Clipless pedals – which are easier to use, crank brothers egg beaters or SPD?

Going to try clipless on the commuter before the MTB. Don’t want to end up falling on my arse, so which ones are the simplest for a first timer?

Neither.

Egg Beaters at least have the simplicity of 4 points of entry I guess.

With Crank Bros pedals you stomp down into them. With Shimano it’s more of a “toe before heel” motion.

You can adjust float on the CBs by swapping the cleats around.

spds.

you can adjust the tension.

Eggbeaters, smoother release with no need to adjust tension. I only don’t have them anymore because I couldn’t afford the reengineered ones that lasted a bit longer (apart from the mallets on the commuter until they need another service).

Ive used both systems, trying the Eggbeaters when they first appeared after starting with SPD and for me, Ive found the SPD’s preferable. However, my experience relates to the first Eggbeaters and they may well have changed and / or improved them by now.

What I liked about the Eggbeaters was the ‘float’ or freedom of movement of the ankle/foot, which made pedalling very comfortable, so long as I was wearing hard soled shoes. They looked good, lightish and the four sided engagement option was really good and useful for me too.

This float is also what I wasn’t so keen on! I found I had to exaggerate the unclipping movement to disengage, that whilst I got used to doing quite quickly, I prefer a smaller movement for release, which the SPD’s provide. I felt more secure with the SPD’s so for those two factors, IIRC, I sold the Eggbeaters and now use Shimano pedals.

I like CB pedals but having had 2 sets fail when out in the hills I’m back on SPD’s.

Spd’s easy to adjust the tension, so easy to use. 🙂

I disliked the spds I used, they blocked up more easily with mud but that was years ago so they are probably better now. I’ve never had any issues getting in or out of eggs. I like the four sided but they do seem to require plenty of TLC. Float is nice too.

Time are a great no nonsense pedal for a first timer to consider and they’ll last forever without any maintenance. I think most people would have started with Time Attacs

Either that or SPD’s. I am really in to Xpedo pedals at the moment which are like Shimano but far better in the mud and are generally more durable.

If you ride a reasonable number of miles then you’ll get through Eggbeaters quite quickly. Generally not worth the hassle and not being able to adjust the tension may not be ideal for a first time clipless user. People tend to harp on about the float of CB pedals as being good for the knees but I subscribe to the theory that you are better off with a supportive pedal-shoe interface with a small amount of float to accommodate natural movement of the foot rather than an icy and sloppy amount of float like CB Eggbeaters which might actually cause knee niggles itself.

Whatever you chose, make sure you get some help setting up the cleats!

Problem I found with CB pedals was the very vague clipping in action – with my current pedals (Time) there’s a definite ‘click’ which I found CB pedals just didn’t do.

Anything with two retention bars will eat your shoes.

Over the years I’ve used time, crank Bros and now shimano SPD…

I like the simplicity of time and crank Bros, no need to adjust tension you can change the release angle by swapping cleats to opposite shoes.. However, the crank Bros ones need a lot of looking after and replacing bushing quite regularly… There’s nothing wrong with shimano, I use them as I got 4 sets of pedals for all of my bikes brand new for £72… That said if money was no object I would use time atacs on all my bikes, as they’re my favourite pedals I’ve used.

Thanks for the advice so far. I’ve got a friend who’s got both types going spare, and not looking for another type. It’s an either or situation. Going to use my evans tesco vouchers for shoes so trying to do it spending as little as possible , in case I end up in a heap!

So if it was a straight choice I’d say shimano.

CB are vague in and out they lack tension adjustment, which may be important to you. Also they are sloppy at the top of the stroke if you pull up hard as you pedal.

Shimano are more difficult to get into but more consistent to exit, they block with mud more easily, but frankly by that time your tyres will be so caked in mud they’ll barely turn.

Go spd.

Have owned xtr pedals and lesser shimano but both of my xc bikes now have Crank Bros pedals.

A 3Ti Eggbeater on one and a Candy 3 on the other.

Squirt some grease through with the adapter every 6 months or so and replace the bearings every 18-24mths. No other issues.

Stiff shoes required for the eggbeater – fantastic pedals. Kind on the knees for a start !

Time. They just work.

I chose eggbeaters because they require less set up and over time I believe they will be a lot kinder to my knees.
If your mates got both why not try both?

Good suggestion brakes! Was hoping for a definitive answer…glad I didn’t ask about tyres

Yeah, I found the float in Egg Beaters gave my knees problems. Pedals are a pretty personal choice, a little like saddles.

Shimano are a good starting point though for a first timer. They’ve been around long enough that the design is pretty much spot-on. Bearings last forever, you can smack ’em off curbs with impunity.

Beware of loosening off the tension too much. Counter-intuitively, a firm disengagement can help remind you that you need to unclip – forgetting is usually the problem when you’re starting out!

You could always get a pair of Multi-release cleats for the SPDs too, easier to clip out of then. I run Crank Brothers, although have killed two sets, one being a hard rock strike on the cage. Thinking of swapping to something with more with a tighter bind, having ridden far more road in the past two years the Crank Brothers now feel very loose.

If you access to both sorts try them both but from my experience:

The SPDs will be working long after the egg beaters are in the bin
The egg beater twin bar set up will eat your shoes
At some point you will try to clip out of the egg beater and instead it will remove its self from its axle and still be connected to your shoe
Why people persist in buying crank Bros products remains one of life’s mysteries

I now ride EggBeaters on my mountain bike, cyclo-cross and road bike.

I like the float with eggbeaters and the simplicity of use. The click in and out is good, plus the mud clearance is great for cyclo-cross.

Down side is the eggbeater bearings do start to fail relatively quickly (SPDs will last longer).

Nothing wrong with either system, but with eggbeaters be prepared to occasionally do a bearing replacement. Crank Bros sell a kit to do this for about £15.

EB just explode. try ’em, if you like ’em, go and buy some times.

You could always get a pair of Multi-release cleats for the SPDs too

NOOOOO! I don’t have many strong opinions but multi-release cleats should be outlawed, they’re lethal.

Going to try clipless on the commuter before the MTB. Don’t want to end up falling on my arse, so which ones are the simplest for a first timer?

SPD with a platform, something like the DX or the semi-platform Deore should do the trick. You will fail to unclip at some point until the muscle memory kicks in, so I’d invest in some knee pads too.

I ran Crank Bros Mallets as a newbie. I liked the platform, but I found them somewhat vague to engage. SPD has a much more positive engagement.

As for Crank Bros in general, the reliability can be patchy. I did run Candys for a while, but when I tried them with my nylon soled Specialized shoes they were downright lethal – especially in the wet.

You will fail to unclip at some point until the muscle memory kicks in, so I’d invest in some knee pads too.

This. If you don’t have an SPD related prat fall you will probably be the first person ever to avoid it.

SPDs probably have the simplest and quickest disengagement though.

After a while it does become second nature thoough (I subconsiously unclip even when I’m riding flats!)

CB’s for me after years of Shimano I tried CB and saw the light. Proper predictable action, nice float and easy in and out. New designs are a lot better for maintenance and it’s a price worth paying for me.