Had Look pedals from late 80s into mid-90s with flawless performance. Then I switched to Shimano. My Dura-Ace SPD-R road pedals are perfect with over 50K miles at almost 20 years of age. Shimano's SPD for my MTB is the same -- they just don't fail and take forever to wear out. The issue for many of us is the investment we've made in pedals on multiple bikes as well as winter/summer shoes so changing pedals could require multiple shoe purchases as well as multiple pedal purchases.
I’ve used Shimano SPD on my MTB the early 90’s and absolutely love them , totally bomb proof never fail , I only came across to road & cyclocross in my a few years ago and kept the SPD’s on cyclocross bike and purchased SPD-SL’s for my road bike, I know exactly what I prefer after a few years of riding both SPD’s all day long . The investment in different shoes for different systems is spot on I find the SPD-SL’s wear out quite quick if I could put SPD’s on my road shoes I’d do it , I hear there’s adaption system for this very specific case but what I’ve heard online they’re not very good
@@JDH-1888 Some shoes, especially Shimano road shoes, have the native SPD mounting holes on the bottom - no adaptor needed. A few other brands do as well.
It’s is only with the advent of the iclic cleat for the road system where the cleat is now no longer left or right specific. With the TBT and impact systems the cleat had to be fitted to correct shoe or you would have to twist your ankles into the cranks to release your foot
@@jordanjacklin9400 yes since around 2008/9. The Impact was replaced by the shortlived iclic pedal but it didn't survive. It was replaced by the Xpresso which kept the iclic cleat
I have been using Time road pedals since 2012 and very happy with it. The Xpros are very light peaks with very short stack and they are very good on the knees.
I've been using Time RXS on the road since the mid-00s, but they no longer make them. I still have two pairs of pedals but one has seized up. If I'd picked Shimano back then, it would still be the same pedal, same cleats, no problem getting replacements. This is one of the other advantages of Shimano, they stick to a standard so your stuff continues to work. I also have MTB SPD pedals going back 20 years that have never been serviced and are still working, which is another Shimano advantage, they tend have exemplary longevity.
I have SPD and SPD-SL pedals for no particular reason other than they are what I have always used. They work well for me so I don't really feel any need to go trying out different systems and I think maybe a lot of other people feel the same way. If it ain't broke don't fix it sort of thing really, and then you also know that you will be able to very easily get spares more or less anywhere you go in the world.
Another shout out for Time here, and I'm genuinely surprised they aren't more popular. I'm old enough now to remember toeclips & straps (bright shiny chrome Christophe clips, Campagnolo Pista pedals & Alfredo Binda red leather straps - looked lovely) however I was one of the first in the UK to go to clipless back in the early 80's with the original Look pedals as the club I raced for were supported by a shop who were part of the first Look UK distro. Anyway, used them for years with no problems & only switched to Time because I fancied a pair of those red & white shoes they were doing which were super popular at the time. I've been using Time ever since & have had various interpretations of of their Impact/Espresso/i-click systems. Absolutely no problems with knee pain at any time & the cleats seem to last for ages too. About to put another bike on the road in 2025 & will be going for Time pedals again.
After a really bad crash with a pelvis broken in 4 places and multiple plates and pins I have changed from Shimano to Time primarily for there float system, but I have reversed the 53 mm Q factor set and really noticed/liked that bit extra stance width . Thanks for the video. It seems I am watching many of yours and it’s” Time “ to subscribe . See what I did there :)
Been on Time pedals since the late 1980’s. The MTB pedals and Brass cleats are outstanding. Easy to service,great performance. The Road pedals are very knee friendly and also easy to service.
Availability and price of cleats - that's my primary reason. Performance is too similar between the competitors anyway, while pedal price does not matter in the long run.
I have been using Time since the 80s. Switched to Time after knee surgery after using the old Look black pedals with no float. Never had a problem especially now with the latest cleats. Back in the old days using brass and aluminium cleats they would wear quite quickly, especially if you walked on them.
Been using Time ATAC pedals for both road and offroad for over 10 yrs now. Fantastic system, eliminated the faff of needing multiple shoes and cleat systems. Have never looked back or regretted the decision. I also found the Time pedal body much better for my foot as the Shimano SPD's were a bit smaller in profile.
When I used to race MTB back in the day I used to use Time WCS carbon pedals as I suffered with my knees as they had a lot of float and they did not clog up . Great design and sexy looking. Nowadays I confess to using SPD XTR on Mtb and Gravel and SPDsl Ultegra on my road bikes.Dabbled with crank bros for a while back in the day. Nice but felt like I was servicing them every 5 min!. You are correct, Most shop seem to offer Shimano first and have little alternatives. Nice video
I went to to Speedplay X shortly after I started road riding (mid 1990's). Love them... "Like standing on an ice cube" is how I have always described them. Had a ~15 year gap in my riding, got back into it during Covid. I still had some original Speedplay X parts, so went right back to those. As most Speedplay fans know, the Zero replaced the X in ... 2007 or so, I believe? Fortunately, I have a machine shop, so solved that... made my own shoe adapters, springs, and cleat plates. (with improvements over the original parts). Lifelong Speedplay X fan here.
Time ATACs on mtb and RSX/ICLICS on road fixed my patella tendonitis issues. Decades on both. I've been trialling LOOK mtb (shimano cleats) pedals lately with good success. Great to have options.
Dont forget that the yellow cleats float is in the middle of the cleat, the blue is near the front of the cleat. This does change how the float feels and certain riders benefit from difference
I’m a newer cyclist and videos like this are helpful for making purchases. I went with Favero power pedals for my road bike, Look pedals for my zwift which let me use the same shoes as my road bike. And then Look x track for my gravel bike as I wanted to run spd on that so I can walk up chunky hills if needed.
I started riding in the road a couple years ago, on addition to the mountain biking I was already doing. So I started with SPD on both bikes. I understand that works for lots of people. Eventually I switched to a road pedal and shoe (Look Keo) in search of a solution to some foot pain I had. That change unlocked longer and harder rides for me. Before that I topped out at 30mi/2hrs. Beyond that I’d have some real bad pain in my feet. Changing my road bike to the Look pedals, and a dedicated set of road shoes, meant I could ride much longer and harder. I’ve done eight-hour rides on my road bike with no comfort issues. I couldn’t have done that on mtb pedals and shoes.
The first clipless pedals I ever bought were Look Delta. That was in 1999. I still run Look, some Delta and some Keo, and I'm happy with them. My 64-yr-old knees and mild natural foot supination insist that I use full float cleats on both. I have never ridden Shimano, Time, or Speedplay. I doubt I ever will.
Now that you can get really stiff soled shoes with 2-hole SPD mounts I’ve moved back to SPDs on all my bikes; road, gravel and MTB. I initially changed back to SPDs after having a left hip replacement and was worried about slipping when pushing off with or stopping onto my left foot. Then I didn’t feel the need to go back. I did find that when I was using Look pedals that the ones with the carbon leaf-spring had a more generous support area than the standard ones.
I still have my original LOOK PP65 pedals that I bought back in 1985 when people were still unsure being that it was a fairly new and innovative product on the market ! #INDESTRUCTIBLE
Rode Look Keo Blades for two seasons. The contact patch between the cleat and the pedal made it creak like crazy. Bought a set of ultegra's and those have been going strong for years now.
Exact same story. Rode Look for two years. Had to replace the cleats often to get rid of squeeking between the cleat and the pedal. It would always come back after only a few months. Changed to SPD-SL (both Ultegra og Dura Ace) and they've been flawless for years. Dead silent and bearings still smooth with no play. Really well engineered pedals.
Been using the same Shimano M520 pedals since 2009 - for both MTB and gravel. They do have a bit more float now compared to when they were new. I should probably get a new pair but they haven't been causing any problems, physical or otherwise.
I'm still using Campag Record track pedals, Christophe clips and Binda straps. Bearings are still super smooth after an incredible 45 years of continuous use. This is a good set-up if you want to use shoes without cleats, and extremely reliable in tough conditions where modern binding systems would suffer premature wear, or clogging with mud and grit.
The world doesn't need another pedal system, but there's a market for performance 2-hole shoes without chunky commando soles, or an SPD cleat with pontoon stabilisers like the original dura -ace system.
Thanks for the great video. Just something to mention regarding times pedal, and why they are often popular during bike fit. While all options are allowing movement horizontally, time pedals also have a vertical allowance (impacted by the right/left cleat) to allow the leg to have a more natural movement.
Over the years I’ve tried everything, including Speedplay. By far the best, and I now have them on all of my bikes, have been TIME ATTAC. Simple, secure, and easy in and out….. I’m enjoying your vids….👍
When Istarted my road bike career, I bought a mid-range pair of Look pedals. Finding the right position / fitting has never been an issue. Later when I became more ambitious and searched for power meter pedals, I was happy to discover that the Assioma Favero are compatible with Look - so no issues to switch.
I ride on speed play they have been brilliant. The only thing I would say is stay away from sand and beaches. Thinking I might try the Time pedals for a change as it would be interesting .thanks for your videos , you have make my riding much more interesting.
On the road I'm using Speedplay for more than 6 years and super satisfied with them. Ok, a bit more maintenance, but adjustability, both pedal and cleat longevity, both sidedness... pays off generously. On cyclocross I use a Shimano Deore XT SPD from the Napoleonic wars. Does the job no complains.
I started on Look on the road in the 80’s, then SPD in the 90’ off road. I raced on Time and Speedplay, but have been only on Shimano for years. Zero complaints, dura ace road, XT Trail pedals on my endurance bike, and XTR on my gravel bike.
Interesting and informative video. I Switched from Shimano to Crank Brothers, including their Egg Beaters on my road bikes; I'm not a dedicated roadie, my heart is in mountain biking but still get plenty of road miles in. With nine bikes, a mixture of road, gravel, cargo, mountain and recumbent but only 3 pairs of shoes it very practical to use a common clip in system...Also CB's pedals work very well and are extremely durable...love em!
My first clipless pedals were Time Atac XC4s from 2010 and they are still in my rotation. Finally swapped the bearings this summer and they feel brand new! I started them out on brakeless fixed gear bikes for longer rides and swapped the cleats left to right to avoid accidentally unclipping while skidding. A lot of bike messengers swear by Time pedals. Have had 5 sets of them over the years but haven’t tried the later versions when they switched to the squared spring bars. I actually prefer the older versions since they use needle roller bearings compared to my xc4 when they switched to a bushing. They are heavier of course, but man it feels like skating on ice after servicing them. As for road i have too many shoes on shimano to bother trying Time road haha
Thanks for taking the time to prepared this comparison. I'm not sure if it's a US vs UK thing, but I was surprised that the Speedplay/Wahoo pedal was not in your video. I've been on Look, Shimano, Crank Bros, Sampsun?, and more but I've always come back to Speedplay for my road bikes. They might suck in mud, but they are IMO the hands down road bike pedal available since the 90s. They never put our a big marketing effort and sponsored teams like bigger companies, but the design is amazing. For the dirt MTB/Cx/gravel, there are lots of OK choices including Shimano SPD, but I've stuck with egg beaters or candy C for my MTB/Cx/gravel bikes due to ease of clip in and mud clearing capabilities; they are not the most stable platform.
Speedplay are used a lot here too, I'd put them as 3rd in popularity after SPD-SL and KEO and TIME as quite a distant 4th. Personally I did not get on well with them myself (original Zero's), something about the feel of them kind of annoyed/bothered me and I just couldn't get over it, but I can understand why those that do, love them and never go back.
@Mapdec I'm trying the aliexpress clones based on the roubaix version, titanium for just over $100CAD. I've got an external rotation plus a leg length difference of 11mm due to a poorly set broken femur as a kid.
Again, I hope you are able to develop a meaningful mechanic school. You are excellent at presenting and I think a lot of young guys would benefit from formal training.
Also have been riding Time pedals for 20+ years: first for MTB and exclusively for road since 2007. So great, I’ve never considered any other brand. Having had a few knee surgeries over that period, I have zero reason to change…couldn’t be happier or more comfortable.
I've used Crank Brothers for MTB and Audax since the 90s. When time restraints reduced going places for MTB rides and events road riding took over 2014 and I chose Look Keo and then moved onto Power tap which was convenient being the same cleat. In the market for new Audax pedal that offers the support of road but shoes that are walkable so recessed cleats.
After starting with Shimano pedals and cleats on my road and MTB bikes I switched first to Look on road bikes, which I liked but they squeeked and squealed so much that I gave up and went to Speedplay perhaps 15 years ago, and very satisfied with them (the float works for me). For MTB I switched to Crankbrothers to get the light weight, four-sided, easy to clip in and out pedals, fast mud shedding pedals and cleats. CB has so many designs from the simple egg beater to the big platform DH pedals that I think they are great for MTB and gravel. I use my MTB shoes for gravel riding too so having CBs on gravel and MTB bikes makes sense for me.
Started with the original Look PP65 in the 80s. Switched to Time when they first came out. Rode them for years until they refused a warranty claim for the pedal shearing in half while I was on a ride. Punted them and went right back to Look. Cleats are easy to find. Float options are great.
I started going clipless with Shimano SPD-R, the cleats being metal never wore out. Then I switched to Look Keo blades and loved the positive snap when they engaged and haven't looked (if you'll excuse the pun!) back. I did try Crank Brothers Eggbeaters but didn't get on with them at all, I didn't like the cleats sliding laterally.
I started with SPD-SL. Then did Speedplay (big mistake as that's overpriced creaky plastic junk) and went back to SPD-SL. My main bike is Garmin Vector 3 with Look cleats. But in my opinion Shimano SPD-SL is the best for larger riders. It's a nice wide platform that feels really stable. Cleats are cheap to replace and is available in almost any town.
Am fortunate to have no knee problems, and just align everything up centrally. Grew up with binda extra straps, and a nailed on shoe plate! Bought some speedplays about 3 years ago, got them on 2 of my bikes, they work fine. No issues at all. Have Shimano SPDs (not SLs) on my other bikes. Once out on the road I really can't differentiate between any of them... I use mid range shoes - nothing too fancy.... Happy bunny 👍
I've been using Time pedals ever since a Look pedal cracked on me during a trip. The only thing the local shop had in stock were Time Xpresso 15 and a pair of entry level Look. I was really annoyed with Look, having had two cleats break on me in the prior year (one during a sprint, another during a climb... somehow stayed on the bike both times), now the pedal body itself cracked. So, in a rage induced buy, I picked up a really expensive Time. The stack height was enough to cause me to change my saddle height, but the float and adjustments were a welcome change. I've been riding Time ever since. The cleats last 3x as long and while the click in sound isn't as positive, I've adapted.
I like how you don't even consider (like most people) Speedplay in the video. As an aside, I sincerely appreciate your attention to detail. You even say SRAM correctly.
For road riding my knees seem to be happiest on Shimano Ultegra pedals with yellow cleats. For gravel and commuting I use 2-bolt SPD Shimanos. They just work. Of course sometimes the cleat gets packed with dirt/mud/snow, but a bit of kicking usually gets the cleat to clip in to the pedal.
Started off many years ago with Time way back in the early 90’s when they were made to last and used metal cleats, also had a very brief period with Look but couldn’t get on with them. After a long time off the bike due to spinal surgery I was until a few years ago using the latest incarnation of Time pedals the Xpresso type and have to say they were dreadful, bearings that wore out too quickly and cleats that might as well have been made of cheese. It wasn’t until I switched to Shimano (SPD SL) that I realised what a good pedal system was and in the words of a London bike fitter “what have I been doing with my life”.
Been using Time pedals since late 80's. Started cycling originally because of knee troubles, and my first clipless were the Look Black but swapped to the Time for the float. Proved to be hugely better
I bought the original Look pedals for my road bike back in the mid-80’s and used Look pedals, including the original Dura Ace branded Look pedals until around 2008. I have used Speedplay ever since. I like the simple clip in and low profile. I prefer the older cleats as the new stamped steel ones tend to rock side to side more, which is my biggest complaint about the system in general, however it’s not a show-stopper for me. I use SPDs on my gravel bike and mountain bike.
I come from a mountain bike background so I went from flats to crankbros to 2 bolt SPDs. I really liked the SPDs but after a few months I started getting knee pain that never occurred on the Crankbros. Swapped back and it completely disappeared. I guess the extra float did something good for my knees, so I'll stick with it!
I have 8 bikes with 6 Shimano Spd pedals and two Look x track mtb pedals that are Shimano spd compatible. The Shimano cleats work perfectly on the Look pedals. I have one set of Spd Sl pedals and shoes that I occasionally use, but I don’t like walking on them like I do on the Spd shoes!
Been using Look road since mid 80's (briefly used Diadora shoe and pedal system early 90's). SPD's on mtb from early 90's. Started on toe clips and straps, so anything was an improvement on that set-up 😊
Been using Time pretty much since taking up cycling in 2017. I had the 'Matt Stephens' problem, and Time's 'slip in' system is perfect, IMO. Their ATAC MTB pedals are also very good.
I have been riding TIME pedals since 1990 and have not changed. I find that the pivot and float are incredible for knee, ankle, hip, or any other issues you may have out there. I have never had any pain, at all. Worse early Look with fixed clears and had lots of knee problems. I have tried others, but always come back to TIME. I hope SRAM improves them some, they have a tendency to start squeezing, and you have to tighten the body down. 34 years of many TIME pedals!!!
I am using SPD on my road bikes (ES600), on my gravel and mountain bike (m520). Perfect clip in and out performance (super adjustable), with a SIDI carbon sole Drako shoe no issues riding >200 km (or steep climbs, I live in Switzerland) and you can walk decently (e.g. if I like to take a train with the bike) and to have a light rain is also no problem. As a leisure rider (some 8000 km per year) I see just one reason to switch, this is the better selection of very light road bike shoes for the Look/SPD-SL system.
Excellent presentation on the features and benefits of pedal choices. You are a great presenter-well done! After this, I'm going to stay with my Shimano pedals for the front and lateral float aspects. Thanks!
Totally agree. When I build h new Madone SLR with Red AXS, Shimano pedals would've been a faux pas, so I went with Look. I feel as though the Look clear isn't as obtrusive on the shoe, and they seem to last a bit longer, but I've only been on Look for 2 years so far vs. 6 years on Shimano.
After trying systems like shimano, look and speedplay. I found Time pedals and my Xpro10 pedals are a wonder, zero knee pain and maximum efficiency due to the potentiometer data. Also, the cleats are easier to adjust and I have 3 pairs of shoes. Another advantage is the weight: they are much lighter than speedplays.
i have been using time road pedals for 40 ish years now..i like the way your soul of you foot is closer to the pedal axle as opposed to look. shimano standing on top of the cleat and the pedal surface
Thank you Paul for drawing the attention to other pedal solutions… I moved away from SHIMANO SPD SL on all my bikes apart from the commuter bike, where I still prefer the ease of clipping into SHIMANO pedals above all other drawbacks. What drawbacks, I hear you ask? For starters cleat contact patch at each edge, providing the pedal stability, is only couple of mm wide. As a result a lot of pressure is transferred through a small contact patch, esp if any foot/shoe imbalance issues. This causes premature pedal body wear of the metal wear plates, which are getting ever so smaller with each new evolution of the pedals. The wear plates aren’t replaceable, so I’m throwing away to a landfill otherwise perfectly good pedal, cause the excessive/uneven wear of the metal plates causes knee issues. Secondly unclipping is almost impossible after fitting brand new cleats, as the new yellow/blue wear studs are making contact with pedal release mechanism preventing from smooth unclipping. Ever felt like a complete novice struggling to unclip 1st few times? That’s the reason I always filed down the edges of the new wear studs. There were times I lost one of the studs completely from the set down foot that unclips at every stop. All this meant I struggled to get a full season out of a set of cleats and pedals which made me swap to Look pedals instead. Look pedals provide a full metal contact patch with the cleat and from a better price starting point than SHIMANO. You can pick up Look Keo 2 Max from as little as £52, but you have to fork out close to £85 for comparable SHIMANO Ultegra pedals. As the more affordable RS500 or 105 comes with only the outer metal plates and the middle wear plate is part of the plastic/composite pedal body and wears prematurely. Look cleats provide better placed wear protectors and slightly smaller/more compact cleat shape which helps to reduce the wear of the cleat contact patch in comparison to SHIMANO. Another benefit of Look pedals/cleats is the large contact patch, much larger than SHIMANO. I challenge you to experiment just how much surface area of the cleat actually contacts the pedal body of each pedal system. You might be surprised that the media pedalled myth of Shimano’s wide pedal body, which implies large contact patch… it’s just a myth and actually Look pedals provide more surface contact area, esp. at the edges which improves pedal stability. Range topping Look Keo Blade Carbon beats the width of Dura Ace pedal body, check it out for yourself. However clipping into the Keo Blades isn’t as smooth and Look cleats provide less adjustability when fitting, hence the need to fit axle spacers for comparable Q Factor, but that is a small sacrifice I’m prepared to take for a superior pedal/cleat solution in my eyes.
I've been using Time atacs since the 2000s, I guess most stick to what they know regarding pedals? I did have a go with Shimano SPD but very quickly returned to Time atacs. The atacs provide a large amount of float. The only niggle I have with the newest Time atacs is that they're plastic and their bodies wear at the contact point pedal to shoe. I'd like to see Time remake the old Roc-Atac version as that pedal had protective stainless steel wear plates that lengthened the service life. That said the pedals are great to use so I'm happy to buy a bit more often to replace when worn. Bad knees go for Time atacs!
A lot of people don't use SPD pedals because pedals is one of the most convenient way to get a power meter on any bike, and transfer them from bike to bike (no bottom bracket standard shenanigans, no rear hub specific lacing). I'm back to look after 10 years using Powertap pedals cause I went with a quarq spider.
I've used Shimano, Time, Crank Bros. pedals for MTB and Shimano, Crank Bros. for road. Now, I use Magped pedals for both road and gravel. Absolutely fabulous for my arthritic knees and way less maintenance...😊
Shimano is all I’ve ever run. Started in XC MTB and that preference bled over into gravel/road. Most cyclists here in the States probably ride Shimano.
I learned clipless on MTB SPDs and ran them on road as a beginner. However when I switched to road shoes I went to a cheap Wellgo pedal which was licenced to be Look KEO compatible, and I haven't looked back. I do run zero float, however I will say that I do have flexible ankles and feet but very rigid knees thanks to an old rugby injury, and my cleat position is dialled to the tenth millimetre. I had a problem of rubbing cranks and that I struggled to clip out if I set floated cleats up to turn my ankles outwards enough to prevent rubbing. Due to the specificity of my issue and set up I wouldn't recommend zero float outside of time triallists or track riders as I can tell if a cleat is only slightly out off position and I know it could easily cause pain and problems. Still use SPDs off road, but the trade off between foot position and manouvreability is worth it on rougher terrain, and the small cleat platform probably has something to do with that.
My late transition from toe clips to clipless pedals was on mountain with EggBeaters, then on to Dura-Ace which I never fully got along with. They worked fine but I always found myself trying to catch up with the group after a light. I've since switched to Speedplay & love the just stomp down type engagement. They're not great for walking through mud,but I don't deal with that much.
My hot tip for sticky float is to rub some candle wax or a couple of drops of a wax based lube (squirt etc) on the mating surfaces. Glides like a dream. I always find new look cleats are a bit tight/sticky with my assioma PM pedals straight out of the box but a little wax gets me through the first month or so until they're broken in
Perhaps for a part 2 could you please talk about stack height, offset (crank face to pedal centre) and axle thread length? These things are important in relative terms, for comparisons, and absolute terms for bike fit. That info is, of course, available if people go looking for it, but for the purposes of introducing people to different pedal systems it would be helpful.
I used Time for years then went to Shimano during a bike fit because there isn't a lot a fitter can do with Time. I honestly feel a lot more locked in with Shimano than I did with Time and the cleats are much easier to get hold of.
I started with Shimano SPD SL, then went to Look keo carbon for a weight reduction and now on Garmin Vector which uses the keo cleats. I find the shape of the Garmin body resembles that of Shimano but has the keo cleats. A little best of both.
Who remembers TIME pedals and cleats back in the day (chuffing expensive if my memory serves me!) ‘LOOK’ and shimanos version of that system,just one of those things that just work. The original SPD pedals have the same vibe
Started off with the Shimano PD-M520, and after a few years tried Look Keo on the road bike. But swapped out to the M520 for winter 2016/17. Since then I don't bother with road pedals anymore. Have tried Crankbrothers Eggbeaters, then Look X-Track, and bought some Time Attac....The X-Track cleats are compatible with the Shimano MTB cleats. To be honest, unless you're racing at a high level on the road, most people will be better off on MTB pedals; the constant stop/start for junctions, traffic lights, walking, etc
I've always run Look pedals on my roadbikes. Started with the original Look system, then changed to the blades with the Keo cleats. Never crossed my mind to change to Shimano, which suffer from bearing issues. Had to open, clean and regrease some of them for others. On the mountain bike, yes, I'm guilty of riding spd's. They just work
Was a Speedplay guy since 05, been on Time xpros 10 for a couple of years now, I like the wide platform, weight, float and q factor. It seems that I always had an issue with position and float with Speedplay just so much adjustability hard to dial in. Time pedals have been simple and no issues, I did have a worn bearing after around 5K miles, I returned them and Time sent me a new pair within a week.
The only pedals I will ride are Pedaling Innovations, platform/flat pedals with long platform supporting the arch, which also means very flexy shoes will still work. I will never use clipless, it doesn't make sense, I want to be able to get off the bike at any angle, in any position, in any situation. And of course long pins for riding in the snow so snow packing up doesn't effect the grip.
Use Keo blades across 7 bikes, still have a couple with 16nm blades but started moving to 12 as the higher tension increases wear on the rear clip and introduces float to the system (I need zero to avoid knee pain)
I used to use Look (Assioma), in fact I still do on the road. On the track I use long axle Shimano DA, with red 0 float cleats and straps. I have big feet (48 EU), so the long axle lets me have the cleat centered under my foot.
I'm a bit weird, I got into Speedplays. I rode X-series pedals for something like 15 years. Then they finally died and I got a set of Zeros. However, on some shoes, particularly smaller shoes, there may be no way to get the baseplate totally flush with the shoe, so there was unresolvable creaking. Fed up, I got a pair of Dura Aces. It gets funnier. I switched the groupset to Campy. With 165mm cranks, there are no crank-based power options at all. So I got a pair of Favero Assiomas, which are a Look-based system.
I started on crank brothers just a few years ago and I have never felt the need to change things up. I will stand by that mtb pedals are the way to go unless you are road racing. The ability to walk around and easily clear mud make them the best. I do it as a hobby I don't need the lightest or most aerodynamic. I want usability and to not think about my pedals.
I'm considering giving Time a go, purely because they're different from what I'm used to. Having a UK 12 foot will be interesting though, wonder what it will do to my metatarsal nerve. Currently running Look Keo Blade Carbons (used to work for the NZ distributor), have run Shimano SPD-SL and pre-Wahoo Speedplays in the past too and they've all got their own quirks. Current favourite are Look Keo Blades, purely because of how long the mechanism has lasted compared to the other ones I've used. Non-metal components in the clip mechanism means they don't rust like my Shimanos have in the past, and don't get me started on Speedplay's lateral rocking when the pedal body wears...
Started on shimano mtb and road. Went to crankbrothers mtb for CX for debris clearance after m520 clogging up in race. Do not have money for two pairs of xtr pedals so had to look budget level pedals. After 10plus years on crankbrothers and many pedals due to cleat/spring long wearing out moved to time MTB pedals last year better durability with clearance. Still on the old ultegra 6600 pedals on my trainer bike after years of road use and right pedal is starting to make some squeks while pedaling with well used shoes. Looking at new road pedals or road shoes just in case.
Been riding Time since for ever. The only pedals I trust not to trash my knees. Never been one for using something, just because everyone else does. I've got one pair of 12 Xpros and two pairs of 10s on my road bikes. Had Time XC10s on my gravel bike but switched to Look S-Track carbon-Ti with composite cages for a bigger contact area and easier to head round the corner with just trainers on. The Times are great (but need to be more robust), the Looks are OK but I'll switch back to Time when they die.
Started mountain biking with Eggbeaters, had a few crashes due to unclipping from hitting the bottom of the pedal on rocks, or unknowingly twisting too far. Found Time ATACs that had all the same benefits of the CBs, plus one-sided mechanism so no surprise unclipping, and they have active feedback before unclipping so you stay in much more easily. Put them on my touring and cross bikes, and have no reason to look anywhere else.
I'm a look system for road, and either time or crankbrothers for mtb. I'd never really looked elsewhere for road, but the time does look like an interesting concept 🤔
I started with look x-track Carbon for MTB And run them now on my gravel bike. I have winter bike And HT on SHIMANO M-520 And for Road look Keo. The setup works gr8 for me.
I started on quill pedals, and switched to Look when they first came out, 1986 I think. The problem with Look is that the cleats are made of what seems like, soft puddy. They crumble. I went to Shimano about 10 years ago because the platform is so large, and the cleats last around 2 years at 3-4K miles per year.
Had Look pedals from late 80s into mid-90s with flawless performance. Then I switched to Shimano. My Dura-Ace SPD-R road pedals are perfect with over 50K miles at almost 20 years of age. Shimano's SPD for my MTB is the same -- they just don't fail and take forever to wear out. The issue for many of us is the investment we've made in pedals on multiple bikes as well as winter/summer shoes so changing pedals could require multiple shoe purchases as well as multiple pedal purchases.
I’ve used Shimano SPD on my MTB the early 90’s and absolutely love them , totally bomb proof never fail , I only came across to road & cyclocross in my a few years ago and kept the SPD’s on cyclocross bike and purchased SPD-SL’s for my road bike, I know exactly what I prefer after a few years of riding both SPD’s all day long . The investment in different shoes for different systems is spot on I find the SPD-SL’s wear out quite quick if I could put SPD’s on my road shoes I’d do it , I hear there’s adaption system for this very specific case but what I’ve heard online they’re not very good
@@JDH-1888 Some shoes, especially Shimano road shoes, have the native SPD mounting holes on the bottom - no adaptor needed. A few other brands do as well.
Been using time pedals for ages and never knew about swapping cleats other way around for wider stance, Thanks for that!
It’s is only with the advent of the iclic cleat for the road system where the cleat is now no longer left or right specific. With the TBT and impact systems the cleat had to be fitted to correct shoe or you would have to twist your ankles into the cranks to release your foot
@MP48 I wouldn't know any different hasn't the iclic been around for over 10 years?
@@jordanjacklin9400 yes since around 2008/9. The Impact was replaced by the shortlived iclic pedal but it didn't survive. It was replaced by the Xpresso which kept the iclic cleat
I have been using Time road pedals since 2012 and very happy with it. The Xpros are very light peaks with very short stack and they are very good on the knees.
I've been using Time RXS on the road since the mid-00s, but they no longer make them. I still have two pairs of pedals but one has seized up. If I'd picked Shimano back then, it would still be the same pedal, same cleats, no problem getting replacements. This is one of the other advantages of Shimano, they stick to a standard so your stuff continues to work. I also have MTB SPD pedals going back 20 years that have never been serviced and are still working, which is another Shimano advantage, they tend have exemplary longevity.
I have SPD and SPD-SL pedals for no particular reason other than they are what I have always used. They work well for me so I don't really feel any need to go trying out different systems and I think maybe a lot of other people feel the same way. If it ain't broke don't fix it sort of thing really, and then you also know that you will be able to very easily get spares more or less anywhere you go in the world.
Yes, getting spares. Seems Shimano is available everywhere, and they're bulletproof. If I changed it would be all my bikes and shoes. Big investment.
Another shout out for Time here, and I'm genuinely surprised they aren't more popular. I'm old enough now to remember toeclips & straps (bright shiny chrome Christophe clips, Campagnolo Pista pedals & Alfredo Binda red leather straps - looked lovely) however I was one of the first in the UK to go to clipless back in the early 80's with the original Look pedals as the club I raced for were supported by a shop who were part of the first Look UK distro. Anyway, used them for years with no problems & only switched to Time because I fancied a pair of those red & white shoes they were doing which were super popular at the time. I've been using Time ever since & have had various interpretations of of their Impact/Espresso/i-click systems. Absolutely no problems with knee pain at any time & the cleats seem to last for ages too. About to put another bike on the road in 2025 & will be going for Time pedals again.
Thanks for the advice. I've always used Shimano and wondered what it would be like to switch.
After a really bad crash with a pelvis broken in 4 places and multiple plates and pins I have changed from Shimano to Time primarily for there float system, but I have reversed the 53 mm Q factor set and really noticed/liked that bit extra stance width .
Thanks for the video. It seems I am watching many of yours and it’s” Time “ to subscribe .
See what I did there :)
Nice. Thank you. 🙏
Did you try Speedplay's? You get the most float of any pedal system, and they offer multiple axle lengths.
9:45 Great job pointing out the Stance Width. I appreciate your videos, including the ones I have questions about. Keep doing these videos.
Been on Time pedals since the late 1980’s. The MTB pedals and Brass cleats are outstanding. Easy to service,great performance. The Road pedals are very knee friendly and also easy to service.
Availability and price of cleats - that's my primary reason. Performance is too similar between the competitors anyway, while pedal price does not matter in the long run.
Yes pretty much, I tried look once but I couldn't find enough reason to switch. Once you're going it's all pretty much the same 😅
Also is if you used the same type of shoe for all disciplines like I do, you’re replacing 4 sets of pedals at once, which becomes expensive.
@@kbd13-n9c but you wear out the cleats, bearings and springs at a quarter rate! It's not like extra disciplines come with extra set of legs.
Just got some new egg beaters- they look solid!
I have been using Time since the 80s. Switched to Time after knee surgery after using the old Look black pedals with no float. Never had a problem especially now with the latest cleats. Back in the old days using brass and aluminium cleats they would wear quite quickly, especially if you walked on them.
Been using Time ATAC pedals for both road and offroad for over 10 yrs now. Fantastic system, eliminated the faff of needing multiple shoes and cleat systems. Have never looked back or regretted the decision. I also found the Time pedal body much better for my foot as the Shimano SPD's were a bit smaller in profile.
When I used to race MTB back in the day I used to use Time WCS carbon pedals as I suffered with my knees as they had a lot of float and they did not clog up . Great design and sexy looking. Nowadays I confess to using SPD XTR on Mtb and Gravel and SPDsl Ultegra on my road bikes.Dabbled with crank bros for a while back in the day. Nice but felt like I was servicing them every 5 min!. You are correct, Most shop seem to offer Shimano first and have little alternatives. Nice video
I went to to Speedplay X shortly after I started road riding (mid 1990's). Love them... "Like standing on an ice cube" is how I have always described them. Had a ~15 year gap in my riding, got back into it during Covid. I still had some original Speedplay X parts, so went right back to those. As most Speedplay fans know, the Zero replaced the X in ... 2007 or so, I believe? Fortunately, I have a machine shop, so solved that... made my own shoe adapters, springs, and cleat plates. (with improvements over the original parts). Lifelong Speedplay X fan here.
Time ATACs on mtb and RSX/ICLICS on road fixed my patella tendonitis issues. Decades on both. I've been trialling LOOK mtb (shimano cleats) pedals lately with good success. Great to have options.
Dont forget that the yellow cleats float is in the middle of the cleat, the blue is near the front of the cleat. This does change how the float feels and certain riders benefit from difference
I made the switch to Time pedals about 15yrs ago on my MTB and road bikes. And bought spare cleats when I did. Love the Time pedals!
I’m a newer cyclist and videos like this are helpful for making purchases. I went with Favero power pedals for my road bike, Look pedals for my zwift which let me use the same shoes as my road bike. And then Look x track for my gravel bike as I wanted to run spd on that so I can walk up chunky hills if needed.
I started riding in the road a couple years ago, on addition to the mountain biking I was already doing. So I started with SPD on both bikes. I understand that works for lots of people. Eventually I switched to a road pedal and shoe (Look Keo) in search of a solution to some foot pain I had. That change unlocked longer and harder rides for me. Before that I topped out at 30mi/2hrs. Beyond that I’d have some real bad pain in my feet. Changing my road bike to the Look pedals, and a dedicated set of road shoes, meant I could ride much longer and harder. I’ve done eight-hour rides on my road bike with no comfort issues. I couldn’t have done that on mtb pedals and shoes.
The first clipless pedals I ever bought were Look Delta. That was in 1999. I still run Look, some Delta and some Keo, and I'm happy with them. My 64-yr-old knees and mild natural foot supination insist that I use full float cleats on both. I have never ridden Shimano, Time, or Speedplay. I doubt I ever will.
Now that you can get really stiff soled shoes with 2-hole SPD mounts I’ve moved back to SPDs on all my bikes; road, gravel and MTB. I initially changed back to SPDs after having a left hip replacement and was worried about slipping when pushing off with or stopping onto my left foot. Then I didn’t feel the need to go back. I did find that when I was using Look pedals that the ones with the carbon leaf-spring had a more generous support area than the standard ones.
I got Look SPD's called X-Track Enrage for a fraction of the price to equivalent Shimano and I am delighted.
I still have my original LOOK PP65 pedals that I bought back in 1985 when people were still unsure being that it was a fairly new and innovative product on the market ! #INDESTRUCTIBLE
Rode Look Keo Blades for two seasons. The contact patch between the cleat and the pedal made it creak like crazy. Bought a set of ultegra's and those have been going strong for years now.
Exact same story. Rode Look for two years. Had to replace the cleats often to get rid of squeeking between the cleat and the pedal. It would always come back after only a few months. Changed to SPD-SL (both Ultegra og Dura Ace) and they've been flawless for years. Dead silent and bearings still smooth with no play. Really well engineered pedals.
Same here, could not stand the loud creaking from the Look Keos.
Been using the same Shimano M520 pedals since 2009 - for both MTB and gravel. They do have a bit more float now compared to when they were new. I should probably get a new pair but they haven't been causing any problems, physical or otherwise.
Those 520s are just such an easy button choice. They’re not expensive and last forever.
I have 520s. Just switched my backup bike to 105 (I have lots of experience with road Shimano pedals on all my other bikes). Change is night and day
I've been using Time pedals (road and mtb) for years now and I love them, so much better for my knees!
I'm still using Campag Record track pedals, Christophe clips and Binda straps. Bearings are still super smooth after an incredible 45 years of continuous use.
This is a good set-up if you want to use shoes without cleats, and extremely reliable in tough conditions where modern binding systems would suffer premature wear, or clogging with mud and grit.
The world doesn't need another pedal system, but there's a market for performance 2-hole shoes without chunky commando soles, or an SPD cleat with pontoon stabilisers like the original dura -ace system.
Thanks for the great video. Just something to mention regarding times pedal, and why they are often popular during bike fit. While all options are allowing movement horizontally, time pedals also have a vertical allowance (impacted by the right/left cleat) to allow the leg to have a more natural movement.
Over the years I’ve tried everything, including Speedplay. By far the best, and I now have them on all of my bikes, have been TIME ATTAC. Simple, secure, and easy in and out….. I’m enjoying your vids….👍
When Istarted my road bike career, I bought a mid-range pair of Look pedals. Finding the right position / fitting has never been an issue. Later when I became more ambitious and searched for power meter pedals, I was happy to discover that the Assioma Favero are compatible with Look - so no issues to switch.
I ride on speed play they have been brilliant. The only thing I would say is stay away from sand and beaches. Thinking I might try the Time pedals for a change as it would be interesting .thanks for your videos , you have make my riding much more interesting.
On the road I'm using Speedplay for more than 6 years and super satisfied with them. Ok, a bit more maintenance, but adjustability, both pedal and cleat longevity, both sidedness... pays off generously.
On cyclocross I use a Shimano Deore XT SPD from the Napoleonic wars. Does the job no complains.
Speed play Ti frogs ❤❤
I started on Look on the road in the 80’s, then SPD in the 90’ off road. I raced on Time and Speedplay, but have been only on Shimano for years. Zero complaints, dura ace road, XT Trail pedals on my endurance bike, and XTR on my gravel bike.
I like the low-but-not-zero float of the blue cleats
My favorite, too
Same. Yellow cleats felt terrible to me
I was unsure why this wasn't mentioned, the reasoning for the Look pedals was mostly because they have the same pivot style as Shimano blues
Interesting and informative video. I Switched from Shimano to Crank Brothers, including their Egg Beaters on my road bikes; I'm not a dedicated roadie, my heart is in mountain biking but still get plenty of road miles in. With nine bikes, a mixture of road, gravel, cargo, mountain and recumbent but only 3 pairs of shoes it very practical to use a common clip in system...Also CB's pedals work very well and are extremely durable...love em!
My first clipless pedals were Time Atac XC4s from 2010 and they are still in my rotation. Finally swapped the bearings this summer and they feel brand new! I started them out on brakeless fixed gear bikes for longer rides and swapped the cleats left to right to avoid accidentally unclipping while skidding. A lot of bike messengers swear by Time pedals. Have had 5 sets of them over the years but haven’t tried the later versions when they switched to the squared spring bars. I actually prefer the older versions since they use needle roller bearings compared to my xc4 when they switched to a bushing. They are heavier of course, but man it feels like skating on ice after servicing them.
As for road i have too many shoes on shimano to bother trying Time road haha
Thanks for taking the time to prepared this comparison. I'm not sure if it's a US vs UK thing, but I was surprised that the Speedplay/Wahoo pedal was not in your video. I've been on Look, Shimano, Crank Bros, Sampsun?, and more but I've always come back to Speedplay for my road bikes. They might suck in mud, but they are IMO the hands down road bike pedal available since the 90s. They never put our a big marketing effort and sponsored teams like bigger companies, but the design is amazing. For the dirt MTB/Cx/gravel, there are lots of OK choices including Shimano SPD, but I've stuck with egg beaters or candy C for my MTB/Cx/gravel bikes due to ease of clip in and mud clearing capabilities; they are not the most stable platform.
Speedplay are used a lot here too, I'd put them as 3rd in popularity after SPD-SL and KEO and TIME as quite a distant 4th. Personally I did not get on well with them myself (original Zero's), something about the feel of them kind of annoyed/bothered me and I just couldn't get over it, but I can understand why those that do, love them and never go back.
We rarely see the Wahoo pedals anymore
@Mapdec I'm trying the aliexpress clones based on the roubaix version, titanium for just over $100CAD. I've got an external rotation plus a leg length difference of 11mm due to a poorly set broken femur as a kid.
Again, I hope you are able to develop a meaningful mechanic school. You are excellent at presenting and I think a lot of young guys would benefit from formal training.
One day. Just need a big enough building and some more fully trained staff.
Also have been riding Time pedals for 20+ years: first for MTB and exclusively for road since 2007. So great, I’ve never considered any other brand. Having had a few knee surgeries over that period, I have zero reason to change…couldn’t be happier or more comfortable.
I've used Crank Brothers for MTB and Audax since the 90s. When time restraints reduced going places for MTB rides and events road riding took over 2014 and I chose Look Keo and then moved onto Power tap which was convenient being the same cleat. In the market for new Audax pedal that offers the support of road but shoes that are walkable so recessed cleats.
After starting with Shimano pedals and cleats on my road and MTB bikes I switched first to Look on road bikes, which I liked but they squeeked and squealed so much that I gave up and went to Speedplay perhaps 15 years ago, and very satisfied with them (the float works for me). For MTB I switched to Crankbrothers to get the light weight, four-sided, easy to clip in and out pedals, fast mud shedding pedals and cleats. CB has so many designs from the simple egg beater to the big platform DH pedals that I think they are great for MTB and gravel. I use my MTB shoes for gravel riding too so having CBs on gravel and MTB bikes makes sense for me.
Started with the original Look PP65 in the 80s. Switched to Time when they first came out. Rode them for years until they refused a warranty claim for the pedal shearing in half while I was on a ride. Punted them and went right back to Look. Cleats are easy to find. Float options are great.
I started going clipless with Shimano SPD-R, the cleats being metal never wore out.
Then I switched to Look Keo blades and loved the positive snap when they engaged and haven't looked (if you'll excuse the pun!) back.
I did try Crank Brothers Eggbeaters but didn't get on with them at all, I didn't like the cleats sliding laterally.
I started with SPD-SL. Then did Speedplay (big mistake as that's overpriced creaky plastic junk) and went back to SPD-SL. My main bike is Garmin Vector 3 with Look cleats.
But in my opinion Shimano SPD-SL is the best for larger riders. It's a nice wide platform that feels really stable. Cleats are cheap to replace and is available in almost any town.
Am fortunate to have no knee problems, and just align everything up centrally.
Grew up with binda extra straps, and a nailed on shoe plate!
Bought some speedplays about 3 years ago, got them on 2 of my bikes, they work fine. No issues at all. Have Shimano SPDs (not SLs) on my other bikes.
Once out on the road I really can't differentiate between any of them... I use mid range shoes - nothing too fancy.... Happy bunny 👍
I've been using Time pedals ever since a Look pedal cracked on me during a trip. The only thing the local shop had in stock were Time Xpresso 15 and a pair of entry level Look. I was really annoyed with Look, having had two cleats break on me in the prior year (one during a sprint, another during a climb... somehow stayed on the bike both times), now the pedal body itself cracked. So, in a rage induced buy, I picked up a really expensive Time. The stack height was enough to cause me to change my saddle height, but the float and adjustments were a welcome change. I've been riding Time ever since. The cleats last 3x as long and while the click in sound isn't as positive, I've adapted.
I like how you don't even consider (like most people) Speedplay in the video. As an aside, I sincerely appreciate your attention to detail. You even say SRAM correctly.
Because speed play just aren’t available in many shops anymore, and when we see them for repair it’s usually with cleat issues.
Been riding Time pedals the last 20 years. They are great!
For road riding my knees seem to be happiest on Shimano Ultegra pedals with yellow cleats. For gravel and commuting I use 2-bolt SPD Shimanos. They just work. Of course sometimes the cleat gets packed with dirt/mud/snow, but a bit of kicking usually gets the cleat to clip in to the pedal.
I used to ride with toe-straps & went over to Look Delta in mid 80's and still riding Look Keo 40 years on - Size 43 ! 👍🏻🚴🏻♂️☃️😉
Started off many years ago with Time way back in the early 90’s when they were made to last and used metal cleats, also had a very brief period with Look but couldn’t get on with them. After a long time off the bike due to spinal surgery I was until a few years ago using the latest incarnation of Time pedals the Xpresso type and have to say they were dreadful, bearings that wore out too quickly and cleats that might as well have been made of cheese. It wasn’t until I switched to Shimano (SPD SL) that I realised what a good pedal system was and in the words of a London bike fitter “what have I been doing with my life”.
Been using Time pedals since late 80's. Started cycling originally because of knee troubles, and my first clipless were the Look Black but swapped to the Time for the float. Proved to be hugely better
Been v pleased with my Time Atacs , run them on my MTB,CX and road bike. Currently paired with Lake mx332 shoes.
I bought the original Look pedals for my road bike back in the mid-80’s and used Look pedals, including the original Dura Ace branded Look pedals until around 2008. I have used Speedplay ever since. I like the simple clip in and low profile. I prefer the older cleats as the new stamped steel ones tend to rock side to side more, which is my biggest complaint about the system in general, however it’s not a show-stopper for me. I use SPDs on my gravel bike and mountain bike.
I come from a mountain bike background so I went from flats to crankbros to 2 bolt SPDs. I really liked the SPDs but after a few months I started getting knee pain that never occurred on the Crankbros. Swapped back and it completely disappeared. I guess the extra float did something good for my knees, so I'll stick with it!
I have 8 bikes with 6 Shimano Spd pedals and two Look x track mtb pedals that are Shimano spd compatible. The Shimano cleats work perfectly on the Look pedals. I have one set of Spd Sl pedals and shoes that I occasionally use, but I don’t like walking on them like I do on the Spd shoes!
Still a huge jump to power meter pedals sadly, they're so expensive 😮 excellent video 👍🏻
Been using Look road since mid 80's (briefly used Diadora shoe and pedal system early 90's). SPD's on mtb from early 90's. Started on toe clips and straps, so anything was an improvement on that set-up 😊
Been using Time pretty much since taking up cycling in 2017. I had the 'Matt Stephens' problem, and Time's 'slip in' system is perfect, IMO. Their ATAC MTB pedals are also very good.
I use Time pedals both for road and mountain, I like the float they offer, helps me solve knee pain issues.
I have been riding TIME pedals since 1990 and have not changed. I find that the pivot and float are incredible for knee, ankle, hip, or any other issues you may have out there. I have never had any pain, at all. Worse early Look with fixed clears and had lots of knee problems. I have tried others, but always come back to TIME. I hope SRAM improves them some, they have a tendency to start squeezing, and you have to tighten the body down. 34 years of many TIME pedals!!!
I am using SPD on my road bikes (ES600), on my gravel and mountain bike (m520). Perfect clip in and out performance (super adjustable), with a SIDI carbon sole Drako shoe no issues riding >200 km (or steep climbs, I live in Switzerland) and you can walk decently (e.g. if I like to take a train with the bike) and to have a light rain is also no problem. As a leisure rider (some 8000 km per year) I see just one reason to switch, this is the better selection of very light road bike shoes for the Look/SPD-SL system.
Excellent presentation on the features and benefits of pedal choices. You are a great presenter-well done! After this, I'm going to stay with my Shimano pedals for the front and lateral float aspects. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Totally agree. When I build h new Madone SLR with Red AXS, Shimano pedals would've been a faux pas, so I went with Look. I feel as though the Look clear isn't as obtrusive on the shoe, and they seem to last a bit longer, but I've only been on Look for 2 years so far vs. 6 years on Shimano.
After trying systems like shimano, look and speedplay.
I found Time pedals and my Xpro10 pedals are a wonder, zero knee pain and maximum efficiency due to the potentiometer data.
Also, the cleats are easier to adjust and I have 3 pairs of shoes.
Another advantage is the weight: they are much lighter than speedplays.
i have been using time road pedals for 40 ish years now..i like the way your soul of you foot is closer to the pedal axle as opposed to look. shimano standing on top of the cleat and the pedal surface
Thank you Paul for drawing the attention to other pedal solutions…
I moved away from SHIMANO SPD SL on all my bikes apart from the commuter bike, where I still prefer the ease of clipping into SHIMANO pedals above all other drawbacks.
What drawbacks, I hear you ask?
For starters cleat contact patch at each edge, providing the pedal stability, is only couple of mm wide. As a result a lot of pressure is transferred through a small contact patch, esp if any foot/shoe imbalance issues. This causes premature pedal body wear of the metal wear plates, which are getting ever so smaller with each new evolution of the pedals. The wear plates aren’t replaceable, so I’m throwing away to a landfill otherwise perfectly good pedal, cause the excessive/uneven wear of the metal plates causes knee issues.
Secondly unclipping is almost impossible after fitting brand new cleats, as the new yellow/blue wear studs are making contact with pedal release mechanism preventing from smooth unclipping.
Ever felt like a complete novice struggling to unclip 1st few times? That’s the reason I always filed down the edges of the new wear studs. There were times I lost one of the studs completely from the set down foot that unclips at every stop.
All this meant I struggled to get a full season out of a set of cleats and pedals which made me swap to Look pedals instead.
Look pedals provide a full metal contact patch with the cleat and from a better price starting point than SHIMANO.
You can pick up Look Keo 2 Max from as little as £52, but you have to fork out close to £85 for comparable SHIMANO Ultegra pedals. As the more affordable RS500 or 105 comes with only the outer metal plates and the middle wear plate is part of the plastic/composite pedal body and wears prematurely.
Look cleats provide better placed wear protectors and slightly smaller/more compact cleat shape which helps to reduce the wear of the cleat contact patch in comparison to SHIMANO.
Another benefit of Look pedals/cleats is the large contact patch, much larger than SHIMANO. I challenge you to experiment just how much surface area of the cleat actually contacts the pedal body of each pedal system. You might be surprised that the media pedalled myth of Shimano’s wide pedal body, which implies large contact patch… it’s just a myth and actually Look pedals provide more surface contact area, esp. at the edges which improves pedal stability.
Range topping Look Keo Blade Carbon beats the width of Dura Ace pedal body, check it out for yourself.
However clipping into the Keo Blades isn’t as smooth and Look cleats provide less adjustability when fitting, hence the need to fit axle spacers for comparable Q Factor, but that is a small sacrifice I’m prepared to take for a superior pedal/cleat solution in my eyes.
I've been using Time atacs since the 2000s, I guess most stick to what they know regarding pedals? I did have a go with Shimano SPD but very quickly returned to Time atacs. The atacs provide a large amount of float. The only niggle I have with the newest Time atacs is that they're plastic and their bodies wear at the contact point pedal to shoe. I'd like to see Time remake the old Roc-Atac version as that pedal had protective stainless steel wear plates that lengthened the service life.
That said the pedals are great to use so I'm happy to buy a bit more often to replace when worn. Bad knees go for Time atacs!
A lot of people don't use SPD pedals because pedals is one of the most convenient way to get a power meter on any bike, and transfer them from bike to bike (no bottom bracket standard shenanigans, no rear hub specific lacing). I'm back to look after 10 years using Powertap pedals cause I went with a quarq spider.
I've used Shimano, Time, Crank Bros. pedals for MTB and Shimano, Crank Bros. for road. Now, I use Magped pedals for both road and gravel.
Absolutely fabulous for my arthritic knees and way less maintenance...😊
I used all three Shimano, Look, and Time love all.
I used look in the 80 and time in the 90 Shimano late 2000 with movement on all three cleats.
Setting up my first road bike, going with Dura-Ace pedals, blue cleats & RC-702 shoes. Wish me luck! 😃
Shimano is all I’ve ever run. Started in XC MTB and that preference bled over into gravel/road.
Most cyclists here in the States probably ride Shimano.
Well done to whoever came up with that line for the thumbnail
I learned clipless on MTB SPDs and ran them on road as a beginner. However when I switched to road shoes I went to a cheap Wellgo pedal which was licenced to be Look KEO compatible, and I haven't looked back.
I do run zero float, however I will say that I do have flexible ankles and feet but very rigid knees thanks to an old rugby injury, and my cleat position is dialled to the tenth millimetre. I had a problem of rubbing cranks and that I struggled to clip out if I set floated cleats up to turn my ankles outwards enough to prevent rubbing. Due to the specificity of my issue and set up I wouldn't recommend zero float outside of time triallists or track riders as I can tell if a cleat is only slightly out off position and I know it could easily cause pain and problems.
Still use SPDs off road, but the trade off between foot position and manouvreability is worth it on rougher terrain, and the small cleat platform probably has something to do with that.
My late transition from toe clips to clipless pedals was on mountain with EggBeaters, then on to Dura-Ace which I never fully got along with. They worked fine but I always found myself trying to catch up with the group after a light. I've since switched to Speedplay & love the just stomp down type engagement. They're not great for walking through mud,but I don't deal with that much.
My hot tip for sticky float is to rub some candle wax or a couple of drops of a wax based lube (squirt etc) on the mating surfaces. Glides like a dream.
I always find new look cleats are a bit tight/sticky with my assioma PM pedals straight out of the box but a little wax gets me through the first month or so until they're broken in
Perhaps for a part 2 could you please talk about stack height, offset (crank face to pedal centre) and axle thread length? These things are important in relative terms, for comparisons, and absolute terms for bike fit. That info is, of course, available if people go looking for it, but for the purposes of introducing people to different pedal systems it would be helpful.
Umm. I’m making some bike fitting content that will probably better explain why I don’t fuss over these details.
@Mapdec excellent! I'll look forward to that.
I used Time for years then went to Shimano during a bike fit because there isn't a lot a fitter can do with Time.
I honestly feel a lot more locked in with Shimano than I did with Time and the cleats are much easier to get hold of.
Really 🤔 what fitter said that. Time have 3 different widths, 2 cleat positions and 2 cleats. Weird.
Love my time pedals, road an mtb/gravel.
Love the low float resistance and on road pedals you can order parts separately.
I started with Shimano SPD SL, then went to Look keo carbon for a weight reduction and now on Garmin Vector which uses the keo cleats. I find the shape of the Garmin body resembles that of Shimano but has the keo cleats. A little best of both.
Who remembers TIME pedals and cleats back in the day (chuffing expensive if my memory serves me!) ‘LOOK’ and shimanos version of that system,just one of those things that just work. The original SPD pedals have the same vibe
Started off with the Shimano PD-M520, and after a few years tried Look Keo on the road bike. But swapped out to the M520 for winter 2016/17. Since then I don't bother with road pedals anymore. Have tried Crankbrothers Eggbeaters, then Look X-Track, and bought some Time Attac....The X-Track cleats are compatible with the Shimano MTB cleats.
To be honest, unless you're racing at a high level on the road, most people will be better off on MTB pedals; the constant stop/start for junctions, traffic lights, walking, etc
I've always run Look pedals on my roadbikes. Started with the original Look system, then changed to the blades with the Keo cleats. Never crossed my mind to change to Shimano, which suffer from bearing issues. Had to open, clean and regrease some of them for others. On the mountain bike, yes, I'm guilty of riding spd's. They just work
Was a Speedplay guy since 05, been on Time xpros 10 for a couple of years now, I like the wide platform, weight, float and q factor. It seems that I always had an issue with position and float with Speedplay just so much adjustability hard to dial in. Time pedals have been simple and no issues, I did have a worn bearing after around 5K miles, I returned them and Time sent me a new pair within a week.
The only pedals I will ride are Pedaling Innovations, platform/flat pedals with long platform supporting the arch, which also means very flexy shoes will still work.
I will never use clipless, it doesn't make sense, I want to be able to get off the bike at any angle, in any position, in any situation.
And of course long pins for riding in the snow so snow packing up doesn't effect the grip.
Use Keo blades across 7 bikes, still have a couple with 16nm blades but started moving to 12 as the higher tension increases wear on the rear clip and introduces float to the system (I need zero to avoid knee pain)
I used to use Look (Assioma), in fact I still do on the road. On the track I use long axle Shimano DA, with red 0 float cleats and straps. I have big feet (48 EU), so the long axle lets me have the cleat centered under my foot.
I'm a bit weird, I got into Speedplays. I rode X-series pedals for something like 15 years. Then they finally died and I got a set of Zeros. However, on some shoes, particularly smaller shoes, there may be no way to get the baseplate totally flush with the shoe, so there was unresolvable creaking. Fed up, I got a pair of Dura Aces.
It gets funnier. I switched the groupset to Campy. With 165mm cranks, there are no crank-based power options at all. So I got a pair of Favero Assiomas, which are a Look-based system.
Live the look never will give then up ... 🎉🎉🎉🎉
I started on crank brothers just a few years ago and I have never felt the need to change things up. I will stand by that mtb pedals are the way to go unless you are road racing. The ability to walk around and easily clear mud make them the best. I do it as a hobby I don't need the lightest or most aerodynamic. I want usability and to not think about my pedals.
I'm considering giving Time a go, purely because they're different from what I'm used to. Having a UK 12 foot will be interesting though, wonder what it will do to my metatarsal nerve.
Currently running Look Keo Blade Carbons (used to work for the NZ distributor), have run Shimano SPD-SL and pre-Wahoo Speedplays in the past too and they've all got their own quirks.
Current favourite are Look Keo Blades, purely because of how long the mechanism has lasted compared to the other ones I've used. Non-metal components in the clip mechanism means they don't rust like my Shimanos have in the past, and don't get me started on Speedplay's lateral rocking when the pedal body wears...
fave pedal of all time is the time RSX carbon. i have four sets of them.
Ultra light with the Ti axles 👌
Started on shimano mtb and road. Went to crankbrothers mtb for CX for debris clearance after m520 clogging up in race. Do not have money for two pairs of xtr pedals so had to look budget level pedals. After 10plus years on crankbrothers and many pedals due to cleat/spring long wearing out moved to time MTB pedals last year better durability with clearance. Still on the old ultegra 6600 pedals on my trainer bike after years of road use and right pedal is starting to make some squeks while pedaling with well used shoes. Looking at new road pedals or road shoes just in case.
Thank you!
Been riding Time since for ever. The only pedals I trust not to trash my knees.
Never been one for using something, just because everyone else does.
I've got one pair of 12 Xpros and two pairs of 10s on my road bikes. Had Time XC10s on my gravel bike but switched to Look S-Track carbon-Ti with composite cages for a bigger contact area and easier to head round the corner with just trainers on.
The Times are great (but need to be more robust), the Looks are OK but I'll switch back to Time when they die.
Started mountain biking with Eggbeaters, had a few crashes due to unclipping from hitting the bottom of the pedal on rocks, or unknowingly twisting too far. Found Time ATACs that had all the same benefits of the CBs, plus one-sided mechanism so no surprise unclipping, and they have active feedback before unclipping so you stay in much more easily. Put them on my touring and cross bikes, and have no reason to look anywhere else.
I'm a look system for road, and either time or crankbrothers for mtb.
I'd never really looked elsewhere for road, but the time does look like an interesting concept 🤔
I started with look x-track Carbon for MTB And run them now on my gravel bike. I have winter bike And HT on SHIMANO M-520 And for Road look Keo. The setup works gr8 for me.
I started on quill pedals, and switched to Look when they first came out, 1986 I think. The problem with Look is that the cleats are made of what seems like, soft puddy. They crumble.
I went to Shimano about 10 years ago because the platform is so large, and the cleats last around 2 years at 3-4K miles per year.