New Vendetta picked up!
- Thread starter joy
- Start date
joy
Well-Known Member
He's riding an Encore or a Silvio. He is usually out in front of me, but I can now give him a run for his money, for at least a short distance. I'm still a little too nervous to clip in, as there are lots of crossings on our bike trails and I sometimes have problems getting going. Lots of traffic or narrow streets with no shoulders too. Just have to keep practicing, but I love the bike so far.
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Pretty soon he'll be chasing you...
You might be a good candidates for Speedplay Frogs with the spindles swapped. Mrs Ratz swears by them and there is absolutely no way you "can't clip out" if you start tip you feet just naturally come unclipped. We also use them all of quests that the kids and us ride on the forest MUPs.
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Frogs were designed for MTB riders; the have a rotation "stop" that allow you to squeeze your heals inward and the shoes stay firmly attached to the pedals. That was design for doing jumps and tricks.
If you remove the two bolts that hold the pedal bodies together; you can pop out the spindles and swap them left/right and reassemble the pedals. This is really easy to do. Just a tad messy with grease if you're not ready for it. After you swap them that cause the stop to be at the front of the pedal instead of the back. When it's like that the shoes release immediately if you rotate you heel inward or outward. You've basically disabled the stop. Recumbent riders use to grind down the stop; but this trick is better because you can undo it if you don't like it and need to sell the pedals.
Hacking a pair of frogs like that takes about 5 minutes and it's makes one of the best novice users clip in pedals. It's also very kind to your knees as there is no spring or return to center mechanism working against you knee.
Rick Youngblood
CarbonCraft Master
Bob turned me on to this, unclipping every time and easily is fast.
Awesome!!!!
Then, the Frogs must feel like the Speedplay Light Action pedals with the added advantage of even easier release when modified as you described. Sounds like a pedal I'd want to try.
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
You are correct that's very accurate. they also let you use a mountain-bike shoe for easier walking. The only problem I ever had with frogs; is they are a little heavier than the alternative and if you ride really hard and fast they tend to loosen in the shoe bracket every so slightly when that happens you get this clicking from the bracket pedal interface. Because of that I run Zeros on the vendetta; to be clear though you have to be pretty abusive to run into that problem. No pedal I've used has ever lasted me more than two seasons if it's a bike I hammer on a lot. Mrs Ratz, Rick, and others that I know have never had that problem and as a point of reference of the 14 bikes in the basement; 9 have clip less. 7 are frogs and 2 are zeros. There are also many time when I'm exhausted on a long ride where I start wishing for the frogs at mile 105 just incase I fall.
On the the other side of the fence; some people have tried them and found them two loose and their foot would wobble and the heel would move over and strike the chain-stay. Good news though when you put frogs for sale used on BROL they usually last about 48 hours max.
Last edited:
JOSEPHWEISSERT
Zen MBB Master
Just to add to the confusion, I've used the Speedplay X2 pedals for many years. I've even rebuilt them after much abuse. This year, I replaced the stainless spindles with 3rd-party titanium spindles to drop some rotating pedal mass. And I bought some rubber covers for the cleats (on the shoes) so I don't wear out the cleats when walking on concrete, or destroy the floors in the house. I don't know how they compare to Zeros though. But the float is a knee-saver. This year, I also lubed them with paraffin wax to make snapping in easier. Getting unclipped was already easy. I use these pedals on my Vendetta, my basement trainer bike, and on my boat (Nauticraft Escapade).
Last edited:
JOSEPHWEISSERT
Zen MBB Master
Speedplay X2 Rebuild Kit: $70
http://www.excelsports.com/main.asp...build+Kit&vendorCode=SPEDPLAY&major=5&minor=6
Bowties: $40
http://www.excelsports.com/main.asp...or+X+Only&vendorCode=SPEDPLAY&major=5&minor=6
Titanium spindles: $38
http://www.amazon.com/Titanium-Pedal-Spindles-SpeedPlay-Action/dp/B00JA8N9C4
http://www.excelsports.com/main.asp...build+Kit&vendorCode=SPEDPLAY&major=5&minor=6
Bowties: $40
http://www.excelsports.com/main.asp...or+X+Only&vendorCode=SPEDPLAY&major=5&minor=6
Titanium spindles: $38
http://www.amazon.com/Titanium-Pedal-Spindles-SpeedPlay-Action/dp/B00JA8N9C4
super slim
Zen MBB Master
What Pedals does Tarzan use??
RAR
Well-Known Member
joy
Well-Known Member
Ratz, I bought the Frogs. However, there is large warning that states if you swap the spindles, they will NOT release outwardly. I'm now hesitant to try this. Was this warning on yours? Thanks, Joy
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
They are referring to installing the factory pedal on the wrong side. Aka; left spindle, right crank. If you did that yes they would not release.
When you swap the bodies the "stop" moves to the front of the pedal away from the part of the shoe bracket that completes the stop. When you do this the pedal can release both directions. Tons of recumbent riders use this trick. Back in the day before this was figured out; people would grind the stops off the pedals. This swapping of the bodies is better because you can undo it if you don't like the results.
So swap the bodies; then install them by the label on the spindles. Left spindles left crank. And you'll be good to go.
joy
Well-Known Member
Thanks! Now if it would warm up a bit.
