Banded Krait

Good choice. This is exactly the route I took. My first clipless pedals were Shimano SPD-SL's (105's). I had them for a year, but gave up in frustration because they were just too hard to clip-in reliably.

I switched to Speedplay Zeros (stainless) in June. It took a couple of weeks to break them in. You definitely want to get the specialized (i.e., "dry") lubricant mentioned in the manual and apply liberally during the first couple of weeks. Now they are working very well. They are much easier to clip-in than the Shimano's were. I definitely noticed the "skating on ice" feeling for the first couple of weeks, but that disappeared fairly quickly. I am very satisfied with these pedals now.

seymour1910

Ok, so my origional plan was SPD-SL but after talking with the LBS and reading this forum I think I will go with the Speedplay LA as a first clipless. I have heard some of you guy's mention shoe stiffness, I don't have a pair of high end race shoes, I have a pair of these https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...46_-1___400097

I got them for $99 and they feel good just trying them on but I have never mounted cleats to them and they are still brand new. Will I be fine keeping these and going with a set of SP LA to get myself started? I found a brand new set of LA with cleats and cleat covers for $100.

WhyFi

I have lower-end Shimanos than you, and the Speedplays were just fine once I got the cleat placement right.

Carbon Unit

It is hard to know. I have a cheap pair of Specialized shoes that I use with Look pedals in a spin class and I have a good pair of Shimano shoes with a really stiff sole that I use with Speedplay pedals. I can take the Specialized shoe in my hand and flex it easily. The Shimano shoe will not budge, it is stiff as steel. If the shoe is not stiff, you might feel the pedal through the shoe. However, I would think you could resolve this by upgrading the foot boards. I have never had a hot spot from a shoe or pedal so I don't know what they feel like.

Speedplay pedals are easy to clip in and out. I was on the LA pedals for six years before giving them to my wife. I am a fan of Speedplay pedals. The Look and SPD-SL pedals work very well once clipped in but it take more skill to use them.

seymour1910

Thanks for the input guy's, I went with a set of LA pedals and the guy's at the LBS I go to were very helpful. I took my shoes in and they installed my cleats for me and installed the pedals on the bike. They gave the cleats a quick application of dry lube and I was off. I only have one ride on them so far but the performance is as advertised. EASY in and out for me and I'm a novice cyclist. I look forward to keeping these lubed and getting miles and miles on them.

p.s. I don't own a grease gun, is it worth paying the $40 to get one?

WorldIRC

So I got the pedals; very different than what I'm used to.

Any tips for setting and adjusting them. I found two screws, heel in and heel out. How to adjust? Also, they're quite stiff to get into right now... I assume everything needs a bit of time to break in? They're quite "loud" when snapping in, at least compared to my Ultegras.

Anything else I should know about adjusting them?

WorldIRC

Yes, the ad was posted in the FS section here.

Carbon Unit

I own the Speedplay greese gun. There are cheaper options but Speedplay tells me that they might not have enough pressure to push the greese past the bearings. It could be BS so maybe someone else here can chim in.

Carbon Unit

They will become much much easier to clip in after you have used them for a few days. Practice clipping in and out a few dozen times and they will get easier. As for the toe in and out, I just put everything in and lined up the cleats straight fore and aft and it seems to work fine so I am not much help here.

seymour1910

Yeah I saw some youtube videos of people using a surrenge to insert the grease https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2RWuzq-mFg
I have a ton of those around the house from when my son was younger. Don't need it now as they are new, just looking at my options.

seymour1910

For you guy's interested in trying the Time pedals here is a pretty good deal
https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...58_-1___202531

If I had not gotten the speedplays I think I would have got a set of these.

WorldIRC

So I've had a couple months to try the Speedplays....I dunno....I'm almost missing my Ultegra pedals. The right foot is still giving me problems (in terms of getting used to optimally clipping in)