Read part one of the bike fit spend fest here and part two here. I chose Speedplay as a result of a bike fit / new bike / new shoes / new pedals / two (!) new handlebars / two new stems (!?!) saga, which I wrote about way back in 2013 (when I still had some of my ill-gotten banking gains to put towards bike purchases). Why Do I Use Speedplay Pedals? A selection of Speedplays, all looking very clean…

Look likes to claim it ‘invented’ the clipless pedal, but Charles Hanson (eek, un Americain) submitted his clipless design to the US patent office way back in 1895. History time: the modern clipless pedal was developed by Look, based on the technology they used to manufacture ski bindings. Track cyclists still use pedals with clips (I think because they can tighten them super tight).

The ‘clip’ that modern sticky pedals lack is the toe clip cage affair that used to reside at the front of racing cycle pedals, back in the day. I am not the first amateur comedian to note, wryly, that the key feature of a *clipless* pedal is that it clips to your shoe (or perhaps your shoe clips to it).

Speedplay cleat installation