Speedplay Pedals

[Bruiser]

Sounds like Speedplay make a durable and functional pedal.

Speedplay are extremely rare in Aust, can some users tell me their experences with speedplay?

My other option are Ultegra SPD-SL's, which would be cheaper and easier to find.

Thanx in advance

Brian

[Cyco]

Go the Keywins, Speedplay has had very poor representation here over the last 3-4 years (and you don't need to buy upgrades when you get them ).

[tyson12zoll]

Brian,
With my experience (in the US), its been either 'Love em' or 'Hate em'.
Consider what free float means and feels like. Brand new, the pedals feel like your feet are on ice - you can pivot your foot with no effort. Some like this, and some don't. A little pedros Ice Wax and this feeling comes right back. For those with strange biomechanics, speedplays can be benificial, and for others it can cause more problems (feet hitting cranks and chain stay).
I love mine, and can't say enough about the quality. AVOID at all costs the X3s. They suck royally. The bushings will last about a year or less in them. The X1s and X2s are great all around. The shop I worked at in the US sells them more than any other pedal, and we never had a great deal of problems with teh exception of the X3s. Speedplay has always been great about warranties, even on the crappy X3s.

[bobalou]

I've got a combined 8k miles on X2's and X1's and would fit the category of "really like them" .. but I must admit, I really liked the Time pedals I had before them. The Time pedals weighed more then twice as much so my initial reason for the switch was weight savings. I also like the "coffee caps" and use them all the time - you put them over your cleats for walking, real cleat savers.

Perhaps slightly off topic but I also use the Lemond Lewedge cleat shims. If you have any pronation issues then shims will keep your knees from popping out to the side near the top of the arch. Look at your shoes .. if one side of the shoe is worn more then the other then its cause of pronation. Something like 80% of all people pronate in some degree and shims can help resolve it. It was the best tip I've gotten this past year .. longer rides used to get knee pain, not any more. One has to experiment with them.. it took me a couple weeks to learn I needed three shims on one cleat and zero on the other.

http://www.lemondfitness.com/products/lewedge/

[Bruiser]

I've used zero float exus pedals and the security felt great.

Are Keywins durable? I've rooted the bearings of a Look 437.
I'd be interested in a pair for my CR1 and a second pair for my training bike. SPDR-SL's are attrackive for that reason.

Cheers

Brian

[cyclemanpat]

speedplay's are the BEST. I have used my X1's for 5 seasons now, around 25,000 miles or so and all I have done is greased them!!!

[mrowkoob]

I like fixed float so speeplay have´nt been on my agenda. Everyone raves about them though. Always used look. Just changed to spd sl and I am very happy. Just a tad more difficult to get in than look. A lot better tension and lighter than even the new Look keo´s.

[uphillisgood]

6000-10,000 miles per year for the last 5 years on Speedplays.

Love 'em.

[Racing Aardvark]

I love my Speedplays, use 'em on the track too. My feet pivot quite a bit as I pedal, so Look style didn't work well for me.

If you like zero float, you can always try the Speedplay Zeros. They let you lock down the amount of float.

[mises]

I finally retired my original set of speedplay x/2 last year after more than 10 years of use and roughly 200,000 km. Obviously I have been pretty happy with them. You just have to remember to change the cleats at least once a year depending on mileage or you will start to have some slop and broken springs, and lube the pedal and cleat springs with a dry lube frequently.

If you are like me and forget to change cleats until something breaks the good thing is if the spring breaks when clipped in you generally stay pretty well attached to the pedal until you unclip and try to start up again.

They also work really well with shoes with Time mounting holes since you can get the stack height very low that way.

[FPC]

Not much to add to the above, I've used the X2s for 5 years with the only problem being with the cleats - they wear out - for me at about 4K miles (which is better than their MTB cleats), and engagement can be difficult if the cleats aren't paid attention to once in a while. Regarding the weight - I think the design puts a large percent of the weight on your shoe as opposed to the bike - I'd be interested in knowing how the total pedal, cleat/platform system compares to others as I think Speedplay "gross" weights may not be so much lighter than other systems. That all being said, I like mine and will stick with them although I'd like to try others to remember what fixed/limited float is like.

[bobalou]

I'd be interested in knowing how the total pedal, cleat/platform system compares to others as I think Speedplay "gross" weights may not be so much lighter than other systems. ..

I think the combined weight is still lighter then most. For example, the X1's are 154g, cleats add 90g. total: 244 .. compared with say, keywin Ti's, approx 192 + 74 = 266. Approximate weights of course, refer to your gram scale or links here for better numbers. You can also tune the speedplays to get them lighter, via say SL's inserts .. and you can also get custom shoes that use the the native speedplay 4-bolt to save even more weight.

[Fred from Jupiter]

Speedplay are the best for training and touring.

If you want some for racing use time impact

Fred