I ride fixed with a pair of SPD pedals. I don’t get what the fuss is about. I came out once then i tightened up the adjustment a bit. Why don’t you try the SPD’s before you but something else, sounds like you already have the goods too.
I have put these pedals on the bike for a bit - but I am tentative in them. Did a sprint test for a phd student and pulled out twice on an excercise bike (I think I need new cleats, but not the point) so I don’t trust them to skid etc in.
Aliums are the most basic and heavier of the three. I have them on my roadie and love em. I will prolly get another set for fixed.
Roc ATAC have a wider platform and are slightly lighter
ATAC XS have adjustable spring tension and are lighter again. The wire that catches the cleat has a slightly different cross section (ROCs might too can’t remember) although the cleat is the same.
I’ve got 2 sets of ATAC XS one on the MTB, one on the ‘fix.ie’. It is said they better than SPDs for riding fixed because the rear gate is solid (whereas the rear gate is sprung on SPDs) so it is much harder to unclip while pulling up vertically/skiding. Having said that - I never used SPDs on fixed because I started using them years ago when I was only riding MTB. I noticed on the MTB that involuntary unclippings were much less common with ATACs. With SPDs there comes a point were the spring tension is so loose you can pull out at will. At this same loose spring tension on ATACs, you won’t be able to pull out.
I’ve never seen a roadie with ATACs… but with the stiffness of soles these days the size of the pedal platform is less about performance and more about preference. There’s no reason you couldn’t use ATACs on a road bike. City riders/couriers use MTB pedals because walking in SPD-SLs is crap.
I use SPD-SLs on the track bike and have never had a problem. I’d say that most of the riders at my track use SPD-SLs without straps, certainly during training.
They all pretty much have the same mechanisms, difference comes down to weight and appearance. Don’t think shaving 100g on your bike will make much difference ay Simon?
even at ridiculous tension levels I was coming unclipped using SPD’s when skidding. It all boils down to differences in technique, more specifically how much you pull up over pushing down.
Since getting my ATAC’s it’s never happened.
They are FUCKING ugly and heavy tho if you’re a bit of a namby pamby and care about that stuff, i’m considering swapping for some crank bros eggbeaters, which I hear have a similar mechanism.
I think it does come down to technique as well. When I started with Atacs I remember clipping out quite a bit, but that was because I developed a bad habit of twisting my ankles when I was riding with clips + straps.
In order to stop clipping out I swapped the cleats around so that it had less float which consequently makes it significantly harder to clip out. Haven’t really had an issue since.
Not necessarily, this is a common misconception, its much tighter with less float and requires more force to clip it out, whereas the lower float setting has less tension and pops out easily.
you are right, but its because im lazy and dont want to run multiple pedals and shoes between bikes. oh and i am too slow to care about the extra weight/performance decrease between road pedals and mtb pedals, or i have more important things to work on.
I have had pair of alium’s for 3 weeks. Awesome pedals terrible finish but awesome function. Been riding spd’s for the last 15 years with no problem but noticed riding fixed would pop out at the worst times. I tried crank brothers but found they had too much float and felt like i was going to fall out all the time.
The only bad thing that I have noticed is i am getting a little more knee pain since i have been riding them. maybe my knee has not developed the correct stabilizing muscles to deal with the float. Any ideas as i thought the more float the better?
