Speedplay has offered mountain bike pedals for years with the company’s Frog model. But the Frogs never really made a dent into the ’cross market. That could very well change with the introduction of the new Syzr pedals, which will relegate the Frog largely to touring and commuting duty. Modeled after the very popular Speedplay Zero road pedals, the Syzr offers adjustable float adjustment as well as tension adjustment for release and entry.
The Syzr shields the pedal’s metal with rubber. ©Cyclocross Magazine
The float adjustment from zero to eight degrees happens on the cleat via Allen bolts on the side. The base of the cleat locks into the shoe, while the part that mates with the pedal has the ability to rotate for float. As Speedplay’s Richard Byrne boasted to Cyclocross Magazine, the pedal “sucks the cleat down into it. It floats, but has none of the rocking from side to side that other pedal systems do. Every other pedal system relies on contact between the pedal and the shoe’s lugs, which is inherently a little squishy. This is steel-on-steel, and the cleat is locked in.”
“Mountain bike pedals aren’t usually stable in the rocking motion: This is a much stiffer, more efficient transmission system,” continued Byrne. Although we only got a brief look at the show, we found the engagement to be incredibly solid. We’re excited to get a review pair and really put the Syzrs to the test.
The body of the pedal is surrounded by a hard rubber to protect it from bashes (and perhaps give a buffer to an errant cyclocrosser’s shin). The pedal design is very open, for mud-shedding duty, and all of the internals are stainless steel. The pedals feature a grease port for easy serviceability, like the Zeros. There are also bevels along the back side of the pedal to shoot any mud that gets in there straight out.
Each notch on the Determinator represents a different length adjustment available on the spindle. ©Cyclocross Magazine
Speedplays have long been a bike fitter’s dream. The company’s fit kit offers variable spindle lengths, shims and wedges for fit professionals to dial in the perfect solution for customers. Brand new at the show was the Speedplay “Determinator” pedal, which allows on the fly spindle length adjustment without the need to change pedals – a real time saver during an expensive fit session. Although the Determinator is only available for the Zero pedals now, the spindle can easily be used in a Syzr, and we can expect off-road bike fit versions soon.
One of the coolest things coming soon in the Syzr pedals is the ability to shim in the pedal. For those with structural leg length discrepancies, shimming under a road cleat is often the answer. But that doesn’t work with mountain bike cleats since it causes the cleat to protrude beneath a shoe’s tread causing unstable running, and potentially a hazard. Because the Syzr pedal has a split body, you can customize stack height in the middle of the pedal rather than at the shoe.
MSRP for the AX6 Stainless Steel Syzr will be in the $200 to $215 range and will be hitting shops’ shelves soon. Pedal weight without cleats is about 300 grams. More models are soon to follow.
Want to see more of Interbike’s cyclocross offerings? We have a full list of some of the best new products we saw at Interbike, with more being added every day.
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