Advantages of SPD vs. Look

I'll second everything Tom said. Personally, I have no reason to use
road cleats & shoes. John

I have 2 pairs of the old & heavy SPD 737s & enough parts to rebuild
each twice. by the time all this wares out I figure something better
will have cone along. The main reason I like 737s is that w/ the
correct (which escapes my mind @ the moment) cleat they don't allow any
float. Also they have a large platform area.
John

Jeff Starr wrote:

On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 04:58:28 -0600, Tom Sherman
wrote:



Unless one is a weight weenie concerned about every last gram, a racer,
or someone worried about being seen as a "Fred", there is no reason to
use road shoes and cleats instead of the more practical MTB and touring
shoes.


Tom, there are a few reasons why some might choose the Look style over
SPD. One that comes to mind, is hot spots. Some prefer the larger
platform feel of the Look style.
I have both styles of pedals and when walking isn't a concern, I would
much rather use my SPD-SL road pedals. The SPD-SL is Shimano's version
of the Look pedal....

Shoes with stiff soles will mitigate the effect of the smaller cleats,
as will pedal with a platform around the cleat (e.g. Shimano 424, 545,
646). A stiff soled shoe with lugs is still a lot better to walk in than
"duck shoes" with Look (or old fashioned regular) cleats.

--
Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island

Jenn wrote:
"Pete Biggs" wrote in
:
I find Looks more comfortable and secure than SPDs for recreational
cycling. In fact they are heavier than some SPD pedals.

"More comfortable" is pretty vague. What is more comfortable about
Looks?

1. If you like rotational float, Looks with red cleats have mo 9
degrees versus 5.

2. Larger platform -- feels better to me even with carbon soles. I know
not everyone agrees and technical debate can be read via Google Groups if
that's too vague.

~PB

Mark
How did you modify your shoes? W/ rubber cleats glued to the sole, or
glued & screwed? What brand glue? How did you insure that the screws
were deep enough to hold, yet not so deep as to penetrate in to your
foot. Every time I've had a shoe shop glue anything onto any of my bike
shoes it's always come off w/in a few days even though they always bob
their heads up & down numerous times assuring me that it will stay
glued.
"Frustrated w/ glue on shoe soles," John

Arthur Harris Wrote:
"RonSonic" wrote:
There is no
hope of a truly walkable shoe with the Looks (cleat covers help a
LOT) as
there
is with mountain shoes and SPDs. But then a road bike shouldn't be
breaking and
making you walk.

Yes, but even if the bike doesn't break down, you're going to have to
(or
want to) walk some on a long ride (food/rest/bathroom breaks). I have
Looks
on all my bikes, but if I had it to do over, I think I'd go with SPDs.
My
worst experience with the Looks was a group ride where we took a long
ferry
boat ride at the start and end. I actually carried a pair of moccasins
for
wearing when off the bike. And then there's the Look squeak problem...

Art Harris

I have a set of covers for my Look cleats so that i dont damage them
when i am walking in my shoes. It looks funny when you see a dozen of
us waddling to the coffee shop counter after a ride.


--
jcjordan

On 2005-01-02, Tom Sherman wrote:

Unless one is a weight weenie concerned about every last gram, a racer,
or someone worried about being seen as a "Fred", there is no reason to
use road shoes and cleats instead of the more practical MTB and touring
shoes.

I just spent a few bucks on some Chinese cotton Tai-Chi shoes. Stick 'em
in a jersey pocket, or strap 'em under the seat with your spare
tire/tube/tools. When you need to walk, change into the Tai-Chi shoes.
When you need to ride, put the cleated shoes back on.

Works for me.

--
-John )

On Sun, 2 Jan 2005 12:38:26 -0800, "bfd" wrote:

Wider platform. Take a look at a look cleat and compare it to the spd. The
wider platform of the look cleat allows the pressure to be more spread out.
In contrast, the smaller spd cleat can cause "hot foot" to some as the
pressure is more concentrated.

It's already been mentioned that a stiff shoe will not really permit
the pressure at a single spot.

Additionally, the first SPD, DA and Ultegra used a road shoe with a
pontoon. The platform of the cleat and pontoon were wider than Looks
and whatever else there is. Hotfoot is a myth. Burning feet are
usually caused by ill fitting shoes.

In article ,
says...


John L. Lucci wrote:
Can anyone tell me what tha adavatages of SPD are over the original
Look design?

SPD cleats can be recessed with certain shoes, that's about it.

Another advantage is that the metal SPD cleat will last much, much, much
longer than a plastic Look cleat.
---------------
Alex

wrote:

Mark
How did you modify your shoes? W/ rubber cleats glued to the sole, or
glued & screwed? What brand glue? How did you insure that the screws
were deep enough to hold, yet not so deep as to penetrate in to your
foot. Every time I've had a shoe shop glue anything onto any of my bike
shoes it's always come off w/in a few days even though they always bob
their heads up & down numerous times assuring me that it will stay
glued.
"Frustrated w/ glue on shoe soles," John

OK, it was a bit too hard to describe in words only, so I took some
pictures and wrote it up:

http://home.comcast.net/~mandmlj/ShoeLugs/

Mark Janeba