your fave SPD pedal for a roadie + garmin question

[Faye]

I'm alive, back in the Bay Area, although down in PA/MP, and hella out of shape after > 5 yrs of exile on the east coast and becoming a healthcare provider (little free itme and ability to ride), tho trying to get back into it, albeit very slowly :)

Of course I'm consulting my favorite group for recs.

1) I started out on spd pedals when I first started riding and switched to look road pedals when I got my upgrade bike (which is my current bike) in 2011. I freaking HATE the single-sided entry and I have decided to go back to spd. I know speed play is two sided but it's spd or bust. There are currently four shimano spd pedals under consideration- 520 (what I used to have), 540, xt-8100, and xtr-9100. Since I only get pedals once a decade, I'm willing to spring for the expensive ones if they are really better and worth it. What are your opinions? Of note, remember I will exclusively use these on the road... all the reviews online are naturally MTB oriented. Supposedly the more expensive ones are wider platform, but not sure if it is enough to make a difference? Also some of them come with different spindle length options. No clue about that... what are the considerations in spindly length?

2) I have a garmin edge 520 that was incredibly and generously given to me by Peter and Christine Colign back before I left for school, and the speed/cadence sensor I have has been FUBAR for awhile. I tried changing the battery, but no bueno. I think I just can't resuscitate it. Anyone happen to have a functioning one that would work with the 520 that they want to offload for cheap? Or any idea which one I should get if I get some newfangled thing?

Would love to see you guys down on the peninsula once the current surge passes and I'm more in the swing of riding!

mille mercis.

[Peter Colijn]

Woohoo, Faye's back!

On Thu, Jan 13, 2022 at 5:34 PM Faye <faye.s...@gmail.com> wrote:

I'm alive, back in the Bay Area, although down in PA/MP, and hella out of shape after > 5 yrs of exile on the east coast and becoming a healthcare provider (little free itme and ability to ride), tho trying to get back into it, albeit very slowly :)

Of course I'm consulting my favorite group for recs.

1) I started out on spd pedals when I first started riding and switched to look road pedals when I got my upgrade bike (which is my current bike) in 2011. I freaking HATE the single-sided entry and I have decided to go back to spd. I know speed play is two sided but it's spd or bust. There are currently four shimano spd pedals under consideration- 520 (what I used to have), 540, xt-8100, and xtr-9100. Since I only get pedals once a decade, I'm willing to spring for the expensive ones if they are really better and worth it. What are your opinions? Of note, remember I will exclusively use these on the road... all the reviews online are naturally MTB oriented. Supposedly the more expensive ones are wider platform, but not sure if it is enough to make a difference? Also some of them come with different spindle length options. No clue about that... what are the considerations in spindly length?

I think the biggest difference between those SPD pedals is going to be weight. Functionally they're probably all quite similar. I'd say probably go at least XT (8100). In my experience SPD pedals last approximately forever (or at least 100000km) so I personally wouldn't sweat the cost difference, since as you note it's not something you need to buy often.

There are also SPD pedals with a kind of platform around them, like the 8120:

I've never used those. In theory they can help with "hotspotting", where the part of your foot above the cleat gets sore. A stiffer shoe will generally also solve that problem, though.

2) I have a garmin edge 520 that was incredibly and generously given to me by Peter and Christine Colign back before I left for school, and the speed/cadence sensor I have has been FUBAR for awhile. I tried changing the battery, but no bueno. I think I just can't resuscitate it. Anyone happen to have a functioning one that would work with the 520 that they want to offload for cheap? Or any idea which one I should get if I get some newfangled thing?

Well, since you mentioned pedals, it's now possible to get SPD power meter pedals (in particular the Garmin Rally XC100). Waaaay more expensive than normal pedals but you get a power meter and cadence (though not speed). I haven't tried these yet but I've been tempted because it's so easy to install pedals compared to most other power meters (crank or rear hub).

If you're not looking to break the bank I don't have any recommendations for a plain speed/cadence sensor :-/

Peter

 

Would love to see you guys down on the peninsula once the current surge passes and I'm more in the swing of riding!

mille mercis.

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[Alexandre Passos]

I really like the a530 which are flat on one side and SPD on the other so still feel great to run errands in.

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[Kurt Wallace]

Welcome back, Faye!!!

I 2nd the 530 rec - I use them on 2 of my bikes.

_____________________________________

Kurt Wallace
Director | he/him
Bikes Make Life Better | (415) 412-7033

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[faye steiner]

So nice to see all of your names in my inbox :) and hopefully we can meet up in the near future.

I think I know the 530s- my sister started with them on her road bike, and in my memory, the shape of the platform made someone I know (memory escapes me now) clip a pedal when cornering somewhere.

The thing is that the entire point of my switching is that I want dual sided clip-in ability, so these would not do the trick. I can totally see their utility for getting around town though!

As far as the rest of the range of options, according to things I;ve read, supposedly 540s have maybe better materials than 520s and are amenable to more tools, and then the 8100 and 9100 have maybe slightly wider platforms and are progressively lighter, the 9100 being the lightest. But the other impressions I got frmo what I read are that the 8100 is the "real MTB" pedal and the 9100 is more of a "race pedal" for gravel/cross country. Of course all of these write-ups were for people riding on dirt, the presumed use.  But that made me wonder, would the 8100 be less good for road because it is really all about mud shedding and yada yada that they said? And if the 9100 is more for gravel/cross country, does that mean it would be the best for road use? And do these supposedly slightly wider platforms make a difference? 

Basically, since as Peter said they last a good decade, I'm willing to get any of them, just wanna get the ones that will be best for my intended use.

Any thoughts on those descriptions by chance?

Thank you!

[Scott Crosby]

yay it’s Faye! ok now I wanna move back to SF and commute somewhere.

(get XTRs)

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[scott :)]

in the past i have exchanged my garmin by contacting garmin support, they charge about $75 and they send you the same model back "refurbished".  

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[Zak Jarvis]

I've got two different Shimano sets (both of the double-sided design), one being I think more expensive by like $5-10? It's been a long time since I got them. But my latest bike has some incredibly cheap knockoffs that were I think $36 -- also double-sided. They've probably collected more visible wear than the legit Shimano ones, but they've been functionally indistinguishable for me.

The caveat here is that I am incredibly insensitive to pedal differences. Spent a couple years with various higher-end cleat systems and decided I liked walking when I get off the bike more than I like the marginal gains provided by having pontoons on my feet.

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[Nathan Dushman]

I have m8000 pedals on one road bike, m9000 on another, and m520s on my gravel bike. If you're in SF and want to take a look you're welcome to stop by and compare. I don't notice any difference when riding. The m8000 and m9000 look a little nicer because the m520s have a thick plastic section around the spindle. I bought the m8000 and m9000 pedals because they were as cheap used as the m520s cost new. I've pulled apart the m520s to lubricate them, and it's easy but does require a special plastic tool (thanks, David Ahn, for giving me one years ago); I haven't yet done any maintenance on the others.

Nathan

[Scott Crosby]

I have one XT pedal that won't spin any more and the XTR logo is better, so I'm going with those from now on.

if you want the platform thing for riding with normal shoes, these are good, I have a set: https://www.bikester.fr/shimano-xtr-pd-m9120-pedales-M469347.html

otherwise get the M9100s. I don't see a spindle-length option, and don't recall ever being asked that.

also worth mentioning, in the world of mtb-type pedals/cleats, is the eggbeater, with its 4-sided entry. these are fantastic for cyclocross/mtb if and only if you get the fancy ti ones with actual bearings. the low-end version with bushings will last a few weeks before failing by falling apart during a ride. also note that these are completely worthless for riding with normal shoes or flipflops, because they will spin under your feet and smash your shin.

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[faye steiner]

Thanks to all of you for your helpful comments!

And I like how Scott casually through a French cycling website link in there, since he is now a resident of Bayonne (BTW I have been inquiring about weather in part to determine when I will visit you, hehe hehe ulterior motive in addition to seeing if my endless listening to meteo france resulted in any accurate gestalt from me on the subject).

Damned if I have a clue about spindle lengths, and I couldn't remember which of these I had seen that on, so since you know as much as I do on this one, I thought I would look it up for kicks... the xtr are available in regular a a shorter spindle length to allow for a narrower q factor for gravel or other riders. Of course, I didn't know WTF a q factor is, though I think I heard of a Q angle back in OT when I was a grad student at stanford in the late 90s. So then I had to look that up too. 🙄 and so in case anyone is interested...

https://bikerumor.com/hands-on-shimano-xtr-9100-clips-into-three-new-pedal-options/

https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/what-is-q-factor-and-does-it-matter-to-you/

Meanwhile, I will say that notwithstanding politics and general g-ked upedness in this land, right here in Norcal we do have some pretty ridiculously awesome weather considering it is mid-January, in case you want to come back and get a job and ride bikes and drink pliny. Oh, but I think I heard that pliny the younbger will be delayed this year.

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[d chang]

> And I like how Scott casually through a French cycling website link in there, since he is now a resident of Bayonne

64-ers don't drop casual references :-)

\p

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[Scott Crosby]

ha, well Google gives me .fr results here, and laziness prevails. 

as for q-factors and spindles, I think they are non-issues unless you’re going for the world hour record and are named Graeme Obree.  in fact, Grant Peterson seems to have been mocking the entire idea when he coined that term (Q for “quack”/waddle factor, apparently).

now if you’ll excuse me, I have some chocolatines* to collect and devour.

*here in the 64, we do not call them “pain au chocolate” under any circumstances.

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[faye steiner]

I am such a moron, I was wondering what PFC's reference to 64 was but assumed it was some MTB thing and I am not cool enough to know. I did also consider whether it was an age, but I know that despite retiring, Scott is younger than that.

Duh, the Département, and now I also know why the insistence on "chocolatine."

Now that I think about it, the reason I didn;t know about the local naming convention is that I visited the Pays Basque during the 6 years when I did not eat chocolate (after being hypnotized to stop), so I ate a lot of gateau basque and macarons from chez adam but no pain au choco (I gotta use my 75 naming convention and no that is not my age :) )

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[steve armijo]

Totally not on topic here but +1 for all things eggbeatery. I've got at least 3 or 4 variation on them that I ride from the fanci Ti ones to the the ones with a platform built around them (Mallets) which opens the option of hopping on the bike with non-clippable shoes.

The cleats are brass and need replacing every year or so.

( Welcome back!, not that I'm there )

On Sat, Jan 15, 2022 at 8:16 AM Scott Crosby <scr...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Theo Cummings]

Don't buy the egg beaters used.  I bought some Ti ones and they broke on me during a stop light start and I flew off the bike.

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-Theo

[Bret Lobree]

I second the egg-beater recommendation. 

As for used...if buying from a friend it's probably OK.

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[d chang]

>  Duh, the Département, and now I also know why the insistence on "chocolatine."

i only know this one (other than where i lived) because i had a co-worker w/ 64 t-shirts that everyone in the office made fun of him for, and i had to ask (cementing the stereotype based on their comments and olivier).

\p

[Maxence Nachury]

Eggbeaters are great, bushing or bearing versions equally so.

The old bushing version (pre 2015 or so) did suffer from poor durability. Crank Brothers updated the design and the pedal has been reliable since.

I have used Eggbeaters exclusively for gravel, cross and MTB and the pedals have never let me down.

Cleats do wear out quickly by design. Hard pedal + soft cleat makes for a long lasting pedal.

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[Ken MacInnis]

Switched to various CB models for everything, including road (!), a decade ago, and haven’t looked back. They do sell rebuild kits and you can upgrade older models. 

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[Scott Crosby]

Ken that's crazy. candys on the road bike I assume.

well it seems the Google is listening. it just happen to surface this photo from ye olden days yesterday.

[Ken MacInnis]

Just as every job becomes a sales job, every cyclist becomes a retrogrouch. Modern Sidi Dominators look pretty sleek, I don't slip on stupid polished concrete floors, and my spare parts are streamlined. 

If I need the extra 3% for a race, I’ll swap. 

PS. Of course, I ride flats on the two-squish. 

[faye steiner]

we don't really look like happy partyers in this photo (speaking mostly for myself, that expression... blame it on my too serious Russian half) but what happy times- so much fun! We def need to have a reunion which would not be complete without Scott obviously.

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