Can someone give me a short description and comparison of the different road cycling pedal / shoe systems?

Question

I am looking at buying a pedal/shoe system as the clips and straps I am using are hurting my feet again.

It's been a long time since I have bought a road pedal / shoe system, and I have forgotten the differences between SPDs, Look pedals and all the others.

Can someone give a short comparison of each pedal system with pros and cons of each? My usage is/will be mainly city street cycling and then road cycling (recreation, not racing).

I'd prefer if people would give the pros and cons of each and not their opinion on the "pedal system war". :) However, "I use them because I find XYZ and it helps in ABC ways" is very useful.

Answer 1

First up, I'd strongly recommend switching to clipless pedals. I had the same discomfort issues you're describing with normal shoes and toeclips and find clipless pedal so much more comfortable and secure (therefore safer).

When comparing and evaluating clipless pedal systems, some of the more important attributes are:

• Float - This is the property where the foot can swivel on the pedal while clipped in. Some pedals allow the float to be adjusted independently of the tightness, while other pedals have only a single adjustment for both. Also, see this answer.
• Ease of entry - Some pedals require the pedal and cleat to be lined up carefully before the cleat can clip in. Others are orientation agnostic and a good stomp is usually enough to engage the cleat.
• Compatibility with shoes - Most shoes have either
  • The 2 (× 2) bolt SPD pattern (⸬), typically mountain bike and more casual style shoes
  • The 3 bolt SPD-SL pattern (⸫), typically lighter stripped-down road shoes
• Availability - How easy it is to buy parts, cleats and pedals.
• Surface area - The size of the contact point on the shoe. This can make a difference in how evenly the pressure of the pedal is distributed to the foot.
• Walkability - How easy it is to walk while wearing the shoe with the cleat.

These attributes for a number of different brands are compared in the table below.

Image	Brand / Style	Shoe bolts	Float	Ease of entry	Available	Contact area	Walkable
	Shimano SPD-L	⸫ SPD-L	▃▁▁ Low	▃▁ 1 side	▁▁▇ Easily	▁▁▇ Large	▃▁▁ Poor
	Look Keo	⸫ SPD-L	▃▁▁ Low	▃▁ 1 side	▁▁▇ Easily	▁▁▇ Large	▃▁▁ Poor
	Speedplay	⸫ SPD-L (adapter)	▃▅▇ Lo-Hi	▁▇ 2 sides	▁▅▁ Often	▁▅▁ Medium	▃▁▁ Poor
	Time Equipe, RSX, Xpresso	⸫ SPD-L	▃▅▇ Lo-Hi	▃▁ 1 side	▃▁▁ Rarer	▁▁▇ Large	▃▁▁ Poor
	Shimano SPD	⸬ SPD	▃▁▁ Low	▃▇ 1-2	▁▁▇ Easily	▃▅▁ Sm-Md	▁▅▇ Better
	Crank Bros Eggbeater, Candy, Mallet	⸬ SPD	▃▅▁ Lo-M	▃▇ 1-4	▁▅▁ Often	▃▅▇ Sm-Lg	▁▅▇ Better
	Time ATAC	⸬ SPD	▃▅▇ Lo-Hi	▃▇ 1-2	▃▁▁ Rarer	▃▅▇ Sm-Lg	▁▅▇ Better

Shimano SPD

The most common style of commuter and mountain bike pedals.

Shimano SPD-SL

The most common form of road bike pedals.

Look Keo

The first popular road bike clipless pedal.

Speedplay

A road pedal becoming more popular, with many professional riders now using it. There are no moving or wear-accumulating parts on the pedal side of the pedal-cleat interface, making it very durable. All springs, adjustments, and moving parts been moved to the cleat.

Time ATAC

The Time Auto Tension Adjust Concept (ATAC) is an early mountain bike style pedal. ATAC is particularly popular with downhill riders.

Time equipe, RSX, Xpresso

The road shoe style Time pedals.

Crank Bros Eggbeaters

Crank Bros Eggbeaters are commonly used on mountain bikes, where their simple design is good at shedding mud. There is some question about the durability of the bearings, however replacement kits are available, making these pedals more repairable. Float is dependent on the shoe cleats.

There are also options with a platform built around the eggbeater core, but the clip mechanism is the same.

Answer 2

I ride about 2500 miles per year, mostly road.

At one time, I used SPDs (Shimano SH-51), but I got knee pain from a misaligned cleat. In addition, I prefer to ride with my feet slightly pronated (heels in, toes out, like a duck), so I felt like I wanted more float from my cleats. SPD cleats offer around 5 degrees of float. Too, the shoes I had for SPDs were not stiff enough in the sole, so I was getting hot spots on longer rides. After 40-50 miles I couldn't wait to get off the bike.

I switched to Speedplay Zeros about 4000 miles ago, and I've been very satisfied. They offer a huge amount of float relative to SPDs (15 degrees, about three times as much). The cleats for Speedplays are not cheap ($40 vs. $20 for SPDs), and they do wear, but you can fight the wear to a certain extent with covers (http://www.keeponkovers.com/Product.html). The Speedplay cleats need to be lubed-- I use Pedro's Ice Wax-- and as a result they do pick up dirt, which, if you are careless, can make it harder to clip in.

I know riders who do three times the mileage that I ride, and they're good with SPDs.

Bottom line, all of the contact point stuff-- bars, saddle, shoes, pedals-- are a personal matter, and to a certain extent you need to find what works for you. The bars, saddle, shoes, and pedals that work for me may not be so good for you.

Answer 3

The Look Keo's are very popular, but until recently they had a problem in gritty areas, because the contact edge would erode quite quickly. Newer versions have a metal strip added there, so look for that if this is an issue.

I'm currently riding Mavic pedals very similar to the Looks, but I wouldn't recommend them. The cleats wear twice as fast as my old, pre-Keo Looks, and they seem to be harder to clip into than others I have used.

Answer 4

As a large rider, I personally prefer Look pedal systems, as they have one of the larger platforms to connect my feet to the pedals. (SPD-R, and Speedplay potentially are getting closer in size).

The classic SPD is nice on Mountain Bikes, as it hides nicely in the shoe sole (which Look most definitly does not) and you can walk in them off the bike.

Speedplay where most of the hardware is on the shoe, and the pedal itself is simplistic is also pretty good.

Then there are the less common systems like Crank Brothers Egg Beaters and the like which focus on easier entry/exit.