pedals

Having logged enough miles to be intimately familiar with them, I thought I would post some thoughts on eggbeaters and other pedals.
I have been riding a lot lately on eggbeaters because I use them in cyclocross races and they are a bit tricky to click into. So I ride them as much as possible to get better at clicking into them quickly. My right eggbeater candy abruptly fell apart on me the other day. Same thing happened to a friend of mine about a week before. I don't have a lot of miles on those pedals. They have one bearing and one bushing to roll on the spindle so maybe lack the durability of a pedal with two bearings. I have some speedplay frogs with at least ten times the mileage that are still holding up fine.
The eggbeaters do have their advantages. They are cheap. You can find the entry level cromoly versions (that I am using) for 30 or 40 bucks. They are rebuildable. I did just that with the candy pedals. And here is the biggest advantage: mud clearance. They do not jam with mud, ever. In cyclocross that is a huge deal, and the reason I switched from frogs to eggbeaters for cyclocross racing. That's probably why they are the ubiquitous pedal for cyclocross around here. I know a lot of the pros use Shimano XTR but they have pit bikes....

So for cyclocross, its eggbeaters, even though the bearings go quickly.

For road racing, I use old Shimano 105 pedals that are made by Look. I'm sure they're heavy compared to what is available now but they have a nice wide platform and high quality bearings. Hence being 17 years old and still smooth. You can still find cleats for them. I won a pair of Speedplay X pedals last year but haven't used them yet because I want to use the same pedals/shoes for road and track racing ( I have 2 pairs of the 105 pedals). I can tell you frogs do not work well for track racing (or any mountain pedal for that matter). Its no fun to accidently release from the pedal during a sprint on a fixed gear bike. I learned that the hard way but luckily didnt crash or cause a crash. But only an idiot would try to use them in a track race in the first place?

For commuting, if I wasn't committed to a clipless system, I would go the Rivendell way and use platform pedals with Power Straps. I have a pair, they're nice.

If you're going to ride across the country, don't use eggbeaters because they wouldn't make it!