Jackmen

On my gravel Bike, I have been using a conventional mountain bike clip less pedal, but i have noticed these have very little float to them. I have also noticed if I ride it a lot my knees start hurting some, I assume because of the lack of float.

In contrast on my road bike I run Time espressos which are known to have some of the best float available.

I do like riding a mountain bike type shoe and pedal for the gravel bike to facilitate walking and for comfort.

Does anybody have any suggestions for a pedal that can work with an MTB type pedal, but has better float to bring better comfort?

Help would be greatly appreciated.

dabac

AFAIK speedplay frogs are among the kings of float, and MTB-style.
Otherwise I’m quite happy with Crank Brothers, although they do need regular rebuilds.

tangerineowl

Frogs

Metieval

are you sure it is pedal/cleat float
vs,
a saddle position to BB/crank arm length problem?

fixedweasel

Yup, Speedplay's.* I run 'em* on all my road bikes too.





*Frogs
**X Series

chris406

I use Speedplay Syzrs. They get mixed reviews but I've never had any issues at all the float is great on my knees after ACL reconstruction in both. They are also very good in mud, I tested them at Land Run100 with success in the crazy wet clay conditions.

Marcus_Ti

The Time Xpresso are only like 5* of float.

Shimano SPDs for example have a cleat with 4*, which is pretty close. Especially if you get the cleat alignment right. Cleats are cheap and available anywhere, and you can get top-end XTR pedals for only $90USD without even a coupon or code (cheaper for a top-end product than any other MTB pedal). Power transfer is great, durable, rebuildable. Win win win--if they work for you.
https://www.competitivecyclist.com/s...NoaW1hbm8gU1Bk

Another option is Time ATACs. LBS recs them if you need much more float than SPDs off road. Cleats are $25USD
https://www.competitivecyclist.com/S...Components&s=a

The Speedplay Syzr as mentioned less float than ATACs. Pedals aren't cheap and neither are the cleats. Reviews vary.
https://www.competitivecyclist.com/S...jsp?q=syzr&s=u

There's Crank Bros....but they don't have "float" as much as slop IMO. They also have durability issues IME.

Jackmen

So which one of the Shimano SPD pedal cleats has 4 degree float? Is it the standard one that comes with these pedals?

Aubergine 

Frogs for me as well.

shoota 

I'm betting on this. From what I've seen it's mostly only zero float cleats that effect the knees. Even just a slight amount of float is usually sufficient. More often than not it's the bike fit that's the problem.

Marcus_Ti

SH51 is the standard cleat with 4*. There's also the SH56 multi release cleat.

Jackmen

Are these the same as 98 A cleats as thats what I have Now. My understanding is that this is a Welgo cleat, as wellgo makes a lot of the pedals and cleats for shimano. My current pedals are the basic shimano dual sided pedal that use the welgo cleats.

So do my pedals have 4 degrees of float? It doesn't feel like it.

As far as the bike and seat fit, I have it set up pretty much have it set identical to my road bike, and I dont have any issues with it.

shoota 

Pretty much doesn't necessarily mean close enough. As a test you could get some zero float road cleats and ride your bike a bunch and see if your knees hurt. That would narrow it down to the culprit.

bbbean 

I believe the Speedplay SYZRs have more float than the Frogs, but I could be mistaken.

Marcus_Ti

This is the first I've heard of Wellgo making anything for Shimano.

Generally, people rave about Shimano pedals and hardware...and, generally, people kvetch about how badly Wellgo stuff works while it lasts before giving out. I'm actually surprised Shimano hasn't sued Wellgo for infringement.


Official SH-51 in official Shimano SPD pedals have 4* of float. Can't vouch for SPD-a-Likes.