So I've seen a number of comments where people have had some issues clipping in when they first get them. A bit of light oil or WD-40 is the key I think, but I recorded this little video, hope it helps people out!! imgur.com/a/LkgMABm
@@ronzhiii you are quite right. the cleat is easier to setup than speedplay. but the pedals are stiffer. I just got them. I also cannot get them on till I use my trainer which I can use much greater force to clip in. once you clip in and out a few times, then it should be okay.
I actually use standard SPD pedals and MTB shoes all the time for all my bikes, the road ones too. For those of you who never saw such a shoe close-up (as you would have wanted to avoid the risk of throwing up in your mouth), it has actual gripped sole. It makes coffee shop stops so much more comfortable. As a matter of fact, any kind of walking around when I'm geared for/after/during a ride.
Coffee shop? ....How about when you are stopped at a stop sign on an uphill grade? Speedplay type you just step down. Look or Shimano you hope you can get your toe in and heel down before you fall over! If rather clickety clack at the coffee shop! The coffee still tastes the same!
@@robinbebbington7063 When I went clipless, I mostly did commuting and mixed surface (paved/gravel) excursions, so SPD was the clear choice. Once I got more serious in road cycling (still only on the sprotif/amateur level) I sometimes considered going for a true "roadie" pedal system, but I realized I don't want all the inconvenience with having different setup for my different bikes. One time I bought a gripless soled road shoe that accepted SPD cleats too (it was a shimano shoe, before they introduced SPD-SL), but I quickly figured it out that it did not worth the minimal weight/aero benefits for me. Some claim that road specific cleats have a better power transfer, but I haven't found any actual research backing this up.
Just wanted to point out your presentation skill/quality seem to have improved amazingly! One thing I specificly noticed is that you almost completely got rid of the filler words and the scripts/editing is making the video very smooth and enjoyable!
I loved the “we are not mountain bikers!” Comments, had me in stitches of laughter! I’m personally a mountain biker but I’ve just discovered this channel and it looks like it could be very informative, no matter what cycling you do. Excellent work!
Great video Luke, approaching 50k subscribers!! It’s your videos that gave me the confidence to build a carbon bike, now I’ve built 2 for me and 1 for my wife... keep up the great work.!
Love your energy in the videos, a breath of fresh air in the world of boredom other cycling channels have developed. I have a question why these pedals are not for a speed play? They look sleek, aerodynamic and super light.
I've ridden Speedplay for 15 years now. I have never had a C clamp break on me. I also ride Speedplay specific shoes. They have an even lower stack height than with an adapter, and are far easier to set up. It's imperative, though, to have the metal shim under the cleat so you don't gouge out the carbon or fiber sole of the shoe.
Luke, I've been following you from the start because we basically share the same interests, being high value bike upgrades at a reasonable price. A lot of the products that you review, I already own but your videos are so enjoyable that I watch them completely and rewatch them a few days/weeks later. Absolutely great man! P.S.: The pedals are awesome!
@@TraceVelo I do have a pair of these pedals, however I think I might have bought them to early. The first pair I've got made it almost near impossible to clip in, the cleat and the pedal... the measurements simply did not match properly and I basically destroyed both C-springs :-D. However, the seller rectified the situation and had sent me the "next generation" (read not monday-or-friday-produced) cleats :-). And after using those, I was sold for the concept. I am a lighter rider, more of a climber/time trialer profile, not a sprinter, so I really don't mind that it feels a bit more loose compared to a standard look keo pedal at its tightest. However, this setup has a metal cleat and it does provide me with a bit more stability compared my keo's even... I do have cleat wedges tough... so my feet are always straight on the pedals. ANYWAY my first pair were the red versions, ended buying another pair, the black ones like you have with the red end cap, BUT I bought black end caps (crank brothers, but they fit these chinaplay pedals and are also ordered through AlieExpress) it made them look even more pro and pure as they already did ;-)
@@TraceVelo An other interesting thing to note Luke, I just bought real original speedplays, used ones from a friend. And the chinaplay cleats also work perfectly on those! I didn't need to buy an extra pair of shoes en cleats to ride all my bikes :-)
I had the Speedplay Zero chrome-molys for around 2000kms before the cleats developed some play. I greased and cleaned them after every ride and despite this the cleats still wore out super quickly. I couldn't bring myself to spend around £60 on a new pair of cleats and so I sold it and went for the R8000 SPD-SL instead. I also ended up getting a pair of winter shoes and a winter bike and so being able to buy cheaper cleats and pedals for that while keeping everything compatible was a huge plus for me. Might've been a different story had I got these pedals!
Back into cycling only a week ago and I landed here :) Loving your presentation! Squidlys and buckaroonies had me laughing as well as the elephant and the bear :)
I have been running these for a few months. Love em. I have a mostly China rim brake build that is flirting with a sub 6kg weight. If I didn't need to run a power meter I'd be under
Luke I need your help! I've ordered these, fit them to my bike and shoes but for the life of me I can't clip in to them? I've had all my weight on whilst rotating my foot, I've managed to get the left to go in a couple of times with difficulty but cannot get the right it at all 🤦🏼♂️
Amazing reviews as always. I enjoy watching your videos. Keep up the good work. I am looking forward to whenever you do a review of the Toseek bar/stem combo. I bought the Toseek carbon bar because of you but thinking of the bar/stem for my next ride !
Great review Luke .... I've been using Speedplay Zero pedals with longer spindles for the last twenty years now, and would be loathe to even contemplate using anything else at this stage. I was curious about trying a set of these Alibaba knock-off's for ages now. The c-clips on Speedplay cleats appear to be made of a hi-tensile spring steel, where the ones replica pedals have titanium c-clips... I'n all my years of riding Speedplay Zero's, I've never broken a c-clip although I always carry a spare one in my seatpack just in case.. Unfortunately the Speedplay as a brand has gone to the dogs ever since It was acquired by Wahoo last year...
First thanks for providing me with another excellent excuse to buy some more bike bits! Second did you notice that these pedals and cleats allow for a greater range of front to back adjustment? Blimey that made much more sense and was way easier to understand in my head.....I use spdl and I feel like I could do with my foot being a bit more forward...there is another fella who recommends using speed plays as it allows for this....did you notice any difference? Love your work, excellent content delivered with humour, wit and experience.
That's impressive stuff!! When I was commuting through London in stop start traffic, I was lucky to get 700 miles from a set of Shimano or Look cleats. But I can imagine if you are careful, and tend to favour long rides in the county, this could be possible...
@@TraceVelo Most of my rides are quiet country lanes, very few traffic lights and junctions so I guess that would add to the longevity. I reckon I’ll get another 1500 miles or so out of this pair too 🤗
Considering how militantly Speedplay pursue IP lawsuits, it’ll be fun to see how long these stay on sale for. I am a big fan of Speedplay but sadly moved to Keos because of cost. The c-clip retention spring fails far too often and replacement cleats are absurdly expensive - and impossible to get hold of from bike shops in the UK.
and the clit cover thing is the reason than i am using MTB clipless pedal, and a MBT snicker, who i ccan use as a regular shoe, and the metal clip is indestructible
Great video, awesome channel! Keep up the excellent content. Any update on the Chinese wheels used in the disc brake build? I've been eyeing some up but haven't been quite brave enough to hit the purchase button yet.
Owning both these and the original speedplays im happy to share that the chinese counterpart can be used on a orignal speedplay pedal. the speedplay doesnt fit with the chinese pedal though as chinplay is slightly larger pedal size ;)
Yeah so that's just what you have to deal with I'm afraid. I tend to buy spares for stuff months before I may need them. So for example pretty much as soon as I got my Chinaplays delivered, I already had a spare set of cleats in the mail. You get used the the wait after a while, and just factor it in. It's worth it for the money saved IMO
Yeah, so I ordered some and it was actually impossible to clip into them. I tried opening up the metal C-shaped ring, it helped a bit, but I've gone back to my Look Keo/Exustar pedals. They are a bit heavier but I can clip in + out bo problems.
Another great video Luke. Going to give these a go after being really pleased with your carbon saddle recommendation. Didn’t even get held up in the Suez Canal! Do you recommend any gear or brake cables in your videos?
Nice !!! Anyone knows if these are compatible with the walkable SP cleats ? The cleat looks very similar to the original SP one... wonder if they click together. I use SP zero's on the road bike, could try a set of this chinaPlays for the gravel bike and use the same shoes :)
Pedantic alert! FYI, when you weighed the pedals, the cleats that you had on the scale with the Shimano pedals were the Look-style cleats. Probably not a big difference, but not the correct cleats nonetheless.
Ohhhh, I thought I might have gotten away with that one 😜 But as always, you folks have the eyes of a HAWK 👀 Yeah I didn't have any SPD-SL cleats to hand, but at most it will be 2 or 3 grams difference. Good spot tho!
I can't get on with being attached to my bike, after finding your channel though I'll be scouring Aliexpress for some flats for my Triban RC500 (heavily accessory laden commuter)
once again, another well made and informative video...I'm considering changing from my 2 bolt SPD shoes to proper road shoes soon, and i'm still undecided on what pedal system to go for, so this has helped
the only downside is that the wear rate is pretty high on the alloy cylinder/barrel as can be seen in the video at 11:49.... i have the original speedplay pedal set, the C-clips in the original speedplay cleats definitely can last longer (mine broke after 8 years, on the left side which I unclip more often) On the Chinaplay cleats, the left side C clip broke in less than 1 year.
Yeah so honestly, i've been surprised. I actually expected them to fail after another few miles, but i've put about another 250 miles on them, and still going strong...
@@TraceVelo great! been thinking a lot about upgrading to 11speed and im really considering those r9 after seeing your video about it. thanks for your feedback. cheers! great vids btw. keep it up!
I have been using speedplay pedals for a while. I wonder if the Chinese cleats will work well with them. Also, speedplay recommend dry wax type lube on their cleats. I’ve used a wax lube on mine since getting them and get 4000 miles out of a pair before they start feeling a bit loose
The only thing that worries be about these is the design, for track cycling specifically. Speedplay’s have a plastic “bumper” surrounding the metal where as these don’t. If you unclipped at high speed you may not get your leg (calf muscle) out the way quick enough and there’s some extruding parts that look like they could do some damage. Maybe fixed gear riders should be careful!
Did anyone tried to open up the lollipop padel to check that if there are actually bearings inside? or how to provide maintenance to these bearings. I have recently seen some videos online showing that those China made cycling padels (which claims to be bearing inside) are actually not having any bearings at all.
Hello, like many others clipping was very hard but now it s perfect ... Why? I made a mistake and put right cleat on the left shoe... After reverse it, a little stretch of shoes with pliers and little oil all works perfect!
Nice vid. Look suspiciously like speedplays. I’ve been running SPs for about 5 years and really like them. On the four hole shoe question @ThighsClub has a video as he is an SP guy. There is a company in England who drill shoes to fit four bolts.
A very nice and tight video! I had to subscribe. Your videos are too good not to. Have you looked at shoes and helmets and bike lights? I can remember if you had. I need to look through your videos.
Thanks Robert! So yeah I've checked out a pair of shoes in a previous video, def need to check out a few more pairs tho. As for lights and helmets, haven't ventured into that territory yet. Might be worth a look tho
my speedplay are seized up. wont even spin, they dont like gravel riding. the problem is you need to grease them periodically. witch i never have. do you need to grease thechinaplay?
ALL pedals have some form of marking the left pedal. Speedplays often have a small "ring" cut into the left pedal spindle on the edge that is the "stop" when you screw them in. Or an "L" on the flats you use a pedal wrench on.
I have tried these pedals and they do not function with speedplay cleats. So be careful with cleat/pedal combos as mine would unclip with speedplay cleats. Also another issue you need to be aware of is the Q factor. If you don't know what that is start reading
Hi Luke, i love all of ur videos! I wanna ask about dems shimano / sram groupset with scratched serial number that they sell in aliexpress. What's your take on that? Is it a good idea to purchase one of those? Because it's really hard to find midrange 11 speed groupset at the bike shop in my country. I'm looking at sram rival / shimano 105
Same with Speedplay Zero's. Unfortunately Speedplay never brought out those style of covers for the 'X' pedals, even though there is no reason they could do for them just like the Zeros.
Totally agree, if Luke thinks it's good, it's good. He's the most genuine RU-vidr out there. Bought a few things that he has reviewed, and seriously considering looking into this siroko stuff. Keep up the good work Luke!!
What i love about you and your channel is how you present your content, and neatly subdivide all content into easy and consumable sections. Other channels need to learn from your example
They're little rubber covers that go over road cleats. I'd never go anywhere without them. Not necessary for MTB cleats as most shoes have the cleat recessed, unless they're those weird road-style shoes that take both type of cleat.
I've always used the spd mountain pedals on my road bike. You don't even have to go to Ali Express, the $40 shimano pedals that will last for thousands of miles and you don't have to add anything to make them walkable.
2183 miles is a very short life for the C-spring clip. I have gone through 4 pairs of the Speedplay cleats, and each pair lasted at least 6,000 miles before I replaced them, and I never had a spring clip break on me.
So I mean this may have just been a bit of an anomaly, I've only had the one of cleats. But then again I suspect the speedplay cleats are probably made of some slightly better materials. I guess time will tell with my new cleats...
I’ve kept the c springs over the years and binned the other worn parts of my Zero cleats. I’m thinking to buy a pair of these Chinese cleats and throw away the supplied springs and replace them with original Speedplay springs assuming the Chinese copies share original machining specs. I’m not surprised the Spring broke on the copy as it’s always going to be the weakest link in the cleat.
I’ve been using Speedplays for a few years and had two C-springs break. I always carry a spare in my tool pouch just in case. It irks me that they don’t sell the spring as a spare part.
I am subscribe to multiple cycling channels but you my friend are by far the most entertaining one. I stay engaged throughout the whole video and never skip the timeline. I don’t understand how you don’t have a way bigger audience. Honestly I think you are one of the best cycling channels out there, by tailoring to the everyday man that want to get into cycling but don’t want to work just to feed their cycling addiction.
Used this for a while now and I think this is a pair of excellent pedals! Weight saving, good walk-ability, board customisation and very stiff! The lack of comprehensive installation manual is probably why it is causing so much trouble. Make sure all of these are followed properly to get the best experience; 1. Choose the correct 3/4 holes adapter. Making sure it is completely flat after installing the 4 screws. Check it with a ruler. 2. Make sure the C Clip is not inversely installed. The slanted edge should face the floor. Most people can't get their pedal in because of this. 3. Apply 1-2 drops of dry / wax lube on the c clip after installing the cleat. 4. Practice clip in and out around 20 times per side to break in the pedal. First few times may be a little harder. To get the pedal in, try not to face the pedal backwards. Push it in with the ball of your feet while the pedal is facing upwards or slightly forward. Happy pedaling!
I bought my first pair of steel Chinaplays a couple of months ago (along with the cleat covers) based on this video's recommendation. I can't fault them in any way. I've previously used both SPD and SPD SL pedals and the Chinaplays are by far the easiest to clip in and out of and unclipping only ever occurs when I want it to. The cleat covers are a dream to walk in, compared to the other two alternatives. I was so impressed that I bought a second pair in Titanium. Thanks so much for the video!
I had them. They are not nearly as good as speedplay (mine failed) but I will buy them again as the entire pedal/cleats cost the same as a pair of new speedplay cleats
Hi mate, do the cleats fit actual speedplay pedals, my cleats are £50-£60 to replace wtf, but I might get a set to try or are they miles different 👍🚴♀️🚴♀️
Oh my gad! Got mine a week ago before your review. But mine is rebranded here in the Philippines called "Speedone" from a local shop. Got the titanium version too but pair of pedals is only 140g. Less 10g. They are all look the same. It cost 2.1k php or 43$ only
