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Pedals: Look vrs Shimano SL

Jul 2, 2009
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Hi,

Anyone have an opinion of which of these is best for weekly 50/60KM spins on a road bike. Currently have SPD's as use same shoes as I use on commuting bike. However don't find SPD's comfortable for longer spins and looking to get new shoes and pedals for road bike. Any opinions appreciated.
 
Dec 1, 2010
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Unless you are going with Dura-Ace, I'd go for Look. I feel like they offer better performance, smoother, easier engagement than 105 or Ultegra. I've used 105 and Ultegra myself (before upgrading all my bikes to the DA platform), and felt they were inferior (overall) to the most basic look KeO.
 
May 20, 2010
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Michael Brown said:
Unless you are going with Dura-Ace, I'd go for Look. I feel like they offer better performance, smoother, easier engagement than 105 or Ultegra. I've used 105 and Ultegra myself (before upgrading all my bikes to the DA platform), and felt they were inferior (overall) to the most basic look KeO.

Agree with the improved quality and feel of the Ultegra or Dura Ace pedals over the cheaper version. However, the bearing life of all of the Looks is atrocious and wouldn't recommend them to anyone.
Time RXS, ICLIC or Speedplay would be better than Shimano or Look for a variety of reasons.
For the record, I've been using the same pair of SPD SL's for six years. The damn things won't wear out, which has prevented me from replacing them with my aforementioned preferences.
 
Spanky said:
Hi,

Anyone have an opinion of which of these is best for weekly 50/60KM spins on a road bike. Currently have SPD's as use same shoes as I use on commuting bike. However don't find SPD's comfortable for longer spins and looking to get new shoes and pedals for road bike. Any opinions appreciated.

When I got back into road riding a couple years ago, I put a pair of SPDs on my road bike that I had taken off my commuter hybrid. I've done centuries with lots of hills and haven't had any problems. I keep on thinking I really should get some real road pedals, but then I think, "Why?".
 
Nov 14, 2009
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I swapped all my pedals from the old Look Delta style to the newer Look Keo style a while back. Did it on all bikes at once. Although Keo's are lighter and more advanced the pedal presents itself when clipping in at a non verticle angle thus clipping in is harder than the old Delta style. I used Delta style even for commuting and would clip in first time without looking 90% of the time. The Keos have a 1st time success rate of about 20%, very annoying for commuting. In summary consider ease of clip in when choosing a pedal system.
 
Michael Brown said:
Unless you are going with Dura-Ace, I'd go for Look. I feel like they offer better performance, smoother, easier engagement than 105 or Ultegra. I've used 105 and Ultegra myself (before upgrading all my bikes to the DA platform), and felt they were inferior (overall) to the most basic look KeO.

6700 is like 7900 w/o the expense, IMO. MUCH better than the 6600/7800 series and more durable than Look, IMHO.
 
Jun 10, 2009
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I have Look Keos and am not altogether happy with them. If I had my time again I don't think I would buy them.

Pluses:
Relatively light, relatively cheap, easier to clip and unclip than Shimano (not a problem for me, but minimum tension on entry level SPD-SL is still too high for small riders like my wife)

Minuses:
The cleats wear very quickly, and when worn allow your foot to rock on the pedal causing an infuriating squeak.
The worn cleats seem to accelerate wear on the plastic pedal body which doesn't bode well for long term durability. This may be less of a problem with the 'fixed' cleats, but I like to have some float.

All that said, I don't think I would buy the Shimano either, unless the weights have come down substantially since 2008. I'll give my wife's old SPD-SL's a try for a while to get away from the "squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak...". It's possible I change my mind about them, but most likely the next stop for me is Speedplay, though I hate to say it after their appalling corporate behaviour.
 
Apr 7, 2010
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like Bustedknuckle said " 6700 is like 7900 w/o the expense ", I have 6700 on my training bike and 7900 on my climbing bike and they both have a really good platform. I wouldn't go with speedplays. To much cost for replacement cleats and like walking on ice...
 
Sep 14, 2009
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I had look 396 and the bearings after 10 years are still smooth, but the stack height got higher with the new cleats. I found ultegra too fixed, and as I get older i am having knee troubles. Then i got Time Impact... the platform is huge! the stack minimal, and I just feel the transfer in power. The bearings have a bit of side play on one pedal from New, but its OK, and NO MORE Knee problems!
I would recomend the old flat bed sole of time equipe shoes. Heavy but the arch support is fantastic. Probably the RXS is also V.good ICLip i would forget.
there is a very good article on the merits of both speedplay and Time RXS
http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/features/rxspedals.shtml which made my mind up. I went for the old impact because of my Time equipe shoes, and they are alloy instead of carbon/ composite
 
Spanky said:
Hi,

Anyone have an opinion of which of these is best for weekly 50/60KM spins on a road bike. Currently have SPD's as use same shoes as I use on commuting bike. However don't find SPD's comfortable for longer spins and looking to get new shoes and pedals for road bike. Any opinions appreciated.

Any opinion?

Look at Speedplay Zeros...great pedals.

Otherwise shimano, much better than LOOk, IMHO.
 
fabramowski said:
like Bustedknuckle said " 6700 is like 7900 w/o the expense ", I have 6700 on my training bike and 7900 on my climbing bike and they both have a really good platform. I wouldn't go with speedplays. To much cost for replacement cleats and like walking on ice...

That's the X series...Zeros feel and work like any pedal..just better.
 
Jul 2, 2009
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Like stated above shimano are quality as is Keo

I personally run a couple sets zero, but have a new pair of Keo in a box waiting for
Something to wear out and therefore go back to the looks - nostalgia buy

The only potential problems With old
Keo's is that the cleat
Eventually wears down the pedal body. The newer version has replaceable
Stainless wear plate
 
Jul 17, 2009
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the dura ace feels like a wider surface area and stiffer to me. In addition I like the solid bearing to spindle

I was on look for a long time. six 1's half a dozen really

but the thing that I grew to like about Dura Ace SL is the float. The float is at the toe which gives you a pivot point under the ball where the Look float space is at the back of the pedal making the pivot point a bit further forward. i guess I feel as though my heel doesnt have to move as far to have a little play on the Shimano which I like

way to technical I know but you asked

for what it is worth I like nothing about the speedplay; entry exit and float all just dont work for me
 
I race Div 1 in XTR xc pedals. Ive used all the top shelf road pedals in the past and Keywins are hands down the best. The XTR pedal is the most durable and you can actually walk around with no hassles. I love the fact that I race the same shoes and pedals for Road/XC and CX.

Road shoes/pedals are purely a fashion thing. Having a wider pedal platform means nothing when our shoes are so stiff these days. I ride custom shoes.

I love not having to worry about durability or walking like a pelican no more.

When I worked in the industry people would come in and buy new cleats and pedals all the time. Its about making light stuff that breaks and wears easily and telling fat boys that they will ride like Lance if they shave an ounce off their pedals. lol!

Get with it, get on the most durable pedal on the market. XTR 970/980'S.
 
Spanky said:
Hi.........which ones?.
So, what did you get? :p

I disagree that 105s are noticeably inferior to Ultegra, as I've been using both for years, in the old style (plastic body cover) and the new ones, and can't tell the difference when riding. Maybe if I spun them in my hands I might feel that the Ultegras are a little smoother, but I doubt it.

The 105s are good enough and are so freakin cheap!! They're about 50 bucks with cleats on the UK online shops, which is obviously handy if you have more than a few bikes. However, I've just noticed that Ultegras are now only $35 more (on Chain Reaction), so..... The last time I looked, Ultegras were 40 or 50 bucks more.
 
I have Ultegra on the road bike and 540s on the commuter. I haven't noticed that much difference between the two. The ultegra is about 5-6yrs old and the 540's are almost 4 years old. Have had no problems with either...


And I hope this post doesn't result in another LOOK survey request in a PM either.
 

oldborn

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May 14, 2010
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I am looking for Shimano 105 spd sl 5700 pedals, did never ride Shimano road pedals just M520.
Are they good and comparable with Keo 2 max or Keo Classic?
Thanks!
 
May 11, 2009
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I've used SPD pedals for years on both my road and track bikes with no problems. I believe it is the shoes that is the most important interface between the rider and the pedal. And I have no problem walking with the SPD cleats.
 

oldborn

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May 14, 2010
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avanti said:
I've used SPD pedals for years on both my road and track bikes with no problems. I believe it is the shoes that is the most important interface between the rider and the pedal. And I have no problem walking with the SPD cleats.

Danke Schoen avanti!
 
Jul 17, 2009
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I like the shimano float at the front of pedal, feels like a wider platform, 0 issues with spindle and bearings are solid and smooth.
 

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