What's the best Pedal System for Road Cycling? - BikeFitTuesdays 

What about power meter pedals as a lot of us are running them now.

I ride Time pedals and I think the float sensation is fantastic. I tried look Keo and for me the float felt odd and unnatural - with look/spd the pivot is at your toes so all the really moves is your heel in an arc whereas with Time the float pivot is directly under the ball of your foot. Having ridden Time for 15+ years, I guess that's just what feels normal to me now.

MTB SPD for me! First type of proper pedal I’ve tried, but the dual sidedness is best for me given how many lights I come against! Easy to get in and out of without looking, and the shoes are useful!

Looking forward to more BFT's! Cheers chaps. I did think of a potential topic. - Now I've heard James in the past say that most people, or at least a lot of people, will run their saddle too high. There's also a lot of 'information' out there about how best to do this... and it all seems to centre around things like the 'LeMond method' etc and they all always still end up talking about the old 'plumb line' chestnut in relation to saddle position, so.. - Perhaps a video on exploding the myths around saddle height - Is the LeMond method valid? The old inseam multiplied by 0.883 business? Straight leg when heel is on the pedal? Etc. Because if none of these things are in fact particularly useful, then every one who Googles/RU-vids this topic, to this day, is still getting the wrong info straight off the bat. Or straight off the buttock, as it were.. Anyway, yeah, cheers guys. ☮ Edit: spelling

As a heavy rider. I find Speedplay great. No problems with durability and loads of adjustability. Allows the foot to move around so reduces any problems with knees etc. High recommended.

I ride SPD (MTB) types on the road bike for more than 20 years and never encountered any 'contact area' problem. There are pedals with an extended contact area, still, you need to choose a shoe with super-stiff sole. So there is the advantage of being able to walk more or less normally. The drawback is the weight of shoe and pedal is usually quite a bit more than compared to a Look pedal system. Also, the choice of suitable shoes (i.e. MTB shoes for road bike purposes) is certainly much more limited.

Watching this I'd like to know more about SPD pedals and shoes for them. I ride mostly for commute/shopping/pleasure rides on cycle routes.

Great vid and useful to have James’s candour - easy for me to say perhaps as I’m a Shimano SPD SL user. Significantly and personally I’ve a serious chronic knee injury/damage (hit by a car +40 years ago) but with these pedals well set up and knowing a few off bike rehab exercises (when necessary) I’ve had no truly serious problems over the last 10 years or so which doesn’t seem bad for a relatively old, relatively over weight rider like me.

Double sided pedals so I can wear my tennis shoes for commuting and then clip in when going for a longer ride.

James could definately have his own bikefit James channel now! Can you cover correct saddle height and whether any of the formula ie lemond etc are right?

I really like a mtn bike style with clipless and flat. It allows me in an urban environment to decide if I want to wear a flat mtn bike shoe, a clipless mtn bike shoe, or just a regular normal shoe. While it's not the absolute best for power transfer, the versatility works for my needs

Check crankbrotters peddels for MTB 4 sids for ingating and very lite

I've been on speedplays since 2001. Love them. Got a pair of ultegra a couple years ago. Other than a different way of clipping in,I didn't notice much difference in the feel. I still prefer my speedplays.

Just switched from Time to Shimano SPD SL and cannot believe the difference. Used Time pedals for 20+ years but the latest incarnations are in my opinion the worst they have produced. Several pairs replaced under warranty due to the carbon blades snapping, bearing issues and poor cleat durability. Love the SPD's, and pleased I made the switch. Great series of videos BTW...

Why did Campagnolo pedals die out.....??? .....BeBop for the win. 😀

I use Shimano SPD purely because most of my cycling is commuting these days and a lot walking to and from the bike shed. Only have one bike and can't be arsed swapping pedals all the time so it made sense.

I used the Shimano SPD (M520) on my road commuter bike for more than 10 years and totally loved it! These pedals are so robust and maintenance-free, it's ridiculous. I only just took them apart and cleaned/regreased them to sell as I'm trying some Look Keo Carbons. The stability of the Looks is incredible, but everything else is a major pain: clipping in/out, walking, getting on and off the bike (you can't even leisurely stand on one pedal for coasting without clipping in), getting the right lateral-medial/rotational/fore-aft fit, release tension has only 3 settings, cleats wear quickly, and lastly.... if you walk on a smooth floor like sealed garage concrete, you'll slip!

Potential topic - Knee alignment/tracking. How to tell if it's out? Can a rider look down and see it? How can cleat adjustment change this?

Great content! For endurance rides and races, the SPD mtb pedals seem like a no brainer for time spent off the bike etc but if you're riding for 10days would the small contact patch cause issues in that time or is best to stick to the SPD SL's.

Love my speedplays ... The small contact pad is no issues. It feels solid. 12 years with speedplays. I had dura ace for 2 years, not bad too... But don't like to look down.

Missed Bikefit Tuesdays - although you forgot to add 'filmed on a Monday'

Yay, you all made it back ok 👌 BFJ's BFT filmed, who knows when, released on a Friday 🙄 1. Why is the red SPD-SL, and presumably the black Look cleat, the work of the devil? I ride black look cleats and they work very well for me. I know there is 0° float but, that's what attracted them to me. Looking forward to more BFT's 👌🎥

I've used zero since they came out. Great for triathlon too.

As with every other thing cycling related, I went through a phase where I tried tons of pedals. When I started cycling, I was on Shimano SPD-SL. I then proceeded to run through Look, Time, Mavic, Exustar(combination of Look and Shimano), and finally, Speedplay to "save more weight". In the end, I went back to Shimano SPD-SL because they're simply the most stable, well built pedals, in my opinion. Out of all of them, I'd be least likely to use Speedplay again.

Cool Video. One thing I disagree with is the quality of the m520 vs m540. The bearings may be better but they usually need to be changed after 2 years (still faaaaar better than most) the m520s seem to last literally forever, I've never had a pair die or rebuilt any of them.

MTB SPD because they allow walking normal instead like a duck or goose

I recently switched from Dura Ace pedals w/ RC901 shoes to XTR pedals w/ XC901 shoes and love the feel. The contact patch is only small if your shoe is not adequately stiff enough, and at 196cm and 95kg, I need the stiffest everything, it seems. But the shoe interfaces perfectly with the pedal and feels exactly like a road pedal, albeit with an altogether heavier system. Great videos Francis!

Shimano pd-m540 on my road bike. Love’em!

Any thoughts on the new thing of pointing your shifter hoods inwards?

Sounds like my SPD were the absolute perfect choice for me as a rider. So satisfying to know! Thank you guys!!

Thanks Francis! I just love listening to James talk bike stuff. I always learn something and really enjoy his forthright comments. Very knowledgeable guy. This is by far one of my favorite RU-vid channels.

Liking the love for Shimano👌The SPD always give me knee problems, would you recommend anything else for me on my gravel bike?

I've been riding spd pedals for years. Never had a problem. Used to ride look pedals but rather have the comfort than bigger contact patch with the pedal. The shoe should give you most of your stability anyways

Speedplays are totally the way to go. Much more aerodynamic and lighter sytem. I have walkabales so I can walk around.

I'm riding with Time Xpressos for many years and love them. What I felt immediately when I changed from Look (pre Keo) to Time was the much more stable stand, may be due to the larger contact patch. No problems neither on the road bike nor on the TT bike - and they are ridiculous light, ~65 g with titanium axle and only a bit more with steel axle!

The original clipless pedal system (apart from the Cinelli M71 or some other early attempts) would be Look Delta, which is still available nowadays.

Brilliant video! I've bought the Shimano SPD for my new road bike and a pair of Specialised shoes. I'm a new rider and I need to say the combo fits like a glove! I'm riding on all kinds of surfaces across UK. No complaints so far apart from the fact that they were a bit hard to clip on in the beginning. I've adjusted them(+/-) and sprayed a bit of GT85. Perfect now!

After a motorcycle accident recovery I'm starting in the bicycle world and your videos are the best I've found in RU-vid, very professional and well explained. Thank you very much. Greetings from Mexico!!

Hi Guys, There is a bike fit topic that I would really appreciate it if you could cover it in a video. You actually mentioned it in this video, and that's not sitting straight on the saddle. I had a Retul bike fit earlier this year which diagnosed me with not sitting straight on the saddle which was causing awful left hand side saddle sores. We changed saddles and lowered my saddle height which helped with the sores but left me still sitting off to one side. Following the bike fit I had 8 physio sessions which was advised by the bike fitter which hasn't addressed the problem either. I don't know what to do... I currently use Shimano RC7 shoes with Specialized's green insoles as my running gait analysis shows I pronate a lot on the right side. Please help :) thanks

Instability on the pedal can be good if your bio mechanics is a bit funny. Just like most people do well with a bit of float, some people do well with a bit of foot rocking on the pedal. It lets the pressure out so to speak. That's what I think.

Started off using LOOK but, soon converted to Shimano SPDSL after a recommendation and never looked back. I have them on all my 3 road bikes so, no messing around. I prefer the blue cleats as I like a little float but not to the extent that the yellow ones give. Good article and well presented.

Good morning from sunny Florida! Great video. One comment that might be helpful. I am not a small rider and I use Shimano PD-A600 SPD pedals on my Roubaix and Tarmac. Shoes matter. I wear the Shimano SH-XC5 because of the carbon sole. If you are running pedals with a smaller contact, pay attention to your shoes.

Good boy for realising that Shimano are the best. I will extend this for you, and conclude that not only are Shimano the best, but the rest are actually fucking shit.

I use my bike for audaxing, sportives and commuting and have used Shimano SPDs for over a decade. Not just for beginners but for experienced riders who love the durability, ease of use and practicality.

There's also a Shimano SPD pedal where the platform is a bit larger and the entry a bit easier. However its one sided.

Would also be interesting with a video on how you objectively set up your cleats, based on all the measurement you can see on your equipment.

I've been following James on IG for ages, so glad I just stumbled upon your RU-vid!

I started on SPD, wasn't a fan of the way of clipping in and it just didn't feel that secure. Swapped to SPD SL and it was such a huge difference. The wider platform felt much more secure and it was easier to clip in and out, a little bit of a pain to clip back in from a stop though. Currently trying out speedplay. A little hard to clip in but I'm sure it will be easier over time. Love the dual sided clip in and love the float.

To be able to walk on bike shoes i recently got. the Look S track ti for one of my Road bikes-they are superb-much better than the xtr with twice as much Space to stand on.Also very easy to fit.👍🏼

After a lifetime of using Look and Shimano, I'm on my 4th year on Speedplay. By far the best. I will never go back.

I agree with other commentators that MTB shoes and pedals work well because you can walk in them. I use crankbrothers eggbeaters which are light and reliable.

Agree with all the evaluations except spd mtb pedals. I have used it since 2003 after converting from look type pedals. I have never found any instability issues on it. Perhaps you may wanna try a blind fold test between look/shimano road spd with this spd mtb to bust the myth. Cheers

I bought a pair of the original white Look pedals, and Patrick shoes ( ala Bernard Hinault) in 1985, after racing in California .. The cycle shop I usual dealt with in British Columbia was run by a extremely cranky Irishman, promptly ordered me out of his shop if I was really planning on using "that shite" and refused to ride with me as he feared I would take everyone down... He swore that as long as Kelly was using clips and straps, he would as well.. Of course he eventually succumbed.. I still use Look, although for me, the best shoe pedal combination was the early 90's Time Equipe, the white and red shoes and magnesium pedals, sadly it was extremely hard finding parts to rebuild the pedals...

having used LOOK SPD-SL alike road cleat, Shimano SPD & Crankbrothers , currently on my 3 bikes, I would personally prefer a carbon XC shoes that’s using SPD alike cleat. When I got my Scott Foil in 2021, I started it with SPD for first 500km and subsequently changed to LOOK pedal with a pair of carbon sole GIRO road shoes. After cycling on this bike for 10000km, I changed the LOOK road pedal to a pair of SPD pedals, using Shimano 3 hole converter (SMSH-41) SPD cleat adaptor on the same pair of GIRO road shoes 2 days ago. I absolutely do not experience/feel that there is any loss of power delivery to pedal stroke, instability, or tighter clip in or whatever. I guess the loss of power to pedal for some users may be due to different type of shoe sole used for SPD & SPD-SL as road shoes are mostly carbon and XC shoes are rubber. I know it as I have XC carbon shoes and rubber shoes In fact I was happy that I can walk normally now when I use the other pair of XC shoes. I’m happy now and will be giving away the LOOK Road pedal and cleats soon

Great stuff, keep on going! I am missing the PD-ES600 stile Pedals in the line up. I am using these and like them very much.

8:24 Hardly an 'argument'.

Dura Ace pedals are so good, that i don't hesitate to run them on Sram AXS equipped bike. Speedplay Zero - i was on them for couple years, not bad, bearings fine, wide variety of fitting options, but does not feel that stable for me and cleats are very prone to get clogged by dirt. Cleats are also very expensive, so if you would like to use multiple bike shoes, it will get very costy. Look - Fine, but bearing life is very short and are not balanced as well as shimano (which are always vertical), which you can enter much easier. Time - Ditto + extremely short life of cleats

Hello, great informative video! Question: I’m a year round fatbike rider at 220 lbs. I also put my foot down a lot as a habit from dirt bike riding. Deathly afraid of falling over locked in! What do you recommend. I think I’d like a float style?

Hi, it would be great od you could explain whow changes im position changes muscle load i.e. what muscles willa be sore od I push my saddle to far forward, or have my saddle to łów etc. So that we can identify needed changes im position.

I found the comment about the myth that Speedplays helps with knee problems interesting. It seems to me that Speedplays allow a lot of adjustment so it seems like that would allow a fitter or cyclist the ability to set them up with any angle or amount of float. The stability issue may be there for some elite riders but I just checked and it looks like 14 pros are riding Speedplays. Sure that's a money thing but I have to think someone making their living in the sport would value performance of sponsorship. I enjoy these videos but I'm not sure why Speedplays are rated so low by this fitter.

Does anyone know if the instability from the spd could cause knee issues when pushing big watts? Could the natural straight pedalling motion of the knee be altered because of the extra float and instability?

That's so... tried speedplay, .. not OK... maybe they should go together with TIME ... combine the 2 and you have the best pedal in the world !!!!!

“Rider that doesn’t put out a huge amount of power...” Like Bradley Wiggins, for example.

All during my 35 years of road cycling have i worn SPD's and MTB sidi's. Why? Because i can walk on the shoes without feeling like i am walkign on ice.

I'm a left leg Amputee and all I've ever used is crankbrothers egg beaters and candys. Do you have any input on these for road bikes and also any tip for a heavier rider/ amputee

How to bike fit on a recumbent? How does the front wheel size and bottom bracket affect you?

Was a look guy for most of my road days 20 years ago. My commuter bike has a set thats SPD on one side and flat on the other; getting a new bike and going to try out SPDSL and see how it is

I see you didn't mention the crank bro pedals. I have been running them on both my bikes for years, and would love to see what you think. Thanks in advance.

I've been riding Crank Bros Candy Ti for 8 years on my road bike & love them. Can't beat shoes you can walk in!

Stability and power transfer comes from the stiffness of the shoes not the pedal system, that you need a road specific cleat is a myth. Spd is the best system you can walk fairly normally in even stiff shoes and the cleats last forever.

Welcome back Not to mention the constant maintenance of the bearings of Speedplay pumping grease through them after the slightest drop of water gets near them. And you were on the money about the wear of the cleat retaining circlip of them too

Mint! This was well done. I have seen lots of riders and their peddles, the best (bike fitted) ones have a peddle type they use and don't deviate from it.

what about knee cap displacement?few years ago revealed my knee caps naturally was placed more inwards toward each other.and sometimes muscles and tendons gettin over stressed. what the best way to avoid any problems in future?

Hi! I agree with you about mountain SPD pedals being less stable due to narrower platform, but you didn't mention the road/touring single sided version of the SPD. After years of using multiple SPD-SL & KEO models I was tired of being unable walk with my bike shoes. Then I decided to try some Shimano touring models. I now have the ES600 and A600 models and I can say they are pretty much indistinguishable from the classic SPD according to stability. I just measured the usable platform width of some pedals I have here, and it is 64mm for PD-9000, 51mm for PD-R540, 62mm for PD-A600 and 61mm for PD-ES600.

That was three years ago now you have to consider Pitbull bike pedals.

The design of Look Keo and Shimano SPD SL is so similar ... I'm wondering why he likes the Shimano so much more.

“Can’t have that faux pas of using Shimano pedals on a Campangello bike” What a diva

“Can’t have that faux pas of using Shimano pedals on a Campangello bike” What a diva

I once had Time iclic pedals, loved them except for one fact; I kept breaking the cleats. I actually had a friend who used them until he broke off the front of the pedal while clipping in mid-ride. My friends and I use Look Keo Max 2's exclusively now with no issues and the cleats last at least a year or 4-5k miles which ever comes first. I always recommend Shimano Mountain SPD pedals to new riders who are scared of riding clipless because of their ease of entry and exit because of their adjustability in spring tension.

I swapped from road set up to crank brothers egg beaters and a walkable shoe and it was a game changer. So much easier to clip in and night and day difference during cafe stops and even just walking out of the house. No more slips on the steps into the garage on my way out. And i don’t notice any difference out on the road. I even find it safer when stopped at traffic lights thanks to the extra grip from the shoes on the ground when stopped.

You quickly held up an SPD pedal with a larger area of stability when reviewing the Shimano gravel pedals can you link them? I have a gravel bike which I'm usually riding on the road and just got Shimano as my first clip-ins, along with shoes with recessed clip. I'm 6'2" and hoping they offer enough stability. I'm also 53 years old and certainly don't want to hurt my knees.

Love my Time pedals. Will get them again when I upgrade my bike.

Bought the E1 Ultegra based on a video and had knee pain within 3km. Fit before you buy!

My bike fitter also suggested I should get rid of my Look's when they wear out and go for Shimano. Seems to be a popular thought

Look pedals for me....no float, don't like that bit of ankle movement & I don't suffer any knee problems.

Quite pleased with James' Shimano M540 SPD recommendation. I personally bought mine because you only need a spanner to service them and not a specific tool.

Rode Time for years, since Big Mig's time. Finally moved to keo's this year. Still getting used to them. Float on time is a center pivot vs rear for the keo's. Still the best float mechanism out there imo considering contact size as well. When Shimano 'eventually' come out with an spd-sl pedal power meter I might convert again.

Super interesting. Do some more 😁

As a heavier speedplay user I feel triggered. Someone validate me, I don't wanna spend another 100 on new pedals

Flat pedals allll day! >:D I even rode my flat pedals with Durian Rider and didn't give a fuck

Loving the content! I use crankbrother candy mtb pedals on both my road and fixed gear bikes. Love them! One of the issues brought up in the previous video was not being able to use external wedges on mtb shoes. I was actually able to find some for mine and they work great.

Best price performance ratio for SPD pedals is the BBB BDP-14 in my opinion.

Still enjoy my mtb spd's. Mostly I run flats unless I am on the road bike.

Speedplay for the win - 100kg track sprinter.

James used to have serious face with tonnes of cursing, after watching Vietnam series, the impression has changed

Wow I didn’t know Olly Sykes had a cycling RU-vid channel? Gee wizz!

Thanks for the great info! Your excellent insight has definitely made my pedal and shoe selection a breeze. I already have the Dura Ace SPD-SL. Topping it off with Lake shoes has been a fantastic pairing. Thanks guys!

Jeeez, no hanging around - just back from an Epic adventure and already putting out new content! ;-)

Hate the intro noisy music! How do you justify holding and showing the cleats against a black shirt? You should have put the cleats on a contrasting color background to make it visible. Really amateurish! Have you watched the video yourselves?

Francis can you please ask James when he comes back from being a first time dad the following question for me please as I have had two full knee replacements. I love time pedals as I find they suit me compared to my Assioma pedals I have just purchased. What is the best pedal system to use for someone like me who has been busted up due to everything apart from Cycling hence the knee replacements. Thank in in advance.