking them I will also put them on the mtb. so far I like the way you clip in and the exit is nice and easy (good for CX me thinks) but the float is something I'm going to have to get used to.

[p nut]

Got some ATAC pedals. XC6 and XC8. I really like them so far. Very positive engagement. Albeit more of a “thud” than a “click” like the XTR’s. But no vagueness, good float. No issues so far.

I did order some plates for the shoes. They were just a flat piece of metal. One problem was since the sole of the shoe was curved, the lip would stick up. I couldn’t clip in that way. So I had to bend it in with a pair of pliers. Wish I had a better way to do it but in the end, it worked. These were Sidi brand. Those crank bros up top seem to be bent to the shape of the sole. Maybe I’ll try those next time.

Thanks all for suggestions. I will ride this Time train for a while and see how it goes. So far, so good.