Titanium Pedals 'n Such

So, I arrive at Landis Cyclery to see my bike for the first time and watch Dave get fit on his. He's standing at the counter across from Joell, our fantastic bike saleswoman. Joell is punching some things into the cash register and Dave is standing there face flushed with excitement, debit card in hand. "Hi Honey," I say, "What's going on?" He looks at me with a slight grin and says "I'm just gettin' some pedals." "Oh good," I say, "What did you end up going with?"

"I'm gettin' some niiiice pedals," he says again.

"I know - that's just what you said - what did you go with?"

"They're Titanium."

"How much are these Titanium pedals?"

"I'm gettin' a good deal."

"So, how much?"

"Well, they're $400 bucks."

Oh jesus - where did it all go wrong?

Now, just that very morning - THAT VERY MORNING - we had an in depth discussion about pedals and what we should get. He was ADAMANT that he wanted to get pedals with - and this is an absolute direct quote - with "BASKETS ON THEM."


(Of course this discussion came after the talk earlier in the month about how a $2000 bike doesn't come with pedals).

In that moment, I pondered, how in the world - over the course of 8 little hours - did he go from wanting "pedals with baskets on them" to "$400 Titanium pedals"???

As I stood staring at him, jaw dropping to the floor, Joell is called away to help another customer. I take the opportunity to say "Um, honey, why do you need $400 Titanium pedals?"

I tried to keep my voice low but I think some hysteria might have been creeping in. This bike buying thing was getting out of control. The whole point of riding was just to be able to cruise around town on our bikes on the weekend for fun and exercise. I was going to get the better bike cause I wanted to eventually do a century ride and maybe get into triathlon. Dave would get a bike so that we could ride together for leisure. Suddenly we are both getting bikes that cost a couple of grand and he is about to purchase titanium pedals! Again, oh sweet jesus, where or where did it all go wrong?!??!?

With that one question, Dave says reality suddenly struck him and he knew the party was over. Joell had shown him several different types of pedals and of course, without knowing the price, he picked out the most expensive ones.

After all, they were titanium. The same type of material used on the Space Shuttle and Military aircraft. And they were on sale. How could he say no? I mean, come on, they're TITANIUM! It's the Space Shuttle!!!


Woo-Hoo!!!

I am sure images of pedaling at the speed of light must have floated through his mind as he prepared to make his purchase.

But alas, with reality striking its heavy hand - much like Paris Hilton hearing the jail doors clang behind her (the second time) - he realized that $400 for a pair of pedals-- for a bike he hadn't even ridden yet, wasn't sure how far or how fast he was even going to ride, and wasn't even sure how much he was going to like - was a lot of money to spend. After all, they're pedals. It's not like he was buying an X-Box.

When Joell returned Dave said he changed his mind and though she was careful not to look at me, inside she had to be cursing the timing of my arrival as she saw her commission on the pedal purchase dwindle away. With the dream of the Titanium pedals a memory now, Dave decided to purchase the Shimano Dura-Ace PD-7800 SPD-SL pedals (also on sale).


Now these are probably fine pedals, but he doesn't really recommend them for beginners. He says that they are tricky.

When you clip in you have to make sure the pedal is on the correct side and you have to carefully insert your cleat directly into the pedal. It takes some getting used to - especially if you are used to riding bikes with pedals that have the "baskets." Clipping out is harder too - he's had some (well, several) falls because he says it is easier to unclip at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Sometimes when he is stopping, he pushes his heel out to unclip, but as he is stepping out he puts his foot straight down on the pedal and clips himself back in at a dead stop -- and the next thing he knows - he's keeled over - with his feet clipped in - again direct quote coming -- "like a sack of potatoes."

We started riding in January and up until a few weeks ago he kept talking about how he wanted to switch his pedals out for "ones with the baskets" - but something clicked for him at the beginning of June and his comfort level increased and he is starting to like his pedals now.

The whole pedal thing is super confusing. We asked a bunch of people about what type of pedals we should get and we did get a lot of information (which I of course immediately forgot because half the time words like "spindle" and "float" and "3 hole mounting" were used that just sounded foreign and I had no frame of reference of what was being referred to) - but we never did find the "pedal bible" ('cause we didn't look that hard) that states 'X type of pedal works best'. It seems like the type of pedal you use is a matter of preference, knowledge and experience, all of which take time to learn and develop.

Tri-dogmom is a great source of information - not only does she get good deals on everything she buys - she gets the best of everything for the price she wants to pay (we're talking shoes, purses, clothing and when it comes to athletic equipment - few can compare to her taste and shopping prowess)- so when she makes a recommendation - I take note. She told me that she uses Speedplay pedals.


She's had some knee problems in the past and her doctor recommended these pedals because they have more "play" in them - which just means that your foot is not completely locked into the pedal and you are able to move your heel from side to side (in strict bicycling terms, I believe this is referred to as "float" - Dave's pedals have "float with friction" while the ones I bought have "free float"). I have some knee problems too - so Tri-dogmom's recommendation was good enough for me.

I did buy my pedals the same day Dave made his purchase and I didn't let Joell sweet talk me into any titanium pedals. When she asked me what type of Speedplays I wanted, I said "X/5" - not really knowing anything about them except that Tri-dogmom told me that they are the entry level Speedplay pedal and would be sufficient for what I needed them to do -- i.e., pedal.

Unlike Dave, I love my pedals and don't yearn for the "ones with the baskets." They are great for beginners. I haven't fallen yet, though I certainly have come close. The Speedplay's are structured in such a way that with a quick flick of the ankle, I am able to get out of the pedal really quickly. Clipping in is fairly easy too -- you can clip in on either side of the pedal - unlike Dave's - there is no "right" side. The only minor problem with the Speedplay's is that the cleats on the bottom of the shoe can trap dirt and gravel and you'll have trouble clipping in unless you clean the cleats out.


And yes this has happened to me twice already - you'd think I'd learn not to put my foot down in a a pile of gravel, but well, I'm slow on the uptake sometimes.

As for the titanium - if you are just getting into cycling and you really have no idea of what you are initially doing, you probably don't need titanium pedals yet. Buy something basic to get started and see if you like them. Once you have some experience you'll be able to make a better assessment about what you need and want - at least that's the idea - you can't stay a newbie forever, right?