Pedal Advice

Yeah, I had searched some of the forum where people were talking about cleat movement and floating due to knee issues.  I don't have numbness (better inserts aided in that) and no knee problems yet.

I had a pair of shimano cycling shoes for my first year and just bought a pair of Peral Izumi Tri Fly III Carbon shoes, so just wanted to see if it mattered before I switched my cleats over. 

Sounds good to me.  I was just wondering if the size of the contact surface or having some float aided in any part of performance.

Nice...glad to know I don't have to fork out anymore cash.

Thanks

Pedals can be divided up into roughly two categories: Large platform pedals such as older Look Delta, Shimano road pedals, Time RXS and Small Platform pedals such as Speedplay, newer Look pedals, Shimano SPD for mountain bikes or "urban" commuter bikes that use a two hole mounting pattern.

Larger platform pedals generally weigh more but provide good lateral and longitudinal support under the sole of the shoe. They also may offer anatomical benefits usch as rotational movement ("float"), lateral movement (Time RXS) and adjustable "Q" factor or distance from center of bike to center of pedal- how wide apart your feet are. The predominant benefit of larger platform pedals is good lateral support- they prevent the foot from "rolling" clockwise or anti-clockwise as viewed from the front or back; pronating or supinating on the pedal.

Smaller platform pedals also offer many of these features and benefits, especially Speedplay- my favorite of the smaller platform pedals.

The thing is- I don't like small platform pedals. They place significant reliance on the sole of your cycling shoe for stiffness and power transfer and they are a small target to hit when clipping in. Additionally, with the exception of Time I-Clic and Shimano SPD MTB, small platform pedals such as Speedplay are exceptionally prone to dirt fouling which retards pedal engagement- you run through a dirty transition area and then have a tough time clipping in becasue your cleats are fouled with dirt, sand, small rocks, etc.

I'm the former Techncal Representative for Time Sport USA under Jean Pierre Pascal. I set up cleat and pedal systems for a number of elite athletes from 1988-1990, the height of Time's market penetration into the clipless pedal market formerly dominated by Look.

I learned a tremendous amount about tuning pedals working with Time sport athletes like Greg LeMond and others, who all used our pedals. One of the big take aways is that larger platform pedals do seem to work better for riders with larger feet. They disburse pedals load over a wider surface area and may be easy to engage for a rider with large feet.

A key problem I see with U.S. based athletes is failure to maintain their pedal systems and unwillingness to buy good quality shoes. The U.S. cycling shoe market slams on the brakes at the $200 price point. Really nice cycling shoes such as SIDI are a significant performance upgrade that may help your performance and will help your comfort.

Look at your pedal system as a whole: cleats, pedals and shoes. Consider the role of each of these components in the system as contributing to the overall performance of the system. For the size you describee yourself as I would start with the larger platform category of pedals, such as Shimano, which use a wider platform that is alloy instead of resin or molded polymer reinforced with carbon fiber.

I hope that helps. I love pedal questions...