Making up one of the three contact points you have with the bike, clipless pedals are a necessity for any road rider. Clipping into your pedals not only makes for a stable connection for laying down watts, they also hold your feet in the correct position and help you maintain efficiency as your cadence increases.
What are clipless pedals?
Clipless pedals have a nonsensical name, referring to the lack of a 'toe clip’, like those used exclusively before the mid-1980s.
These pedals allow you to 'clip' directly into the pedal for a mechanical connection to a cleat, which is bolted to the underside of a purpose-built shoe. Most shoes designed for road cycling feature three bolt holes in the sole, while mountain bike shoes rely on two — there are also four-bolt shoes explicitly designed for a specific pedal system, more on that later.
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While each pedal system varies slightly, the mechanics are more or less the same; step down on the pedal platform to clip in, and twist at the ankle to unclip. Where they do vary is the release tension, float, platform size, stack height and reliability.
Depending on your confidence and experience as a rider, what you're looking for in a pedal will vary slightly.
What to look for in road cycling pedals
Cleat adjustability
Each brand uses a slightly different cleat system, and some offer more refined adjustment than others. For example, with Shimano and Look style cleats; fore and aft, side to side and cleat angle are all adjusted at the same time, while Speedplay uses a separate set of bolts to modify each axis.
Float
Platform size
Release tension
Stack height
Reliability
Best road cycling pedals you can buy today
Shimano 105 R7000 SPD SL
- Weight: 265g
- Price: £95 / $150 / AU$150
Shimano Ultegra R8000 SPD SL
- Weight: 248g
- Price: £150 / $200 / AU$275
Shimano Dura-Ace SPD SL
- Weight: 228g
- Price: £225 / $280 / AU$370
Time Xpresso 10
- Weight: 195g
- Price: £140 / $195 / AU$300
Look Keo Blade
- Weight: 220g
- Price: £155 / $160 / AU$200
Speedplay Zero Chromoly
- Weight: 216g
- Price: £150 / $145 / AU$210
Look Keo 2 Max
- Weight: 260g
- Price: £80 / $115 / AU$150
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/best-road-cycling-pedals-2019
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