I’m old as dirt. My first two race bikes employed toe clips and toe straps and that set-up was bad. For many reasons it was bad and any retro-hipster who thinks otherwise is wrong. When Lemond and Hinault started racing on the white Look clipless pedals, everyone but Sean Kelly quickly switched. Talk about a quantum improvement, it was long overdue change. Look made improvements to their models, like the notion of float, and other manufactures jumped in. The new paradigm was a cleat on the pedal, like the original quill pedal system but with a spring loaded snap-in, twist-out pedal. Everyone was happy.
Everyone is happy until you have to replace a worn out plastic cleat. Did I walk a lot in my cycling shoes? Did all liquor stores have rough cement floors with giant moving sanding belts in front of the cash registers? I don’t remember that but I do remember replacing cleats too often and the duplication of cleat position was tedious. I could live with that, practice makes perfect but it was the creaking that drove me to madness. No amount of wax could stop the occasional creaking the cleat and pedals would make while climbing. Rule #65 was being violated before it was a Rule.
Wiser friends had already switched to Speedplay pedals. I was a little wary; they looked weird. One day into using them I understood: total frictionless float, two-sided entry, mindless pedal release. There is no cleat alignment issue as the pedal has no fixed position in the cleat. I was overcome with regret. Why had I waited so long? Why did I stick with creaking Look French pedals? Life is too short for such rubbish and I wasted too much of my cycling life with them. I’ve been using the X-series stainless steel pedals and the original pair was happily going on eighteen-plus years until I replaced the pedal needle bearings and bodies…I don’t want to talk about it. If you employ the good aftermarket cleat covers, and use a little white lightning teflon on the cleat spring bales, the cleats can last a few years. The pedal bodies have grease injector ports. Inject, wipe clean and that is the maintenance routine, easy and fun.
I’ve never used another model of Speedplay so I can’t speak to the advantage of limited float. When riding my right foot does a weird swing out toward the bottom of each stroke. To my mind that is a good thing, the float allows my leg to do that, without that maybe some extra knee wear would occur.
Frank and I have discussed the great pedal switch and his major obstacle to switching pedals is having to switch the whole n+1 stable over and that is not cheap. For Frank and VHM that stable may be five bikes. That’s a lot of pedals. Inertia. Commitment. It’s a big problem. Or one takes Marko’s approach: different shoes for each bike.
I have brand loyalties but if another cycling product is superior in form and function I hope I will see that and move on. Campagnolo gruppos and Chris King headsets are two brands on my bikes that I don’t see moving away from but I would ditch either of those before I would stop using Speedplay pedals. I’m that convinced.
This film is from Peloton’s website. It’s an interesting look at some American cycling manufacturing including Speedplay.
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@Dr C I quite like this one...
@Chris
Hear hear, for Merckx sake don't let's go PC or I'm leaving - this is the one sanctuary I have for speaking out loud, safe in the knowledge that I will be offending a few people
@Chris
I am not sure what exactly you have taken a picture of, but probably best not to post it (photocopier scenario?)
I've been so engrossed in the Olympics, that I have only had time to order my son a BMX bike, which I am really enjoying riding
Also suffering chronic dehydration from crying so much at these wonderful people achieving their best (for some reason this doesn't happen when an Aussie, Chineses or Amurikan wins, but maybe because they expect to win), and Chronic Success Fatigue due to GB's efforts - life is good when the Olympics are on
Just won't be the same without these two bosching each other anymore....
over and out
@Dr C
The photo that you posted of young VP. There's a version that includes her legs and bits in between. Possibly even her ankles and feet, can't remember.
I've also been suffering from Repetitive Olympic Success Dehydration. It's a bit of a bastard, I think my usual isotonic/anti dehydration strategy only exacerbates the original problem causing a regressive loop that potentially ends with me sat in a puddle muttering "thash asholusly brillian, i'sh sho proush to be brish, lush yoush". Somewhat problematic at work, I can tell you.
I find that readying articles such as this helps to put things in perspective and remind me that there are people out there who are far less fortunate than us who don't know where their next gold medal is going to come from.
hahaha you guys are too funny.....I love my speedlplays, I love my Ridley Noah and I love all my bikes (Orbea, fondriest and my Masi piste)....No one pays me to love them or to have chosen them. I love Campy and I love Shimano. I kind of even like Sram. hahahaha and I appreciate bike porn, and appreciate strong athletic men and women who race and train on their bikes. Who would have thought this little round girl in a dress on her first oink/white schwinn would become a Flandrien? nooit in een miljoen jaar maar kijk naar uit! dus shut the F*^k up and ride your f&%ing bikes. If you ever make it to Belgium, look me up and I'll show you roads/kassien or wind you can cry about with any bike/cleat and undergarment :)
All about the Velo love,
XXX
@ChrisO
I was quite surprised when this wasn't your first response. Seemed a bit pointlessly harsh, @Marcus.
@farzani
'like'.
As another new person to this whole cycling thing and therefore knows little about it, I will say that it is always good to hear about what other cyclists like/use/can't live without. As another poster said I don't have the money (or time or inclination) to try everything out the so borrowing from others' wisdom saves me from reinventing the wheel.
Also as someone who reads a lot of blogs, I love the visual aesthetic of this site, so pleasing to the eye. And agree with @frank that the articles are just the fire starter around here, a lot of the action (plus info, perspectives, experience) happens in the comments.