Advice – SPD-SL vs. Speedplay pedals

How do you unitentionally
How do you unitentionally unclip speedplays? I’ve used them for over 10 yrs and can not remember doing it once. It is impossible to pull up out of them unless they have not been fully engaged, which it a feat in itself. The only other way I can see is that people are swinging their heals around, in which case wouldn’t any pedel unclip?

I had these for a while.
I had these for a while. Didn’t find any real difference between using these and normal ( Look or Shimano) pedals. What was a problem was the faff of having them;the lubrication, the glue, the shoe covers. Too much effort for marginal gains. You can find Look or Shimano cleats to give you reasonable float

I recently got a new carbon
I recently got a new carbon bike and too new shoes which meant I had to choose pedals too, I for the last few years have used look keo but this time I wanted something better I have been using my speedplay zero about 4 times, about 120 miles, they are great pedals they do take time to set up (30 mins or so) so I put my bike on the turbo so I could sit clip in adjust the cleats, once adjustment were made I have had no trouble with them, what i will say is with float it took me the first ride to sort out, (i personally prefer 0-3 degree of float) I would go with the speedplay pedals I dont think your be disappointed.
While riding the pedalling feels really secure firm in and out the saddle when clipped in .
Clipping in is stiff at first and once you get the knack its second nature.
The pedals feel bigger then they look when pressing through the pedal if that makes sense.
Hope this helps

I tried Speedplays cuz theyre
I tried Speedplays cuz theyre ‘Pro’……tart

Best decision ever – so much more feeling of power transition through the full pedal stroke and so much easier to use – double sided, take abuse.

I dont get people saying they need maintenance – I bought Stainless ones – I just squirt spray stuff in the shoe cleats every now and then and replaced the show cleats after 12 months just as its a routine.
The outter side fo the cleats are a soft metal and do damage easily when walking but they have NO effect on use as its the innerside that is in contact with the pedal, just dont get them filled with mud as mentioned.

Pedal stack height is lower – im not good enough to benefit from the aerodynamics of this.

They are more fiddly to fit to the shoe and you do need to use loctite to secure the screws…I did that with spds anyway as im not daft and I never found spds non-fiddly to start with either. You get used to it – its just different.

Why would you buy plastic, easy to brake, annually replaced cleats that are less comfortable for the average rider is the question.

A decent bike fit/show fit, will reduce the comfort issues one type has over the other though.

I like em cuz theyre double sided and way better than mtb-spd. :))

I’ve used X-series for over
I’ve used X-series for over ten year and Zeroes for a couple of years after going through various spd style. If you want more float and less adjustment seriously look at X-series. I find the spring on the X-series is easier than the Zeroes. Or even look at the Light range. Look on ebay as for around £130 you can upgrade to better bearings and stainless axle.

Bad points, the cleats are expensive and I change mine every year. The instructions say every 3500km. They take quite a while to set up correctly. X-2s have a needle bearing that’s near impossible to remove.

Good points, knee saving, double entry. You can walk on them without worrying about the cleat itself, just don’t fill it with mud. There are places on ebay that sell plastic covers that you walk on and don’t need to remove (much reccommended). Apart from pumping grease into the pedal evey now and then, they seem to be bombproof.