Road Bike Pedals?

[cantunamunch]

34/50 compact gearing. If I were building a proper 2x11 or 2x12 gravel rig, the GRX sub-compact seems to hit a sweet spot.

Yeh, you've had 50/34 since forever - I was curious if you'd gone to a shorter double.

 

[Rudi Riet]

Yeh, you've had 50/34 since forever - I was curious if you'd gone to a shorter double.

Yeah, stuck with what my legs know.

Granted, on the drop bar hardtail I've got a ton of gears to play with. The triple is kinda fun when the grades turn steep: I can spin up at 90rpm doing 3-4mph while folks on higher gearing are walking or tacking. That said, the 20T cog doesn't see a lot of use, the 34T and 46T seeing the lion's share of the load. My cassette is 11-28, 8-speed (with 10-speed Campy brifters doing the shifting and braking duty - the pull ratio for the shifting is perfect).

 

[Tony S]

I am not buying titanium pedals to save weight (and knowing weight limits I won't buy them at all now.) I have to do far more work on the engine for that to even make any difference at all.

Since I do have knee issues at time I like the idea of the extra extra float.

You all have given me lots to mull over, thank you.

It's going to keep going whether you like it or not, though. You know that, right?

 

[Tony S]

my dad and stepmom are on Speedplays

Always do a double take when I read stuff like this. My folks are both gone. Both WWII veterans (I was a very late baby). Never occurs to me that someone's parent could be riding anything but an English three speed in sensible oxfords, let alone clipless pedals. LOL Just me being clueless (and clipless) and in denial.

 

[coskigirl]

It's going to keep going whether you like it or not, though. You know that, right?

Yes, and that’s good but at some point I will make my decision for me.

Always do a double take when I read stuff like this. My folks are both gone. Both WWII veterans (I was a very late baby). Never occurs to me that someone's parent could be riding anything but an English three speed in sensible oxfords, let alone clipless pedals. LOL Just me being clueless (and clipless) and in denial.

My dad turns 73 on Friday. My stepmom is 70. He’ll still kick my ass on a bike any day. I’m sad I don’t get to mountain bike with him in Sisters for Memorial Day this year. He still raced the 28 mile race last year.

 

[Living Proof]

My present shoe/pedal combo is very basic Shimano road SPD recessed shoes mated with basic Shimano SPD road pedals. Both are low end of Shimano line and the combo is at least 12 years old, time is coming to upgrade as the shoes are pretty beat. Shoes do work fine with my spin bike which I ride daily in rehab from total knee replacement 7 weeks ago. I always feel a little guilty riding a high end BMC road bike with such old gear, but it still works fine.
Personal preference strongly dislikes walking in traditional clipless gear. Last year, I did try on new SPD road shoes, just could not fine a fit that I liked, and, that was in a high end LBS. So, present thinking is just continue to continue with what I have. Not spending, especially this year, seems to make sense.

BTW, I am a few months older than @coskigirl parents. Not many people of my age on the road anymore. Great to hear of my age peers riding!

 

[cantunamunch]

That brings back memories - I rode two pairs of low end SPD shoes into coming-completely-unglued-failure after Achilles and MCL surgery.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Here's a nice road show for SPD.

Cosmic Boa SPD

Perfect for touring or other adventures where you may spend time off the bike, this shoe combines the comfort, fit and efficiency of our Boa closure with SPD cleats for walkability.

shop.mavic.com

 

[Rudi Riet]

Per @Erik Timmerman: definitely try out lots of shoes! Just like ski boots, they all fit differently. Some of the SPD (two-bolt) models are more suited for MTB racing, with stiffer soles and more soccer-style treads. Others are more walk friendly and look more like low-rise hiking or trail running shoes. Still others look like normal shoes but have the recessed cleat. And there are even SPD-style sandals. When I did my C&O Canal Towpath end-to-end ride a number of years back, I used a pair of Shimano SPD sandals. They were perfect for that ride - and it was 184 miles in one day! (And yes, I did use Bag Balm to prevent chafing from the straps and insoles.)

But seriously: bike shoes are made using different lasts, just like ski boots. Some are great for narrow feet (e.g. Sidi's normal fit), others are great for wide feet (e.g. Mavic and some of Specialized's stuff, as well as the Sidi Magnum widths), others are great for those with high arches, others great for more flat-footed folks. And some even allow for heat molding the shells to fit.

Some shoes take custom or trim-to-fit insoles really well, others don't.

Really, it's worth being able to try on a few pair before buying. In these days with COVID-19 making such in-person fitting less likely, find a retailer that'll allow an in-home trial. It's worth the extra trouble to find shoes that fit properly. On a bicycle, there are three contact points that carry 100 percent of the rider's weight: the hands (via the handlebar/grips/gloves), the butt (via the saddle and shorts), and the feet (via the pedals and shoes). Treat them all well and riding can be comfortable all the time.

 

[coskigirl]

So I ended up with Speedplay Ultra Light Action with walkable cleats. I installed them last week and have about 100 miles on them now. So far I really like them but the crazy amount of float takes some getting used to. Combined with new Lake shoes that fit much better and some active release therapy that is working to get my glutes firing better mean that my pedal stroke seems much more fluid and I have less foot pain and hot spots.

 

[Delicious]

Look KEO/Delta pedal engagement feels the most like an alpine ski binding. Some of us may find that familiar, or even comforting.

 

[cantunamunch]

Look KEO/Delta pedal engagement feels the most like an alpine ski binding. Some of us may find that familiar, or even comforting.

I like everything about a Delta except for the giant brass mounting plates and screws.

 

[Tom K.]

So I ended up with Speedplay Ultra Light Action ...... so far I really like them but the crazy amount of float takes some getting used to.

So true, but once you DO become accustomed to that float you will never want to be without it.

 

[cantunamunch]

And... for the next party trick ... unclip no hands.

 

[scott43]

Per @Erik Timmerman: definitely try out lots of shoes! Just like ski boots, they all fit differently.

And they do tend to put all pressure around the ball of the foot, so if you have wide feet, it will exacerbate that issue. They have shoes that are wide out there..give them a try if you've got duck feet.

 

[Ron]

I always feel a little guilty riding a high end BMC road bike with such old gear, but it still works fine.

dont even give a thought. wear what you like and works best. I recently went to Shimano's ES-600 2 bolt single sided SPD for my gravel use and absolutely love them. Its a 278gram pedal that provides a great platform. easy in/out. $70.00 on sale. I could use the for my road bike, especially on a tour where you are getting on/off your bike and into shops/cafes. Very near the same feel as a standard road cleat.

 

[cantunamunch]

And they do tend to put all pressure around the ball of the foot,

Watch out, you'll have all them doing windlass tests next.

 

[coskigirl]

And they do tend to put all pressure around the ball of the foot, so if you have wide feet, it will exacerbate that issue. They have shoes that are wide out there..give them a try if you've got duck feet.

I am super happy with my Lake CX237 wides. I went from a size 42 to a size 40W and it's making all the difference. Especially as the shoes break in.

 

[cantunamunch]

(with 10-speed Campy brifters doing the shifting and braking duty - the pull ratio for the shifting is perfect).

Don't Campy brifters have that weird unequal pull over the low cogs?

I have some Daytona/Centaur gear somewhere and a zillion 8s cassettes, gonna have to try this.

 

[Rudi Riet]

Don't Campy brifters have that weird unequal pull over the low cogs?

I have some Daytona/Centaur gear somewhere and a zillion 8s cassettes, gonna have to try this.

Nope: 1.8mm of cable travel per click throughout the run, at least on their 10-speed stuff. It works flawlessly, though there may be a tiny bit of inaccuracy masked by the floating jockey pulley on the XT rear mech (to wit: all Campy 11 and 12-speed rear mechs have floating jockey pulleys thanks to a gentleman's agreement with Shimano to use the Centeron tech).

It's a great setup, very easy from an ergonomic sense.