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news
roadcc peoples choiceWhat are the best pedals? Help decide the road.cc People's Choice
What are your favourite pedals? Tell us in this week's People's Choice poll.
You've never had more options when it comes to attaching your feet to the bike, from the latest studded flat pedals to good old clips and straps to a big range of step-in/clipless systems. Everyone has their favourite system, depending on exactly what they're doing with them and personal taste in features like walkability, float and feel.
Here's your chance to tell us exactly which they are.
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The original and best? (CC BY 2.0 r. nial bradshaw/Flickr)
Here's how it works:
- Post a comment to nominate a product. Check it hasn't already been nominated. Add a link to the product wherever you can.
- Like a comment to vote for that product. Remember to like your own comment if you're nominating something.
- One comment per product. Any multiple comments will be deleted and their likes will not count towards a product's score. The first nomination will be the one that is counted.
- One product per comment. Otherwise the voting doesn't make any sense.
- Maximum 30 nominations per award. Once we hit 30 nominations we will close the nomination process.
- All votes will be counted up until the closing date. Votes after this may appear but will not be counted.
- We reserve the right to remove any comment at our sole discretion.
- Closing date is 10am, Wednesday, October 14.
Over to you!
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
Latest Comments
- Aluminium can 53 sec ago
I'm 190cm and 72kg with most of the height in my legs. So you're pretty much built like me but scaled up. I ride a 58 and have the saddle pushed...
- tubasti 1 hour 44 min ago
I started walking like a duck in 1972, when my local dealer nailed steel cleats into the soles of my $39 black no-name French cycling shoes, so my...
- IanGlasgow 2 hours 3 min ago
I heard that interview this morning. "Let me give you some statistics" said IDS, and then went on to recount an 8 year old anecdote about how it...
- chrisonabike 2 hours 44 min ago
But but we have hills (pretty steep ones there as I recall)! But but we have weather (it certainly does get wet / grimy / cold there in winter)!
- chrisonabike 2 hours 57 min ago
Yeah, or ... it could be that even fewer people cycle in Scotland (1.5% of trips) and Wales (not sure) compared to the other regions mentioned ...
- David9694 3 hours 31 min ago
If you pluck an uncracked DS spoke, what's it feel like?
- Sriracha 4 hours 31 min ago
I never use the drops, 95% on the hoods, 5% on the tops. Plausibly why I'm so slow!
- Sriracha 4 hours 40 min ago
You're right of course. And whilst you can certainly minimise one, that's hardly the point. Good luck with the other.
- john_smith 5 hours 7 min ago
"being called a 'fat weirdo', and being asked for a fight," Bizarre stuff. I think I would have had a hard time keeping a straight face.
- slc 5 hours 49 min ago
(3) The police *hope* CCTV will be installed, as this gives the appearance of doing something without committing any particular resource. CCTV has...
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40 comments
Time Atac
Shimano SPD PD-T420
Perfect for city cycling and touring. Very well made, comfortable, versatile and inexpensive.
Ritchey Micro pro v4.
http://ritcheylogic.com/road/pedals/pro-micro-road-bike-pedal.html
Very light road pedal with two-bolt, SPD-like cleats, for commuting compatibility.
And very stylish too.
Exustar Carbon Ti (E-PR200CKTI), Look Keo compatible.
£150 for the pair at ~180g.
Time Atac
SPD-SL Which ever variety 105, Ultegra or Dura Ace
I have always loved the A530 Shimano Touring pedals. SPD onside, flat the other. Great for long rides clipped in, great for trips to the pub without clipping in. Also find useful when coming to junctions and traffic lights, unclip and still ready to go. Lasted 7 years and 000's of miles.
Shimano M520 SPD, cheap, simple and you can actually walk in the shoes.
Look Keo "x"
They're the only range I look for in the component sales. Flawless for 5 years and not a whit of knee pain - even the one with the rebuilt ACL.
Works for me...
Time pedals here, much as the cleats get ruined every couple of months they clip in and out great;)
Look Keo Max 2 - Chosen over the Keo Blade for the simple reason of adjustable versus preset tension and price range. Good solid wide platform, spins smoothly too. On my 3rd set with three different rides.
Shimano M520. Simplez!
Campagnolo Superleggeri Alfredo Binda Vintage. The craftsmanship, polished steel, the leather straps, the logo on the cage and the knee destroying track-standing requirements to use them without incident by almost every pro in the 70's make them the best pedal of all time in my book.
http://www.steel-vintage.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78ea...
Dura-Ace SPD's
Speedplay Zero's.
Look Keo
Look Keo for me
Magnesium Welgo flats - light and grippy
I treated myself to Shimano Ultegra 6800 to match the Ultegra groupset on my new best bike and am delighted with them. Such straightforward and positive clipping in and out and adjustable too. Far, far better than my previous Shimano 105 PD-5610's. I also purchased the new Shimano 105 5800 pedals for my wet/winter bike. Whilst perhaps better value, they still don't feel as nice as the 6800's.
Can't believe nobody mentioning SPD-SL mine are of the Ultegra variety, but 105 or Dura Ace, whatever!
eggbeaters. because they look cool.
Lyotards. No question
Speedplay X5
Vector 2S. Expensive but effective.
Speedplay Zero stainless and Ti, very adjustable, a bike fitters dream or so I was told by the fitter who fit me.
Shimano M324 Combination Pedals - one side SPD, one side good metal grip make them work perfectly as I have space for only one bike.
I've tried a few and my current favourites are Ritchey WCS Paradigm (MTB pedals)... on my road bike (shock!). Beautiful to look at, rock solid in use and smooth as butter. I also like the light weight (sub 240g the pair) and the convenience of being able to use MTB shoes (and therefore walk when off the bike) together with the dual sided "stomp and go" ability of the pedal.
Linky: http://ritcheylogic.com/cross/pedals/wcs-paradigm-mountain-pedal.html
I used single sided spd pedals for a time lighter but too fiddly when reinserting.
I've used the ubiquitous M540s which are great but heavy.
I've also done the full look pedals/cleats thing (and walked like a duck) - never again, style over substance IMHO.
I used to use clips, straps and cleats, now THAT is an experience the first time you forget to loosen the straps before stopping (ouch!).
My favourite pedals pre clipless were Specialized touring (made by MKS, I believe) with resin toeclips and Binda Extra straps (twisted in the pedal body, of course).
The ONLY reason that I would change now (and even this is doubtful) is if i were to seriously compete and the only shoe/pedal combination was not spd compatible, e.g., some triathlon shoes don't have the holes for spd cleats.
Shimano M785 Trail. Got them on both my mountain bike and road bike. Non-SPD road pedals for 'normal people' are a bit dumb. I like to ride somewhere, get off and walk around. SPDs plus a good tread make sense.
Shimano Dura Ace
http://road.cc/content/review/34173-shimano-dura-ace-pedals
Speedplay Zero - fabulously easy in and out, serviceable and bags of float. Not cheap but excellent value for money IMO.
http://road.cc/content/review/78258-speedplay-zero-chrome-moly-pedal-system
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