I've been using the most basic CB candy pedals for the last year and I found myself wasting too much time getting back into the pedal after dismounts. This was even more of a problem in muddy races especially before I figured out I could kick my downtube to dislodge mud from the cleat. Basically I'm just looking for a pedal that is easy to find under you with solid engagement. I just want to step down and go!!!

I know there's plenty of other considerations like weight, durability, easy to get out of, etc but this is my main concern right now. Everything I find is about how easy it is to get out of pedals. I want to be in them.

Thanks

Candys and eggbeaters are about as easy as it gets. You could try time ATACs out, they engage much more solidly, and are wider.

I can't think you can get much better than eggbeaters. Even if you don't get clipped in immediately you can still push on the pedal and clip in on the next rotation.

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Eggs or Times are the fastest to get into but require a greater foot twist to get out of.

Try eggbeaters instead of the candies. I have both and the eggbeaters are definitely easier to clip in to, especially in the mud. I use the eggbeaters fro cross, despite the smaller platform (as do most pro's it seems). Both are 2011 versions, fyi.

I use Time pedals, but have several friends that use the Eggbeaters. The consensus is that these are the best for mud. Could the problem be your shoes? From my own experience, Answer shoes clog easily but Lake shoes have a very aggressive, deep tread that seems to perform very well. I have not tried very many different kinds of shoes though. If nothing else, apply a non-stick cooking spray to your cleats and pedals.

As a note on the Candy vs. Eggbeaters, a friend told me the Candy pedals are easier on the shin when missing a pedal.

I'm using specialized shoes and it seems like mud can sometimes get stuck around the cleat. Thanks for the cooking spray tip. I think I might try eggbeaters.

I found this article about trimming the bottom of the shoes

http://www.cxmagazine.com/mechanical-mo ... air-cleats

maybe that would help?

I think the eggbeaters are even worst, I've been using the 11 for a few months but didn't like them. I feel they are good enough while training, but they are not while fighting over a race.
Clipping eggbeater I'm much slower then SPD, the main issue is that you cannot keep pushing on the pedals while trying to clip, since chances are the pedal turns underneath you show
I risked to hurt myself in couple of situations and even broke a saddle because of that

The worst is the start of the race where you have no speed and need to clip on the very first pedal turn... and you cannot push hard either, so likely you're stuck compared to other competitors for a couple of pedal turns, that's what happened to me all the time. That's very bad on national races where the start is very important. Needless to say I'm back on SPD

Another option would be the Time ATAC, I haven't tried them but I see here (The Netherlands) a lot of riders use them.... there are more riders on TIME Atac then SPD, so they must be good

I really love time ATAC's I tried the Candy's and really wanted to like them but i felt the platform was often in the way of engagement. I have a set of the new ATAC's and a set from ebay maybe from about 1990. They both work flawlessly. Unfortunately, not that light. But bulletproof!

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If the platform was "in the way" then you should use the shims crank bros. included between your shoe and cleat.

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Not a fan of the shims. I mean, if you use shims what's the point of using the Candys over Eggbeaters?