Shimano Ultegra PD-6500

Price Paid:  $70.00 at Chuck's

Bike Setup:
Dura Ace version of the pedal on track bike. Ultegra 6500 on road bike. A520 on tandem. MTB pedals on fixed-gear winter bike. Same shoes work on all these pedals.

Summary:
It's too bad Shimano stopped making this pedal; it's the best pedal made. The cleat is compatible with Shimano mtb pedals, so you can put the 2-sided mtb pedals on your winter bike and use the same shoes on all your bikes. The Dura-Ace version is not as good - the plastic tabs keep breaking off.

Strengths:
Small, light, durable. Cleats are more walkable and less slippery than Looks. The pedals don't wear down like looks. They're harder to pull out of as the cleats wear.

Weaknesses:
No longer made, harder to find. SPD drillings harder to find on road shoes.

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Vernon Cycles, from

Bike Setup:
Lemond Zurich carbon, with ultegra.

Summary:
Not too heavy, very durable, and work great. Had not used them in a while.

I just sent my Look Keo Carbons back for warranty work. I had gotten them to try something lighter, and because they have a 3 bearing system which I assumed would make them durable, but did not. The KEO carbon's bearings showed play in less than a year.
So I pulled out the old Ultegras. I really appreciate them. A very nice pedal. Probably will get SAMPSOn pedals next time. Had a pair of SAMPSOn Straticsin 90's that lasted many many miles and were light and worked well.

Strengths:
fair price considering quality. $130 to $150 for pedals that last a real long time is actually a good deal when I think about it

Weaknesses:
not much, after using a lighter pedal that screwed up within a year. A little lighter would be nice, but not bad weight

Similar Products Used:
Sampson Stratics, Time, Look Keo

Price Paid:  $20.00 at eBay

Favorite Ride:
Softride Qualifier

Summary:
My first SPD pedals after being a Look fan for many years. Love the tension adjuster indicator and ease of clipping and un-clipping.

Strengths:
Reliability, adjustment indicator

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $0.00 at used

Favorite Ride:
sunday rock creek park to seneca

Bike Setup:
56" 2k kona kapu, 7005 tubing
house brand (kona) stem and seat post
ttt drops
slr saddle
full ultegra 9 speed group
cxp21 rims

Summary:
Slick looking, cro-moly, relatively light pedals. They have a very cool tension indicator, for quick reference. Unfortunately, they have single sided entry.

These pedals use the SPD-R sh-70 or sh-71 cleats... Supposedly a standard SPD cleat with rubber pontoons, which makes it easier to walk with SPD-R drilled shoes. Some shop geeks have made claims that you can use the standard SPD cleat with this, but I had problems with cleat retention when I tried that with a spare pair of SPD cleats. I would pop-out on sprints and even some seated climbs.

Overall I think these pedals are great. I've only encountered hot-spots during centuries. During an 18 mile crit I raced this fall I did develop a little bit of a hot spot, but I don't normally feel that during my weekly rides (one of which is about 50 miles) or when I use them for courier work.

The sh-70 cleat is a fixed cleat, no float, which some prefer. I just switched to the sh-71 cleat, which has what I've heard to be 9 degrees of float. So much like the look free-arc, you can choose whether or not you want float based upon your cleat purchases.

Strengths:
slick looking, strong, steel pedals, with a relatively low weight. fixed or float depending on cleat.

Weaknesses:
some complain about hot spots. also, cheaper, lighter pedals are now available on the market.

Similar Products Used:
look free-arc's

Favorite Ride:
The next one

Bike Setup:
80's vintage Trek

Summary:
This pedal has a solid feel that gives the rider the impresion of being conected to thier bike, yet your heal is free to float to the left and right. I find this feature more comfortable on long rides, but it can make exiting the petal a bit more difficult. The tension adjustment will allow someone without a lot of experence using clipless pedals to set the pedal up for a very easy release. Keep in mind which shoes you chose may have a greater impact on your rinding preformance/comfort than the pedals you use.

Strengths:
Tension adjustment, 3 deg. travel, Shoe cleat has some protection for walking

Weaknesses:
Single sided. If you are very skilled you can line up the cleat and the pedal with out looking down. I can't.

Similar Products Used:
Tyme, Look