ChrisG
Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
I've been riding SPDs since early 1993, starting with 737s. I've never felt any strong need to change, and came into the 2007 season still running an ancient pair of 747s on my SS (donated by Mr. and Mrs. JDog) and 959s on my Racer X.
What pushed me to give the Eggbeaters a shot was my participation in cyclocross. While I've experienced the issues Shimano pedals traditionally have with mud, it's never been enough of a problem on the mtb to matter much, but CX is a whole other story. So I mounted up a pair of the SL Eggbeaters for this fall's 'cross follies, and I have to say that I've been very happy with their performance so far.
The pedals are extremely minimal, which lends them their ability to be unhampered by mud and snow-laden remounts. It also means that they offer very little platform if you are unclipped. I've found this to be a non-issue so far, as the four sided entry allows notably easier clipping in than I experienced with Shimano. So the CB pedals definitely get the nod from me on entry ease.
Once clipped in, I found the non-spring loaded float took some getting used to, as that is one element of the SPD that I've always liked. Having some spring tension "gripping" the cleat just feels more secure. This was also the one area which I'd been led to be concerned with, as I'd received some predictions of unintended clipping out occuring, particularly for someone muscling a single speed. I have to say that it hasn't happened at all so far.
When time to clip out does arrive, I again have been pleased with the CB pedal's function. The release is pretty much "invisible"- it really feels like just pulling one's foot off of a platform pedal. Not once have I had them hang up on me when I needed to get out in a hurry.
All in all, these pedals have provided an interesting change, and I expect to keep running them. Two things which I will keep my eye on in the longer term: The cleat is brass, and will undoubtedly wear out a lot sooner than the steel monsters that Shimano employs. I expect the pedal performance to degrade significantly when the cleat begins to wear, because the simplistic mechanics of the CB pedal won't allow for much slop, unlike the SPD's more sophisticated mechanism. And I've heard dire stories of the bearings in CB pedals crapping out, while I've ridden Shimano pedals to ridiculous lengths w/o even thinking of servicing the bearings.
In the meantime, the Eggbeaters get a thumbs up for initial performance.
What pushed me to give the Eggbeaters a shot was my participation in cyclocross. While I've experienced the issues Shimano pedals traditionally have with mud, it's never been enough of a problem on the mtb to matter much, but CX is a whole other story. So I mounted up a pair of the SL Eggbeaters for this fall's 'cross follies, and I have to say that I've been very happy with their performance so far.
The pedals are extremely minimal, which lends them their ability to be unhampered by mud and snow-laden remounts. It also means that they offer very little platform if you are unclipped. I've found this to be a non-issue so far, as the four sided entry allows notably easier clipping in than I experienced with Shimano. So the CB pedals definitely get the nod from me on entry ease.
Once clipped in, I found the non-spring loaded float took some getting used to, as that is one element of the SPD that I've always liked. Having some spring tension "gripping" the cleat just feels more secure. This was also the one area which I'd been led to be concerned with, as I'd received some predictions of unintended clipping out occuring, particularly for someone muscling a single speed. I have to say that it hasn't happened at all so far.
When time to clip out does arrive, I again have been pleased with the CB pedal's function. The release is pretty much "invisible"- it really feels like just pulling one's foot off of a platform pedal. Not once have I had them hang up on me when I needed to get out in a hurry.
All in all, these pedals have provided an interesting change, and I expect to keep running them. Two things which I will keep my eye on in the longer term: The cleat is brass, and will undoubtedly wear out a lot sooner than the steel monsters that Shimano employs. I expect the pedal performance to degrade significantly when the cleat begins to wear, because the simplistic mechanics of the CB pedal won't allow for much slop, unlike the SPD's more sophisticated mechanism. And I've heard dire stories of the bearings in CB pedals crapping out, while I've ridden Shimano pedals to ridiculous lengths w/o even thinking of servicing the bearings.
In the meantime, the Eggbeaters get a thumbs up for initial performance.
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