I've been using Speedplay Frogs on my mountain and gravel bikes for many years. I like the float, as well as the fact that they are really easy to release. The downside is that the cleats wear down quickly and the shoe/pedal contact can get a little loose and sloppy.
Speedplay has been sold and I hear that the Frog pedal has been discontinued. Therefore, I figure this might be a good time to consider a new pedal system. I am not a big fan of SPD, and everyone I know with Crank Brothers are always breaking their pedals. The Time mountain bike pedals look like a good option to give me something similar to the Frogs. I only know of a few mtb friends that use the Time pedals, but they all seem to love them.
Has anyone tried Time's gravel pedals (The Cyclo-Gravel 2, 6 or 10)? Any feedback is appreciated.
I could be wrong about this, but I don't think they have been officially released yet. Last fall, they were introduced and I know that Guitar Ted got a set then and did an initial write-up, but then I heard/read rumor that the full production version had an issue.
About two months ago I emailed Time and asked what the status was. They emailed me back - and I've since lost that email, but I think they said they'd be available mid-summer. That was before the COVID thing, though.... I'm waiting to try them out, too.
Those pedals are in limbo. I've been waiting on the Times, but they are not coming. Time is bankrupt. I'd suggest trying the ATAC XC pedals, but I found the engagement and release spring tension too high. I think the Cyclo pedals would be the same.
Like you, I'm a frog guy. They are easily the best general use pedal on the market.... aside from the durability. Like you, the cleats, bearings, and the metal part of the cleat body wears too quickly on the frogs. What I've done is just order a bunch of Frog bodies and bearings.
The Time ATAC XC pedals ride quite nice. I used to be a frog person, went to Time’s, then to spd’s, back to Time’s. Now back on SPD’s. The XT & XTR pedals just work so predictably and seem to last me longer.
I had also heard that Time was experiencing some ownership changes. So who knows about the future. But the higher-end Time ATAC with adjustable springs are awesome. Otherwise get some SPDs and call it good.
jfranci3 wrote: Like you, I'm a frog guy. They are easily the best general use pedal on the market.... aside from the durability. Like you, the cleats, bearings, and the metal part of the cleat body wears too quickly on the frogs. What I've done is just order a bunch of Frog bodies and bearings.
Yeah, I guess my other option is to start hoarding Frog pedals, cleats and parts.
I have used Time for years on and off road. They provide a rather severe engagement which I really like, even on gravel. (I often use this drop bar bike on single track.)
Time was recently sold to a rather new French e-bike company. Rossignol is keeping the Time pedal factory and will make pedals for the e-bike company. Not sure what that means for pedal design.
Yeah, I guess my other option is to start hoarding Frog pedals, cleats and parts.
Hoarding is a good option too! I've hoarded a couple of pairs of my favourite Ritchey pedals since they were discontinued.
Some eBay vendors price old bike parts as though they were handcrafted by Tullio Campagnolo himself from solid gold, some vendors just want to get a few $ from the box of old spares that they rediscovered in a shed; it's worth waiting for the right deal to appear...
Dino wrote:I've been using Speedplay Frogs on my mountain and gravel bikes for many years.Speedplay has been sold and I hear that the Frog pedal has been discontinued. Therefore, I figure this might be a good time to consider a new pedal system. I am not a big fan of SPD, and everyone I know with Crank Brothers are always breaking their pedals. The Time mountain bike pedals look like a good option Has anyone tried Time's gravel pedals (The Cyclo-Gravel 2, 6 or 10)? Any feedback is appreciated.
I think with the sale of the company the Time gravel pedals are pushed back to November, or to never... I use both Crank Brothers and Time ATAC. They are very similar. Crank Brothers still have the reputation for durability issues from years ago, but starting a few years back they updated the design with cartridge bearings from Enduro and now for most users those issues are gone, problem solved.
Eggbeaters are quite similar to ATACs in how they function. Both shed muck amazingly well. The ATACs might require a slightly more forward motion to entry whereas with the eggbeaters you just stomp down any old way. The ATACs have adjustable tension and more of a supported feeling under the foot than the eggbeaters. They feel quite good underfoot. The eggbeaters feel a bit more refined and less chunky/clunky in entry and release and because they are 4-sided the pedal cannot hang the ‘wrong way’ for immediate entry. The eggbeaters are just metal so they don’t get worn down the way the composite body of the ATACs does over time. The eggbeaters are incredibly light.
I've been running ATACs for years and just love them. I can't seem to understand why they weren't more popular! Inexpensive, sheds mud nicely, easy engagement, durable, reasonably light weight, and looked awesome. Anywho....when I saw that Time was coming out with a gravel pedal that use the same cleat I was very excited! I ordered them up as soon as I could.....that was Feb and I'm still waiting.(It's even hard to find the ATAC MTB pedals)... The only thing I didn't like about the Time ATAC pedals on my gravel bike is the lack of surface contact with the bottom of the shoe. I swear I can feel the "bars" of the pedals on any ride longer than 30 miles, which isn't something I have a problem with on my time road pedals. I was really hoping the gravel pedal was going to help with that announce. (Eggbeaters being the same kind of cleat engagement wouldn't probably help me any)
With the news that time was bought out and now on hold for all delivery makes me very sad... I'm not a big fan of SPD but with the uncertainty of the future for the Time pedals I may have to go back to the SPD format.
+1 for time atac’s.. been using them for decades as my mtb and CX pedals and they’re a great pedal. The cleats Last (they are asemetrical to vary the float and release force). The body is tough and light (they come in a Ti Spindle version) not as light as a ti egg beater but close. I’ve used both the egg beaters and various iterations of shimanos and just keep going back to times. I know there are fans on this forum of egg beaters but I tried them for a season and hatted them, the engagement is vague at best (no click) and you have to have the right shoe tread to make them work. The platform is crazy small and unless you have a real stiff shoe you can feel it.. I hear the candys are Belter. On top of that they brake a lot .. In one season I had a spring and spindle go bad.. go to any bike shop and you’ll find a graveyard of missmatched pairs. Shimanos are proven and I have a new pair of xtr sitting on my bench, have used them from the beginning (747’s) and they are tough.. I I used to use the Shim’s for MTB and switch to times for CX season. I think the times have a slightly bigger platform, easier and solid engagement and they shed mud better than shims.
I use time pedals for 30 years now and I don't think that I will move to another brand/ model. Very satisfied with them. Like also all riders riding a lot of miles per year and/or having knee issues.
On my road bike Time Expresso and on my MTB and gravel time ATAC.
The local rep for Time just told me last week the gravel pedals will be available shortly. He couldn’t give an exact date just yet but was confident they would be here before a Summer is over.
And are these actually MTB pedals (the mechanism) but with a larger platform?
Tony,
It’s a new pedal but does use the mtb cleat. I believe the pedal will make an excellent gravel option. It’s not dual sided as mtb pedals are. The platform is larger than mtb pedals. I actually use Shimano Ultegra pedals unless I know I’m going to encounter a bunch of hike a bike stuff. I prefer that larger platform feel and I’m hoping the Time pedal has a similar feel. I have a pair on order and will post on this thread after riding them.
I currently use the MTB Time ATAC pedals on my gravel bike (as well as on my MTBs) and I am actually fine with them. When I know that I will never have to hike I use the Time Xpresso road pedals on my gravel bike. The main difference for me is the power transfer due to the shoes actually. And here the road shoes are way better of course.
Balls. My LBS was able to get an order to process for a set of Cyclo 10's last week, with a delivery date of last Wednesday... then Friday... then this Monday. Still no pedals. Whoever's screwing up the inventory/shipping (Time? QBP?) hasn't damped my enthusiasm for these pedals, but for now I'll just have to keep abusing my ATAC's.
*Edit: just found out that Time pushed delivery back to OCTOBER. A solid year since they announced them.
So after...what 6 months waiting for these peddles. I figured I would get ahead of the game and ditch Time altogether.(quite bummed about this) I'm thinking that the company that bought the Time brand and Time are at odds with each other....if I had to guess I would think that the Time peddle platform might disappear sooner then later..... I hope I'm wrong and this shot gets figured out.. Just a quick thought though (maybe a close call really) but after some really long rides with the Atac mtb peddles and (now) my expedo set up.. I think I would prefer to keep the two sided platform. My belief was that the larger platform of the new Time pedals would help the feet but after thinking about it for awhile.. I don't believe that the touch points (the cleat) would be any different then the ATAC platform only difference would be the lack of having two sides to use.....maybe I'm wrong but I found having to entry points a big bonus when I was tired and couldn't pay attention..
