Look started the clip-in pedal revolution with a design adapted from its ski bindings. Many other pedals followed with designs similar to these French companies, but not Speedplay. Bryne started with a small, simple disc of a pedal that fit into a hollow in a large cleat into which he built both release and free-float mechanisms, and he has stuck with it. However, Speedplay did not become the pedal sponsor of so many powerhouse teams and riders by throwing money at them.
Instead, what it could bring them is tangible benefits they were not willing to be without, no matter what the sponsorship dollars looked like. Major teams are on Speedplay generally because influential riders on those teams, who had raced on the pedals before, insisted on them. But why did these riders insist on them? In a nutshell, it was due to performance, adjustability and serviceability. Riders like that Speedplays are lighter, bring the foot closer to the pedal spindle, are more aerodynamic, and have more cornering clearance than any other pedal.
The facts that the pedals are double-sided the only road pedal with this feature and easy to enter and exit while providing high security against pre-release also make Speedplay a favorable choice. My last pedals were clip-less mids Mavics. Basically, they looked pun intended just like LOOK pedals of that same era. So, I Googled and Googled and even talked with the Speedplay people.
They are very nice and said essentially the same thing you did — it just takes a bit of time to get used to the float.
Have you tried relubing the seized pedals? I once had my other side Speedplay Zero Stainless seize on me.. I however pushed new superlubes trough the pedal and it has been fine ever since.. Hello, I am in AZ and also have speedplay x5 pedals which I love. I do not race but really enjoy cycling for fitness since I am unable to run. My cleats are fine but I need a new right pedal. Would you be willing to sell me a right x5 pedal? Yes, they are expensive, but they are worth every penny IMO— I love them and will never ride anything else!
He David Baker might have the same problem I had recently, I bought a speedplay grease gun to lube my pedals and found out on close inspection that the small bolt under the spindle cap had no grease port. When I checked online I realised that some models older ones do not have a grease port.
You have to dismantle the pedal to get the grease in , which after finding a youtube video I done quite easily being basically mechanically minded , good luck. I love my speedplays. Not a single issue. Not an issue either way. Once my foot and pedal come loose from the spindle broken circlip? Biked home pressing leg and pedal in, rebuilt OK. Cleats expensive, get the walkable stay on covers, I never remove mine. No prob getting used to float.
I ride each bike maybe 50 miles per week and grease about once per year. My CrMo variety do not have the dust cap which can pop up and make it hard to get the grease in — they just have a little hole in the otherwise solid outside end of the pedal.
Big plus for the CrMo. One thing I tried just yesterday which made things a lot easier: I took the pedal off of the bike and placed it in a vice on my workbench before trying to inject the grease.
Everything went much more smoothly. Just saw this post. Very odd to hear about failure or the need to add lube every miles — that does not match my experience at all. Shoe setup can be a little fiddly — need to get the right shims, and also need to loctite the screws or they will wilggle loose eventually. I tried to order new cleats for my x-series, and they are basically unavailable in the U.
Also I contacted Wahoo, asking if the new shims come with the cleats, and they sent a form email, which did not answer the question, obviously. I used to be able to deal with Speedplay directly, and now nothing. The correct technique is to leave them on the bike, unlike the initial pictures in the article. Use any needle nose grease gun with appropriate bike grease. Remove the screw and push HARD with the grease gun before pumping the grease. You will get filthy grease coming out around the spindle.
Keep pumping, and gently turn the pedal a bit, until you get clean grease appearing. If the pedals spin freely the grease has dried out. They should turn with drag from the grease, not spin. If they spin they need re-greasing, or if there is excessive resistance ie not just the drag of grease. Depending on conditions wet and salty for example they may need greasing more often.
Half a dozen winter wet rides and I re-grease mine — the water gets in and contaminates the grease. This can lead to bearing failure. I have never had a bearing fail on any Speedplay pedals. Cleats need to be cleaned, especially if you put a foot down on a muddy verge. They get clogged and bits of grit and sand sit between the cleat and the pedal body. This is what wears the plastic body leading to lateral rocking eventually. I have half a dozen sets and all have pedal body wear after about 3yrs use.
Does depend on mileage I guess. I too have bought a couple of pairs of Pave pedals to overcome the body wear issues. They also clear muck from the cleat much better. Speedplay being Speedplay they would only rebuild your pedals for you….. Another issue is wearing of the lip of the bow ties. This is simply down to use, clipping in and out. You can also buy aftermarket stainless or titanium spindles to match your Speedplays. Again, be careful on aftermarket quality — yet again Dulight work for me.
So I buy chromoly Speedplays, just for the bodies which can be swapped onto aftermarket titanium spindles for a fraction of the cost of titanium Speedplays. I am looking at trying to see if a local engineering works can cut down Zero bow ties to fit Paves. Why do Speedplay have to make it so hard by not selling aftermarket spare parts? And one final point. The wear to one pedal — it depends which foot you normally clip out of when you stop at junctions, traffic lights etc.
I always unclip left foot. This puts extra wear on the left pedal body, the bow tie and also means you pick up more wet mud and dirt, the bearings getting a bit more water in past the seals compared to the foot that predominantly stays clipped in.
So I love the feel of Speedplays — the benefit is to adjust the float, not leave it maxed out. Mine have very little float which works for me.
However, this design is appalling and there have been numerous accounts from users losing the rubber shoe from their cleat s. I have lost 3 and tried various glues to hold them all — from superglue to araldite.
So far, fingers crossed it has held the walkable cleat cover on brilliantly. Any twisting motion and the cover can become detached.
That is a design flaw. Get yourself some Bondic, and isopropyl alcohol to make sure both surfaces are really clean before gluing. So, all in all I love the system, but hate some aspects such as no aftermarket spares and the bad design of the cleat covers. Wahoo bought Pseedplay a year or so back and I have been in touch with them and although after my feedback it all sounded promising with a guy telling me he would get hold of spares for me, a week later I got the curt response that none were available and there were no plans for them to be made available.
Speedplay bearings are available as spares along with titanium spindles and butterflies and screws so you can upgrade your pedals and maintain them without having to buy new pedals …. But they are great and I never get a problem while clipped in and cycling , Also if you can afford it sidi , lake, and few others make speedplay specific shoes with four bolt holes, these make a difference on power transfer and stack height.
I believe the X series pedals are discontinued and cleats are no long available. Anyone know where to buy cleats. I found one shop online in the US, and they said they did not include shims, which I need for my new shoes. Great, huh? Hello, I managed to strip the plastic dust caps while driving the dust cap screws back in after my first time greasing the pedals.
Anyone know where I can get replacement dust covers and screws? Speedplay support used to be very good. The long-axle Zero pedals have been a real life-saver for me, I hope that Wahoo embraces them soon and re-engineers the small problems like this.
I use a chainsaw push grease gun from local hardware store to inject grease into the pedal. Ten bucks. Last at least 10 pedals-worth. Great info and comments. However, they are no longer manufactured. Any info you can offer would be much appreciated thanks.
Very helpful tread on Speedplay. Thanks friends! Which grease would you recommend? I loved the walkable ease of these pedals and cleats. My complaint is that my LBS could never get them not to squeak while pedaling. They tightened the cleats so much that they had to cut the off when I switched back to spd cleats. I would grease with dry lube prior to my rides.
They would be quiet for 30 miles then start squeaking. I cleaned the cleats regularly but could never solve the problem. Anyone else have this problem?
After struggling with trying to grease the pedals and having the cap pop off — I found it easier to take the pedal spindle off. When the spring snapped I was able to keep riding with one foot clipped in — annoying, but not the end of the world. The plastic pedal bodies do suffer wear, which allows the cleats to rock side-to-side slightly, but the bearings just keep soldiering on with occasional grease injections. In Wahoo acquired Speedplay and, earlier this year, the pedal range was revamped.
Will I be writing another piece like this in 10 years about the Wahoo Speedplays? Watch this space. Matthew Loveridge formerly Allen is an experienced mechanic and an expert on bike tech who appreciates practical, beautifully-engineered things.
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