Switching to SpeedPlay Zero Pedals w/ Bont Helix Shoes 

Been on s-plays for 15 years and loved them. Solved my knee pain with the added float over spd. I grease my zeros once a season. Dry lube the cleats every few weeks. Never had the instability problems you had in the video. Maybe just a bad pair like you said. I often hear people say once you go speedplays you never leave. I’m one of those people. Also interested in what others have to say on this video. Keep up the great work!

Speedplay rider for life here. Previously rode on Shimano SPDSL and Look Keos. Always had knee paid. SP float solved that. Love that on any bunch ride I'm clipped in and pedalling instantly while everyone not on SP is still looking or struggling. Wear and tear i ge most from the cleats, from walking. Pedals for me are flawless after 10,000kms, I have squeezed a bit of white lightning grease in there very 5000.

The SP cleats and setup has always turned me away .. good 'ol Shimano, never lets me down

I can't ride anything but Speedplay pedals. I've always been plagued with knee issues and a strong love for cycling, so the two together don't always get along. I tried SPD, Shimano road, Look, etc and nothing worked for me. During/Post ride I'd be in considerable pain. That was until I was introduced to Speedplay pedals! I've used them for years now and have never once experienced knee pain while or after cycling. These things are life savers for me!

As a certified Professional Bike Fitter with over 30 years experience, I will tell you there is not a wrong choice. I can make your pedal choice work for you 90+% of the time. As a cyclist, Speedplay has been my personal choice for over 25 years and my go to pedal for cyclist new to clipless pedals or having knee issues. Richard Byrne was nice enough to give me a set of X2's at a tradeshow and I have used Speedplay ever since. Speedplay do take a couple of extra minutes to setup, but they are offer more adjustability to be able to solve issues that other systems you have to find a compromise. Not having to flip a pedal over to clip in, because we have even seen the pro miss the pedal at the start of a race. The walkable - aero cover, so you do not end up on your butt when off the bike. Getting to pick between Nano, Zero or Ultra Light Action based on skill level. Serviceability, I have a couple of my first generation Zero Stainless that have it be close to 15 years old with only normal servicing. I just hope Wahoo keeps Speedplay on the right path that Richard started the company back in 1991. P.S. Too bad you didn't get the Bont's with the Speedplay four hole direct mount. I have the Sidi's and it is even easier to set the cleats in the correct position.

Ive been riding Speedplay for about 20yrs and they are simple to setup and awesome to ride... won’t ever ride anything else

I had issues with Speedplay pedals. The lateral play you experience is what I experienced, and that was after about 1-2 years of riding. I also had two broken springs. I ended up leaving Speedplay for Look and then Shimano (Dura Ace SPD-SL). The Shimano pedals don't require greasing any near as often as the Speedplays. The Shimano pedals are dead stable, no lateral play at all. The Shimano don't require the regular spraying of lube on the cleat, and the Shimano pedals don't foul and jam like the Speedplays do when dirt/sand/etc gets in the spring mechanism.

Switched to Speedplay Zeroes (stainless steel) a few years ago when a LBS had them on sale. I love the amount of adjustability with Speedplay, even with the periodic maintenance.

The outdoor riding was enough to make me envious.

2:05 just taking a moment to appreciate the work on this 😂👍👍👍 brilliant

100% agree about the insoles provided by some shoe brands. I've saved a pair of insoles (with swappable arch support inserts) from a great set of Shimano shoes to use in a new pair of Fizik R1B. Huge improvement from the thin non-supportive originals. We pay a load of money and they skimp on a contact point that makes a huge difference on how your shoe feels.

Had mine since I built my first road bike about 15 years ago. Haven't had issues with them beyond the factory grease they ship with wearing out and starting a creaking sound which a regrease solved. Regrease itself is easy, syringe and a screw driver is all you need. Easy enough to do

Perfect, one of the best video review for speedplay, every inch of details are covered and it is easy for the user to understand right from installation to real time usage.

On Speedplay since day one!

Switched from look to speedplay to spd-sl. In my experience: the wider the support/cleat, the better! Really liking the stable platform of the R8000 pedals 👍. Not going back!

Long time SP user. My wife converted instantly, she loves the double-sided entry. Maintenance is a breeze. The cleats use a Dry Lube, which I apply about once every 2-3 months, more often after rain. Greasing the pedals requires a syringe to squeeze the grease into the nipple. I litterally spent 55-cents on a syringe from the chemist and have used it for years - now that's value for money! Grease gets applied, maybe once or twice a year. My main preferences for SP are their float adjustability and double-sided. They're easy to walk in, non-slippery and won't damage the floor. SP seems like a no-brainer to me.

Thanks for sharing a video, in which finally some footage of someone clip in and out of a speedplay pedal is shown. 👍 Searched for over 20 min

Only ever ridden in Speedplay. Love them. So easy to get in and out of. Pedals last forever, I'm only just replacing mine after 8 years. Cleats replaced after 4. You may find that you'll need to tighten the bolts on the 4 hole adaptor. Most people glue them in with Loctite 243, so they will never work loose.

Ah, welcome to the speedplay world. I really like your reasoning re: getting ahead of the curve. I too am a wahooligan, and considered this very dynamic when recently moving from speedplay to Favero Assioma's. I rode Looks in my early years for 3 years - and liked them, but got a little sick of the cleat wear. I then moved to shimano from 2002-2005, and enjoyed the experience - although was riding Campy at the time, with shimano shoes and pedals...brand clash got the better of me, so I moved to Time and Sidi shoes. The Time RXS carbons were amazing. Cleat wear was an issue - but I loved them. At the time I was doing the Tats cup race s(pre NRS) and a LOT of crit racing at Heffron - where pedal clearance was key! So in 2005, I moved to speedplay. I loved them...I really did. It is only in the last few years I started to get a little jack of the cost of cleats - and the wear and mess. I found a few tricks; DO NOT lubricate the pedal exterior with anything other than Dry PTFE WD40 (or equiv). Anything else will attract dirt and wear them line a bitch. I serviced my bearings (greased) every 5,000k. I also replaced the spindles with titanium, and dropped the weight, and replaced the butterflys with titanium. In the end - when I moved to waxing my chain, and moving to pedal based power, it was time to move on from the speedplays.. I think my knees and hips miss the float, but I do not miss the mess and expensive hardware.

I’ve been using speedplay for years. They do get a little loose over time, but I haven’t had to replace mine after over 30k km so I’m ok with that. I always use 4-hole shoes as one of the advantages of speedplay is the low stack height, and that also makes the setup easier. Top tip for maintenance is to use a child's medicine syringe as a cheap grease gun - remove the grub screw on the far outside of each pedal, press the syringe against the little hole, and gentle push in fresh grease and mop up the dirty stuff from the axle side. I do it once or twice a year with no problems.

Now we just need a video for an assioma speedplay hack!

I have been riding on speedplay pedals since they first came out. They really have helped alleviate knee pain and have been just plain comfortable. I grease the spindle bearings once a year or so, and spray the cleat with graphite when they start feeling ‘sticky’ getting in and out. Mine are old Zeros and are well past due for replacement but still function well as long as I keep the cleats lubed. I also use Shimano SPDs for MTBing and touring. I just use what works for me. Thank you for your great video reviews and I hope you have many enjoyable miles on your new Speedplays

Argh! It's winter (snow and ice) here in the US and those views of the nice sunny days you are riding through is just painful to watch. Lucky bugger! :)

Hi Shane! I have been using Speedplay since 1993. My last ones where the Speedplay Titanium which I purchased 2014. They are still in mint condition and work perfectly. Also Speedplay keeps my injured left knee painfree even on very long rides! Love them!

I have been using Speedplay for years, absolutely love them, with the 4 hole Sidi shoes fitting is a dream . Will be curious to see what Wahoo come up with the pedals .

Funniest video you've made yet. Actually laughed out loud a few times. Great stuff mate.

Been using SPs for zonks, and SP Aeros + NW shoes plus SP adapter for past 5 years. Great combo. Yes, grease the bearings regularly, and I seem to need new cleats annually or around 10,000km, as one of the horseshoe cleat springs usually breaks.

Switched from Shimano to speed plays last year and absolutely love them.

Love your stuff!!

been riding speedplay for 13 yrs. Love them. They play well with my knees. I apply PTFE lube to cleats every other ride. As the cleats age the lube become more necessary then when new and is noticeable when applied. I like the Speedplay lube, its applied by the drop and not an aerosol. If you have to use aerosol, use the ones that come with the 'straw' to provide pinpoint accuracy. Also, if you look at the cleat in your youtbube vid, you will see a vertical 'fin' just above the "LEFT". These fins will break over time and the circular spring make pedal connection tricky. Besides that, I love them.

Good on you for trying the Bont shoes again

Another great video Shane. I was very anti speedplay in the beginning because I didn’t like the feeling of ice skating and the small surface area. But when I became Bikefit certified and learned about all the adjustability that speedplay offered I was an instant convert. I typically use the baseplate extender to get the cleat further back towards the arch, I am hoping wahoo brings those back. I have narrow hips so I also use the shorter 50mm spindles but as a bikefitter I use the 65mm spindles more often on my clients. I use waterproof grease from Home Depot $10 with a grease gun. If you really want the pedals to spin, for race day only replace the grease with oil but it only lasts for 1 day. Word on the street is that the new speedplays will have a sealed bearing with the metal going all the way around (not just the bow tie) so that should increase the pedal body durability. And of course we can’t wait for the power meter pedal to come out. I am also a fan of the specialized insoles for over the counter. But if you ever make your way to the USA I will make you a custom CycleSole footbed. Cheers Mate!

Riding SP for 9 months and have saved my knees - love them

Spot on about insoles in cycling shoes! That has always been something that pi$$ed me off about buying cycling shoes. I have the S-Works 7's and I bought the same footbeds as you did the day that I got those shoes. The insoles that came with those shoes got hacked up so that I could tweak the fit so that I can ride for hours in total comfort. But ideally companies should help you to do this sort of thing rather than forcing you to figure it out on your own. Or worse yet have people have a sub optimal experience because they don't know any better.

Thanks Shane. My honest feedback riding speedplay since 2014. As a newbie to roadies, I tried SPD's and they didn't work with my knees. Then I googled and found a page by 'Steve Hogg' recommending something called "SpeedPlay pedals" and went from there. The metal bowtie and the cleat spring are what governs how easy it is to clip in and out. Both wear over time. The pedal body is plastic and will also wear causing the rock. Bearings will wear if not greased and contribute to rocking. Positives: 1)Design/innovation. Eough float to permit my duck feet and knees to move painlessly. I would not be able to ride clipless on road bikes without them. 2)Several axle length options. I required the the 3mm longer pedal axles before my knees were happy. 3)Q-factor adjustment. you can change your q-factor by sliding the cleats left and right. No other pedal I'm aware of can do that. 4)Spares - Replacement axles, lollipops, colours, metal bow-ties. Screws of every length!. BikeBug (last I looked) sold all these bits and kits to keep your investment going. 5)Low stack height - proprietary 4-hole adaptor for my Northwave shoes reduces the cleat stack by 3mm compared to standard setup on your video. It's wonderful. 6)stomp and go at the lights. Super quick and easy. Negatives: 7)Buying experience #1 - SpeedPlay Website. Awful confusing collection of HTML. It may have frightened more customers away than created actual sales. Probably renders best in Netscape browser ver1.0 8)Buying experience #2 - paper documentation. Pages and pages... and pages! of WARNINGs, DANGERs and other lawyer crap. Over 50 printed WARNINGs in total for my cleats alone! Are SpeedPlay trying to frighten loyal customers post purchase?? Why are they so zealously claiming their product is highly dangerous? 9)Buying experience #3 - False claims. Complexity of product line. Zero and light action pedals are near identical and work interchangeably with each other (despite what SpeedPlay say). Confusing legacy products (x-series) and variations (nanogram, pave). 10)Messy - Pedals leak grease from seals by design, are covered in sticky lube. You WILL stain your shins and calves, clothes and socks. Hard to wash out. Carpet WILL stain from the cleats. 11)Frequent Maintenance - grease ever 3-4 rides or bearing wear will accelerate. Greasing required after EVERY wet ride. Cleats require frequent dry-lube otherwise pedal body wear accelerates. 12)Care - If you stand on dirt or sand, your cleats will fill up. Won't engage and will accelerate pedal body wear. 13)Poor design - Pedal bodies Will rub and wear against the 3 bolts used to attach the generic attach the adaptor to your Bont shoe. 14)Price - Ridiculous compared to Shimano. Grease gun costs $100 AUD!?! Can be greased with a 50c syringe if you are clever. 15)Proprietary 4-hole screws and torque wrench needed for the cleats. 16)anecdotally I hear the replacement spare parts (see above) are becoming harder to get since Wahoo took over In summary: SpeedPlay customers often have specific body requirements or really like the low stack height. Otherwise, its difficult to see the incentive to invest in SpeedPlay poorly-marketed, "DANGER"-filled, overpriced, confusing, hi-maintenance ecosystem.

I have been using speedplay zero for about 8 years, still on the original cleats. Before this I used the Look Keo pedals and cleats. Truth is I absolutely love the speedplay pedals , with the occasional misclipping ins. But over all I would never go back, Love the double sided entry, after several years of nothing but trouble clipping in when I used the Look pedals.

Been riding on Speedplay for 15+ years and love em. Love the dual sided entry and adjustability. I have not seen the pedal body wear out, but have seen the cleats and bearings wear out. As long as you keep em maintained they will never let you down, just throw some grease on the bearings every year. As for the cleats, I put a drop or two on the front and back of the spring, wipe em clean and good to go.

6:33 One thing to keep in mind with Speedplay vs spd-sl: They're very sensitive to under or over (particularly) tightening of the cleats. I haven't had the instability problem you had and great that moving to new ones fixed it, but if you ever find yourself really struggling to get them to engage properly, my first move would be to check that cleat tightness and refer to the specific installation instructions. Oh, and another thing: The grease intervals are quite frequent, especially if you ride in the wet. Even in the dry, it's often; I've found that if I push the intervals too much, they start sounding very dry.

I've also recently switched to Speedplay after 15 years with Shimano, despite never having any issues. The ability to adjust float is fantastic, I've narrowed my Q factor and no long have to worry about my ankles rubbing on the crank arms.

100% agree on the inner sole choice

Well as you can see in all the comments below, many users love speed play pedals and other do not. I have used speedplay for nearly 10 years and always had a problem with wear. Bearings were easy to lube but the side to side movement became excessive quickly which resulting in problems with my feet and/or knees. I kept replacing cleats and eventually the pedals many times over the years, but the problems never really went away. I very much enjoyed the pedals but when I was in need of replacing cleats start of last year prior to COVID there were no where to be found, I think because of the acquisition by Wahoo. So I basically needed pedals and purchased a pair of Dura Ace latest version. In summary, nice pedals, easy in/out though I haven't done so since my first pair of Look pedals many moons ago. No problem switching from speedplay to Shimano. As for foot and knee problems, none since! I am not saying one is better than the other, there are other nice alternatives available as well. But at the moment, I am very happy with my Dura Ace pedals and suggest riding whatever you feel comfortable using. The important part ... just ride!!! As always thanks for the info! As for the specialized inserts, yep using the same and they're great!!

I'm happy to see I'm not the only one who trashed the stock Bont insoles immediately!

Pearl Izumi shoes come with an insole with inserts for the arch and footbed so you can adjust the insole multiple ways. I always rode Specialized shoes and had to buy the blue insoles seperate.. The Pearl Izumi insoles are amazing, and included with all inserts and shims at no cost..

Had some knee pain years ago. Bought a pair of X2s. Never went back. I do recall that feel of lack fixation. …like standing on two bars of soap in the shower. I got over that… and the heal whip at higher RPM. I’ve done very little maintenance to my e sets of X2 peddles and only once had a bearing fail. I do annual C&Is now. Great vid!

I’ve ridden speed play for over a decade. Yes the pedals wear out, but not for a thousands of miles. Maintenance: lube every month or so If they get wet/muddy may need to do it more often. Greasing about the timing of a chain replacement. My LBS does it as part of the annual tune up service. If doing it yourself: you need a grease gun and a good quality grease. Speed Play sells a kit but you can buy it all cheaper.

I started out using Shimano pedals, but my left foot twists on the downstroke, so I literally wore away and snapped the pedal where it made contact with the cleat. SpeedPlay has adjustable float, so it is perfect for the twist in my left foot. The maintenance step of pressing lube into the pedal, and pushing out the old lube works only so-so for me, so the new design with sealed bearings is attractive. I love the minimalist look of the SpeedPlay pedal. Using the official SpeedPlay liquid on the cleats is highly recommended.

Pedal history - Shimano/look to speed play and back to shimano. Loved using speed play but a real faff to set up unless you have a 4 bolt shoe(more faff)., The big problem is that the pedals wear out like a cleat wears out on say a shimano system. But the pedals cost a lot more than a shimano cleat. Just to repeat hey are really good system to use when new but setup is difficult and expensive.

Long term SP user. Damaged knees could never get comfortable on any three bolt cleat. Switched over to SP Zero. Lots of float - knees have never played up since. Maintenance wise, I oil them when they start to feel like they are tight getting in or out - guessing a couple of times a year. Grease, likewise maybe every 6 mths or so. Bought a mini grease gun. Whole thing takes a few minutes. Double sided entry is a bonus - no fiddling aound taking off from the lights.

Properly setup Speedplays with good fitting road shoes is the best money you could ever spend. Speedplay is a little higher maintenance than the rest. The cleats don't "wear" out, you just might have to replace the cover every now and then for aesthetic purposes. The pedal bodies are the pieces that tend to wear out. They generally have a lifespan of 3+ years, depending on how nasty the riding conditions are. I generally lube my cleats with some Teflon dry lube every now and then to mitigate wear on the pedals and make sure there's no squeaking. The other thing to do is to regrease the pedal axles periodically, it increases the life significantly and makes you faster as a bonus. The tiny little screw on the outside of the pedal is a grease port, so with a grease gun, this process is an absolute breeze and takes 2 minutes max.

Loved speedplays, had to change when I purchased Powertap P1s, although I loved the portable power meter, I hated the look style cleats. Now put a crank power meter on my new bike, and I’m back on speedplays and love the simplicity of clipping without looking spd-style and float adjustability. I’ll keep the P1s for my TT bike.

Love my Speedplays, also my Suplest shoes came with Solestar insoles. Brilliant, highly recommended

Been riding Speedplay pedals since 1997 and would never change. I still have nightmares of my shoe sliding off my Look pedals everytime I tried to clip in before Speedplay. I have never had an issue with the Speedplay rain or shine. I hate to admit this but I have never done any maintaince on my pedals or cleats.

Hi Shane enjoying your channel. I started road cycling about 5 yrs ago and have knee issues and was in significant pain following long rides. partly down to a bad bikefit! I purchased the speedplays in March 2017 along with a Retul Dynamic bike fit both of which were worth their money. I've had no knee issues since. I'm on my original set they have done about 8,000k and only issue is I had to change the protective cover as it wore out. I give the shoe cleat a little WD40 water repellent spray a couple of times a year and didn't know you could lube the pedals until about 6 months ago so had that done as part of a regular bike service. I find them great and will keep using them. I do use SPD ion my MTB shoes as speedplay and muck in the cleats is not good!

Good old Bont QC-different weights and the insert falls out.

I'been using speedplay for 15 years now. Use to ride with Look before that. I have never had issues with speedplay. The support on the foot is better for me. I was getting pain in my foot at the top of the cleat with LOOK. Feels more stable for me and felt better once you power on them. The cleats don't were of that fast like look pedals. In triathlon perfect when you had to get in and out your shoes while riding, better fix than with other pedals. Once a season I lube my pedals. The cleat according the weather and season, checking up on them after every ride. No special tools needed for the maitenace. Would never go back to there pedals. I have the double sided pedals but never experience the problems you had. Always bought new once. Look forward to your user experience.

Speed play are great, I moved over to them when look went from delta to Leo... I found I was always getting the back of the pedal when riding in traffic, no issue with double sided zeros. I grease them up about once every 4000miles. You can even change the bearings with kits from eBay. Not had the worn body issue, or maybe I’m just used to it

Shane - While i agree that Speedplay setup/documentation leaves a lot to be desired, it took me all of 2 minutes to determine what shim my shoe required and another 5 minutes to assemble everything. Converted two bikes to Speedplay and will not look back to Shimano again. 2 sided entry/exit is amazing, low maintenance, and infinitate level of fine-tuning your float. I kept banging my shoes against the cranks, so being able to restrict my inward float has completely resolved this for me and didn't impact my knees or power. Strange about the weird pedal play that you had going on, i haven't experienced that. Another great video man, love your content and perspective!

I've been on these since they first appeared and I definitely prefer them. Double sided entry, security and the grease port are the clinching factors. They are definitely kinder to my knees than the competition.

Same here, started using Speedplay 10 years ago and never went back to any other brand. No knee issues, not having to look where my pedal is as both sides click in, I like the play of the pedals and they are just very easy to maintain. I find setting up the cleats is not problem at all...

2:05 I appreciate this visualisation

I’ve been a Speedplay convert since 2005. Prior to that I used the the Shimano Ultegra equivalent SPD-R pedals, that destroyed my MCL and put me in physical therapy for months. After that I tried Looks but the cleat wear lead to inconsistency and unintended clipping out. I’ve used the same Stainless spindle pedals on my road bike for about 20k miles over 15 years and haven’t seen the level of wear that you saw on the used pedals. I think that is wear to the steel interface plate based on something the previous user did. I also have a new pair on my Peloton (chromoly ) that I compared to verify I’m not just used to a slow difference over time. I also have have pair of Limited Edition Team CSC Titanium pedals used in the 2005 Tour De France by Ivan Basso that I won in a giveaway, but those are on my pain cave wall. For maintaining the pedals its very easy to do. On the cleat side you need to spray the spring clip with dry lube every few weeks to keep it running smoothly and I usually check the 4-bolts to make sure they are properly torqued every couple months, because I had one back out last time I replaced my cleats. For the pedal itself all you really need to do is greased them, which is simply done by removing the screw on the outside and injecting grease into the port until clean grease comes out on the crank side of the pedal. They are way easier to maintain than Shimano or Look pedals. You only need to grease them if they spin freely, they should only spin once or twice before stopping if properly greased. Also you can buy literally every part of the pedal if you need to replace something, which is a benefit of their design. As an engineer I just like this design and setup better than the other options.

Long term Speedplay user here. Will never go back to SPD SL/Look/KEO for road use. 1: Too much friction in the action in the alternatives. Results in sore knees, which stops me riding. Speedplay float and friction is like my MTB pedals except better, and keeps my knees happy. 2: More rearward posiiton available with the Speedplay extender plates. As a desk jockey, my glute recruitment is poor, and a more midfoot position helps mitigate my habit of over-recruiting my quads, which results in (you guessed it) more knee pain. I'm extremely pissed off that Wahoo has stopped producing these, but fortunately Steve Hogg has stepped up. 3: Double-sided action. As a frequent mountain biker, the difference in pedal entry action between SPD-M and SPD-SL does my head in. SPD-M and Speedplay Zero are pretty close, so I'm not dabbing around and doing a digger into the tarmac with my shoe slipping off the wrong side of the pedal with a cranky bus or semi trailer driver up my ass on a steep incline when the traffic light goes green. Nor am I hunting and pecking on the trail. Foot goes down, no need to look, click and I'm in. Seeing even experienced riders doing the pedal dab dance with SPD-SL at every green light made me realise it wasn't me, it was the pedal. 4: Ease of walking and negotiating stairs. The cleat covers make life much easier, are cheap to replace, and I'm not trashing my MTB shoes walking up and down the 55 steps at the northern end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway every commute (just get on and build the ramp!) 5: Platform stability 6: Maintenance complaints are vastly overcooked. Sure, there's the occasional spray with dry lube, but I'm not riding dirt roads or trails on this bike, so no problems.

Have been using speedplays for the past 5 years. I love how they feel, when they're new. I am not the best in maintaining them and it was usually too late once I started to realize I should lube them. Pedals can go bad quite quickly if you don't give them the care they need. Admittedly, Clipping in is a huge bonus, but I am seriously considering to make the change to Look Keo cleat system, so I can switch between Assioma power pedals and Looks. If you're owning quite a lot of road bikes, switching pedal systems are quite an investment, but I think I will do it anyway. I am meticulously maintaining my bikes, but the idea of having to maintain pedal systems super frequently doesn't do it for me. Especially if you consider that other manufacturers don't require this maintenance.

Two tips 1. 6.58 is my style to clip which is you make contact then firm jerk down ... so avoid hesitation 2. The carbon plate protector metal plate thing is not just for that.. it prevents that lateral jigging Bonus ...welcome to speedplay sadly your pedal body will wear the same as the used you picked up ... minimising this is by using the metal plate as per (2) above . I have also found slightly thicker plate to firm it up when the pedal body wears. I went to speed play for double sided and I'm committed to at as all my shoes and my trainer are all speedplay . So I'm already down more than 600 plus for 2 pedals and 4 cleats. When I get a new bike and my shoes all wear out enough I've decided to instead go shimano MTB for what I was originally after ... dual sided clip in . And your other questions... as a daily commuter I have to re grease every time I replace a chain so .. that's my tip . You can tell when you spin the pedal body when it needs a re grease ... the spinning feels rough sort of like there's sand stuck in them... need a re grease . I couldn't swallow the price of the grease gun ... I just use small plastic syringes from the chemist

I've used speedplay for years I love them. I'm not a big fan of the locked in feeling Shimano has. I use a plate to push the cleats back further which I prefer too.

I've been riding Speedplay for the last two years because I got frustrated with noisy Look Keo pedals. I put the same Squirt wax on the cleat as on my chain every now and then, when I remember. I grease the pedals maybe four times per season especially after long rainy rides. I use my Park Tool GG-1 to grease the pedals and it works perfectely.

I’ve ridden Speedplay for over 20 years, fixed knee issues for me overnight that I had with other pedals. Clipping in is easy, just becomes muscle memory and instinctive, the fact that you might not hit it first you put the shoe on the pedal out of the box is no different to any other pedal system in my experience. It’s only relatively recently that I read that they require maintenance! I ran them for years and they seemed fine. The thing that failed on my previous pair was the metal cleat and I’d had them so long that I had to buy new pedals because the spares for that model had become hard to find

Just installed Wahoo Speedplay Zeros after exclusively using Look. They were hard as hell to clip in at first, but after spending some time clipping them in and out, they have worked in a bit and I suspect they will get even better. Oddly enough I just ordered some Bont Helix shoes to try even though I love my Lakes.

I'm certainly. not the strongest member of my bike club, but I clip in and get going faster than anyone else. Been using speedplay for over 15 years, and absolutely love them.

I have just gotten black helix with the new steel zeros today I'm excited to get them dialed in an up n running 🙂👍👍

Hi Shane, great channel and love the content. I've used Speedplay X-2 and Zero's for decades and will never switch. I like the float and ease of unclipping. The Zero's are harder to clip in when the cleats are new but get easier over time. It also helps to use a wax based lube (e.g. White Lightning) on the pedals and clipping surfaces. I have never experienced that lateral movement of the foot you had. The bearings may be shot but shouldn't be that hard to replace (would be a good experiment to try). You should grease them once a year or so depending on the conditions you ride in, it's pretty easy to do. GCN has a video where Ollie Bridgewood shows you how to do this with a syringe filled with grease instead of using a grease gun.

Loved my old Speedplay, I only switched because of the advent of Power pedals. I purchased a Powertap hub many years ago and hated dealing calibration/battery. Once power pedals came out it was a no brainer for me. Still using power pedals, but would love to go back to SpeedPlay.

Look->SPD-SL->Look->Speedplay->Look. Bike fits x3. It all came down to Shimano shoes with a more rearward (red) cleat position on Look pedals for the win. Quite the journey. Perhaps I had a poor quality pair of new Speedplays but it was a nightmare experience, could never get the float dialed in, similar platform wobble...finally gave up and went back to the stability/float of Look.

Hi Shane, Welcome to the bright side😂 been on Speedplay for over 10 years and love them. Even had the base plate (3 holes) mounted back to front on time trial shoes to get the center of the pedal further back, but now with most of the shoes having aft fore adjustability I get my position anyway. Also recently switched to egg Bont, but I went for the direct4-hole mount for speedplay. Installation is more direct and easy. The only thing is, you need the aluminium shimmy for the direct 4 bolt mounting which I don't have and they are sold out everywhere. So if you want to sell yours, send me a message. I'm in Melbourne and happy to pay for shipping too.

Love speedplay!!! Maintainance once a year. 🥰

Great content and review. I've never tried SpeedPlay on any of my road, gravel or MTB bikes. I'll be watching how Wahoo moves forward with marketing and developing this pedal system. As a die hard Shimano user who put many thousands of miles on all my bikes every year, it's hard to beat the Shimano SPD's for ease of installation, ease of entry and exit, ease of mud shedding ability and general use and maintenance. Now personally I've never had any knee issues to speak of and the majority of SpeedPlay users/supporters here seem to have gravitated to this system because of issues they've experienced. I'm all for whatever works. The maintenance issue however is for me a major deterrent. I find the Shimano's bullet proof. And for the gravel/mtb setups, the SPD's ability to handle grit, sand, dirt, and allow you full off bike walkability just checks too many boxes for me that the SpeedPlay's can't.

Been using Speedplay X2s for about 25 years and love them. It took a couple rides to get used to the float (no adjustment available) but that was it. Only replaced one pair (have them on TT and road bikes) mainly because they made greasing them easier. I'm sure I have well over 50k miles on one pair only greasing them once or twice a year. Easy entry and only releases when it's supposed to. Cleats were expensive but take a long time to wear. Of course you can't get them now so looking into the Wahoo version. I seem to recall hearing the cleats don't hold up as well but I have no experience with the newer versions.

I've been on speedplays since the early 90s and I've been on all of the others you have shown including a few more. I worked in a shop and initially switched to speedplay due to their high corning angle; I was racing crits at the time. I stay on them because I love the no-resistance free floating feeling. It feels weird for everyone, but with time you can stomp out angry sprints with confidence that you'll stay in. All of my road bikes have the original X1 pedals and they do not include any self centering nubs or the float adjustment. Super simple with lots of float, but they do not rock right to let as seen in your videos. I noticed you have the models with the nubs or indentations on them for self centering (indentations on the face) and maybe that is part of it because the latest wahoo models are back to flat load surfaces like the originals and appear to have some new indentations included in the cleat and the grooves under the round load surfaces. I admit that I haven't tried the Wahoo versions, but will soon when I try out their powerlink pedals. Also, I use sidi's with 4-holes design for speedplay. THese are hard to find and there are a few companies making speedplay specific shoes, but selection is not great. These will allow you to ditch the adapter plate and achieve a very low clearance installation with the shoes closer to the axel than any other setup. My only ding to speedplay is the mud clogging problem; if you walk through some mud, you will find out for yourself how hard it is to get it out and how they can squeak afterwards until properly cleared of mud.

I moved to speedplay a while back and haven't regretted it. Is a bit of a faff to set up ... Will concede that. The dream though...wahoo slam a power meter in these things. I have had knee reconstructions and found these work well for me. Wouldn't recommend for everyone though. Great review 👍👍

Thanks! Once again GPLama does all the hard work so we don't have to. If only you also do my hill rides for me.

I rode Speedplays for one year, just went to Favero Assiomas. Things I liked about Speedplays: you can get them with long pedal axles, I mean *really* long. I need a wide q-factor or my knees hurt. It took me 20 years to figure that out. None of the five professional fits I had even looked at q-factor until I demanded it finally. The long axles and the free and adjustable rotation are fantastic. Very comfortable and my knees love it. Things I didn't like: took a long, long time to break in the cleats. Until then I was literally jumping up and down (on my indoor trainer) to get clipped in, even when the cleat contact areas were lubed with Speedplay SP-Lube. You have to lube the cleat contact area with Speedplay SP-Lube constantly or it will get very hard to clip in. Can be hard to get the cleats flat on the bottom of the shoe, depending on which shoes you have. You have to choose from an array of shims to get it flat. Once the cleats are broken in you still have to lube them every week but then it's pretty easy to clip in. I think they are very walkable. Difficult to install the cleats, as you mentioned. Difficult to add grease which you have to do at least once a year or more often than that if you ride in the wet. The plastic cap on the pedal end kept coming off during grease injection. You have to buy a grease injection gun to do this. If you don't keep up with the greasing the pedals will eventually seize up. Also now it's hard or impossible to find any long axle Zero's, I'm not sure if they are being made anymore since the purchase of Speedplay. So my main reason for buying them isn't even a reason anymore. Also no way to get pedal-based power meter with them. For these reasons I've gone back to Look style Assiomas with BikeFit.com pedal extenders. But the pedal extenders have problems of their own. I am exploring the possibility of installing direct mount MTB cranks with a road 110 BCD spider and road chainrings. I think that is going to give me the wide q-factor I need without using pedal extenders.

i really really hope wahoo decides to get into the powermeter market, and pedals would be a great way. i wish i had walkable cleats

Have used Speedplay pedals for years and have them on all my bikes. Love them, no more knee issues for me Maintenance wise Speedplay do (did) make a specific gun and grease tube but honestly get the grease into a syringe (no needle obviously) and you can squeeze it into the pedal Dry ptfe spray for the cleats and I tend to do it every ride or so As for clipping in, I was advised to bring your foot up from behind and below the pedal and hook it from the back which I do sometimes but I tend to find it easiest to bring foot straight down from above with your instep angled down so you try and clip in with the ‘gap’ part of the cleat over the axle first

I used Zeroes for a few years because I broke my Times RXSs. I wanted durability. I liked the float adjustment screws, but even with float practically dialed out it always felt like I was expending energy keeping my floppy ankles stabilized. (I used to swim.) And I could always feel the profile of the pedal under my foot. I'm using Time Expressos now. I like the way my forefoot feels cradled, and the float feels limited but more natural. As for shoes, the soles of my Bont Riots are still stiffer and thinner than shoes costing twice as much. With heat molding and Giro aftermarket insoles they are the most comfortable cycling shoes I've worn in 50 years.

The Al adaptor plate is a must. Replaces the plastic plate and allows you to get the cleats further back, which is a must for me. Al plate seems to give better effective area and I seemed to get more force on the pedals with the Al plate. Now i have a problem of leaking seals in the pedals that ooze grease onto the cleats. The worst downside is horrendous performance in dirt/gravel.

Moved over to speedplays many years back. Being an old geiser, I was most concerned with knee issues. Speedplays did the trick and have had no knee issues. I did make install easy by getting shoes from DMT with four holes specific for Speedplays. It avoids all the hassle with plates and adaptors. Love my speedplays!!!! I totally agree on your insole comments. Last pair of Bontrager shoes I bought had two insoles for the same (right) foot!! Useless!

6:29 😂 Picture explained all

Have had no issues with Speedplay for 9 years. Not tried other types though so am keen to give Shimano pedals a shot. I do love the ease of getting clipped in compared to everyone on Look or Shimano faffing around, looking down, each time they need to clip-in. Not everyone is pro enough to do it second nature. Hoping that Wahoo integrates a power meter (single & dual-sided), and maybe simplify the installation instruction - but who reads those anyway. TLDR. :)

Been riding Speedplay for last 3 years and all knee issues resolved pretty much overnight. Sure a little bit fiddly setting up the first time but after that never had any problems and the adjustable float is brilliant - its easy to dial in based on the type of ride I'm doing. Spindle bearings greased every 2000 miles or so, although if the weather has been bad a bit less. Cleats get a few drops of dry lube every 4-5 rides and have lasted pretty well considering they're walked on. Don't bother with the walkable covers as they just pop off as soon as any weight is put on them. I haven't noticed any of the lateral movement you found with your second hand pair, but maybe its crept up on me without noticing so will have a check on the next ride. Also never had any issues clipping in or out although I do admit sometimes they don't always engage first time, but I had the same issue with Shimano pedals so probably more to do with my technique than the pedals? Have to say, I love my Speedplays and won't go back to Shimano unless Wahoo stop producing them but hopefully as others have requested, Wahoo release a power meter version before I hang up my lycra!

i''ve been on SP for 20 plus years and love them. dry graphite on the cleats every week or so depending on weather. but have a rag handy, graphite spray makes a lasting mess if you don't clean up quick. lube the pedals once a season.

About a year ago I upgraded my chromoly Zeros with AliExpress 66mm titanium spindles and bowties, they now weigh 68 grams each and have been solid for about 8000k so far. Used to use Look but changed when I started commuting.

I’d love to see some Wahoo/Speedplay power meter pedals! Could even have the power meter in the cleats 🤷‍♂️

I love my speedplay. I only changed to Look when purchasing the Favero Assioma power meter pedals. I miss them. A lot!!!

Love the SP! Tried other pedals and couldn't do it.

I've been riding speedplay pedals on my bikes for years. I use the older ones and have put thousands and thousands of miles on them without wearing out the pedal body. Hell, I have only rebuilt the cleats once in all this time and only because the wire broke and even so they still worked!! I am considering the new ones because I am destroying the cleats after years of walking in them. Maybe I'll wait, I suspect the older ones were a bit more sturdy... Thanks for the video.

Yeap your experience with them is right. Over time speed play wears out the pedal not the cleat. Proper care does help prolong how long they'll last (lube and clean). I've had friends get 3 years of use out of them. Clean with some soapy water, use some air to dry them off, use the same dry lube you apply on your chain to your pedal + cleat. Usually once every 2 weeks (this is on you but should be done after every wet ride).

Went from Speedplay to R8000 SPD-SL. My feet now feel far more stable, especially in sprints. I wanted to like the Speedplays but I couldn't understand the hype around them. I'm also glad I don't have to shell out £60 every time for a new pair of cleats!

I really want to see the Kraft singles vs the Bont footbed review. Please do that one ASAP!!! It is a shame more shoe manufacturers don't do 'speedplay' specific shoes. My first pair were, but since then I've had to use the adaptor. Which just adds to the stack height a little and hassle setting it up. But I love Speedplays and won't go to SPD-SL/Look. Dual sided is so simple, just like the SPD mtb pedals.

Now, off to buy some kraft singles!

I’m going to need to try speedplay at some point also. Never used them. I’m going to hop over to the turtle nature RU-vid channel to better learn the proper clip in technique. 👌