Just can’t get on with single sided road pedals amd was wondering if a move to speedplay zeros might be in order. I’m reading they are fairly tricky to engage/disengage, which puts me off, but the ‘light’ version appears to address this issue.

Anyone got any exp of either. I’m a bit worried about lack of adjustable float on the zero lights. For ref I run Keos currently, with the spring wound down light as possible. Never come close to pulling out a pedal yet.

ta

Use zero’s and they are fine

If someone has had problems they have overtightened the cleat

Yup, but changed them back to Look Keo’s. However I’ve a mate who loves them and would be steadfast in argument if anyone argued against them.
TBF I’ve been on Keo’s for years and looked at trying them out, so bought the Zeros. For me, yup me, they were too slippy slidy in feel when engaging the clip, I also felt that I wasn’t locked in too.
Of course this is rubbish, many Pro’s use them just because of the “play” in them, and ease on the knees etc.
I’ve still got them in a box and one day will stick em on my Niner and try them on that to see how it goes.

Can you not just sucker the cost and try em’?

I’ve used them for several years, couldn’t get on with single sided road pedals. They do require a positive action to engage but it is not difficult and you will soon have the hang of it.

They do require a positive action

AKA – they’re a faff.

In an eerie display of timing I have literally just ordered a set of shimano ‘Look’ a likes after using Speedplay Zero’s for the last 3 years. While they work wonderfully when everything is setup just so, they do seem to require much more regular and involved maintenance than the alternatives.
Problems I have had include..
Bearings needing regreased every 3-4 months and I have had to replace the bearings once in the time I’ve had them. They are just starting to develop some play again now.
Had the misfortune to accidentally step in some mud on a winter ride and had to completely remove, strip and clean the cleat before it would engage again. Note that was just an unfortunate foot down moment.
Most recently I have been noticing some ‘rocking’ of the cleat when locked into the pedal and it seems this is a known problem that Speedplay are refusing to acknowledge that requires new cleats and probably new pedal bodies too.

Don’t get me wrong I have loved having them but the cost of ownership is just getting to be too much.

Red Zero’s with stainless axles that need new cleats if anyone wants them..! 😕

H1ghland3r, I need a pedals only set for the turbo. Email in my profile.

I’ve had them for a year or so and really like them. Haven’t had any maintenance issues etc – they just work.

But then I find compared to my MTB everything ALWAYS just works on my road bike – much less abuse…

One thing that is annoying is that if you do ever venture a little off road when out on the road bike (i.e. nipping into a field for a piss) it’s a bit of a faff getting all the mud out of the cleats!

known problem that Speedplay are refusing to acknowledge

See this a lot on any Speedplay threads.

OMG yes, and it was hell. Never used the things, but rode/trained/raced with a bloke who did and EVERYTIME we ever went to a race I would have to spend 4 hours the day before driving to every bike shop within 50 miles looking for cleats. That was of course poor organisation, but worth knowing that NOBODY stocks spares.

If you want double sided, can you not just pick a set of your favourite mountsin bike pedals and use those? Its what I do anyway.

I use frogs on my road bike, with mtb shoes

They’ve been fine* but feel BLOODY weird when you first use them
(*there’s a little grub screw for ensuring a good fit to the cleat that I ignored until they seized solid, so had to buy new cleats – little blob of grease once every 6 months would’ve kept that right)

Got speed play zeros on my synapse I’ve been using them for a year and they’re easy to engage disengage.
Was advised to stay away from the light action ones from my lbs great pedals.

Was advised to stay away from the light action ones from my lbs

Did they say why, please?

I have 2 sets and they have never caused me any problems other than the initial setup: You need to make sure the cleats are screwed in tightly enough to stay attached, but if you overtighten then they can be difficult to engage. Otherwise I love ’em.

Used x series pedals for years, super easy to engage and release. Tons of resistance-free float as well. Would not ride anything else now

Greasing them take 30 seconds with a grease gun.They are however bloody lethal to walk on hard/shiney floors and/or stairs 😯
Got them on all 3 of my road bikes (for last 3 years).Keo/spd sl’s just feel wrong now.

I have Zeros on my summer road bike and while I like them, I wouldn’t use them for either winter use, or commuting due to the issues already mentioned with the cleats susceptibility to “jamming”, with foreign objects.

I’d mirror the comment above- if you want durable double sided pedals, why not use SPDs at a fraction of the cost of Speedplays?

I couldn’t get Shimano road pedals to agree with my knees, so I swapped to Speedplay Zeros.

They are a bit strange to clip into – a bit of a stamp down and twist which can be a bit of a panic at the start of a race but other than that they seem pretty good. And it doesn’t always seem consistent.

If you can live with mtb spds i.e. float that doesn’t centralise the cleat, then you should be fine with these.

I have 2 sets and they have never caused me any problems other than the initial setup: You need to make sure the cleats are screwed in tightly enough to stay attached, but if you overtighten then they can be difficult to engage. Otherwise I love ’em

Agree with this. Ridden thousands of miles on my cromo Zero’s all year round. Never rebuilt the pedals, just strip and clean the cleats once or twice a year. Still on the original cleats, too. Little bit of play in the pedal now, but no causing an issue. Pedals use standard bearings, so all rebuildable. SPeedplay are however a prick of a company, second only to Specialized when it comes to litigation.

Can I ask….the cleat bolts tighten up until they start to ‘click’…is this too tight? As it seemed if I stopped tightening before the cleat bolts ‘click’, the cleats move when I use the pedals.

You mean the 4 countersunk screws? They should have ridges on the back of the countersunk angle. These provide a bit of ‘bite’ into the metal plate – I’d not call it a click as such, but you can feel when they start to bite. I give them a couple or three clicks, tightening them in a diagonal pattern.

To the OP, no need to use the light action ones unless you’re particularly light. The standard ones are a doddle to get into. I’ve been using them I think since they came out and have had no problems, don’t think I’ve even rebuilt a pair despite rarely greasing them. That’s on about 18,000km a year.
The metal cleat is a bit of a design flaw though. Only needs a rubber edge to make them more walkable. There’s a US company making an add on rubber grip (like cafe covers, but you can leave them on), but postage is steep.

Put zeros on my road bike 12 months ago, loads better than one sided road peddles if your a mountain biker used to two sided spds, no more pissing around clipping in!

Might MTB pedals be an option?

Of course this is rubbish, many Pro’s use them just because of the “play” in them, and ease on the knees etc.

As far as I know the vast majority of pros paid to use Speedplay went to extreme lengths to remove all of the float.

Speedplay also have a reputation that makes Spesh look like saints, allegedly threatening customers and so on…

Used speed plays on my road bikes for 4-5 years. Had to replace cleats once to twice per year, due to wear on cleat spring leading to vertical wobble at shoe/pedal interface. Got very expensive. Bearings went etc.

Switched to time rxs road pedals. Brilliant, light, stable, durable, cheaper. Cleats last 1-2 years, good float. No need to carry around rubber cleat covers.

Don’t waste your money on them. Pros only use them because they are paid to and get free replacements.

I’m really surprised to read all comments about ‘known issues’ with the Speedplay system.

I’ve had them on both my race and winter bike now for over a year and have around 6000 miles collectively on them. I’ve never had any issues. They’ve never jammed or failed to release and the one time I needed replacement cleats I was able to buy them very easily. I’ve only done it once mind, so maybe I got lucky?

They are much easier to get into than other systems, they are not wholly unlike SPDs in that you simply step onto them. This actually makes them a better option for commuting because I’m stopping and starting a lot with traffic lights.

The reason I initially went with them was because I have broad feet and I needed to adjust my foor position laterally. Speedplay is the only system that allows you to do that although Shimano do offer versions of their pedal that have a 4mm longer axle. Speedplay also make it very easy to adjust the amount of rotational float you get.

Walking in the cleats is no different to a Look type cleat.

I use a little dry lub on the cleat spring every now and then and have pumped in grease once or twice. I really like them but then pedal choice is deeply personal.

I’m with the enthusiasts. I started road riding about two years ago and as my son was already using Speedplay’s, I followed suit. He has covered well over 10,000k using his with the occasional greasing of bearings. I have only covered a couple of thousand k on mine, but I like them a lot.

We have had one cleat spring break, but that was on a rough old pair of cleats which my son uses on his daily commuter shoes.

As others have said, dry lube on the cleat springs from time to time and the occasional bearing grease is about the only maintenance we have done.

Keep on Kovers are the American cafe covers, we use them and if you get in touch with the guy who sells them (as opposed to buying them on ebay), the postage rates are a bit more sensible.

IIRC there was some guy on the internet who was selling rebuild kits which were about a quarter of the price of genuine Speedplay ones. He was issued with a cease and desist letter by Speedplay’s lawyers.
HERE
Thats good enough reason for me to never buy anything from Speedplay!

Bob – those are the ones. Yep, sounds like I’ve got it about right then.

bruce – have you not had any bearing issues on your Time’s? I had to return some of their Expresso pedals under warranty cos the bearings went prematurely and you can’t service them. I’d go right back to them if I had any confidence in the bearings.

Unless you have a specific reason to use them, i.e. you need shimming to deal with a leg length discrepancy, diff axle length or massive amounts of float, I would not touch them.

Found them harder to clip into that my looks too, higher maintenance and cleats cost a lot.