Life is better on a bike!

Pedals

I need new pedals! And I don’t know what to get!

If I sound intense about this, it’s because I am.

I have always ridden with Looks, currently Look Keo Carbon. It’s time to replace them and I’m not sure I want to go with Look again.

Reason why:  the cleats wear extremely fast and for that matter the pedals do too; although that may not be fair because I have about 10,000 miles on these.

I’m considering Shimano Ultegra 6700 or Dura-Ace 7900, Forte Pro CFR (Performance Bike brand) and Campagnolo Record Pro-Fit Plus.

Because of my shoes I need to go with 3 bolt pedals, and all of the pedals above comply.

I’ve found the Campagnolo’s for $259.00 – a steal, msrp is $425. The Ultegra I’ve found for $110, the Dura-Ace are similar to Campy’s in cost and the Forte are the cheapest at $89.

Truth: My bike is clad in Campagnolo sans the wheels and current pedals. I would like to get the Campy pedals but I don’t need or feel right about getting Campy Record; they are more than I need. They don’t make them in Chorus or Centaur, however.

What’s a girl to do??

Are you in love with any Look compatible pedals? What are they and why do you love them?

Anyone have any experience with any Campagnolo pedal?

2 Comments

  1. Benjamin Niu

    Hi,

    I just came upon your site and your question here. Considering it is now November 15, 2012, it is probably WAAAAY too late for a response. However, just in case you are still on the fence and have not made any decisions yet, I’d like to offer my opinion.

    I have not tried any Campy pedals, so I cannot offer you any comments on that. I can, however, tell you that I love the Shimano SPD-SL style pedals. I have raced on them, and these are the only pedals I use. The Ultegra pedals are just fine, but they are a bit heavier than the Dura Ace version. Unless you are a weight weenie (and if you are interested in saving weight on your bike, please see http://weightweenies.starbike.com/, they have a ton of information on component weights), I’d go with the Ultegra. I have the Dura Ace version on my bikes (my track bike, two race bikes, rain bike, and my tandem). Why do I love them? Simple: Solid platform, lots of contact area, last a long time. I just simply don’t think about them when I ride –> and that’s the thing….if you have to think about the pedals when you ride, then those pedals are an issue for you.

    However, if you are interested in the getting pedals that have the least friction, you might want to consider something different. There is a website called Friction Facts (http://www.friction-facts.com/) that has information on which pedals offer the least friction (and can hence save you some energy). The site was recently mentioned on Cyclingnews.com (and here’s the link to the article: http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/friction-facts-measuring-drivetrain-efficiency). I am sorry that I can’t share the test results with you, because when I purchased the test report the site owner asked us to be on an “honor system” and not share his data with people who have not paid. Since I want to honor his work and his effort and allow him to continue to do what I think is important for the consumers, I can only ask you to go see the site for yourself.

    Love your site. Keep up the good work and keep sharing your thoughts with us.

    Best regards,

    Benjamin

    • Susan

      Thanks, Benjamin, I appreciate your comment and nice words about my blog. I’ve (finally) reached a point in my cycling life where I don’t care so much about weight of components although pedals and wheels are probably the exceptions. I ended up going with the Mavic pedals and although I didn’t like them at first (the left pedal tension and range of motion was too tight and adjustments didn’t affect) I’ve come to like them after several hundred miles. Thanks for all the info.