Chinese Speedplay Lookalike Pedals - 10,000km later

Cheap & very lightweight, but how have they lasted over 10,000km?
Check out Huel Black Edition: rebrand.ly/tracevelo
A few years ago, I purchased some fantastic lollipop style pedals on AliExpress. I reviewed them back in early 2021, dubbed them Chinaplay pedals, and recommended them for the following reasons:
Lightweight - They weight 150g for both pedals
Adjustable - Cleats offer high levels of adjustment in float & stance
Stack Height - These pedals offer a low stack height
Ease of use - They are very easy to clip into
Build Quality - Titanium, aluminium, and steel construction
Great value - The steel variety costs around £35
You can watch the last review here: • Chinese Speedplay Look...
But since then, I have been using them on my road bike non-stop, and in that time have clocked up just over 10,000km on them, so how have they held up?
In this video I’ll show you the pedals in detail, and compare the worn pedals to a new unused set. I will also give you some tips and tricks to get more miles out of your pedals, and finally show you the best way to clip in on your bike with a new set.
Got any questions or comments, stick them below 👇 and I'll try and get back to as many of you as I can!
Timestamps:
00:00 - Start
00:28 - Sponsor segment
01:51 - Intro
03:24 - Chinaplay pedals 10,000km later
05:36 - Signs of pedal wear
08:09 - Worn out cleats
11:01 - Tips and tricks
12:50 - Tips for clipping in
Intro roll:
Created by Dev Joshi - www.go2dev.co.uk
About Trace Velo:
I love cycling, and I love getting pro cycling kit for less. If it’s cheap, from China, and made of carbon fibre, I’m interested!
Instagram: / tracevelo
Email: [e-mail]
Please note:
With the exception of Huel, other products demonstrated in this video have been purchased by me, and I have no affiliation to any of the sellers or vendors shown.
In addition, I am not a professionally trained bike mechanic. There can be risks associated with using products that are unbranded, untested, or come from sources where the provenance is unknown. Please talk to a qualified bike mechanic if you are in any doubt.
In essence, be careful, do your research, and cycle safe!!!

[@thomasalison6188]

Thanks for theong term review! Great to see that they hold up!

[@kauroperea2767]

Dude always waiting for your vids... Really love your content

[@helicart]

I bought the Titanium ones based on your review 18 mths ago. Have put around 6000km into them. They have been reasonable. Pros: - very light - I have never pulled a cleat out unintentionally, though am reticent to pedal out of the saddle. - easy to clip out of, with heel movement inwards or outwards. I use these for commuting mostly, so that's a priority. - pretty worry free. I apply marine grease to the c clip occasionally. - I have the cleat covers and they are great for walking on at cafes. I feel safe up and down stairs. Not so with my Look Keo covers. Cons: - when you fit the cleat covers, they are held in by two longer replacement screws. These screws are also supposed to hold the cleat on the base plate. As torque for the cleat to the base plate is critical to allow the c-clip to move freely, this is a bit of a compromise. - the cleat covers are well worn now, but have done their job really well. - I have had the left base plate come loose a few times recently. I use my left foot at traffic lights etc. It would probably benefit from loctite on the threads. - When I first used the pedals, the very light and fragile plastic axle end cap on both pedals would start unwinding, and then there would be lateral play of the pedal along the axle. I stopped this by wrapping plumbers tape around the end cap thread. It has never come loose again. - there is no play or grind in the axles, so they have worn well so far. Overall, I have been pleasantly surprised by the pedals. I like to be able to unclip quick and easily, and these allow that. From time to time, I am unable to clip in first go, but with wriggling of the foot or spinning the pedal, I get in. I also like to be able to walk around a bit on cleats, and these are good for that. I don't race or do spirited bunch rides anymore, and would not use them for that purpose. I also don't do lots of climbing, and would have to test the pedals a lot before being comfortable with out of saddle pedaling. One thing I would suggest, is the pedals are interchangeable between left and right side. So swap them over from time to time, if you always use the same leg at stop lights etc. I think the pedals/cleats could be better, and would buy an upgraded model.

[@bennewton]

So useful, thank you

[@andrewdeck7945]

Thanks for the reviews!

[@TraceVelo]

No worries Andrew. I always like revisiting stuff I've looked at in the past!

[@chriscross5689]

@@TraceVelo it does help us long time viewers in making decisions on Ali express stuff. Keep the videos coming please Luke.

[@Occamed]

Big shout for Huel, love the way you cracked that little chestnut

[@enzomisuraca7898]

Done about 5000 Kms on mine and they are bloody brill 👊

[@bsw78]

Loving the new Word of the Day feature 😂😂👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@statosphereonline2008]

Oooh...very tempting. The 'play' puts me off though. I can imagine it would feel very different to my MTB spds I currently use on my road bike, albeit much lighter! Thanks for the great content, Luke!

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah there is quite alot of play on the worn out cleats and pedals. Can't be any worse than SPD's tho, surely those have some lateral play...?

[@Simon_is_not_sure]

@@TraceVelo Yep, a bit

[@statosphereonline2008]

@@TraceVelo I suppose a little. Maybe I don't notice it and so the chinaplays would be similar. For the price they are worth a punt!

[@adambrickley1119]

@@TraceVelo my 1 year old shimano red cleats had more float than the new shimano blue that came with the new pedals, so yeah, your spot on here. What put me of these were the reviews of people saying clipping in was impossible.

[@eddjo11]

Great pedals for those with knee issues. C clip was very tight so i pulled them wider apart with pliers. It clips in and out much easier . Done about 6000km.

[@bobtahar]

The hard to clip is not because of the retention clip (metal c clip)... it is because of the wavy plastics base below the retention clip that leave a very tight gap for the pedal to catch the retention clip. That base even kick out the clip from the peal. I flat out the wavy pattern on the plastic base into a round shape and created a bigger gap in order to get the pedal to catch the retention clip easier and hold the clip much more stronger. No need to lube or oil... it just work and clip in perfectly.

[@lawrencelikaiso]

Oh, so it's that wavy part that's preventing the cleats from clipping in. I was suspecting that was the issue but wasn't sure. I haven't been riding my bike much because of how hard it is to clip in so I purchased a pair of Shimano style pedals to replace these Chinaplays. I'll sand down the wavy part now to see if that helps. EDIT: So I removed all of the wavy parts of the cleat and they now clip in much easier. Not perfect but much better than before. Thank you!

[@mrT-gx5bq]

will still go with my shimano ultegra pedals and cliets, never had an issue with them, a bit pricey but imho absolutly worth it...

[@d7jab]

Top tip for them struggling to clip in, do the 4 screws up to 2.5Nm. Any tighter and the plate clamps the retaining clip down, any looser and the retaining clip doesn't function at all. I have used proper Speedplay's for 5+ years now and have started to go down the china play route.

[@4dnan]

glad to see the name is still Luke

[@inspiredtotired8369]

Great video Luke. The pedals look like they'd be good at keeping Vampires away when you're cycling. Can you confirm that you've been Vampire free whilst cycling? 😉

[@TraceVelo]

As a vampire myself, I can confirm these are not effective in repelling creatures that feed on the vital essence of the living. The only true repellant for a vampiric cyclist, is a small wooden cross bearing the GCN logo.

[@kennano2732]

Got my titanium set including covers for roughly $60. Haven't tried them yet, wish me luck setting them up.

[@VishnuRajendranAmboo]

Thanks Luke

[@willum5175]

Luke - enjoyed the video as usual! Have you considered trying to rebuild your titanium pedals by using the pedal body from the steel axle pedals? They’re cheap enough that maybe you don’t care about buying another pair but seems like a way to save some cash! Would also make a good video I think. Maybe they could start selling the body so you could just rebuild them continuously…

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah this is a great shout, and would totally work.... If i hadn't lost one of the steel versions in my recent house move 🤦

[@IMToasts]

I bought these, they only worked on one side. It was a true pain in the ass. Gave them away on my local buy and sell group!

[@grindsman22]

Timely video, I was just looking at these Chinaplay pedals. I was hoping those Titanum 3D printed, kickstarter funded, clipless pedals would be on sale by now but they aren't so I need a temporary lightweight solution.

[@eddjo11]

The wobble and float can be easily adjusted. With two pliers you can make the big C Clip smaller or bigger. No break-in period and no need for oil if you widen the retention clip with two pliers.

[@pscoop]

Another great video Luke. I got these off the back of the original review - the titanium version for my road bike and I loved them so much I got the steel version for my indoor trainer bike. I haven't done as many km as Luke so I haven't seen the excessive wear (maybe 2k on my road bike and 1k on the trainer), but I am also OCD about cleaning pedals. I haven't seen any obvious wear in the pedals, but I do see some of the same wear in the cleats - it's probably about time that I changed them. I would back up every tip in the video; definitely get the rubber covers for the cleats as it makes walking so much easier (I used to use Look keo compatible pedals which are great on bike, but horrible to walk in). My only other tip is to help break in the retention clip I took it out and used some pliers inversely to loosen up the clip, ie put the ends of neck of the pliers then open them out to push against the ends (see about 2:20 into this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWPIm2qua8xlgLM).

[@TraceVelo]

Cheers Paul, glad you like them! Sounds like you've taken better care of your set than me 😂. But yeah I did see a few comments suggesting giving the C clip a little stretch with some pilers. I didn't find it necessaary myself, but I can def see why this would help breaking them in. Anyway thanks for the comment!

[@richardggeorge]

Just get some Shimano SPD SL pedals and cleats as they last forever and they are a super stable platform. I only change the grease every 10,000km (squeeze out old grease with new, without full disassembly). Super easy! Edit: forgot to say they are cheap too!

[@simonb2044]

I have the titanium ones on both my Brompton and my road bike. Once broken in they are excellent.

[@TraceVelo]

Glad to hear you are getting on well with them, cheers Simon!

[@simonb2044]

@@TraceVelo these are just one of the many 'upgrades' you have inspired. Keep up the great content.

[@editdroid99]

Thanks for oil / break-in tip. I've been using these for about 2 months, and I love them once I'm in, but it can take up to 10 tries sometimes. On my ride yesterday, I finally felt like they were becoming easier. Changing gears, are you going to review any power meters? Some more affordable options have emerged in the last few years.

[@editdroid99]

@RealSweetKid I ended up buy Magene, and I love them.

[@Quadraspaz]

That lateral wobble may be the cause of my peroneal tendonitis. I have ridden Speedplay branded pedals since 2006 & ever since riding with these this is the first time I have developed this issue.

[@christophervergara2962]

I purchased them after I saw your first review, but they were impossible to clip in. I decided to go for some "Look Keo" compatible ones. By the way, you have almost all parts of the bike reviewed, except the seat post... Do you have in mind any review on it? Would love to see one. Great vid, as always. Greetings from Southamerica!

[@pmcmpc]

Tbh even if these are less than stellar, the new Wahoo Speedplays are so riddled with issues that the Chinaplays are a no-brainer to buy (not that older Speedplays were problem free).

[@ddn1539]

I bought these pedals after watching your first video about them. I never could make Tham to work (almost impossible to clip and when I can there's no way I can unclip. But since I was changing pedals, I put a pair of eggbeatbers and I've been happy ever since.

[@pochmaui]

Same! I bought it and tried to clip in....super hard to clip in and i went back to shimano. I still have the chinaplay pedals and i feel like doing it again. LOL!!

[@glennoc8585]

Flipping heck has literally been 2 years since you bought those pedals😲

[@philipsimmonds1103]

I have both Chinaplay/Speedply .. originally the Chinaplay were difficult stiff to clip in2 .. I grinded down the horseshoe clip .. and haven't looked back .. speedplay are now on the top shelf next 2 the cookies .. 🍪

[@wtfiswiththosehandles]

What kind of cookies? Chocolate chip?

[@philipsimmonds1103]

@@wtfiswiththosehandles ..of course .. in Cornwall..it's ginger cookies.

[@MikeInBC]

Three pairs of these pedals for two bikes. The third set came about because one pedal out of each pair had the end cap come loose and the pedal body started "walking" off of the axle. Contrary to Luke's experience, after 10K+ km on each set, I have minimal play and very little wear on the cleat's mounting plate. Coming from the Speedplay X2 pedals, I have set the adjusting screws such that I have probably 10° (?) of free rotation. Not sure if that has anything to do with my wear vs. Luke's but overall....I've been happy with them once I discovered the end cap issue and put some loc-tite on the threads to help hold them in place.

[@johnp8092]

Love your Vids Luke. I’m an AliExpress addict too. I Love seeking value for money. I bought these for my trainer. I’m having weird problems with them. I found them difficult to clip into quickly and yet when i do they don’t hold and just pop out! Go figure! At this stage I’m not impressed but I ’ll try some of the suggestions. Thanks again. J

[@JImportante]

Have same problem, poping out very easily. Hava you sort it out?

[@johnp8092]

⁠. No, I bought some second hand speedplays which are solid and secure. I still have the AliExpress ones in storage. I might try and file down the wavy sections under c clip as suggested by others and try them again. Stay tuned.

[@AJackal]

My main question is how do you find the time to get 10,000 km of riding done in a year, while working a full time job and making KZbin videos?? As regards the pedals, they seem like a good alternative to expensive road systems but honestly, the MTB system is so much better in the end, not slipping around like bambi on ice on the dismount and not walking like you've filled your chamoi during the ride being highlights. The Time system has worked best for me over the years, lots of lateral and rotational float, which is actually great biomechanically protecting the knees, but with no vertical slop, which I think would feel wierd. So not all play is bad play in my experience. Keep up the good work Luke 👌

[@user-dc1ud6px3s]

10,000 km is 38 km a day if you rest on weekends. I do 50 km a day, 5 days a week. I have plenty of time left if I stay off smartphones, the real time waster.

[@TraceVelo]

So the answer to your first question is simple really. You just need to sleep deprive yourself, ride mostly at night time, and put minimal effort into maintaining key personal relationships. 😐😐😐Not but for real, it's quite tough. It's actually quite nice that you pointed it out tbh, I do stretch myself quite alot trying to get these videos out whilst working full time, so it's good to get some recognition 😁 But yeah, I've actually been riding some knock-off time xpresso pedals (kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqCVXpeAma6DfM0) for the last few months, and the time system is really growing on me actually. I'm honestly surprised it's not more popular!

[@ytb3748]

I cycle 5 days a week back and forth between Toronto & Mississauga (Ontario, Canada) and that is just about 41 K , and with all of that, I still have time to read, workout and watch loads of TV shows ;)

[@robinrai4973]

Epoxy on a bunch of shims to fix the play XD Nice vid as always

[@sebbelito2975]

Looks like it is adding up a lot of stack with the different adapters and such. And as you pointed out, the weight of the cleat are ridiculous. I bought a pair of Shimano PD-R9100 Dura ace pedals, came in at 234 grams, the cleats 36.7g the screws almost 34g, a total weight of 304.5 gram. BUT there are titanium screws and washers for Shimano cleats on Aliexpress dropping the weight with 17, so total weight should be 287 which is very hard to beat. Dura ace pedals have lowest stack of any pedal if I am not mistaken. There are also titanium axles from Titanium planet dropping the weight another 30 gram if really going serious (would be 250-260g all in all).

[@alistair410]

I think Speedplay recommend using a dry lube on the retention ring and cleat adaptor (on a fairly regular basis) to help slow the wearing process down.

[@mikelohmeyer4140]

We need to get you to try a set of our Pitbull bike pedals. 360° engagement!

[@TraceVelo]

Now those looks interesting! I'd love to give those a try. If you maybe want to discuss a few options, drop me an email: [e-mail]

[@nemixCOD]

Could you do a video on bleeding the hybrid brakes ? including the juin tech

[@jackofharts94]

I use real speedplays and they do suffer the same issue, although nowhere near that level of slop. I used to buy official speedplay cleats, but the ebay knock off ones are actually perfectly fine. I do regularly grease the c clips, and spray with GT85 fairly often, i don't know if you already do that, but i wonder if that would have any effect on the wear of the chinaplays.

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah to be honest, i didn't really take very good care of these pedals. I only sprayed them down with GT85 once every 2 to 3 months, which probably didn't help. Good to know the cleats fit genuine speedplays tho, thats gotta save some cash!

[@veganpotterthevegan]

They'll get this same amount of slop if you keep them long enough. They're just made with better material so it'll take longer to get the same result

[@noeldanganan1638]

Took your advise and bought these for my venge. Initially twas kinda hard for it to engage brandnew but after the metal loosened up, it was alright.. seems quite easy to disengage when i get off thr saddle but never had inadvertent disengagement so far.. pretty good for the price. My issue is that i couldnt find any rubber covers online that would fit with it. Tried the rubber for the original speedplay but it wont fit

[@TraceVelo]

Ok nice, thanks for the comment Noel. Yeah I know what you mean about the release tension, once they are broken in, it doesnt take much to clip in and out. Having said that, might be worth swapping out the cleats, I found this helped keep things a bit tighter

[@DanOutdoorsUK]

Oh wow that sign is still up in polperro‽ Haven't been there for maybe 20 years and it was there then!

[@lawrencelikaiso]

HELPFUL TIP: If you're having difficulty clipping in, use a knife to cut off the wavy part of the plastic on the cleats, the part right under the C clip. That's what's preventing the cleat from clipping in.

[@James_R_]

Was this before or after you started using pedal spacers? Which pedal spacers would you recommend?

[@ForGodsgloryministry75]

I have the same and love them.I just them for race also

[@terryd7625]

Seems like you forget the recommended steel adapters and cleat covers when you did your weight comparison.

[@Kalvi]

You can use original speedplay cleats with these ones? Also spindles are compatible?

[@detmer87]

That's really beyond excessive wear. Be lucky you didn't got knee problems! I went to a bike fitter because of knee problems and he immediately said I needed to ditch my worn Speedplays. The bikefitter told me you get accustomed to your pedals, you will notice the difference when you replace them. He wasn't wrong, back to Shimano SPD-SL felt so much more stable. Especially out of the saddle. He told me that fast majority of the pro's are on SPD-SL or Look because of the large contact area. I'm glad I ditched Speedplays because they where also prone to (plastic) creaking...

[@darrengarvie8832]

Strange I see so many pro bike fitters saying to go for speedplay as they adjustment is so good on them 🤔

[@detmer87]

@@darrengarvie8832 I'm talking about vertical rotation that's created by wear. SpeedPlay has very big horizontal rotation adjustment. But let's not forget that Shimano yellow cleats allow 6 degrees, that's plenty when placed properly...

[@darrengarvie8832]

@@detmer87 I use look keo anyway so I'm not really that bothered lol but I have been getting some knee pain lately 🤔 I probably need a pro bike fit to be honest as I've never had one due to the high cost.

[@dmcgoon]

Man. First, thanks for another great content. I got excited from the first video and ordered one while back. It didn't work well with 3 bolt system. The adapter was bending(based on the shoe bottom shape) which bent the socket and it was impossible to clip in. I wouldn't recommend if you're going to use the adapter. You will be gambling, hoping your shoe shape will work.

[@sjv6598]

With real speedplay pedals you get shims in the box to properly fit the adapter to the sole of your shoes. Not all shoes are the same, the curve of the sole is slightly different hence speedplay including shims to address that issue. Sometimes it’s worth paying the extra for the real deal.

[@suhaimiyasin6070]

Will the new wahoo speedplay cleat fit on these pedals? Or it will only fit the provided cleat?

[@jonahang1643]

Luke, can we have the link to the rubber cover for easier walking?

[@andreemurray7039]

You can get a plate for speedplay to prevent wear on pedal last for long time

[@raisinberry777v2]

Since I spotted it in the background (and it's still on the bike!) - what are the longer term thoughts on that Senicx crank + chainrings?

[@TraceVelo]

Pretty good actually. The alu chainrings are a little thicker than ive used in the past, so does add a few grams of weight, but really helps out in the durability department. The only thing im not a massive fan of however, is that they basically use the SRAM system to preload the bottom braket. Maybe i'm just not used to using it, but i did struggle to get this dialed in initally.

[@raisinberry777v2]

@@TraceVelo thanks - I'll take a better made product over an extra 20 grams any day of the week!

[@2wheelsrbest327]

I use SpeedPlay Luke and until I brought those black cleat covers which you screw on they were a pain. I just wished I had known AE sell them given the price I paid for mine.

[@valmorell]

There is much comment here about these pedals being very hard initially to clip in. Indeed some respondents, including myself, actually couldn't clip in at all. The problem lies in the fact that the pedal cannot easily (or even at all) be engaged deeply enough into the cleat to allow the clip to lip over the metal plate on the pedal part. The solution is to take the plates off the pedals and reduce the thickness a little with a metal file, taking care to only reduce in the lip area where the clip engages. This way, the pedal does not have to go quite so far down into the cleat to gain engagement. It's kind of like pre wearing them a little.

[@Hazzer2007]

The steal plate, can't find them on AliExpress. What key words should I use?

[@neft16]

At 9:52 it looks like a significant amount of play could be because the grub screws (used to set lateral limits in the cleat) are partially unscrewed. maybe they fall out over time. is it STILL bad if you tighten these fully?

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah good spot! So at 9:52 you can see the screws that adjust float are not tightened up, so the retention clip can move back and forth slightly, which does accentuate the wobble. But at 9:55 you can see exactly the same cleat and pedal with the float screws tightened up fully, and the wobble/play is still pretty egregious.

[@Dante-de6qf]

Hello Luke, great video. And i'm really interested in these pedals. 2 years ago i had an ankle surgery and full movement won't come back. So spdSL pedals are really difficult for me to unclip, basically unusable now. Plain spd, the mountain bike variation i can unclip much easier. Do you think i could use the chinaplay ones? Or they are too hard to unclip?

[@veganpotterthevegan]

You don't want these or speedplays. You want a pedal with adjustable release tension. I'm a speedplay lifer but I think Look Keo Easy pedals or something similar is a better fit for you

[@joseruivo5215]

SPD (MTB) style pedals, with MULTI-release cleats is your best bet. Since using MULTI-release cleats - Shimano SM-SH56 - I have never again fell because my foot was still held in the pedal.

[@montiel1968]

Hey Luke, you recommended siroko clothing, I trusted your recommendation and they have been extremely difficult to work with in regards to returning an item that I needed a different size for . I would not recommend anyone to siroko for any cycling clothing.

[@tombreen7927]

Hey Luke any dealing with this model of bike..ZXM New T1000 Full Carbon Road Bike

[@distel7561]

How much more weight for the steel plates and protectors?

[@future62]

Luke I think you might just need to tighten the cleat screws. You can see the bottom plate wobbling with the pedal. They do back out and require some Loctite to stay torqued.

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah that's a fair comment. At 9:17 you can see the screws that adjust float are not tightened up, so the retention clip can move back and forth slightly, which does accentuate the wobble. But at 9:55 you can see exactly the same cleat and pedal with the float screws tightened up, and the wobble/play is still pretty egregious. It's a good shout tho, a little bit of loctite would def help them stay in place on the road!

[@ryan92084]

Another excellent production indeed. Not really super interesting in the weight savings department but ever thought about giving some aliexpress bar tape a review?

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah i've thought about it, but to be totally frank, i actually like the REALLY cheap stuff the best. The stuff without any slicone backing, or even any adhesive strip. Last ages, goes on well, and costs like £3 or something.

[@ryan92084]

@@TraceVelo hah, that is fair. I guess i should have assumed you'd be anti plush based on your seat choice :D

[@Alejandro_BoniIIa]

So glad his name is still Luke

[@1sigmabikes]

Baller haircut, sir. Super glue, or silicone or something is a great tip. I use these as well, and nothing is as disheartening as going on a long ride and seeing the cover missing

[@leandrosanti7180]

Could you share the link? I'm newbie and don't want to buy the wrong one.

[@TheImprobableIronman]

To be fair, the amount of wear on those in 10,000KM is pretty acceptable (given the price). I'm just recommissioning one of my road bikes and very tempted to give these a go - given the price of Keo pedals and cleats. Thanks for the video.

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah i think so. Plus if you keep them clean and swap the cleats out regularly like i mentioed, you should get alot more out of them than i did!

[@meneldil7604]

@@TraceVelo tbf that what most speedplay go like

[@kukulele]

Cool new video! That's interesting with energy levels; I never eat/I fast before a ride. I ride anything between 60-100km per ride and never had any issues nor hunger. I do IF and low carb diet as well, works nicely for me.

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah i've tried fasting before my rides. If i've had a massive carby meal the night before, I can sometimes get by, but I usually end up feeling like crap afterwards, especially if I have smashed it up some big hills. But fair play, whatever works for you kukulele! 😊

[@jayride_23]

does it have the same mounting dimensions with legit speedplays?

[@sebr7477]

Out of the box, the C clip is clearly not wide enough to make contact with the right part of the pedal to widen it - thus I suspect rotating the foot will cause extra friction allowing the clip to expand (I haven't tried this). To get them to work, I carefully used pliers on the clips to widen them. Unfortunately I snapped one of the clips near the end (although still functional). Also, my left foot was too loose and clipped out a few times (I luckily avoided dangerous situations). After some more tuning, these pedals function excellently - I regularly sprint up hills and on the flat! My only issue now is the durability.

[@lawrencelikaiso]

Another reply mentioned it was the wavy part of the cleat that prevents clipping in securely. After removing the wavy parts using a knife and dremel, it's now much easier to clip in and out.

[@rainercuval4677]

Huel is great and i use the neutral version.

[@jheiethutz]

can you use the legit cleats of speedplay for this kind of pedals?

[@pureroadie]

You Maverick, I told you to get on the pedals case

[@TraceVelo]

You got it Chief!

[@kennano2732]

Has anyone found flat adapters for these pedals? I ride sometimes with normal shoes or sandals, and I don't wanna keep switching pedals around.

[@belverticale]

Pro tip. SPD non SL (MTB) with stiff soled shoes and light pedals.

[@jimreppinb14]

I had a pair of these. My experience was 50/50. Super cheap, super lightweight and when you break them in they work as expected. The rubber cover are a must, I lost my first set and walking around destroyed the cleat, grabbed a second pair and lost the rubber covers again, I didn't think to superglue but would recommend. The break in is the worst, don't do it on your bike you'll break something. Put them on a towel on the floor and stand on them from there. I disagree with Luke, the cleats are rubbish, it's such a fine balance between being able to clip in or not, I tried loosening the screws so I could actually clip in and the cleat came away from the shoe with the c clip still on the pedal a couple of times whilst climbing in the mountains. I got my lbs to try and service them, I think they put grease that was to thin, eventually the bearing seized and almost thread my crank arm on the trainer. After this I've gone with legit speedplays. Would I buy them again, probably not. I would say they would work great with legit speedplay cleats (which are lighter than the China cleats) but as a package give them a miss.

[@koli154]

Thank you for trying all the cheap parts so i will not buy it and just be disappointed .

[@TraceVelo]

No worries Koli!

[@leedorney]

The lateral or rocking movement you get was a real problem on the old design before they got bought by wahoo and now they've put a circular section of metal on the top of either side of the actual speedplay pedal

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah I noticed this myself too when researching for this episode, completely forgot to mention it in the script. But yeah you're absolutely right, they appear to have addressed some of the wear issues with speedplay's in the latest wahoo design!

[@leedorney]

@@TraceVelo Well i so brilliantly managed to buy some just before Wahoo released the new ones 🙄 lol but still, on spdsl's now 👍 - always enjoy the vids matey 👌

[@michelbinet5278]

...And they're still rocking from side to side apparently..!

[@joseruivo5215]

@@TraceVelo, the pedals you reviewed are much more like a Speedplay Pave than other Speedplay models. Considering that other models seem to pose a problem cliping in if you have a bit of dirt in the cleat, I would think that this Pave pedal base style would be better for avoid that problem, correct?

[@christianalboroto7574]

10,000km is like 2-3 years worth of riding. I'm a casual rider. Been using mine for 2000km and it still works fine.

[@richardrayment6721]

Mine seemed to not bind into the cleats at all. It was almost as if the spring was too small to actually go over the lip it was meant to for binding. Which is a shame as I quite enjoyed the prospect of trying speedplay ‘style’ pedals without spending speedplay prices for the honour. Although I was glad I didn’t invest in the ‘walking’ cleat covers (which come with speedplay) as they almost cost as much as the chinaplays in totality!

[@lawrencelikaiso]

The issue isn't the spring, it's the wavy plastic part of the cleat which prevents clipping in. If you remove the wavy parts completely, clipping in becomes much easier.

[@DWMtukwila]

by the way, before I buy any item that says "free return" I now ask a seller if that means they will pay the shipping to return them. Seems obvious, but sometimes the obvious in writing is a lot more powerful

[@acecaptain-t3903]

I bought a pair of these and in my experience there was just too much side to side wiggle movement when pedaling compared to my spd-sl pedals

[@Chungleas]

Aside from a 100g weight saving I'm struggling to see the advantages over shimano (either SPD or SPD SL), where the main wear item is the cleat. It also seems odd to clone speedplay and not put a sacrificial bit of plastic round the pedal body.

[@habs]

This chinese pedal are a clone of the speedplay zero pave pedals which if you google them, practically identical......

[@MrJofArnold]

They are much easier to use. You only need to see how fast you clip in and get off the lights with them versus SPD SL. Plus they are much more adjustable which helps a great deal if you have knee issues. Been using them for a decade and would never go back to anything else. Plus the Chinese ones are super cheap! Win win win.

[@mikelohmeyer4140]

I know they're not walking shoes but what if you step in a little bit of mud will it pack inside the hole?

[@TraceVelo]

So not really. I've certainly walked on some pretty muddy paths and been fine. I mean they obviously won't be as mud-proof as SPD's, but honestly they aren't bad!

[@jensenhealey907efi]

What are these pedals actually called if you are searching for them on Aliexpress? I'm fairly certain they are not called Chinaplay pedals in the ads on Aliexpress.

[@TraceVelo]

So if you just search for 'lollipop pedals' on Aliexpress, they will pop up!

[@GuitaristOfEvil]

I found mine searching for lollipop pedals

[@danishrover6984]

Lollipop pedals - Comes up with a lot of brands that all look the same. The brand 69 is the cheapest I have found so far at 56 Euro. Maybe Luke can come with some insigt as well?

[@boffintim]

Big fan of Huel myself, congrats on the new sponsor!

[@TraceVelo]

Thanks boffintim, I've always been a fan too, so yeah really stoked to be working with them!

[@chriscross5689]

@@TraceVelo I use their hot and savoury meals.. all very nice. Great for lunches at work.

[@acelectricalsecurity]

😅😅​@@TraceVelo

[@mrendo4742]

Just replace the metal pedal plates and cleats and you back up and running. My speed plays are like it. But wouldn't go back to SPD or Look

[@kentakahashi9635]

The SPD SL Pedals are not the lightest out there. I think there is a large wheight difference between the standard and Duraace/Ultegra pedals. They have a carbon compund material and so the difference shouldn't be as big as here. Of course they are much more expensive, but you should keep that in mind before changing to this chinese pedal systems because of saving weight.

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah, totally fair comment. If you can stretch to some DuraAce SPD-SL pedals, those will undoubtedly be a great choice. Plus pedals from shimano are known to be completely bulletproof in the durability department!

[@veganpotterthevegan]

My actual speedplays do the same thing if I keep them too long. They recommend fairly frequent replacements

[@jwtcampbell]

👍🏻

[@sergion1406]

Omg my crankbros still owns total weight

[@brendonnoble5227]

Thanks for showing the ins and outs of this system. I use mountain bike spds for both mountain and road, just with a more ridgid shoe for road. I have never felt a lack of power transfer (but that may be due to my pathetic legs) and the ability to walk properly outweighs any potential performance gains.

[@dcv9460]

When can we see the GRAVEL BIKE??? 😎

[@TraceVelo]

Well DCV, your wish is my command - kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnTRaq2Nect-pNE

[@charlesmansplaining]

I've used Shimano, Look, Eggbeaters, Time, and Speedplay. The worst pedals IMO were the Speedplay. Eggbeaters are okay but wear quickly and I got tired of replacing them so often. Time cleats break to easy. Look are good pedals but Shimano are better and give me a much better platform. I'm convinced Shimano are the best and that's all I'm ever going to use from now on.

[@MrBirdshell666]

"replace the cleats 2-3k miles" whats the point if spd-sl or keo last many times more

[@kicker3037]

Are they compatible to Speedplay cleats?

[@borano2031]

Yes. Rgr

[@FoundationMCR]

Ok. Where can I get some? 🙂

[@TraceVelo]

Just type 'lollipop pedals' into AliExpress, they will come up!

[@elotix2689]

Nice haircut!

[@TraceVelo]

Cheers El! I did shave off the beard tho... 😂

[@thesolarisguy]

I got a pair of these after watching the first video. After a lot of riding managed to destroy the bearings in one pedal. But for the money I would buy again. My current issue is I would like long spindles. They are different types of spindles to the real speedplay. So question does anyone know were to get longer spindles for these.

[@sjv6598]

You can buy pedal extensions that screws into the pedal arm then your pedal screws into it. They’re available at either 16 or 20mm long. I’ve been using them on all my bikes for quite a while. They’re about £12 on eBay.

[@davidgoon1978]

guess you can find them on ebay or aliexpress

[@thesolarisguy]

@@sjv6598 yeah not looking for pedal extension they are hideous and 16mm each side is rather large

[@johnfinnerty4720]

Have you actually tried to use speedplay or J&L spindles in these? Thinking of buying to replace worn speedplay zero body but also wasn't sure about spindle compatibility

[@thesolarisguy]

@@johnfinnerty4720 So the spindles in these are complete different. I ended up getting a buying an old pair of CR-mo speedplay and refurbing them with new titanium spindles and bearings. I did buy another pair of these Chinaplay ones on the spare bike.

[@michaelmechex]

They honestly seem pretty fiddly, but I can see the appeal of double sided pedals. I love my SPDs on mtb and gravel, but I probably wouldn't put up with these. That's a good thing, because I am already committed to SPD-SL because of power meter pedals. *P. S.:* 27 degrees is sublime weather, we had 39 today and I am hard boiled