Time for some new shoes and pedals. Fancy some Speedplay Zeros. My main questions are what are they like to unclip and just how fragile (or not) are the cleats?

I really like them, take a little more pressure to clip in but when you turn your foot beyond the angle you have set the release point to be on the cleats and they unclip with very little pressure. They need to be greased fairly often but its an easy 5 minute job. Cleats are metal so no hugely fragile but they don’t like dirt and if you are walking in them cheat covers is a good idea. There is a cool design for cleat covers that i have seen that you don’t need to take off to clip back in which look pretty cool if you want long cleat life.

their frog mtb pedals make pretty good road pedals IMO and you can walk “normally” if you use mtb shoes

I’ve had a pair of the Zeros with Ti axles on my road bike now for three months and I really like them. I would second everything fhendry1 said and would add that they are actually easier to clip into once you learn to apply more pressure; indeed they are not unlike clipping into Shimano SPDs in that you step down onto them, rather than forwards into them as you do with Look/Shimano road pedals.

I find the cleats are as easy to walk in as other designs and yes getting dirt, stones, mud etc in the cleats will prevent you from clipping in but I’ve not had that happen to me yet.

The thing I really like about them is the range of adjustment they offer. Not only is it really easy to adjust both the amount of rotational play and the angle of your heel (done by simple adjusting two grub screws on the cleat) they are the only pedal to offer lateral adjustment.

I have very broad feet so short of trying to obtain some Dura Ace pedals with extra wide axles (which you can buy but are hard to source), these are the only pedals I’ve had that enable me to get my feet far enough out so my instep doesn’t rub on the crank.

They are light and also robust so far, though they are only a few months old.

Hope that helps.

Really like mine too. Had them about 3 months, they were my first proper road pedal after years of SPDs. Very easy to clip in/out of. I use them with Lake speedplay shoes which I like as well.

I have X-5s rather than zeros, but very happy with them. Float is good and the metal cleat lasts a long time. I don’t find the X series cleats need very frequent lubing, Zeros may be different.

The only thing I have had a problem with is getting crap in the cleats and being unable to clip in. I’m now over the top about using covers to keep them clean.

These look to be the covers that you can leave on, postage to UK is pricy though:
http://www.keeponkovers.com/Product.html

Now tell me about the differences between Zeros and Light actions.

Is it just float?

I’ve had mine for about 3 years. Wouldn’t change them for anything, got them on my fixed gear and if it wasn’t for my dad having Time’s on his bike and me borrowing his shoes when I got into MTBing, i’d have Frogs on my MTB.

I believe Light Action are easier to clip in and out of. Go for Zero, once you get used to them and get the cleat screws done up right it really is just a case of standing on the pedal, I dont even have to look for mine when pulling away from lights or anything any more, they just clip straight in without any hesitation.

Light action for lighter riders eg kids, require less force to clip in/out. Zeros for everyone else, as jonxmack says.

Those cleat covers are a great headsup, thanks. The shortcoming of the system is the frankly ridiculous idea of having to walk on a metal cleat. I love Speedplays but stopped using mine because where I live now, I have to shoulder the bike down a polished stone staircase and they were lethal*. A replaceable rubber gripper along the back edge of the cleat would go a long way to improving them.

* I realise I could just go down them in my socks but I had some other pedals lying around and in the end complacency won the day…

The major downside with speedplays is the initial installation. To adjust the front & back setting needs the base plate moving & for that you need to take off the 4 screws of the cleat itself. It’s fine if you get it right first time but involves a lot of faffage if you need to alter it. Added to which the 4 mounting screws are sensitive to being over tightened as a result of which I lost 2 of them after my first long ride on speedplays (fortunately I got home ok). It isn’t necessarily a deal breaker, but it could be done a whole lot easier. The only other thing is that the company that makes them isn’t apparently very nice. Otherwise …great pedals, lots of nice float. If I was walking anywhere I would use mtb cleats in any case, so I don’t think they are that much worse than other road systems.

setup is a PITA, they “lose” screws and you need a mate to tighten the adjusting screws to limit the float

but otherwise i find them fine

I bought some covers for £10 off wiggle and you probably can bodge a rubber “plate” with sugru