215 gram pedals for less than USD 30

215 gram pedals for less than USD 30

Here is a good hack: I have a pair of these Zeray SPD pedals on my Specialized Camber and not only are they light but they are also easy to clip in and out, as well as durable. The only negative I have experienced is that the chrome cleat catch on the pedals are not stainless steel so a small amount of rust surfaces after heavy use. No big deal and no effect on its performance but just doesn't look bling anymore.

260 gram for the pair

So when I did the budget sub 6.5kg aero bike build, they were the natural choice for me. I prefer the practicality of SPD cleats vs road specific SPD-SL, or other road specific clipless pedals, for obvious reason: You could simply put on track pants or shorts over your spandex after your ride and go anywhere without changing shoes or walking like a penguin. 

With a good pair of SPD shoes, you could achieve close to road shoes stiffness, if that's what you are after. Personally I prefer comfort and practicality over stiffness. Let's admit that we are not pro level cyclist where watt loss over your shoes stiffness matters, if there's much loss to begin with.

So with that in mind, I bought another pair from eBay. However with road bikes you don't need to clip in and out as frequently as trail MTB riding, so I decided to mod the pedals.

Managed to easily reach 216 gram for the pair. Could have shaved more but couldn't be bothered.

The mod is really easy to do and all it takes is unscrewing one side of the pedal cleat catch and spring. Then with a flat coarse file, simply file away the unused side. I managed to reduce the weight to about 215 gram for the pair, all within 30 minutes. So for less than 30 bucks, you can get a pair of pedals as light as possibly 205-210 gram, depending on how much you are willing to file. No fancy titanium spindle, etc...real bang per gram for your bucks.

Let me know your thoughts...