From: sutton@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Rich Sutton)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.misc
Subject: Re: speedplay pedal/lolipop pedals
Date: 15 Oct 92 17:03:49 GMT
Organization: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO  80523

In article <1992Oct14.172328.11235@panther.mot.com> ronf@panther3.panther.mot.com (Ron Feigen) writes:
>Hi,
>
>  Does anybody have any info about Speedplay pedals.  They look like lollipops.
>A shop in town is carrying them, they seem to think they are really pretty cool.
>The Speedplay are very light (175gm) and they say easy to get in and out of. 
>your foot is also closer to the spindle than a Time pedal.  
>
>  Has anybody used the pedals?  Any info?  Reviews? ect....
                                                                               
CONCLUSIONS
===========
They work well in ideal conditions. A little dirt can scuff things up, though.
I'd use them on roads only. 
The original spindles have me a little concerned about longevity...



GOOD POINTS
===========
1. They are easy to enter. Once you get used to them they require zero
attention.

2. They couple solidly to the cleat (usually! see BAD POINTS). You can         
really crank on the upstroke.                                                  
                                                                               
3. They release easily with a heel-out motion. I am "duck-footed", my feet     
naturally toe out a lot, so much that I release from Looks with a heel-in      
motion. The Speedplay release gives me no problems, even though my feet        
don't normally point that way.                                                 
                                                                               
They have never released accidentally while pedalling. They did release        
last August during a nasty crash.                                              
                                                                               
                                                                               
4. The rotation is very generous and very friction-free. According to the      
instructions this will feel un-natural for a while. I got used to it           
within minutes. My legs only used the rotation they needed and didn't flop     
over over the place.                                                           
                                                                               
5. Very light weight. Only Sampsons are lighter, and I've heard too many
anecdotes of breaking cleats and bad bearings to try them.

 
BAD POINTS                                                                     
==========
1. Grit can get between the the cleat and pedal and grind. You have to grease
the pedal surfaces which makes the problem worse. The first day I used them I
got off the bike and stood on a dirt shoulder. Enough grit stuck to the cleat
to noticably increase the friction, though still lots less friction than Looks,
and the pedals got scratched.

A month or so later I rode the Triple Bypass. A section of bike path was
being repaved so we had to walk around it on soaked dirt. I cleaned out
the cleat with my fingers and still could not engage the left pedal. After
a mile or two of coasting, digging out the cleat, and spraying my water
bottle in the cleat I could finally re-engage the pedal.

For this reason I'd say the pedals are great for racing, not so great for
touring. I'm amazed that one response mentioned a rider using them on a
Mountain Bike.



2. The original spindles had their chrome flake off. At first this was a
cosmetic problem, then rust appeared. I returned the pedals and Speedplay
installed new spindles. They said they had a bad production run and it wouldn't
happen again. So far so good, no flaking in 6 weeks or so.