Weight Weenies

As some of you may know, I've been quite a fan of Coombe Pro Pedals. They're simply the best pedals I've ever owned and then the company went bust. When fresh cleats couldn't be found, I retired them and experimented with Time RXS Carbons, Shimano DA SPD-SL and some others before settling on Speedplay Zero Ti's. How surprised I was when I was look for some old Coombe specs and the website was changed!!



Coombe is now expected to release their new MILLENNIUM II pedals around March/April. I reached out to Bill Coombe and I'm already excited about the prospects of riding Coombe's again. Sidenote: I just got rid of my Speedplay Zero Ti pedals last year after being fed up with their persistent little nuisances. Can't wait to get my hands on these new Coombe's!

http://coombe.com/millennium_pedal_features.html wrote:TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
> Stack Height = 10mm total (pedal + cleat)
> Cornering Clearance = 38 degrees
> Bearing System = 2 rows needle + 1 row ball (patented)
> Float Angle = +/- 3 deg from center with adjustable heel-in set screw.
> Retention Mechanism = Springless "Twist In" to engage (patented)
> Pedal Weight (each) = 110 grams (all Stainless Steel construction)
> Cleat Weight (each) = 55 grams (Bronze) or 22 grams (Aluminum)

The new Millennium II pedal and cleat on the left with the discontinued Pro Pedal on the right.

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Looks interesting!

Is that two-screw mounting only, though, like mtn bike cleats ?

What is the "ramp" on the front edge of the cleat for ? It looks extended in the new cleat ?

3° Float is probably not enough for my liking. Is that a big as it can get ? But I see it is ±3° so maybe enough.

Those cleats for the Millenium II pedals are for 3-bolt road shoes. Not sure what the 3º float is for, but I suspect that's only when fully engaged.

One advantage I found Coombe pedals to have is that the cleat still have contact with the pedal even when disengaged, requiring only lifting the foot for dismount. The front ramp is for the pedal to pass over as you kick your shoe onto the pedal from behind. Besides their obvious road use, I think Coombes are ideal for track because they have no spring or retention mechanism to pull out of during pedaling.

I don't see how that cleat would fit a 3 bolt shoe? Unless you only use 2 of the bolts, but even then the holes seem too close together?

Interesting system nonetheless

How does the "leaf spring" function ?

Woohoo! Thanks for the tip. I have been waiting years for this.

A couple of years ago I pledged money to a kickstarter like campaign to get replacement cleats made, but it never happened. All of my pedals are in great shape, but some of my cleats wore out....after 6 years! Too bad they aren't compatible.

The apparent lack of fore-aft cleat adjustability could be a real issue for a lot of folks. Pretty basic feature of any pedal system and it looks to be completely absent here, unless there is some baseplate to be employed that is not pictured.

I am also interested in these- how does the retention mechanism work without springs? Is getting out the same as in a normal pedal?

Also it looks like there is limited rotational adjustment? I see +/- 3deg of float, and if I'm reading their site correctly another +/- 3deg in cleat position using the screw on the bottom left (this image). Is 6 deg from center enough adjustment for most riders?

They're nice pedals, but the pricing is way out there...

Looks like the fore-aft adjustment comes from using different models of the cleat. I have a number of pairs of shoes where the bolt holes are in slightly different positions, fore-aft, compared to one another - that could mean some expensive cleat experimentation to work out whether I chose the right set for the right shoes...

High price, non-competitive weight and little to no adjustment. What more could you ask?

I'm out at that price

I'm a long time Coombe user, so I'm excited to see this - thanks for posting it Mythical. I can understand some of the criticisms:
* the adjustability stemming from buying a different cleat is a downside, though I guess once you have things dialed it'll make replacements very easy (no issues in aligning things).
* weight-wise, they're a step down (well, up) from the older pro model. I think that's just because the pedal body is bigger, and I think that's just because it needs to be to allow the cleat to work with 3 hole shoes.

The absolute best thing about the Coombe pedals is their durability. I ride a lot and I'm still using Coombe pedals from 12 years ago, along with cleats from 8 years ago! (All I've ever had to do is add grease to the pedals) Can you imagine being able to say something like that about any other pedal on the market? Sadly I think this durability in part led to their original demise - I think a lot of pedal companies make their money off people buying replacement cleats every 3-6 months. The old pedals had steel cleats though, and I do worry a bit that the new brass or aluminum ones aren't going to wear nearly as well (and they're not cheap either).

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dwaharvey wrote:* the adjustability stemming from buying a different cleat is a downside, though I guess once you have things dialed it'll make replacements very easy (no issues in aligning things).

Do I understand this right, although I'm not sure I do - a given color cleat attaches to the shoe in exactly one position, with not even the ability to adjust the angle of the cleat relative to the shoe, and therefore the rider must rely on the +/- 3 deg float to accommodate any alignment needs? Or does the adjustable heel-in set screw allow for a rotational alignment for the cleat on the shoe, and then with +/- 3 deg float about that rotationally aligned cleat position, and of so, what is the maximum rotational alignment angle? It's not clear to me whether the adjustment of the heel set-in screw is to allow the the float to be limited to less than +/- 3 deg, or if it allows for a rotational alignment offset.