Power to the Pedals

For pedaling platform contact area Speedplay claims to have an area at least 25% greater then their competitors. I haven’t done enough research to confirm or dispute that fact. Critical to the success of the contact area is a shoe that is in good shape with a solid sole and a properly mounted and aligned cleat.

Pedal float is another feature that requires consideration when selecting pedals. By allowing the foot to float in the pedal shoe interface you can reduce the risk of injury to the knee. Here again a fit specialist can assist you in deciding how much float fits your needs best. This will vary by each rider and their pedal characteristic. At the Crofton Bike Doctor we use a device known as a R.A.D to set cleat alignment. The manufactures all manage float in the cleats. Look uses different cleats for different amount of float. They have a zero float cleat, four and half degrees of float and a cleat for nine degrees of float. A neat feature on the new Keo cleats is a device in the center of the cleat that allows users to change to a new cleat and place it in the exact place that the old cleat was. Shimano and Time both have only one cleat. Where Speedplay offers different pedals with different amounts of float. Their original pedal the X series does not have adjustable float but their new pedal the zero has float adjustable between zero and fifteen degrees.

Many riders factor into their pedal purchases the stack height/distance from the center of the pedal spindle and bottom of the shoe. The closer the better, lowers the riders center of gravity a little but more importantly removes areas for power transfer to the pedals to be lost or flex to occur between the pedal shoe and cleat interface. It also reduces the amount of rocking that can occur between the foot and pedal. Time has their RSX platform at an 8mm distance between the pedal spindle and the cleat platform. When looking at these numbers you need factor in what the actual stack height is for the pedal cleat combination.

I leave you with that and come back another time to discuss more about the pedal, shoe foot relationship.