Costelo Carbon-Ti Pedals 160g/pair

[apctjb]

Looking for pedals for new bike build. Was looking at the Time Xpresso 12 or 15 when I ran across Costelo; looks to be a similar pedal, uses the same cleat, claimed weight of 160g/pair at a price 1/3 of Time Xpresso.

Anyone have any experience with these?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/163g-Costelo-Road-bicycle-carbon-titanium-Ti-pedals-with-iClic-Cleats-USA-stock/122616948216?hash=item1c8c8a25f8:g:rDwAAOSwvflZU2tN

[apctjb]

I should had done a search first; it appears this topic has been covered before.

Still if anyone has any new info on how these pedals have worked for them it would be great to know..

[alcatraz]

I use these for about 6 months. I bought them well aware of the risk.

Seems the pedals themselves are more or less problem free(for lighter riders) if you don't mess around with the tension adjustment.

The cleats are the problem. I have a pair of original Time xpresso 12 pedals on a second bike to compare with but I've never tried the original cleats.

One problem is with two of the cleat bolts. They are way too easy to pull through the cleat under pull situations. These need to have a larger diameter head. Original is 9mm but space allows for 12mm so the titanium ones I ordered with 11mm have worked fine even to the point where the cleat is so old and raggedy it's falling apart. Its passed the test sort of speak.

Warning: If the bolt heads aren't low enough the cleats won't engage well into the pedal and you will get dangerous accidental unlocks. I noticed that when clipping in I can feel by twisting my foot a bit if my cleat is fully engaged or not. If it's wobbly it hasn't fully engaged. Simple twist and push fixes that right away.

The cleat quality is very poor and part of it is because of design. Two big problems:
1. The cleat is very big and so big in fact that the shoe won't be able to support the cleat. Part of it is just sticking out to the sides. (I suspect shimano spd-sl are similar). The unsupported parts are then walked upon and start to break.

2. The total walking surface is very small so the cleat will be ground down quite fast.

I found the seller of costelo pedals here in China also sells dirt cheap cleats for 6-7usd a pair. I bought myself a few spares and thats that. If I had to pay time retail I'd definitely go back to Look pedals and cleats.

/a

[hannawald]

I have Xpresso 10, these looks a lot lighter for a good price:) can you use time cleats? is the pedal same quality ? what is the weight limit for titanium spindles? are they flexy? thanks!

[glepore]

3 pair here, number 4 coming. Pedals themselves are trouble free, lube the bushing once in a while. Cleats are the same as time except they're not q variable like originals. I had the breakage problem mentioned above on lake boots, but it was my own fault for having the cleats back fairly far to the point that the rear edges were unsupported. No different than the oem cleats.

Can't comment on axle strength, I'm a small light guy.

The tension adjustment on these is a plastic slotted screw-I've managed to have one strip, poorly molded. But the tension adjust can be ignored.

[hannawald]

I am 80 kgs, limit for originals is 90 kgs, but chinese titanium spindles are sometimes flexy, what i remember from reading forums.. but the price is tempting:) i have positive experience with Time pedals (well, they are ok and lighter than Shimano), so i am thinking of using Costelo pedals with Time cleats..

[hannawald]

did you have problem with poorly spinning bearings as had fake Xpresso 12 pedals?

[apctjb]

did you have problem with poorly spinning bearings as had fake Xpresso 12 pedals?

Decided to try them out. As others have noted one of the pedals did not spin freely. Seems like the nut that tightens the pedal onto the spindle was over torque. I backed it off 1/2 turn and pedal was fine. Went out for a short 20mile ride to try them out. All good.

The pedals I got were 81g each. Hope they last!

[hannawald]

some more experience? i am still undecided.. i still have doubts whether to take dura ace pedals, which everybody seems to ride, but it is almost 240g real weight, so heavy compared to these... but i have read reviews that after few thousand kms Time pedals cant hold your feet firmly and there is a play... does it mean they loose the efficency in power transfer?

[2old4this]

Every once in a while, Merlin Cycles go for a super sale. Last October, I got xpresso 15s for $240 shipped. Then I've ordered, 12s and 10s (I think the total was $218). Even without that sale, today they have the 12s for $175.
If you are not in a hurry, you can buy the originals for a reasonable price (it takes about two weeks for the shipment to arrive .)

Are Shimano DAs better? I think they feel more solid, and last very very long (even the cleats.) However, the float on xpressos have been good for my knees, and they are very light (154 gr, without the cleats.)

[hannawald]

thanks..you can find xpresso 12/15 for a good price now, they are probably getting rid of old stocks before launching Xpro.. is there any difference to Costelo?
Is there any real gain with ceramic bearings except for 20g savings?
May there be any performance difference between DA and Xpresso or it is just about how long they last or how they survive in case of crash?

[glepore]

There is no discernible difference between costello and time, but that leaves out the quality of the material in the spindle itself. The bearing issues are similar. I'm a poor subject though, because I rotate through 3 or 4 bikes so I don't put a lot of wear on any one in particular, and I'm 60kg.

Performance gains from ceramic bearings in a pedal? Of course not. There may not be any in hubs or bbs either. Matter of debate.

DA pedals are considered to be the most durable raceworthy pedals out there. Like most DA stuff, the extreme functionality comes at a weight cost. Its up to you to decide. Of course there are tradeoffs, that's the way things are.