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TECH NEWS
Just in: Speedplay's minimalist Zero Pavé pedals
These are Speedplay’s brand new Zero Pavé pedals, a race-tuned pedal developed for the demands of the Spring Classics, where the weather can often be a factor with equipment choices. It’s fair to say the new pedals have been thoroughly tested before their public release, Fabian Cancellara used a pair when he won Paris-Roubaix way back in 2006.
“Originally developed for Speedplay’s professional cycling teams, Zero Pavé pedals have been thoroughly tested and proven over the years with numerous victories in the world’s toughest races including Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Gent Wevelgem and Strade Bianche,” says Speedplay.
Essentially the Zero Pavé pedals are the regular Zero pedals but with any non-essential material removed. The idea is to ensure easier pedal engagement and disengagement in wet and muddy conditions. It’s not so much that the Speedplay pedals themselves are be prone to clogging with dirt and grit, but the cleats themselves. Eliminating as much as the body as possible should provide more free space for mud and other debris to vacate the critical engagement areas of the pedal and cleat, so clipping on and out in bad conditions should be easier.
Despite the reduced body size of the new design, the pedals are said to offer exactly the same contact area as the regular pedals on which they’re based. The construction of the pedal is quite different to the regular ones. Those have a composite body with pressed in metal inserts, these new pedals are CNC-machined and hand-built at the company’s San Diego headquarters.
Inside the pedals are a row of needle bearings and two cartridge bearings with a heat-treated stainless steel body. A grease port allows easy injection of grease to keep them running smoothly. Each set of Zero Pavé pedals come with the new V.2 cleats, which have been slightly redesigned to be more compatible with the curved sole of current road shoes.
Our stainless steel pair on the road.cc scales weigh in at 302g the pair. The titanium version is claimed to weigh 188g.They’re not cheap at £269.99 though, compared to a regular pair of Zero Stainless Steel pedals which cost £149.99.
First impressions on a quick setup ride show the Zero Pavé pedals to feel indistinguishable to regular Zero pedals. Getting in and out of the pedals feels exactly the same. Now I need to get them out on some of the dirty and muddier roads and some off-road trails to see how they cope with a good coating of mud and slime.
More info at www.i-ride.co.uk
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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16 comments
Main issue is the cost difference, although if the sealing is better the Pave may work out cheaper in the long run. Speedplay Zeros are definitely more poorly sealed than SPD-SLs, whilst my first set lasted a couple of years with little maintenance they only last a couple more months after rebuilding them and I'm on my third set in four years since (although I now regularly regrease them). I'd rather have much better seals and have to take them apart to regrease than the current design which although means it's easy to purge with grease also means its easy for water to get in.
Can anyone confirm if the normal zero cleats will work with the pave pedals above? I presume they do (same looking cleat .....but in red plastic!)
If so, is there any reason to have the normal zeros? If the circular lollipop bits are surplus to requirement then a lighter pedal, less likely to jam if dirts gets in, is surely better for most of us even if we don't go anywhere near pave/gravel/mud ?
I think it was stated in a previous article that they are cross-compatible.
I'd have to agree with your 2nd point. The only downsides I can see is that, especially if combined with the new aero cleat, the pave would presumably result in a bit more drag (absolutely irrelevant for us lot, I would think), and the pave could be rather more dangerous to soft fleshy bits in a crash.
Yes, the normal cleats and these new V2 cleats work with the regular Zero pedals and these new Pave pedals, I've been interchanging between different combinations without any problems
Ooh, just a little bit like these...
http://coombe.com/millennium_pedal_features.html
Only one way to settle it...
Nom nom nom
Do mini light sabres pop out of the sides?
If the contact area is the same as the regular Speedplay pedals, is there any reason why they couldn't be used within the pro peloton?
Is it strictly a weight thing, there can't be too much difference between the Ti Zeros and Ti Paves can there?
Ti Pave, 94grams (according to RCUK)
Ti Zero, 84grams (according to Speedplay).
Nanograms, 65grams (according to Speedplay).
Two words I didn't want to hear, Speedplay and Pave. Starts drooling.
To those above, not sure what you are doing to your speedplays. I've got a set of X1 pushing 11 years old, another set pushing 5yrs old and a set of Zeros now two year old. Apart from one bearing on the 11yr X1, I've done nothing to mine apart from grease.
I agree - I've had the same X2s on my winter bike for the last 10 years. I grease them when they start to spin loosely, but that's it. Maybe once a year at most. I do always take them apart - if you just squirt in the end nothing gets through to the spindle side, which is the side that seems to loose the grease first.
hope they're better sealed than my zero and light action ... those
need greasing after pretty much every wet ride
Totally agree. I went through two pairs, nighmare to get spares (at the time) and if my memory serves me right to disassemble fully you need a small heat gun to melt the seal. Great design but lucky to get 18 months out of a pair usnless your a Pro, probably a new pair every month. Shimano all the way now
Just to update on the above. I loved the design and simplicity of Speedplay Zero's. However both pairs developed axle play in one side and to fix this new parts were required with a rebuild which seemed a challenge reading the instructions. Approx 5 years ago spares were very scarse at that time.
I'd want a refund! I have 2 pairs of zeroes, I never remember to grease them even every 6 months as recommended, but they're still faultless.
I think Road.cc are missing a trick here though regarding the product direction - according to (I think it was) Bikeradar, Speedplay are also about to release new cleats - a dimple-bottomed aero cleat (woot!) , and a tread-bottomed off-road cleat. Pair the latter with the pave pedals and that could be a pretty compelling combination for cyclocross etc.
Essentially both of the new cleats are just normal zero cleats (cross-compatible with current pedals, apparently) but incorporating the idea of keep-on kovers. The covers are on permanently, with removable circular plugs for the hole when off the bike for prolonged periods.
I'd second that as well - if they're that bad it sounds like there's something wrong with them.