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Speedplay contact area
Does anyone know if speedplay pedals actually offer a similar or smaller contact area than say Look Keo Max or Shimano 105 pedals?
Love their features and design principle/maintenance. Just unsure about contact area.
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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13 comments
Cheers for the info.
The wedges insoles cater for the foot angle rather than the foot position, so not something that the pedals can cater for. But then, you were already on clipless without too many problems, so you're likely ok in this area.
Yay, another convert! Great stuff, glad you like them and didn't come back to tell us we were full of sh*t!
What does going for stainless steel give you over and above Chromoly?
If you're in the northwest of England, NJD sports therapists in Lancashire do a good fitting including a good knowledge of pedals/cleats, paying particular attention to Speedplay. I found that many others were a bit nervous about going near pedals/cleats, whereas Nick at NJD kept re-assembling my cleats and tinkering with wedges etc until it felt right. Very reasonable price too.
Stainless over Chomoly....less metal fatigue from road salt in winter, im planning on commuting. They also take the lubricant better when using PTFE dry lubes as instructed.
Im in the East, no fitting specialists here at all yet that I know of but in no rush. Settling in period first then possible bike and pedal fitting for fine tuning, probably in London or Milton keynes. Not sure I need insoles yet as the Speedplays have so much float available.
The PTFE dry lube is for the cleats, not the pedals - the cleats are the same whether you go for the chromo or the stainless pedal, only the axle is different between the two.
I've got both stainless and chromo versions on different bikes. Not really much difference - I can't see the chromo axle failing any time soon, and the paint on it is pretty robust so rust doesn't seem to be an issue. Main difference seems to be the look - the stainless axles are a bit prettier...
Ok, so as promised, I did buy the Speedplays.
Fitting was fairly straightforward enough, in fact, it's easier to adjust fore/aft and in/out than any cleat based ones as you adjust 2seperate plates for each. Makes it more accurate if more fiddly.
Use was so simple as expected, just like Mtb spd's, just push the foot down and go. Didn't take long to get used to. Unclipping can only be done by heel out though, unless I'm not doing it right.
So the big point I was making, the contact area.....
My immediate feeling on putting in a few hard efforts was....wow! So much more support under foot where the larger cleat attached to the shoe sole. I was concerned the smaller pedal would cause a pressure point even through this alternative cleat but I can now feel how much better it is. And I really can't express just how much better this felt then my previous Look Keo pedals.
Only issue I have with them, something which has been expressed by various magazine reviews and the previous post user, is that they are designed for race use. By that, it's meant that they do need to be maintained by the means of regular cleaning and dry-lubing (ptfe spray stuff not wax or wd40). Not a big issue if you do the same with your bikes chain and gears but I've seen peeps with seized cleat bolts as they never tended to them even annually. Pedals themselves don't need much, there isnt much to them. Bit of grease twice a year unless you get them wet very often.
Great purchase, glad I tried them and glad I got the stainless ones for the bit extra. Bit of fiddling and experimenting with the range of movement they have as it seems like they have a wild range available, only thing I've limited is heel out so I can unclip them easier until I get used to them. Might visit a bike fitter for pedal and insole fitting.
Riden speedplays for just about forever now, and love them. I've always used them with stiff carbon soles and usually with a 3 to 4 hole adapter (which I hate, I wish more shoes came with a 4 hole pattern).
Because you have the flat face of the pedal rotating against the flat inside face of the cleat, there will always be wear here. With the 3-hole adapter plate you can see this wear on this plate. With my first X-series there was no carbon protector plate, so I could see wear in the carbon soles of my (4-hole) shoes. I did about 40,000km with them without anything other than visual impact though, before tearing one of the shoes to pieces in a crash and just replacing the whole lot.
The only other problems I have had are getting mud in the cleats (use the coffee shop covers, as mentioned above), a few months ago actually snapping the metal spring in a zero cleat - still not sure what the story with that one is.
In the end, the fact that Speedplay are used by some top riders means that the wattage they will withstand is way above what I (and presumably you) can exert, so engineering-wise they aren't an issue. So the key point for me is how the pressure is distributed across the sole of the shoe (and hence the foot) so as to avoid hot spots etc. Given that the cleat secures the pedal, the size of the cleat seems to be relevant, and SP cleats are large.
I did find that page eventually. Claims 25% larger surface area.
I am going with the Speedplay stainless zeros.
My issue is a mathematical and purely geeky. Although the contact area is clearly greater as described, it's describing a fixed or bonded surface. I always thought the contact area is the area that is only temporarily in contact when cleat and pedal are engaged?
Take the Look Keo that Speedplay compare with.
Look don't quote the contact area of cleat to shoe. They quote cleat to pedal, so when they designed the Keo Max, they increased the area of the pedal that was in contact with a standard cleat.
Mathematically speaking, I can't work out which is most important as in the end they all transfer power through an identical spindle to a crank. Of all the parts in the cycle of transfer, surely it's the temporary one that's the weakest link with the bonded sole area next in line? Combined factor maybe.
Makes no odds. I'm buying them. Cancellara wouldn't be giving any of his power away if he could help it so it's more than good enough for me. I'm just a bloody anoying analytical geek.
As I said to someone else, I will add this to my frustration of trying to understand Rotary Engine cylinder capacities!
http://speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.platform
Includes screenshots from CAD software to calculate the comparative contact surface areas.
On speedplays website they have a page on platform size under the choosing a pedal section, offers comparison with both Shimano and Look.
My understanding of the Speedplay approach is that the contact area is apparently larger because the platform which takes all the force isn't the pedal, it's the cleat, and the cleat is larger than other systems.
I can say that the Speedplay zero chromoly is very good. I have dodgy knees but Speedplay don't aggravate them at all.
That's what I assumed but as I say, assumed as the Speedplay site doesn't make a big deal of this as a feature whereas they quote things like low stack height and dual sided clipping. Made me wonder if the contact patch actually was larger or even as large as the competition because they've shy'd away from the subject.
Currently use Look Keo but on a really loose setting and have the occasional unclipping in a sprint/interval. Previous mtb spd's never gave issues but I did use wedges from first ever setup.
Don't know about contact area precisely but have to say that since changing from SPD to speedplay I haven't regretted it. Much easier to clip in, dual sided means less hassle choosing the right side. My only concern is that on a longer ride I do tend to get a little pressure point on my right sole. Whether I need to look at the insole I use or bike set up I'm not sure and can't say for certain that it is the pedal.
I've been able to set the float up nice and easy too to ensure that I don't get knee pain on a longer ride, something which I always got with SPD's no matter how much meddling I did
Piece of advice if you do go for speedplay is get the coffee shop covers - will save your cleats when walking, which at 30 odd quid aint cheap