But your Wilier is running Campag, how very dare you mix the two in any type, shape or form!!

😳 Campag do pedals?! Could I re-etch the lettering on the pedals to “Cimano” to make them sound a bit more Italian?

A520s, those are the ones I got. Is there anything proper road pedals do that A520s don’t do, apart from shave off a trifling few grams?

As regards the “how much faster” debate, I was pretty disappointed how little speed I gained over going out for a spin on my roadrat. I guess if you take the engine out of a Trabant and put it in a Ferrari it’s still not going to go much faster than the Trabant ever did.

Rode one of the top of the range Trek OCLV frames when they first came out years ago was about 6k at the time I think (10 odd years ago),

They’ve been doing OCLV road frames since 1992. I had a 1994 OCLV 150 one, and it was utterly horrible, really really really harsh.

The first of the more crazy ones was the 5900 in 2000, which used OCLV 110, then they did a Madone SSL in 2005 which was OCLV 55, and one in 2006 which was OCLV Boron. Neither were that awesome though – the current generation ones were lighter, you paid a massive premium to have something very rare that saved a very small amount of weight.

Like I say though, I still really like my 2004 one, and despite there being significantly ‘sexier’ bikes around, I’d have a modern Madone without second thought.

Is there anything proper road pedals do that A520s don’t do, apart from shave off a trifling few grams?

Easier to clip in, support the foot better too I think.

Much larger platform, so they’re far more stable, which is the biggest advantage of road shoes/pedals.

StefMcDef – Member

Is there anything proper road pedals do that A520s don’t do, apart from shave off a trifling few grams?

I think 105 pedals are a similar weight to the A520s, and Ultegra/Dura-Ace aren’t much lighter (though your wallet will be).

The A520s do a pretty good IME. The only slight gain with SPD-SLs is that there isn’t any play once you are clipped in (my SPDs click a bit as I lift my foot but increasing spring tension helps with this).

Unlike mudshark, I think the road pedals are less easy to clip into and don’t appear to offer any more support than the A520s.

I found that with a decent set of road shoes, proper road pedals made a massive difference (as in Look cleat type, as oppose to SPD)

Unlike mudshark, I think the road pedals are less easy to clip into and don’t appear to offer any more support than the A520s.

It maybe that I was used to the SPD-SLs I normally use, I think they are weighted at the back and hang down so you flick them up as you put your foot in; I don’t remember A520s being as easy but not used them for a while.

They’re a much smaller area, so in that respect you’d expect them to be harder. One pair of Keos I have are pretty dead, so they spin really freely – makes clipping in much harder as you never know which way up they’ll be.

don’t appear to offer any more support than the A520s.

Really? Look at the area of an SPD cleat and an SPD-SL cleat. No more support?

Njee, it must have been a 5900 (not mine) and was amazing at the time as had been riding an Allez up until then hence it felt amazing, not really that much of a road rider then either, just a comment on the huge difference between a ‘budget’ frame and a V.high end (at the time) one

Yeah I had a 2002 5900, was a lovely bike. I rode it into a car at 35, it laughed that off! Well sort of, the fork wasnt happy about it!

They’ve always appealed to me far more than Scott, Specialized etc!

So how much faster were you then oldgit?

I didn’t clock it. However the Beacon which is a two mile climb I usually do in the inner ring. On the TCR I rode it in the big ring in the same way I’d tackle a small rise on an otherwise flat road.
I’ve been riding and racing the same lanes for thirty seven years and I can assure you that there was an awful lot of difference.
What I didn’t mention and was just as much a surprise was how comfortable it was as well.

Really? Look at the area of an SPD cleat and an SPD-SL cleat. No more support?

But then you get the likes of those Speedplay Frog pedals – they look tiny, and they’re “proper” road pedals, going by the price, anyway. How can they be offering more support when they’re so small?

Does the area of the pedal beyond the contact point of the cleat actually offer your foot much support?

Speedplay Frogs are MTB pedals – Zeros are big – the large part is on the shoe, they’re basically reversed!

“but I can’t ride it till I get a stem…that is’nt coming till January 1st.
AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

Dont sit around waiting for the post on new years day. They wont be dropping by!

njee20 – Member

Look at the area of an SPD cleat and an SPD-SL cleat. No more support?

I looked at both and have ridden on both A520s and 105s. I also find the SPDs easier to clip in and out of.

Your experience/conclusion and mine may not be identical, I can live with that.