Wahoo Speedplay Zero pedals

I think the name Wahoo should more aptly be Woo-hoo.. Speedplay supported their pedals, offered parts (even if comparatively expensive) and made them, for the most part in San Diego... the new incarnation abandoned all loyal customers.. halted support, did not even bother stocking some spare parts, shuttered the factory and started production of a kind of vague copy in Viet Nam of the Zero... with such an attitude why bother with these and not the cheap knock-offs from China.. they at least are cheap and some even have spares..

I've got speedplay pedals on two bikes (although one set is pretty worn), and speedplay cleats on two pairs of shoes (both sets are pretty worn, TBH).

What I'd like to know is whether the new Wahoo pedals are compatible with the old cleats, and whether the old pedals are compatible with the new Wahoo cleats. 

I'm not up for replacing both sets, but I could see one new set appearing in my shopping basket soon if they are cross-compatible.

As a long term Speedplay convert I have several issues and questions regarding the new Wahoo version, which the writer did not address.

Firstly, I would like to say I am a fan of the system, have been since day one of owning a pair. I now have 4 pairs of Zeros and 2 pairs of Pave.

Certain upgrades to the Zero are to be applauded. The old version had body wear issues which lead to your foot rocking laterally on the pedal. This was always worse on the side you constantly unclipped when stopping. For me it is left pedals.

Many moons ago Speedplay sold replacement pedal bodies. This ceased some time back too. They then did a pedal rebuild service, which was almost the same price as a new pair, so why would you bother? It made your pedals disposable, at considerable cost.

Spindles were interchangeable. I bought a pair of stainless pedals and when the bodies wore, just bought a pair of chromoly pedals (when bodies were no longer available) and swapped the exact same bodies over to my stainless spindles.

The bow ties would wear too with constant clipping in/ unclipping. Again, more wear on one side than the other due to me always up clipping my left foot at lights etc, Speedplay never sold these as spares (to my knowledge, I certainly never found any), but aftermarket companies did copy them and sell them. Quality was variable, for example Rock Bros bow ties were appalling quality with incorrect size bolts (extremely dangerous) to counter sinks not being machined in some of them! However, Dulight in France made excellent replacement bow ties for the Zero pedal. Speedplay however would actively pursue sellers with legal action to protect their brand. I get this, but they would not sell spares and would force you into the rebuild service or a new pair, which in effect meant a non-available, small replaceable part made you pedals useless. I hated this of Speedplay.

In order to get over the pedal body wear issues rendering them useless I opted for the Pave pedal - I found Canyon selling them off for £100 a pair a few years back and snapped up a couple of pairs. They are a metal body 'zero' in an 'iron cross' shape rather than round disk, which sheds muck better. This has always been a problem with Speedplay cleats - they fill with crap if you walk on muddy ground, then when you clip in it acts as a grinding paste which accelerated body wear. Again, more left side than right for me.

However, the Pave body may last longer than the plastic zero one, BUT nobody sells Pave bow ties, which are not the same as Zero bow ties, so I am faced with that problem when they wear out if I am to keep my pedals serviceable. I am looking at trying to get some aftermarket zero bow ties machined down to fit the Paves. It's a hassle, but I hate throwing stuff away if it is perfectly serviceable if replacement spares can be sourced.

So this leads me to the points I would like to make and which were not answered in the article. Wahoo have discontinued support for the previous Speedplay pedals. They have no intention of making or selling spare parts to keep older pedals serviceable. I have this in an email from Wahoo. This is extremely disappointing, especially in a world where throw away and waste is becoming more an more of an ecological issue. It also means an awful lot of money down the drain.

So what I would like to know is;

1. If I buy the new Zeros, can I remove the bodies? Can I replace them?

2. Will spares be available? For example, the bow ties now have a circular metal edge that runs completely around the pedal, which should eliminate pedal body wear and the associated rocking. However, constant clipping in/ out will wear the lips at the front and back where the cleat clips in. Will these metal parts be available to buy, or are Wahoo going to follow the Speedplay model of effectively making their pedals throw away when this part wears?

3. Greasing the Zeros was no great imbuggerance with a needle nosed grease gun. It only required doing every once in a while and was a two minute job, but messy having to clean up the exuded grease from the crank side of the pedal. This would continue to exude for a few subsequent rides requiring further wiping clean. Upon forcing new grease in, the old grease would come out a brown, mucky colour due to contamination, mainly from riding in wet and crappy conditions. Are the new seals that much better that regreasing won't actually be required, or is it just anticipated that it won't be, but bearing life is reduced because of this? I have a set of replacement bearings (again, not sold by Speedplay, bought aftermarket) but have never had to fit them to any pedals. Routine greasing has meant the bearings are still fine after thousands of miles.

4. It is good (to a point) that Wahoo have kept the cleat the same, so that there is backwards compatibility and new cleats can be used on old Zeros. However, replacement cleats alone will not keep your pedal system operational, and the V2 cleat with the walkable rubber/ plastic covers are in my opinion crap compared to the V1 cleat which had an all metal cover. Sure, it was a bit slippy to walk in so you had to be careful, but they lasted ages. The V2 cleat covers fall off if you twist your foot at all whilst it is in contact with the ground. I have lost two or three of them and I only walk very short distances to/ from the house and at cafe stops. I resorted to gluing them on and trying several glues before finding one that would keep them on. Without the cover the cleat is thin metal that will wear quickly. And it appears Wahoo are going to be charging almost double for new covers! The V1 cleat was far superior to me and merely needed some replaceable plastic/ rubber 'feet' that stayed put when fitted (maybe screwed on like a sidi shoe sole heels?)

If all these issues were sorted out a brilliant system would become absolutely fantastic. It appears Wahoo have addressed just one issue - the body wear, but left all the other failings in place....which is disappointing.

Changing Keo and SPD cleats every 6 months?!  Do you not own normal shoes for day to day use?!

It should also be pointed at that for the time being Wahoo have taken the decision not to make the other fit specific accessories easily available e.g. base plate extender and different sized axles not available online and only via specific dealers.  As this was one of the benefits for me having huge and weird feet, I'm hopeful that this will change soon.  Curious to know whether changing the axle is still as easy now that they have changed the design.

As a review it's pretty good. That said I think a seasoned Speedplay rider would have been better off reviewing them. Better to go from the old to the new versions knowing the short comings rather have someone struggle with cleat setup and clipping in. This isn't new technology, just an evolution of something that has been around for a long time. I've been riding Speedplay since 1996 and they really aren't that much different. 

I would agree with everybody here that said about how easy they are to clip into; so much easier that Look/Shimano. Walking has never been an issue, but each to their own. As for servicing, this new version sounds much better. Greasing my current set is such a pain. 

If I can actaully find a set to buy they will be a worthy upgrade; everywhere I have looked they are are out of stock.

"Clipping in and out is done in broadly the same way as Look and SPD: find the pedal in the right position under the cleat"

No. It's not. This is the fundamental difference. With Look/Shimano you find the pedal, fiddle with your toes to flip the pedal the right way up before pushing toe first and then foot down to engage. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't.

With speedplay you just stamp down onto the pedal. It couldn't be easier. If you miss slightly then you wiggle a bit and it engages. If you miss slightly with Look/Shimano your foot slips off the pedal and you have to start the toe flip process again, by which time the pedal is now rocking, making it even more difficult. Let's not even mention getting started on steep hills..

I'll never go back to Keo/SPDsls, speedplays are a superior industrial design.

I'm a long time speedplay user - I initially used single-sided pedals when I started road cycling but after a few months and frustration with failed clip-ins I switched to speedplay and never looked back. I found they were very easy once you got used to them and they are far, far quicker when you set off from a set of lights - just put your foot down and off you go

I'm curious about the latest cleats - they look like they might be a bit different to the old walkable cleats or am I imagining it?

I bought the cheaper version a few weeks back and I wouldn't go back to single sided now.

After a long time with knee/leg problems and endless faffing about with bike fit these pretty much solved the problem overnight.

As for the double sided clipping in...soooooo much better than single sided.

As mentioned in the review, they take a bit of time breaking in - it's ridiculous how tight they are trying to clip in at first, it's the only real downside. After a few rides (or practice on the turbo or just sitting on the bike) they do loosen up a fair bit. Still not as easy as clipping into as spd pedals if I'm honest but  that may improve with practice and also, the feel is better once you are clipped in as far as I'm concerned.