Road pedal

What are you looking for? I like my spd-sl as they provide good support and are easily serviced, the downside being they're a pain to walk in

Was about to say the same thing. For me, the standard SPD-SL's just work.

Another Shimano SPD-SL user here, never had any problems with mine and they are lasting forever.

~3.5 years using https://www.merlincycles.com/time-xpro-10-road-pedals-112782.html , realistically will need to do first cleat change before next spring.

This is for pure road bike so no walking is involved. I've used Speedplay for over 15 years and was thinking of trying something different.

Looking at Sigma Sports they currently have the Shimano Ultegra carbon R8000 for £79 pounds.

I've never got beyond spd-sl's, just pick one to suit your budget and its job done.

Another vote for SPD-SL, they just work

Speedplay user here, not looking forward to the day I need to replace them with Wahoo…had issues with everything I’ve bought!

May be a few pairs of Speedplay still hanging around?

Also on Time XPRO10 and can’t fault them

This is for pure road bike so no walking is involved. I’ve used Speedplay for over 15 years and was thinking of trying something different.

Really - like none? You levitate on to the bike? If you've been in speedplays all that time you might not appreciate even a few yards from house to shed or bike to cafe can be more challenging in other brands.

Having said that - SPD-sl here for my summer bike and a pair of those single sided touring spds (a520?) on my winter/commute bike. Mainly because walking even a few yards on ice on spdsls is a faff.

Another happy Time pedal user here. I broke my first (older model) ones due to some chunky plastics. The squared off newer model appear to be made of stronger stuff.

Happy Look Carbon Keo user here. And reasonably easy to walk in when going for a coffee.
Wasn’t a fan of the SPD SL, dunno why. Just always preferred the feel of Keo’s for clipping in.

Really – like none? You levitate on to the bike?

Don't stop at cafes and jump onto the bike 2ft from the flat front door. The only time I unclip is to stop at junctions or traffic lights.

ES-600 are excellent road looking SPD pedals.

KEO or SPD-SL are much of a muchness. Patent on KEO expired earlier so better power meter choice but that’s now resolved too. I ride KEOs and the carbon sets for about £60 are decent. Shimano bearings probably last longer based on my SPDs. Choose on colour 😉

I’ve only ever used Look Keo pedals (prefer the grey cleats) and only have good things to say about them. They’re bombproof and comfy.

But I’ve never tried any other road pedals to compare them. I have had a fancy expensive pair and a big standard cheap pair and both felt decent. They’re quite old now and done thousands of miles with little TLC and still spin fine.

Edit - The only problem is the cleats are plastic and can get destroyed fairly quickly from walking about on them. But I do have some rudder clear covers to use for that (or if it’s just a sunny cake ride I have a very minimal pair of folding flip flops I put in my back pocket.

Only tried Shimano and Look, but I find the Look cleats last a bit longer. Always break the little yellow corner bits off Shimano, and they become (even more of) a pain to walk in

The Wahoo versions of speed play are terrible, they've already "recalled" twice (that i'm aware of) for the same issue.

I've been a time user since the 80's. Everything else i've tried has creaked, cracked, failed or given me biomechanical issues.

Really – like none? You levitate on to the bike? If you’ve been in speedplays all that time you might not appreciate even a few yards from house to shed or bike to cafe can be more challenging in other brands.

If you base your entire pedal buying decisions on a possibly awkward dozen steps to get to and from your bike, rather than the actual mechanics of pedaling of the bike... i despair, slightly.
If you're using cycling shoes to go and do the weekly shop, i'm not surprised.

I've not found any pedal brand to be particularly challenging.

Speedplay have a deeper cleat so are actually a little but stranger to walk in than others I’ve tried (Time & Look)

But as above, I wouldn’t be deciding based on how little I’m likely to walk in them compared to actual pedalling time!

Hopefully Wahoo will get their shit together by the time my all my Zero’s are no longer serviceable, not holding my breath though.

Some further points. Look non drive side cleat wears down due to unclipping at junctions.

Look pedals can be lighter. I run a set of Blades that are silly light. I used to run two, but one of the blades cracked and the pedal lost tension.

I ride fixed a lot with KEO cleats. Clipping in has to be simple because the pedal never stops rotating. No pedal, coast, clip, pedal. I don’t have an issue with Look, it just works by feel first time almost all the time. So ease of clipping must be good. I have not tried SPD-SL and don’t know any other fixed riders riding them.

If you’re going to race, failure to clip in fast makes for a miserable race. Faster will see you not get dropped on the first lap! Seen it a few times.

I also have some speedplay Aeros for the TT trike. But that’s about buying speed. I don’t walk in them very far, and don’t put my foot down at junctions 😉

Looking at Sigma Sports they currently have the Shimano Ultegra carbon R8000 for £79 pounds.

I have the previous gen Ultegra pedals, zero complaints or issues with them. If that's your budget and weight is important to you, snap them up.

The cheaper Shimano pedals seem to work and last just as well though.

Original Look pedals (Delta) still here, but two rather nice sets - Campag C Record Carbon and LOOK CARBO Pro's. Literally bomb proof. Also got a set of PP196's lying about

I've used Keos and Ultegras. As the cleats wear, the Ultegras become harder to engage, whereas the Keos become harder to disengage. I know which I prefer 😉

I also use Candy's for "Winter" because I have warmer boots with that clear pattern, and also for touring because I can then wear shoes with a decent tread and which I can walk in. I guess they're maybe a little less 'efficient" than a 3-bolt clear/pedal but that's a compromise I'm happy with.

I’m just about to buy some spd pedals for my road (and maybe the gravel bike), to give them another go after a rubbish experience with spds on mtb many moons ago. I much prefer flats, but for road riding I’m told spds would be the way to go, so happy to give them another try.

But maybe a silly question, but how difficult is it to walk using spd shoes ? As I’ll most likely be putting my foot down at junctions, stopping frequently for cake and coffee etc.

There are loads of deals on for the pedals, hopefully the shoes too.

But maybe a silly question, but how difficult is it to walk using spd shoes ?

SPDs are recessed two bolt cleats and are easy to walk in. Road cleats (SPD-sl, Look Keo etc) require a duck waddle, slip easily, and walking any distance will wear out the cleat..

I've just gone back to SPDs for my road bike - so I can have one set of compatible shoes for all of my bikes. I reckon they're better for audaxing too.

I’m just about to buy some spd pedals for my road (and maybe the gravel bike)

Start with some SPDs on the gravel bike, you can also switch them to try on the road bike.

If you like the general experience, consider getting SPD SLs for the road bike, they are significantly better for that job IMO.

Thanks For the advice, think I’ll go for these Look GEO TREKKING PEDALS

As they look a good mid way, not quite moving 100% away from flats option.

I've run speedplays for yonks and could never go back. tried an spd pedal after the speedplay and it was just awful. Slow to clip in from junctions or stops and my knees hated the SPD's.

Merlin have the stainless old version way cheaper than Wahoo new versions if you can cope with the regreasing every now and then. Cleats are the same price unless you go chinese aftermarket. Alternatively, you can get bearing rebuild kits for next to nothing off ebay and it's a doddle of a job to refresh with new bearings.

I guess they’re maybe a little less ‘efficient” than a 3-bolt clear/pedal but that’s a compromise I’m happy with.

The difference in efficiency is immeasurably small unless you're regularly at the pointy end of racing.
Stability, comfort, weight, durability, ergo, ease of use, biomechanics, all far more important, and noticeable in some cases.

Thanks For the advice, think I’ll go for these Look GEO TREKKING PEDALS

As they look a good mid way, not quite moving 100% away from flats option.

They'll also put you off clipless again... Most of those single sided spd pedal hang in the most annoying way possible that makes them almost impossible to use as a clipless pedal.

I've been a Speedplay fan for years and have just had to order some Wahoo ones for the indoor trainer as and old original one seized up. I'm hoping they're not as bad as some reports I've read but haven't received them yet. I didn't notice Merlin had the originals, although they're not much cheaper than the Wahoo ones (I'm tempted to get a stainless steel old style set for that price though...)

Speedplays are a bit more of a faff to install the cleats (unless you have 4-point Speedplay compatible shoes) but once done they're much more forgiving on the knees as the float is so low resistance.

Merlin have the stainless old version

Cheers @silasgreenback, just ordered a back up pair...cheaper than the Cro-mo!

I have Ultegra SPD-SL on the summer road bike and some M520 SPDs on the winter bike (for ice-road trucking/walking).

I ended up switching to the wider axle version of the ultegras, but otherwise find them hard to fault.

@mert

They’ll also put you off clipless again… Most of those single sided spd pedal hang in the most annoying way possible that makes them almost impossible to use as a clipless pedal.

Thankfully I looked back in here before purchasing. I distantly recall my first foray into spd’s were also a Shimano flat and spd combo, so maybe there’s something to what you say. Almost going off the idea now.

Never heard of speedplay before, just had a quick look at wahoo speedplay cleats on sigmasports and that looks fun to walk in, cool though.

Stability, comfort, weight, durability, ergo, ease of use, biomechanics, all far more important, and noticeable in some cases.

Recently did a 300km audax with SPDs and touring shoes. I actually found them more comfortable for that use case, the downside being some noticeable flex when out of the saddle. I'm hoping some newly ordered gravel shoes (with carbon sole) will fix that. Single sided pedals are very similar weight, but two bolt shoes are usually a bit heavier because of the tread.

They’ll also put you off clipless again… Most of those single sided spd pedal hang in the most annoying way possible that makes them almost impossible to use as a clipless pedal.

Mine do that but I can't say I've ever found them harder to use than an SPD-SL pedal.

although they’re not much cheaper than the Wahoo ones

£70 cheaper for the stainless old vs new. Granted the newer black cromoly version is a similar price to the older stainless ones but I'd take the stainless old version over new black cromoly any day of the week!

Speedplays are a bit more of a faff to install the cleats (unless you have 4-point Speedplay compatible shoes)

you dont need special shoes. The cleat comes with everything to fit to std 3 bolt shoes. Same for old and new versions. Part of the cleat is the 3bolt base plate that the 4 bolt cleat attaches to. IMHO, I thought it was a fairly quick affair to attach them to the shoes.

you dont need special shoes. The cleat comes with everything to fit to std 3 bolt shoes.

Never said you did - but it's more faff to install than say an SPD-SL cleat as you need to fit the adapter and wedges first. Admittedly an extra 5-10 minutes isn't really a consideration in the grand scheme of things...

Reading the other pedal / clear thread.

Are time pedals / cleats worth a look ?

Are they the same as spd

Thanks for the input, in the end, I ordered a set of Look Keo blade carbon ceramic with a set of red cleats for the extra float. Been riding Look mtb pedals all summer and I've been very happy with them.

Don’t stop at cafes

MODS!!! Ban this weirdo!!

Reading the other pedal / clear thread.

Are time pedals / cleats worth a look ?

Yes, personally i find them the best system on the market. By a margin.

Are they the same as spd

No, Time ATAC on the MTB is a different cleat to SPD, but the ATAC cleat fits to a stock two bolt sole.
No, TIme X-Pro/Xpresso on the road is a different cleat to SPD-SL, but again, it's 3 bolt compatible.