New weight weenie pedals on the market- Ultralite Sports

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

User avatar
djconnel
Posts: 7917
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2007 1:57 pm
Location: San Francisco, CA
Contact:

by djconnel

On the 3D Bike Fit I raised the saddle 1 cm because it felt better (the new position is consistent with at least 4 separate fitting criteria I've found, so I'm not completely unjustified here). I've had problems with the Specialized shoes: not enough toe room. I had to remove a shim in the forefoot of my right foot because my toes were too confined. I had to pad out the left shoe with moleskin to avoid a painful contact point. This SPD-SL shoes are hard to clip into, which usually isn't a problem, but when it is a problem it will be a big problem (timed hillclimbs). I was told I'd likely get a power increase, but the data fail to show any, and my sprint power is down from last August > 10%. This is more likely due to comfort in the pedals than the fit, I suspect. Will need to check Speedplays. Climbing times on my favorite 4.5 - 5 min climb are indistinguishable.

That said, the new fit is overall much more comfortable. I resisted going to shallow drop bars and feel no need: I like having the drops available as a deep position, and descending in the drops with the new position is much more comfortable than it was in the older one. I set a Strava PR on a local technical descent. I don't feel like my ability to get aero is in any way reduced.

Summary of changes: 1. Saddle was lowered 2. bars were raised. 3. Seat was moved back. 4. Bars were rotated down 5. Hoods were rotated up. I undid most but not all of 1, but the other changes I've kept.

Onto the pedals: I'm still interested in Ultralite pedals!

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



User avatar
Fuchspk
Posts: 416
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Sweden

by Fuchspk

Can everybody just stay focused here? The thread is about the Ultralite Pedals and for all the other stuff you can write in other threads...thanks!

I´m just waiting for a pair of the Cirrus Ti 5degree version. Will come in the next days and i´m really excited about them.
As i´m a heavy rider i bought the extra springs as well and will test them both. I even bought some extra cleats just to be sure to have if they wear out quickly but other then brakedowns on the Bike i´m not going that nuch. Have no stairs att home and start to cycle directly in front of my door at home.
Bought some new S-work shoes for them. Maybe it would have been better to test with my old sidis for exact comparison but the sidi´s were totally worn out.
Used the Speedplays until now and was happy with them but always wanted a pair with less weight.
Never trusted in the Aerolites as Friends of me reported that they could just flip out uppways and slip out sideways sometimes.
I think and hope that this will not be problem with the Cirrus.

I´ll write about them when i get mine.
Last edited by Fuchspk on Tue Apr 16, 2013 12:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

revpower
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:31 am

by revpower

Hi Fuchspk, i also want to buy ultralite with 5 degree floating, but i'm courious about the difficulity at cllipping in the pedal with the cleat.
Please report about how you are feeling with those. thanks

Devon
Posts: 782
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2013 1:19 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia

by Devon

Bye bye knees.

User avatar
Fuchspk
Posts: 416
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Sweden

by Fuchspk

I think it will just take some time of training. Will need to be a bit more precisely and in the beging yo might not do any mass-starts or starts upphill so well but actually i mostly do not do these anyway.
I´ll report as soon i know more :)

User avatar
djconnel
Posts: 7917
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2007 1:57 pm
Location: San Francisco, CA
Contact:

by djconnel

Price versus mass comparison:
Image

The damning characteristic of these pedals, to me, is the inability to ride them in street shoes, according to Ben Delaney at BikeRadar:
the pedals are absolutely unrideable in street shoes, as the outer barrel rolls freely on the inner barrel.

Sometimes it's nice to just be able to ride the bike a bit in street shoes. Not being able to do so is a big PITA. It's a bit like not carrying a chain tool. You may not need to use it often, but when you need it, you very much miss it.

User avatar
Gearjunkie
Posts: 877
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:17 am
Location: NZ

by Gearjunkie

It's not completely impossible. I've ridden my Aerolite pedals in a suit and dress shoes when needed. Just need a little care and lower gear for the hills because standing up to climb is not easy ;)

Cheers

GJ

RyanH
Moderator
Posts: 3181
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:01 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

by RyanH

Anyone have these yet that can provide feedback?

User avatar
Fuchspk
Posts: 416
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Sweden

by Fuchspk

I like mine Cirrus Ti 5° al lot :)
Needed some time to get used to the system as i rode almost 20 years with shimano,eggbeater and speedplays before.
But that was not that big problem.
I can not feel any pressurespots with my Specialized S-work ´74 shoes on them, can´t feel any flex and they are not worn that fast as i thought they would. Even with the cleats i have walked quite a lot and they look ok to me - they are better then aerolite cleats as their important part sits more inside and even if they would be worn out at the edges they still work. If you walk through sand and mud, make sure that you have no sand in the cleats as you will get some marks on the pedals otherwise - nothing which makes troubles but doesn´t look that nice.

The looks from my bike with these pedals is really cool i think as you nearly do not see anything :) Looks really clean and nice.
Even nice is the feeling when riding with pedals like this light! Especially the first time just felt like flying - is a really lovely feeling

god things:
- are light (71g for the pedals and 51g for both cleats + 6 steel screws)
- look god
- the system works well
- can not pull the cleats off by normal cycling (pull on hills is no problem at all)

bad things
- 5° works fine for me but i think that not everybody will think that 5° is enough
- to install the cleats is simple but you can not choose to many angles, push them just some mm forward and backward (again, works for me but i guess that some could have problems to get i right)
- if you are in to real hard fast sprints then you could pull in an angle where you actually pull the cleat out (works for me as i not do sprints but a real sprinter should use something else)
- high price

from the right angle you almost do not see them :)
Image

RyanH
Moderator
Posts: 3181
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:01 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

by RyanH

Thanks Fuchs for the reply. Some people were mentioning that the Mercury Pedals got hot, do the Cirrus get hot after riding?

Also, have you unclipped accidentally? I race a lot, and thus, have to sprint a lot. I try to avoid the wild throwing around of my bike like a lot of the guys do, but clipping out at 40mph is a scary thought.

User avatar
Fuchspk
Posts: 416
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Sweden

by Fuchspk

I actually never thought about if they get warm or not. They do not look like that there have been a problem with this. Can´t test it now as i´ve got to much snow outside now.

I have never unclipped accidentally - i really tryed to pull out at hills but could not pull out at all. You need to do the right movement - this is even something i felt directly in the beginning as if you wanna unclipp and use to much power instead of the right movement then you get "stuck" and it is hard to come out and gets really easy if you do it right.
But the right movement is kinda the same like when you sprint with "wild throwing around the bike" as you both push down and then upp again and have kinda the right angle on the "upper foot" when you lay down the bike to the angle. You can sprint and mostly it will be fine but you could have this situation by unclipping accidentally - i forced it to happen and got out once. I think most people will never have this problem but it the risk is absolutly there!

RyanH
Moderator
Posts: 3181
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:01 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

by RyanH

Just got these in:

Image

Image

Image

I just rode around the parking structure to get a feel for them. Here's my initial impressions (I'll post some more once I get a real ride in this Sunday).

Walking: Coming from Speedplays for the past two years (and using the Keepon Kovers) they are slippery on smooth surfaces. Need to pay attention if walking on stairs and must keep back of shoe's rubber part on the ground. Probably not much different than Speedplay cleats without the Keepon Kovers.

Clipping in and out: After about 10 minutes, it was pretty easy. Disengaging the second foot when standing is more difficult since the motion moves the bike. On the note of clipping out, I'll be riding a bit gingerly on my first ride. Pedaling under load (53x11) I felt my foot compressing the spring. This was not the most comforting feeling in the world. I need to get on a steep hill to test out further.

Pedal Feel: These feel no different than the Speedplays, which is a good thing. Actually, better since there's no rocking present. The 5* of float is pretty close to what I had my Speedplays set at. They feel very smooth AND LIGHT!

I'll post up some more thoughts on Sunday after I get a real ride in.

RyanH
Moderator
Posts: 3181
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:01 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

by RyanH

Just a minor update. Today was supposed to be a rest day but I wanted to try out the pedals some more. So, I went out to for a short hour ride and tested different pedal strokes, including a hard out of saddle effort up a 20% grade. My concern of clipping out is beginning to diminish, they seem pretty solid.

Also, one other thing to note: for those that are pretty good with clipping in right away with Speedplays, getting used to clipping in with these after stop lights will come pretty quickly. I can get in usually within half a pedal stroke now.

fdegrove
Tubbie Guru
Posts: 5894
Joined: Tue May 03, 2005 2:20 am
Location: Belgium

by fdegrove

Hi,

Just for information, I received this in my e-mailbox today (just the add, not the pedals, unfortunately):

This is latest offering from Aerolite, 58g a set + 34g for the cleats. Not bad at all.

Image

Ciao, ;)
Being a snob is an expensive hobby.

User avatar
Fuchspk
Posts: 416
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Sweden

by Fuchspk

The Aerolite´s have a nice weight but technical they are really oldschool in comparison to the Ultralite´s
The way to click in and out is much better with the Ultralite, you never accidentally click out of them like you can do on the aerolite´s and by walking you do not worn out the important bit of the cleats like on the aerolite´s

RyanH - i changed my springs to the harder ones and feel that they are better (in thoughts of compressing the springs)

Just thought about my Ultralite´s for 2 days ago after a nice ride. I really like them, the bike looks so good with them and they ride well and functionally. Would by them again without any doubt.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Post Reply