SPD shoe - Northwave Striker S.B.S.

SPD-SL shoe - Northwave Aerlite

OK..!

I must admit I have little experience with Northwave shoe. But I would prefer to see the cleat recessed further inwards on Northwave shoe, like you find on Shimano or even Specialized SPD shoe. I also prefer the pontoons wider in size than what's shown here. These new Shimano SPD pedals are essentially platform pedals with SPD mechanism at center.

So to get best out of pedal/shoe design, the pedal needs to support the shoe appropriately, not mismatch pontoons with platform. Good shoes do exist, particularly MTB ones. Some Shimano Road/Tour SPD shoes require additional pontoons to make the design work whilst other models could be much improved in terms of lightness and sole stiffness.

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7x Forum Racing Ban Champion.

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7x Forum Racing Ban Champion.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind next time I'm shopping. I've never had a pair of Shimano shoes, but I had a pair of specialized shoes before the Northwaves and they were the worst shoes I have ever owned in terms of comfort. Felt good in the store but after 20 minutes of riding my feet would go numb, hot spots on the ball of my foot, and my arch would hurt after an hour of riding. I'll look into the Shimano shoes next time.

^^^
Don't hold your breathe. A well looked after pair of shoes can easily last 5 years, by which time market would again have made few turns. This isn't a market research forum per se, but feedback discussion, technical or otherwise, is usually carried out here and sometimes with same zeel you'd find on the road/trail.
Hopefully such discussions derived from here will lead to better products being made in the future.

Shoes and pedals are integral part of the human-machine interface. They are usually overlooked and/or not enough attention paid by the wearer.

At the end of day, shoe is a shoe. It has to fit properly. Thereafter there is the added complexity of fitting and fine-tuning the cleat correct, in unison with the rider's anatomy.

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7x Forum Racing Ban Champion.

Lake produces some great shoes with pretty decent cleat position on all of their models. Not many folks stumble onto Lakes, but when they do, they're usually fans for life.

which ti axles fit the pd-a600s RJKflyer?

RJKflyer
Where did you find ti axles to fit the Shimano a-600 pedals? Thx!!

I tried the Time Xpresso 4 on my commuter and overall was very unimpressed. They are nice and easy to clip in to, but the float feel adjuster screws stripped out way too easily. They also had too much float for my liking and then after 7 months I snapped one of the pedals. I've since replaced them with Speedplay as the last set I got 6 years use out of. They work for me

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Focus Cayo - Ultegra 6800 - HED Belgium +
Giant TCX Advanced Pro 2 - 105 5800 (XT rear derailleur w/40T)
Cervelo R3 - Ultegra 6800 - Campagnolo Zonda

Time Expresso pedals are serving me well these days. I have about 25,000 miles across 4 sets on different bikes and I am very pleased.

-Eddie

I am a long time user of Look pedals, All the way through from the first model that Bernard Hinualt used.
I like the float and feel of Keo pedals. I have used mostly the Sprint model but once tried the high end Blade and it clamped down so tight on the cleat there was essentially no float so I returned them. I have worn out my Sprints so I ordered some Keo 2 Max pedals, waiting for them to arrive.

I have had Dura Ace 7900 pedals for 4 years now. I have never serviced them, ridden them in pouring rain and mud, hundreds of times, crashed them, etc, and they are absolutely the same, functionally speaking, as the day I got them. They are scuffed up for sure, but they work perfectly, and engage with a loud clack just like when I first got them. The bearings are still completely perfect.

I almost want them to break so I can get some 9000 ones to match the rest of my groupset, but the fact that they refuse to die, and the other fact that the 9000 ones are basically the exact same pedal, proves that Dura Ace pedals are pretty much perfect.

The cleats are available anywhere, too, which is a big advantage.

I have had 105 pedals before, and they were good, but mushy in usage compared to Dura Ace.

I also had Time iClic which were SO SO rubbish, it is hard to believe they are even on sale.

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My Youtube Channel; Technical Bike Stuff, LOLz and Neo-Noir visions from the mirror realm

Just sold all of my Speedplay gear and bought 2 pairs of 5800 pedals for my main and crit bikes. The Speedplay rocking finally got to me. Will see how I go without the +4mm stance I had with the Speedplays on the main bike then order a set of 9000s and throw the spare pair of 5800s on the track bike.

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If you do find you need that +4mm on your axle length, the DA pedals do come with a +4mm axle option.

Interesting, I just did a tour with Speedplays and I had to unclip a lot because the group was so slow. Plus walking around in Speedplay cleats even with Keepon Kovers is not the greatest feeling in the world especially at the end of the day when you need to pee and the restroom is in the middle of an ancient Buddhist temple (don't ask) and you can't take your bike in!

For my next trip I was thinking of switching to XT-785 pedals as they have a wide platform, and I can get the same shoes in SPD cleats (Giro Empire / Giro VR90) plus walkability of MTB shoe. You're saying that SPDs aren't comfortable for more than an hour? Or is that just your personal take? I've done touring on 520 pedals before and hot spots did come up after awhile, was kind of hoping the the 785s with a wider platform would solve that plus a more rigid sole.