Ask Pinkbike: Back to Flats, Inches of Squish for Enduro, and Pondering the Next Upgrade | Spd Pedals

So they take a long time before you can use them with confidence, they are mechnically delicate (even before you factor in mechanism wear from putting your foot down at lights/walking in them, vs replacing a plastic cleat) and the real advantage – is this a real advantage* – comes when you are pulling away from the lights. [If I am riding my road bike the number of times I stop is pretty small, so marginal benefit of marginally faster engagement - I think I'm pretty good with my Keos - probably not so important for me. YMMV.] This is before you get to the fact that they are quite expensive (because they aren’t very popular so unit volumes not high) and (again because unit volumes not high) finding spares is a pain in the arse. I tried them and wouldn’t recommend them to anyone.

Interestingly, the Look Keo cleat fitment is the most widely borrowed (copied) of all the systems on the market. If you’re looking at pedals with internal powermeters, they’ll more than likely use the Keo cleat. Likewise, road pedals from the likes of Wellgo, Exustar, HT and Ritchey all use the Keo cleat design too. Part of this wider usage is likely due to Shimano keeping a tight reign on its design, but it also sings praise for how popular the Look system is.

And “it’s easy to become complacent”? What, due to excellent reliability? So now excellent reliability is being used as an argument against electronic shifting? Good grief I’ve heard it all now… I don’t need to constantly fettle and tinker with mechanical shifting because I fear becoming complacent… what I do like is having to spend less time fettling and tinkering with my electronic groupset and having absolutely nailed, spot on, trouble free shifting so I can fettle and tinker on new builds, oh and just ride my bikes.

There isn’t a triple option for EPS. In fact I don’t think there’s a triple option for any e-shifting system.

To start with shoes with laces will usually have a Velcro strap to cover the knot or some sort of elastic strap to hold the laces in place and tuck free end such as these Specialized 2FO Cliplite Lace shoes. Laces can be a bit fiddly, but laces allow you to spread the tension evenly over your foot, which can make them very comfortable.

tried every type of clip-in and went flat – never looked back and will never go back. ride fivetens and vaudes with hope f20’s and my favourite crank bros stamps small size. the crank bros never score well in magazine tests (tho usually its the large that get tested) but i’ve found them to be better than the rest. f20’s also robust tho not so grippy but they’re way too expensive to put in the spares bucket. However if flats lose the vote and the pedal police come to confiscate them, i’ll give up the hopes and hide the crank bros in the attic.

These pedals excelled in ease of use. As Lohmeyer advertises on his YouTube channel, this system is quick to engage and requires almost no extra attention or effort. From a dead stop, the cleats naturally bite into the pedal virtually every time.

These criticisms are not without merit — the SPD sandal has a kind of naff normcore-dad-on-holiday aesthetic that I think is thus far unmatched in the cycling world. An admirable feat in a sport where silly clothing is pretty much a prerequisite.  

Both the Look and Time systems are based on the three-bolt triangular-style cleat but result in different experiences. While both rely on carbon springs to maintain tension and release, the Time cleats have a few added features when it comes to setup. Your Q-factor will change depending on which cleat you install on which shoe. This can be an added value when trying to fit your bike. Also, when installing the Times, it was very easy to align them straight no matter if the shoe had alignment markers or not.

With that super stiff carbon fibre sole, you don’t want to do too much walking. For running up a muddy bank with a cyclocross bike over your shoulder, or pushing a gravel bike up a climb that is just too steep to ride, they’re okay. But for anything longer, a slightly less stiff soled shoe would probably be preferable. These are best for racing and fast riding, not an epic multi-day adventure into the wilderness.

Not that I’m in the market for light pedals myself, as I’m quite happy with my SPD’s for commute/CX duties and my Shimano 105 SPD-SL pedals on the road bike. Hard to beat when it comes to performace/durability/cost considerations.

As the biggest pedal in the range, the X2 came out in 2015 as the successor to the X1. Although they look similar, the X2 brought key improvements including reduced weight, a thinner platform, and the omission of rock-catching cut-outs on the body’s leading edge.They’re a little lighter, and our test set came out to 444g for the pair (without cleats). The X2 also uses a broader angled back plate that helps guide the cleats in during entry.