Are these 30g pedals the lightest ever made? AeroLite Alpha TT-Ceramic pedals are for the weightweenies

The PVD coating is "alpha" according to their website. Since the pedals are gold, one can guess the coating is titanium nitride [TiN]. In high-temperature metalcutting operations, TiN supplies lubricity. Under the conditions seen by bike pedals, it only makes them look pretty-at a price. The choice is yours.

Aerolite pedals have been around for as long as Look pedals, and were the first clipless pedal system I ever used.

Mounting them is a pain—originally you needed to screw them directly into the sole with drywall screws, so no second chances. Eventually they came out with Look adapters…so you needed to screw them directly into the Look adapter, and if you ever needed to adjust the fit, you needed to remove them because they overlapped the Look bolts.

They also, visibly, have zero float. Maybe some people prefer that.

All that said, I never had a problem clipping in or out with them, and never had a mechanical problem with them. They are admirably simple.

Aerolite pedals have been around for literally decades. The linked article about Ultralite even references them. This is just the Drillium version.

The problem with pedal systems where the cleat effectively just grabs the axle by dint of its shape, rather than by using a spring-loaded mechanism, is that they're incredibly sensitive to anything getting in the way of a good fit between cleat and pedal. Any sort of crud in there and they just don't work. There are also reports of the Aerolite cleat simply sliding off the end of the pedal.

It looks like the cleat only fits to a three-hole shoe using the back two mounting holes. That's going to put the spindle a centimetre or two further back on the shoe than any regular three-bolt system. If you want the cleats anywhere else you're going to have to drill your shoes for new mounting nuts or use what appear to be four self-tapping screws to attach them to the carbon fibre soles of your shoes. Yeah, no thanks.

The four-hole cleat pattern is nothing like Speedplay's BTW.

But if anyone is feeling both recklessly experimental and rich, you can get Aerolite titanium pedals from Fairwheel Bikes. And, as the late great Dave Allen used to say, may your God go with you.

I have been using these pedals and their non-vapour coated cousins for many years. Given the many questions being asked here it may be useful to give some feedback:

a) regarding durability they are excellent, with very low friction and low pedal wear. Unexpectedly for such a small operation customer service is good too, although delivery will be slow to anyone abroad as stuff has to be mailed from the US.

b) pedal entry requires more deliberation than with your average Time or Look pedal. The difficulty is not in the movement or the force needed but in the precision, as one must align the clip slot with the top of the pedal and then push down. Exit is easy and intuitive by rotating the knee outwards. Retention is fine, it will not release however much you pull upwards.

c) the clip attachment is what will put most people off. These pedals have their roots in research done before clipless pedals and shoes where invented, so the standard method of attachment is distinctly old fashioned, direct to the shoe soles. Sacrilege I know, but it actually works quite well after you wrap your head around the ideia of driving screws into your expensive carbon soles.

It is also possible to use SPD mounts (clips can be ordered with holes spaced for mountain SPD or for the rear pair of road SPD bolts) but this is not an option for most people who need some degree of toe-in or toe-out. People who need pedal float should also steer clear of these.

d) there is no getting around the price but the non-vapour coated models are cheaper. Clips last longer than one would imagine, especially if coming from the infamously fast-wearing Time iClics. Given the long life of the pedals the lifetime cost is comparable to Dura-Ace or other high-end pedals.

Hope this helps.

The cleats appear to have 4 holes in them, rather than the usual (for roadies) 3

I vaguely remember hearing about a pedal system before that used 4, is this a standard I'm not familiar with, can you get shoes or are just going to add weight back in by adding an adapter plate

so does one slide in .....and then slide out.....? or is it still about pushing in and pulling out...?

Purely based on all those font choices on the image I have zero interest.

🤣 when are weenies gonna learn that ultralight, boutique stuff doesn't hold up and has terrible after-sales service?