pedals

[ALF]

i know having clip pedals increases efficiency but does it matter which ones you have?
whats the big difference between lets say look, shimano, and egg beaters? i have egg beaters on my road bike, i just like how easy it is to get out of. . . sometimes its a pain to get the cleat in the system but i guess thats with every pedal system. . . and knowing that egg beaters are mainly for MTB i feel like a n00b in them sometimes but it gets the job done (i think)… am i losing anything from others in more of a traditional style pedal system for road bikes?

[ThePrez]

Once you get to riding more, you will definitely notice a difference in pedals.  Pedals like the egg beaters can give you hot spots on your feet.  This means that you can get discomfort on your foot just above there the cleat is attached to your shoe.  This all has to do with contact area.  Basically, the larger the cleatm the more the pressure gets dispersed on the bottom of your foot.  Cleats like Shimano spd-r (which are the road specific version), Look, Time, all have a larger contact area as opposed to regular Shimano spd's, or egg beaters. 
  Secondly, different pedals have different designs in what is called float.  Float is the degree in which the heel of your foot can rotate from the spot that the cleat is engaged.  For people that have had knee problems before (like you had), more float is usually better.  Now some pedalys have either a spring that you can tension for different degrees of float, or offer different cleats to go with the pedal that offer increments.  For example, Look offers No Float, Some Float (I think its5-10 degrees), and More Float (something like 15 degrees).  A lot of people that have had knee problems choose Speed Play since they offer a huge range of float, but my experiences with them give you a bad sense of engagement to the pedal, and I always felt as if my foot was going to come off the pedal.  Your Egg beaters will be good for your knee, but you might notice later that it could be uncomfortable for your feet.  I wouldn't change anything yet, unless you start noticing something. 
Man, this is getting long....so I will stop.

[ALF]

johnnie on the spot on the replys blake. .  verry good info. i do feel a numbness around the ends of my feet only on long rides that i do. . . related to the egg beaters?

[ThePrez]

That's my guess, but before jumping to conclusions, loosen up the straps of your shoes just a little bit.  There are a few factors that could cause that:
Shoes not fitting your foot well
Shoes tightened too much
Pedal contact area
Saddle not fitting you well (cutting off some blood flow)

Cleat entry on road pedals is designed just for that, riding on the road.  The back end is weighted down so the front of the cleat is directed straight into the front clip.  Road pedals are also one sided, because of the reason I just stated. 

[ALF]

i know now. .  well then its time to do some shopping.

[ALF]

what would be a good site to shop at?

[ThePrez]

Sugar Cycles, ha.  I do need to get with Anthony about turning in the roster though.  Other than that, I really like www.Pricepoint.com and www.Jensonusa.com ....or of course, www.ebay.com

Seems like a deal that is too good to be true
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=13397

[ALF]

not a fan of eLaurent Brochard. . . seein some good prices at pricepiont and jensonusa.

[ThePrez]

Once you find one you like, you can always froogle.com it also.  That should come up with some good deals as long as it is a decent company.  Also, both of those sites price match...so say you do find a better deal on another website, I would send jenson or pricepoint an email about it, and they are usually really quick and good about matching.  Sometimes they will even throw in shipping.