Speedplay or Look

ck101

This may have been answered before, I use Speedplays and had a bad crash recently. One memory from before I hit the deck was how hard it was to get my foot out.

I was on holiday last week and rented a bike with Look pedals and was amazed how easy it was to release.

Anyone else any experiences with these two. Maybe I need to adjust the cleats, just wanted to solicit opinions first.

Lumen

I've crashed in Speedplays a number of times and never had problems getting my feet out. Which isn't to say I got my feet out. They might have still been clipped in, but it wasn't a problem. The problem was that I crashed.

johnk123

Have used LOOK Keo for over a year now, but have become speedplay curious.... New shoes are needed so I may make the splurge on a whole new setup and see how it goes.

Nothing wrong with the LOOKs, I think they're great! Unfortunately I have had the experience of a couple of crashes on them, once on a rented bike while on holiday and they released no problem, once here on a rainy day and they unclipped too.. Maybe I'm missing the significance of them staying clipped in?

kenmc

shimano for me. never crashed in them

triggermortis

kenmc wrote: »

shimano for me. never crashed in them

Same here. Mustn't be trying hard enough.

kumate_champ07

Shimano 'spd sl' pedals all have tension adjustment with a 4mm(?) allen key. I think they come with the tension set halfway(you can check the rear of the pedals, theres a small red slider, I put it up to full for the track.

doozerie

If you are finding it hard to get your foot out of your Speedplays then one thing to check is whether you have the cleat screws tightened too much, or the wrong shims in place between the cleats and shoes - I've found that if the screws are over-tightened (which is difficult to gauge when actually tightening them) they are difficult to release, and I'd expect the same effect if the shims are wrong and there is not a flat surface on the sole of the shoe for the cleat to bear against. The Speedplay website has a database of shoes with info on which cleats are needed for each shoe listed.

Also, do you occasionally lubricate the spring in the cleats? Speedplay recommend that you do so frequently. They also recommend that you lubricate the parts of the face of the pedals where the cleats bear against them, but I secretly suspect they say this for a laugh in the hope that people will film riders with Speedplay pedals as their shoes slip on the pedals and go straight into the front spokes!

FISMA

ck101 wrote: »

I was on holiday last week and rented a bike with Look pedals and was amazed how easy it was to release.

I have used just about everything out there: spd, look, time, sampson stratics, egg beaters...

My speedplays replaced the Looks the first time I tried them. Look pedals lock you into position moreso than speedplay.

On the mtb I have time carbon pedals.

For the road, it is speedplay without a doubt.

dave_o_brien

So people here have crashed with Look and with Speedplay, but not with Shimano? I'm changing my Look's for Shimano's so, they're much safer.

http://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/home

triggermortis

dave_o_brien wrote: »

So people here have crashed with Look and with Speedplay, but not with Shimano? I'm changing my Look's for Shimano's so, they're much safer.

http://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/home

Is it Friday already?

dave_o_brien

triggermortis wrote: »

Is it Friday already?

I had a Crunchie earlier. So I guess so.