so i found some $5 shitty nike commuting shoes with good shape SPD cleats last week… then got some shitty $10 wellgo spd pedals… and BAM for the first time in my life i’m riding mtb clipless
it’s fucking awesome for commuting and being able to walk around and all that jazz.
but SPD’s compared to my SPD-SL’s… well, it feels like crap. mushy. loose. too much play. not enough contact between cleat and pedal.
how do ATACs or BeBops compare? or, if i were to get higher-level SPDs, would they feel better? FWIW, i’ve also ridden my girlfriend’s SPDs, which are also low-end models but they were basically brand new, and it felt the same.
i don’t mind a little lateral play, but my SPDs even feel loose with their fore/aft and up/down.
part of me wants to become a one-shoe-only guy, but i guess for long rides where walking isn’t a priority, there’s a reason for “road pedals”. i already have a fairly nice pair of shoes, plus a couple spd-sl’s (105 and ultegra level)
if spd’s feel loose, then i would recommend not using crank brothers. i use them for mtb and cross. clear mud good. at first i was afraid of coming unclipped on accident but hasn’t happened yet, i just got used to the loose feeling.
I’ve ridden wellgo clipless and spd clipless and the higher up spd’s(520’s in my case) felt much better than the wellgos. they have tension adjustment too(not sure if the wellgos do)
I use PD-A520 pedals on my road bike. They’re single-sided, lack a lot of the advantages of a double-sided pedal and are as near to proper road pedals as you can get with an SPD cleat. They look like this:
With all SPD pedals, it has helped me to lube the springs for consistent release tension. I also usually dial the tension all the way, or most of the way up. The A520s have stiffer springs than the M540s and the M520s I have.
i like eggbeaters because i ride cross and don’t want to have separate shoes for racing and training and commuting on road and mountain and track bike.
so i found some $5 shitty nike commuting shoes with good shape SPD cleats last week… then got some shitty $10 wellgo spd pedals… and BAM for the first time in my life i’m riding mtb clipless
it’s fucking awesome for commuting and being able to walk around and all that jazz.
but SPD’s compared to my SPD-SL’s… well, it feels like crap. mushy. loose. too much play. not enough contact between cleat and pedal.
i don’t mind a little lateral play, but my SPDs even feel loose with their fore/aft and up/down.
part of me wants to become a one-shoe-only guy, but i guess for long rides where walking isn’t a priority, there’s a reason for “road pedals”. i already have a fairly nice pair of shoes, plus a couple spd-sl’s (105 and ultegra level)
[b][/quote]
There is really a difference between the Wellgos and the Shimanos for sure. If you want to keep with Shimano, go for some 520’s, or something good and used. Ritchey made some SPD pedals that I found to be really nice. I have the Wellgos on my Xtra and they are pretty crappy. Good shoes and new cleats can also make a huge difference!
That being said, I’ve been looking to switch to Crank Bros.
My eggbeaters make noticeable indentations in the bottom of my shoes, but that has never bothered me. I have had great experience with Crank Bros…have a bunch, never broken a pair. I do find that the cleat seems to wear down a lot faster than with other interfaces I’ve tried. MTB on worn cleats is teh suck.
i really love the simple design of bebops and they are supposed to be really long lasting, but i haven’t had mine for long. the only downsides are they are not good for cross (running uphill in dirt tends to pack the cleats, but i never did try pam yet) and the cleat is sorta big and not awesome for a lot of walking (they are fine for actual walking but noisy b/c they contact the ground).
they are also free floating up until the 20 degree mark where you release if your into that (i am).
edit
p.s. crank brothers are horrible for durability - one of the reasons for trying bebops. if you use them much you will probably have to replace/rebuild every year.
[quote=tjayk]i really love the simple design of bebops and they are supposed to be really long lasting, but i haven’t had mine for long. the only downsides are they are not good for cross (running uphill in dirt tends to pack the cleats, but i never did try pam yet) and the cleat is sorta big and not awesome for a lot of walking (they are fine for actual walking but noisy b/c they contact the ground).
they are also free floating up until the 20 degree mark where you release if your into that (i am).
edit
p.s. crank brothers are horrible for durability - one of the reasons for trying bebops. if you use them much you will probably have to replace/rebuild every year.[/quote]
And when my spring busted, the only fix was to send them back to crank bros to have it replaced, since it requires a special tool that shops generally don’t have. To their credit, they were good about fixing the pedal and did it free even though they were just out of warranty. But honestly, not having it break in the first place is a pretty high priority in my book. I really liked the way the crank bros rode, but since this is a durability issue for all their models, I switched over to the ATAC’s.
^my thoughts. sure i could get them warrantied or buy a new pair of cheap every year, but that seems wasteful, and i’d rather support a well thought design.
