# which road pedals?



## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2008)

Hi there,

Was riding with mtn pedals, bought very good road shoes and got speedplay x pedals. been trying for months to get them dialed in. some days are fine, then others my shins/calves hurt. thinking of ditching them. can anyone recommend some good road pedals? I have small feet (36/37 or 6/6.5US).

Thanks,

Chris


----------



## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

Your cleat and saddle position will be an issue with any pedal system. Have you gone to your shop and had someone at least check you out on the trainer?


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2008)

I understand the geometry of pedal systems (stack height, etc) and changing my saddle position and seat height. I've been fitted before and have really thought about and examined my positioning on my bike. That's why this is a bit of a puzzle. I'm going to move my foot in board a bit after more discussions with the lbs.

just really wondering what other folks are using for pedals.


----------



## ColoradoVeloDude (Oct 7, 2005)

[email protected] said:


> Hi there,
> 
> Was riding with mtn pedals, bought very good road shoes and got speedplay x pedals. been trying for months to get them dialed in. some days are fine, then others my shins/calves hurt. thinking of ditching them. can anyone recommend some good road pedals? I have small feet (36/37 or 6/6.5US).
> 
> ...


Try a few things:

1) When you switched out to the Speedplays, I think those are a little thicker than a mountain bike/SPD cleat. This effectively will lower your seat height by just a bit, but enough to cause aches and pains. Maybe try raising your seat high by one-eighth or one-quarter of an inch and see what happens. Literally, millimeter adjustments can make the difference between having your bike being a comfortable ride or a medieval torture device.

2) The angle of you leg and how it meets the pedal, (the camber in car alignment language) the angle as viewed from the front either inboard towards the bike frame or outboard away from the bike frame may have changed (again not much, but enough to cause issues). There are plastic wedges you can put between the cleat and your bike shoe to get the proper angle back. Here is what I am talking about: http://brandscycle.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=4564 also look up "Bike Cleat Wedge" or LeMond Wedge on the internet. I put one of these under my cleat (very skinny, skinny shim) and it worked wonders. 

3) Socks. Are your socks too thin? Too thick? any hot spots on your new road shoes? Go ride for a while then take off your shoe and sock as quickly as you can and look for red pressure spots on the surface of your foot/ Maybe you are trying to compensate for something that your body can feel, but somehow you aren't consciously registering.

4) Orthotic Insert. This isn't a cheap option. But maybe there are some voids between the shoe and your foot (once again, that unknown compensation thing going on). An shoe insert may help with this. You can start cheap by getting a Dr. Scholl insole at Walgreens or WalMart or CVS (liek around $6 to $10). If that helps, maybe go to a ski shop and get a custom footbed for your shoe. They do this by popping a hunk of plastic into a convection oven and then having you step in it to conform to your foot. The next step up from that would be to get another (ski oriented) orthotic. Go to www.surefoot.com and look for a place near you. They have a jig that you stand on, feelers come up and conform to your foot, then they have a machine that grinds out the footbed right there. I've got these in my ski boots and bike shoes and they're wonderful! Another option is getting custom road shoes. I heard from people that have these and they have said it literally changed their cycling life for the better. 

5) examine your pedal stroke - is it nice and even. If not, I think there is an adjustment issue with your bike - mainly that you may be "cramped" or "hunched" between the seat and the pedal (i.e., your leg isn't extending enough in the pedal stroke).

I'd recommend going to a gear-head bike shop and letting them look at your pedal stroke. 

And start from cheap to expensive as far as solutions go (ask at the bike shop, seat/bike adjustment, socks/shoe interface, cleat wedges, Dr. Scholl insert, custom orthotics, then custom shoes). Orthotics (Surefoot has some of the cheaper ones) are expensive -- going to custom road shoes even more so. But, the nice thing if you do the orthotics, you'll take out all the voids in your shoe for a more direct power transfer.

And lastly, maybe the physiological makeup of your body doesn't agree well with Speedplay pedals. There are lots of different options but I really like Shimano SPD-SL pedals.

Good Luck!

ColoradoVeloDude
Colorado Springs, Colorado


----------



## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

I used Campy road pedals with clips and straps on my old Italian steel framed bike until Speedplays came out in the early '90s. 

Back then Looks were not adjustable tension-wise and Speedplays were easy to get in and out of. I remember trying out some Look pedals at a LBS and not being able to unclip from the pedals cause the tension was so high. 

Anyway I got tired of the gigantic Speedplay cleat and the ice rink feeling while riding out of the saddle, so in 2000 when I bought my Colnago I switched to Looks for a while. I got the super light cheap pedal and wore through it in about 3000 miles. 

Then I switched to Campy Pro Fits. Great pedals. 

Last year I bought my Look frame and decided to go with Keo pedals. They are a lot of posters here on RBR who are happy with those pedals. I love the Look Keos. Easy to clip in and out of and a padded cleat that makes it easy to walk around without slipping and sliding.


----------



## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

[email protected] said:


> just really wondering what other folks are using for pedals.


Speedplay X2s. My only problem has been hot foot, and I've found that using super thin socks solves that problem.


----------



## Andrea138 (Mar 10, 2008)

I use X2s also


----------



## carveitup (Oct 25, 2008)

I'm not sure that speedplays are effectively thicker than an SPD style MTB pedal. On MTB pedals, the entire thickness of the cleat is over the axle. Speedplay cleats have a plate above the axle but I'm pretty sure it is thinner than an SPD cleat. The speedplay cleat effectively wraps around the pedal.

I'd check the fore/aft position of the cleat and make sure your saddle height it right.

I use look Keo sprints but I'm not sure if I'd recommend them over speedplays.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2008)

Thanks everyone for your replies! I am still working on it...


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2008)

Ok, here's what seemed to have solved the problem. Speed play includes this little "extra shim". I put it between my sole and the cleat base on the inside of my shoes. Just a few mils seems to have solved the issue...


----------



## ColoradoVeloDude (Oct 7, 2005)

[email protected] said:


> Ok, here's what seemed to have solved the problem. Speed play includes this little "extra shim". I put it between my sole and the cleat base on the inside of my shoes. Just a few mils seems to have solved the issue...



Yeah, a set of LeMond wedges did the trick for me too. All of sudden everything was is the right place.

Glad it worked out. It's amazing that small adjustments like this can have profound effect.


----------



## bluebug32 (Dec 13, 2006)

I would like to try Speedplay pedals (use Crank Bros. now) for my road bike. I'm going to be buying a pair of road shoes too. What's the real difference between Speedplay's road and mountain pedals? I know cleat size, etc., but why do some people prefer mountain bike pedals on a road bike?


----------



## rfomenko (Feb 15, 2009)

bluebug32 said:


> I would like to try Speedplay pedals (use Crank Bros. now) for my road bike. I'm going to be buying a pair of road shoes too. What's the real difference between Speedplay's road and mountain pedals? I know cleat size, etc., but why do some people prefer mountain bike pedals on a road bike?


IMHO, there is no reasons to use "road" pedals on road bikes except for racing. I used to have Look Delta pedals on my road bike and Shimano A520 SPDs on the touring one. I usually ride hard and fast unless I'm touring and assumed that the Looks where superior to Shimanos for that application. Two weeks ago I decided to try out SPD's on my road bike and they were perfectly fine. Plus you can get off your bike and walk like a human being. Imagine a situation: while you climbing a hill and suddenly there is an angry dog trying to bite you. The last thing I want is to slip while jumping off my bicycle. If that is too extreme for you, then how about walking up and down the stairs especially while crossing certain bridges. It's simply no fun to walk on cleats. The bottom line depends on what is more important to you: the couple of ounces of the weight saving in the road shoes or the ability to walk/safety of the mountain ones.


----------



## city41 (Jul 18, 2009)

After putting 1000 miles on egg beaters on my road bike, I just switched to SPD SL's this weekend. After 60 miles on those, so far I can say I like them quite a bit better than the egg beaters. They are much stiffer, and I feel much more connected to my bike. The difference is really profound. I'll see how I feel after I've got a decent number of miles on them.


----------



## onlineflyer (Aug 8, 2005)

*Crank Brother Quattro*

Great pedals but being discontinued. Get some while they are still available.


----------



## BryanSayer (Sep 22, 2009)

There are now biking orthotics, for those of you having to use shims. I got a pair a few months ago and I'm much happier now. I've had regular shoe orthotics for 30 years. This is a doctor's prescription level insert.


----------



## Big Papa (Sep 20, 2009)

Shimano Dura-ace are very high quality road pedals. I have some 7700's been using for years (maybe 7 years), still going strong.


----------

