Shimano PD-6700 Ultegra SPD-SL Road Pedals Test

Shimano does also make other components for bikes than just gears and wheels. They are also one of the bigger sellers of clipless pedals for roadbikes and mountainbikes. We have looked on some Look Keo 2 Max before, and now it is time to look on the Shimano Ultegra PD-6700 SPD-SL road pedals. They are Shimano’s 2^nd best clipless pedals, only beaten by the more expensive Dura Ace. I have also been trying the cheaper Shimano PD-R540 105 SPD-SL. You can read about the 105 here. 

They weigh in 310 grams a pair, which of course could be a lot lighter (Speedplay coming in at about half the weight), but the weight is meant to give a great durability. A bahco key can adjust the tightness of the release of the clamps, so it will be able to suit all different kind of ridertypes. Some people like it to be tight, others wants it to be easy to get out of. So it is definitely some pedals that on paper would fit most people. But how is it to ride on them?

On the road

As I mentioned in the test of the 105 pedals, clipless pedals are the way to go. I got 2 km per hour faster from one day to the other, by just shifting from standard pedals to clipless. And they are making you train a bigger part of your legmuscles, than normal flat pedals, due to that you not only push down in the pedals, you also pull up.

Well, they are surprisingly great. After about 10.000 km, I have not had any failure with them. I am even using some cleats that have been used since 2011 and they work, as they were new, even though they do look a bit beaten. They are easy to click in and out of. The pedals backend is heavier than the front, so the front is pointing upwards, and you just have to push your foot forward to get your cleats in the pedals. The system works fine, and with a little training, you can get in them in no time. Also getting out of them is easy. Just push your heel to both side, and it will click out. It is at this point you can adjust just how hard you have to push before the cleats goes out of the pedals.

I have been using these for about 1½ year, and not a single time have they failed on me. At no time while sprinting or putting extra hard force in the pedals, have they failed on me. The cleats has always been in the pedals, and that makes you trust the whole system a bit more while sprinting. You are never thinking, “what if one foot falls out of the pedal now?”, and that feels like you gain 1-2% more speed because of the blind trust you get on the product.
The pedals feels solid, and the size of them makes you get a big place to put the pressure on, which makes sure that no parts of your foot feels sore after been pushing for some time. Minor pedals can make you lose the feeling of some part of your foot for a small amount of time, due to the blood not being able to circulate properly along with nerves being squished. The Shimano SPD-pedals seems to do this job just fine, preventing that from happen.

Some people do complain about the SPD-pedals allowing too much flex, but I have not been experiencing this at all. To me, it feels like my foot becomes one with the bike. I guess if you are a heavier rider who can put in more Watts than I can, maybe it can be case. But if that is the case, just try to tighten it as mentioned earlier, and it should not become that big of a problem some people makes it.

The weight of them does not seem to influence anything. Yes, you can get lighter pedals, but the question is, if they lose in the quality by losing their weight too? That will be a subjective thing, but I am willing to give up 100-150 grams on these, because they ride really well.

I have tried the cheaper and a bit heavier 105 SPD-pedals from Shimano, and I can only conclude, that I do not think there is not much of a difference. They look the same, the cleats are identical, and you only save 15 grams per set of pedals with the Ultegra. So on paper the Ultegra-pedals are a bit better, but in reality, you cannot feel any difference at all.

The verdict

Overall, I like this product. It seems to be in a great quality, and the weight has not been a problem in any sprinting situation. The adjustment of them makes sure you always get it just as easy (or hard) to click out of, as you want it to be. For the price of around 100 euro’s you get a great set of pedals (and cleats) that can last for a long time. They are a well spend upgrade. However, if you want to spend 25-30 euro’s elsewhere and you do not care if your pedals says “105” or “Ultegra”, you can just as well go for the 105 SPD-pedals. They feel exactly the same when on the road, and 15 grams for a pair of pedals, will not make the difference between a world champion and the second place.

Written by René

Read more: http://cyclingtipsonline.com/news/shimano-pd-6700-ultegra-spd-sl-road-pedals-test/

Roadbike Geargroups List

Many people are not aware of what quality the different gears of their bikes have. Shimano, Campagnolo, and SRAM makes gears in all types of quality and price, and they are listed under here, from worst to best:

Shimano

2300 (Cheapest)

Sora

Tiagra

105

Ultegra

Dura Ace (Best)

Campagnolo

Xenon (Cheapest)
Veloce
Mirage
Chorus
Record
Super Record (Best)

SRAM
Apex (Cheapest)

Rival 

Force

Red (Best)

You can see a list of the mountainbike geargroups here

Written by René

Read more: http://cyclingtipsonline.com/news/roadbike-geargroups/

Scott Speedster S20 Test

The Scott Speedster is the Swiss-based company Scott Sports aluminium frame for roadbikes. It has been in the market for quite some years, but is still known as one of the better aluminiumframes on the market. The tested model is the 2010 Speedster S20, with full Shimano 105, apart from the rear deraillur being Ultegra. The fork and seatpost are both made in carbon, so it is quite comfortable compared to the pure aluminiumbikes. The weight comes in at 8,9 kg wich doesn’t make it the lightestdefinitely not heaviest aluminiumbike out there. The tested model had a 34-49 crank and a 11-25 cassette.

First off, the frame is looking quite good in this 2010 silver layout. I paid roughly 1000 euro for it, and for that price, I got a pretty decent bike. The wheels are some lowbudget Alex Rims wheels, that weighs about 2kg per set, but they are, as stated before, rocksolid. I have been beating them up, and they are steady as new. In addition, they actually roll pretty well. I tried to compare them with some more expensive Mavic Cosmic Elite wheels, and the Alex Rims, were rolling better than the Mavics!
The Shimano 105/Ultegra combination makes it’s a good value for money too, and all around the bike, you can be sure, that they haven’t given it anything poor and cheap products, like some few other bikes at this pricerange sometimes get.

On the road

But how is it on the road? Well, you can feel it is an aluminiumframe, and not a carbonframe, by the comfort of it. It does not take bumps as good as a carbonframe, but as an aluminiumframe, it is doing the job decently. The Alex Rims are a pain to accelerate up, if you are used to some lighter wheels, but once they are up in speed, they maintain it better than the lighter wheels, because of the increased inertia. So for a time trial, they would actually do the job better than similar lowprofile wheels, that are lighter. But for any sprints or normal racing, they are just too heavy. But rocksolid, so as trainingwheels, they would be great, unless you of course wants just a little lighter wheels.

So The wheels makes the bike feel a bit heavy in accelerating, but else, it feels like a good ride. You are not tired after 100 km on it, and you do not feel sore in your butt or arms after such a trip, so the comfort is fine for me at least. The finish of the bike is great, and the paint does not have any flaws in it. The stiffness of the frame was not any problem neither. It did not seem to flex at least when I was sprinting, but I am a hiller/climber type, so I cannot speak for the heavier types, who can put more power in the pedals. Compared to a more expensive Scott Foil-carbonframe, it feels just as stiff when sprinting for me, and I guess anyone else would say the same.
The gears shifts fine. Shimano 105 and Ultegra are probably the best value for money you can get, when it comes to the Shimano-series, so I do not have anything bad to put on that either.

The verdict

Overall, we have to remember that this bike is a semi expensive entrylevel bike, and not ment for competitive racing. If you want to use it for racing, you will need new wheels at least. But as the standard bikerider who rides for fun and for the execercise, this bike will do the job absolutely fine. With different wheels, the frame is definitely good enough for racing. Not in the highest levels, but as for low- and mediumlevel racing, the frame is just decent enough for that. So, if I were gonna buy my first roadbike, or just wanted a new aluminiumracer, would I buy this one? Sure, it does not go down on quality anywhere and the weight of the wheels are more or less the only thing bad I can point out on it.

Written by René

Read more: http://cyclingtipsonline.com/news/scott-speedster-s20-review/