Which are the best of the two? Time or shimano pedals. How about other brands you recommend. I have found very cheap Vuelta spd pedals. Is it risky to get those? Thanks.
I've used both. I'm currently using some Time Zs which allow for riding either clipped or unclipped. (If I had to do it over again, I'd probably get the Z Control instead.)Markleo said:Which are the best of the two? Time or shimano pedals.
There is no way to determine which pedal is "best".Markleo said:Which are the best of the two? Time or shimano pedals. How about other brands you recommend. I have found very cheap Vuelta spd pedals. Is it risky to get those? Thanks.
Ok cut and paste that part about smacking the bottom of the pedals and having them releasing your foot from the Times to the Crank Bros and everything is good.Ken in KC said:There is no way to determine which pedal is "best".
There are basically 4 types of clipless mountain bike pedal. All of them have their pros and cons:
SPD (Shimano, Welgo, Vuelta, etc.)
The knock on Shimano's is that they pack up in mud and are more mechanically complicated than the other brands. I suspect that those who make this claim haven't ridden Shimano for a while because their newer models look very similar in design to Times/Crank Brothers. I couldn't tell you because I've ridden Times for 10 years because the only other alternative at the time (spd's) packed up in mud and were complicated to maintain.
Times
Much simpler than SPD's used to be but let's be clear: They aren't magic mud shedders. They can still pack up and make it hard to clip in. I've found them to be very reliable, robust and predictable.
My knock on them is that when you smack the bottom of your pedal on an object, you'll come unclipped because the opposing spring tension is what holds your cleat to the pedal.
Crank Brothers
Basically the same thing as Times. You have 4 sides to clip in to vs. 2 with the Times. They function the same. I've not ridden them. The people I know who have ridden them like them. People who moved from SPD to them love them. People who moved from Times to them think they're just fine.
Speed Play Frogs
Lots and lots of float. Very predictable. People who have knee problems swear by them. The few riders I know who ride them love them and wouldn't consider riding anything else. I've never really heard anything bad about them other than it takes a fair amount of time getting used to the additional float.
No, they don't. You can adjust the degree of float that you have before you unclip by putting the starred cleat on either the right or left shoes. I don't recall which is which, but if you put the cleat with the star on one shoe, then you have to turn your foot 7 degrees to unclip (it's easier to unclip). If the starred cleat is on the other shoes, you have to turn your foot 17 degrees to unclip (harder). I don't really remember which side is harder or easier and I may not have the degrees of float exactly right either. Whenever I replace my cleats, I read the directions, figure out which installation makes it harder to unclip, install the cleats and forget about it until the next time I replace cleats.slapshotz said:i'm a beginning rider myself and bought some Time pedals that were a little too hard to get out of. I was considering riding flats when I tried spd's on the low tension setting and was happily surprised that i could ratchet the tension up a bit from the bottom and still get out fast.
Does Time make pedals that you can adjust the tension on? The ones i had before were unadjustable.
The old ATACs didn't have any adjustment, but the newer (been out for a couple years) ATAC XS's do have 3 adjustable tension settings, although I've never used anything but the factory setting. Kinda makes you wonder why the XS's are called ATACs(auto-tension-adjustment-concept). If anyone wants to know, the starred cleat is still there too.Ken in KC said:No, they don't. You can adjust the degree of float that you have before you unclip by putting the starred cleat on either the right or left shoes. I don't recall which is which, but if you put the cleat with the star on one shoe, then you have to turn your foot 7 degrees to unclip (it's easier to unclip). If the starred cleat is on the other shoes, you have to turn your foot 17 degrees to unclip (harder). I don't really remember which side is harder or easier and I may not have the degrees of float exactly right either. Whenever I replace my cleats, I read the directions, figure out which installation makes it harder to unclip, install the cleats and forget about it until the next time I replace cleats.
Any of the clip / platform combinations should be suitable for this purpose. Some examples are the Time Z and Z Control or the Shimano PD-M424, PD-M647, and PD-M545. I use (and like) the Time Z. I haven't tried any of the others.explodingtaco said:whick of the 2 are easier to ride without being clipped in?
i have used both Shimano 959 and Time ATAC XS. both pedals work great.Markleo said:Which are the best of the two? Time or shimano pedals. How about other brands you recommend. I have found very cheap Vuelta spd pedals. Is it risky to get those? Thanks.
I guess it is the purist in me, but I cant bring myself to go with a combo. I would assume that the Shimanos would do ok, but I dont have a decent LBS around and besides the internet is SO much cheaper on these sort of things.KevinB said:Any of the clip / platform combinations should be suitable for this purpose. Some examples are the Time Z and Z Control or the Shimano PD-M424, PD-M647, and PD-M545. I use (and like) the Time Z. I haven't tried any of the others.