Speedplay Zero Stainless Pedals

Words by Simon Whiten

 

By literally turning the traditional clipless pedal upside down, Speedplay have also turned many riders perceptions of what qualities to expect from a pedal on their head as well. But would it convince me to ditch my usual pedals..?

With pedals it can be hard to think exactly what might be improved, assuming you think you are happy with your current option. Perhaps more security? More float? Ease of maintenance? Ease of entry? More cornering clearance? I could go on, but the fact is that up until I was given these Speedplay pedals, I had never had an issue with my usual pedals. Well at least in use; there was the all-too-familiar-to-us-all, and somewhat tedious issue of achieving perfect set-up.

 

Changing pedals is not something I relish. I have learned that its prudent, even when just putting on new cleats, to be careful and get the set-up right on the turbo trainer or rollers before venturing out onto the road for any great length of time. So testing new pedals is something I usually avoid; knees and hips do not like change, with the risk of injury never far away.

 

Set-up of LOOK pattern cleats (which includes Mavic and Shimano SPD-SL among others) is definitely a pain, the same process being endured every time you change your cleats and no matter what precautions you take, like drawing round your cleats with a permanent marker for instance. Invariably it takes a lot of fiddling to get the perfect cleat position and it is not something you really want to mess around with once you have it dialled. After years of racing in the same pedals, having to adjust to a new set is not really desirable.

 

Given all the above, I was not at all keen to test these Speedplay Zero pedals, despite being encouraged to give them a go. On canvassing opinion, still more of my peers seemed to suggest that I would not like them, that they wouldn’t suit my style, that I’d feel like I was ‘skating on ice’. Six months down the line, even I am surprised that I am still using them… READ MORE >