[hutch993]

What is the pedal of choice and why?

 

[skyliner1004]

lol you need to give a little more info. What are you trying to ask?

 

[kbwh]

Look Keo2. Because Bert. :thumbsup:

 

[hutch993]

I'm coming from toe clips and straps, just getting back into the sport. There seems to be a lot of different pedal companies all telling me they are the best? What are the advantages if any of the different pedals or do the all do the same thing and just look different.

 

[Opus51569]

Platforms. Free the feet!

 

[crossracer]

Wow, this is a question that will get a wide variety of answers, so lets start easy. Do you want an SPD style shoe, think mountain shoe or recessed cleat type shoe. Or do you want a full on road mount, like a speed play, look, or some version of that.

Bill

 

[louise]

I'm coming from toe clips and straps, just getting back into the sport. There seems to be a lot of different pedal companies all telling me they are the best? What are the advantages if any of the different pedals or do the all do the same thing and just look different.

Yes .

 

[Bertrand]

Time. I like the cleats. I like the float.

 

[JCavilia]

Do some searching

a much- and oft-discussed topic. A few recent threads:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=220239&highlight=clipless
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=222092&highlight=clipless
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=219759&highlight=clipless
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=220082&highlight=clipless
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=206866&highlight=clipless
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=218509&highlight=clipless

lots of food for thought there.

 

[skyliner1004]

you have LOOK/Shimano, which are very very similar. Single sided pedal entry, cleats that are walkable but not suggested.

then you have Speedplay. two sided entry, but cleats that are not walkable on. (extra $$ for the pedals, and extra $$ for cleat covers.)

I'm riding on LOOK pedals because everyone has them and my frame is LOOK

 

[JCavilia]

Platforms. Free the feet!

Nobody on a bicycle has free feet.

 

[terbennett]

I am actually using the old style Dura Ace SPD type pedals- not a fan but I also have SPDs on my mountain bike so I could use my road shoes for both. Personally, I've always been a fan of LOOK and raced with them throughout my teen years and early 20s in the late 80's/early 90's. Shimano used to make a LOOK compatible Dura Ace pedal that I loved but those went the way of the dodo. LOOK cleats wear fast if you ever walk on them without covers for any period of time. Luckily, they are inexpensive to replace. Still LOOK has the wider platform which are better for my wider feet and they are ideal IMO if you are just starting out. Heck, they invented the clipless pedal in the first place and have a massive selection of pedals to choose from. Since you are starting out, any KEO pedal will do and they start at around $85 a pair I believe and go upwards past $200. There's a good reason LOOK is still the most popular pedal on the market-and it's not because some pro level rider uses them.

 

[Erion929]

Shimano Ultegra....looks good, works fine, good cleat...and that's what came on my bike.

**

 

[Drew Eckhardt]

I'm coming from toe clips and straps, just getting back into the sport. There seems to be a lot of different pedal companies all telling me they are the best? What are the advantages if any of the different pedals or do the all do the same thing and just look different.

The different systems vary in

- Whether the cleat can be recessed in the shoe sole for easier walking

- How much float your foot has to move rotationally and side to side plus how much centering force there is.

- Cleat/pedal contact area. A larger contact area might mean less rocking as the surfaces wear.

- The directions the cleat will release in

- How far you need to move your foot for the cleat to release

- Whether there's a connection between how secure the pedal is and how much force it takes to release

- Shoe compatibility (SPD 2-hole/3-hole/4-hole)

- Whether you can clip-in on one, two, or four sides of the pedal

- Mud resistance

- Cleat around the pedal or the normal way (at least some of the cleats which go around the pedal like Bebop and Speedplay don't allow the mating surfaces to come in contact with hard ground).

- How much freedom you have in cleat positioning on your shoe

- Bearing count/quality

where some of the options are interconnected (a large cleat can't be recessed; a floating pedal with no resistance needs to have more float and movement to release so you don't come out accidentally when your foot wiggles; etc).

There's also cost, weight, and cost per gram of weight saved....

 

[boneman]

Time

About 15 years I switched over from Look type pedals to Time Equipes, mainly for lower stack height. Went to Gen II of the Equipes and then Impacts. I'm still riding Impacts but have slowly started to covert over to the later RXS model. I like their self-centering float, weight and contact size.

 

[MR_GRUMPY]

Look Delta type.

Two of my bikes have Look Delta pedals, the other has "Delta compatible" pedals, sold by Performance.