SPEEDPLAY Pedals; The Verdict

I have been using SPEEDPLAY Pedals on all three of my bikes (road, time trial and track) for almost three months now, after having spent many years on another type of pedal. I have been using the following models:

Road and Time Trial Bike: ZERO (click)

Track Bike: AERO (click)

If you search online, you will find some talk of how difficult and tricky they are to set up. Honestly, I didn't find that at all. There are a few more steps to set up compared to other pedals, but if you follow the instructions, it is no issue at all. SPEEDPLAY make some excellent 'how to' videos which are really useful:

The one thing I was worried about when changing pedals, was the float. My previous brand had a lot of float and this always worked well for me because I have always had 'twitchy' feet and tend to move around a lot. The float in the SPEEDPLAY Pedals works very well and is extremely adjustable. This adjustment is also covered in the above video.

There is a little ongoing maintenance with SPEEDPLAY Pedals which is not the norm for other brands. Having said that, it is as simple as using a little grease now and then and the occasional squirt of dry lube on the cleats. This is covered in the below video:

Set up was very easy once the cleats were installed. Stack height on these pedals is very low and I was lucky enough to not require any seat height adjustment at all. I set my pedals up on a three bolt shoe, using the SPEEDPLAY four bolt adapter and it worked perfectly.

Without a doubt though, the best thing about these pedals (and the biggest difference when comparing to my previous pedals), is the power transmission. There is a positive and direct relationship between your foot and the pedal and it feels like no power is being lost. This is especially the case for big power efforts out of the seat both on the open road and on the velodrome.

So in summary, this change has been a positive one for me. Old habits die hard and after so many years on my previous system, I was a little stubborn about the change. No regrets at all now as I am overwhelmingly pleased with the performance of these SPEEDPLAY Pedals.

Disclaimer: I am supplied with pedals by SPEEDPLAY.