Wahoo SPEEDPLAY ZERO, AERO, POWERLINK ZERO Pedals – Three Successors to the Cult Classic

I’ve had the chance to ride many different pedals over the years. Shimano, Look, Time, and a whole list of two-bolt pedals as well, but there is always one pedal style that I come back to after a review, my Speedplays. Dual-sided entry, super adjustable float, great cornering angles, and a relatively light weight system, what more could you want? I was a little worried when things went dark at Speedplay before it was announced that Wahoo had purchased the brand. For many of us that love the pedals, there was concern about changes that would be made as Wahoo put their own spin on the design. So how do the new pedals stack up to the originals? For me, it’s the same great pedal, with some new twists.

I’m not going to lie, I actually started stockpiling a stash of Speedplay pedals before Wahoo released their updated version of the Speedplay Zero. I started buying up any chromoly or stainless steel spindled version I could find, along with the cleats. I also picked up some aftermarket parts too so I could rebuild some and keep them going for longer. Most recently, I got my hands on a pair of the Pave Stainless Steel pedals made famous at Paris-Roubaix in 2006, along with the Zero Track Stainless Steel. That’s how much I love the design.

Then Wahoo released their SPEEDPLAY line. The updated pedals were more of a refresh than a complete overhaul of the design. Instead of the bowtie plate on the plastic body, the updated Wahoo SPEEDPLAY pedal uses a circular metal plate that covers the outline of the pedal body with a bowtie cutout that now runs parallel to the axel, a nice nod to its predecessor. Wahoo says the new metal plates should be more durable than the previous design that would see the plastic eventually wear down and cause some unwanted space in the pedal/cleat interface that decreases stability slightly. The metal rings look to be replaceable, just like the bowties, though I didn’t try removing them. The other main differences are a flat mount axle that uses an 8mm hex wrench instead of the a traditional pedal wrench and new triple seal bearings that no longer need greasing every so often. Overall, the pedal has a more streamlined look to it and should need less maintenance, compared to the legacy Speedplay Zero.

The Line Up

Wahoo also paired down the product line a bit. The legacy Speedplays had the Zero, Ultralight (easier release), Track (harder release), Aero (a Zero with one side featuring a dimpled cover), Nanogram (130g version with a carbon fiber body), and Pave (stripped down skeleton version for muddy conditions), with each having up to three different versions of spindles, chromoly, Stainless Steel, and Titanium. And don’t forget the X before the Zero. It was all a bit confusing, as there were three different cleats, one for the Zero/Track/Aero/Nanogram/Pave, one for the Ultralight, and one for the X.

Now, Wahoo offers the COMP (chromoly spindle), ZERO (stainless steel spindle), NANO (titanium spindle), AERO (stainless steel spindle and aero cover on one side), and the POWERLINK ZERO power meter pedals (stainless steel spindle, single or dual sided power meter). All use the same cleat. To replace the Ultralight, Wahoo created a cleat with a slightly easier release tension that can be used across all pedals in the new lineup. The new lineup and simplified cleats makes things a lot easier for retailers to stock, and gives riders more access to the full line of products.

Speaking of cleats, the legacy V1/V2 Zero and legacy Walkable cleats, and the new Walkable and Walkable Easy Tension cleats are all cross compatible. I’ve used the new cleats with my old pedals, and legacy Zero cleats with the new pedals, and had no issues at all. Honestly, there isn’t a noticeable difference between the old and new Walkable cleats, besides a trim piece that goes around the base if you use the 3-bolt adapter, and the color of some of the components.

How They Work

Before I go into the review, here is a brief version of how the pedals work if you are not familiar with these pedals.

While pretty much all other pedals rely on a retention system that is built into the pedal, SPEEDPLAY pedals are the opposite, with a spring C-clip built into the cleat itself. The pedals are passive, which is similar to how the cleat works on other systems, in that they don’t have any moving parts. When you step in, the C-Clip flexes to expand and then locks into the grooves on the metal inserts on the front and back of the pedals. To unclip, just twist your foot out like you normally would.

The cleat uses four bolts instead of three and is flat, so unless you are using a SPEEDPLAY specific shoe that is drilled for four bolts and has a flat cleat mount, you’ll need to use the 3-bolt adapter with shims. The shims fill the gap from the curve of the sole. The adapter plate mounts using the 3-bolt pattern common on road shoes, and then the 4-bolt SPEEDPLAY cleat mounts there. It uses a plastic base which the C-clip fits in, and then a metal cover keeps it all in place. The Walkable cleats then adds a dimpled rubber cover that makes it much easier to walk in than the original style cleats. It also helps to protect the mounting bolts. There is also a trim piece that you put on around the base plate to help fill the gap between the adapter plate and Walkable cover.

To adjust your position, the 3-bolt adapter adjusted the fore/aft of the cleat, while the 4-bolt cleat adjusts the side to side. One other interesting part about the cleats, and is one of the reasons I love SPEEDPLAY pedal systems, is the ability to customize the float. Not only can you adjust the amount of float, but you can independently adjust the amount of float in each direction. That C-clip has a little nub opposite of where the spindle would be on the pedal. On either side of that nub, there are two small screws that adjust that float. For me, I adjust them so that it keeps my heel from hitting the frame and crank, and also limit the amount of outside float to what is comfortable for me.

One other small change from the legacy Speedplay and the Wahoo SPEEDPLAY is the way you identify the left and right. While the legacy pedals had L and R molded into the body, the new Wahoo pedals have “Wahoo” written across the pedal. If you can read Wahoo from the saddle, it’s the right side. If it is upside down, swap sides.

On The Road

Wahoo sent over the ZERO, AERO, and POWERLINK ZERO dual-sided power meter pedals to try out. Leading up to the review, I was riding an old pair of Zeros, and have had a chance to ride all three of the new models long term, but made sure I swapped the old ones back in occasionally to look for any differences.

Wahoo SPEEDPLAY ZERO (NANO and COMP)

At a high level, the NANO, ZERO, and COMP are the same. All three offer dual sided entry, 8.5-11.5mm stack height, 39 degree cornering, and 53mm Q-Factor. The differences come in the weight from materials. For the NANO, it uses a carbon composite body and titanium spindle and components. This helps bring the weight down to 168g a pair, but also adds a max rider weight of 180lb. The ZERO and COMP use Grivory, a nylon polymer for the body, and a stainless steel or chromoly spindle, respectively. Weights creep up to 222g and 232g. The ZERO is the only option that offers additional Q-Factor option of 56, 59, and 65mm.

If you are a fan of the legacy Speedplay Zero, you will like the new Wahoo version. Clipping in and out generally feels the same. While the design changed as far as the bowtie to the ring, the part where the spring clip engages with the side of the lollypop is the same. Pedaling feels stable and power transfer is just as solid as any other pedal I’ve ridden, just like the originals. Other than adding a little spray on dry lube from Finish Line, the pedals have been maintenance-free and running perfectly.

Wahoo SPEEDPLAY AERO

The AERO is basically a standard ZERO, but instead of dual-sided entry, one side has a dimpled aero cover that matches the cover on the Walkable cleats. The cover only adds an additional 2g to the pedal weight, but it does limit you to only a single side to clip in on.

Functionally, they were the same on the road, other than only having one side to clip in. The challenge is that the pedal is not weighted to keep the aero side down, so it did cause some fumbling instead of just stepping down and clipping in. When this happened, I just looked down, waited for the cover to rotate to the bottom as I pedaled, and then stepped on and clipped in.

The biggest question is what aerodynamic benefit do they give. Wahoo does not provide any aerodynamic claims, and to be honest, it’s hard to test. Unlike a more static parts like handlebars, helmets, and frames, pedals are constantly moving in a circular motion as the bike moves forward. I can’t say that I was able to detect any aerodynamic gain, but if you are trying to optimize any possible gain, this could be a place.

Wahoo SPEEDPLAY POWERLINK ZERO

The POWERLINK ZERO pedals are the ZERO, but with a power meter equipped stainless steel spindle with 55mm Q-Factor. They are available as a single or dual-sided, and unfortunately can’t be upgraded from single to dual later on. The pod does reduce a little bit of clearance between the shoe and the spindle, but after testing with multiple shoes and a pretty neutral left/right cleat placement, I never had an issue. Riding, I couldn’t tell a difference from the ZERO.

The pod charges using a proprietary clip that attaches to the pod through a USB to USB-C cable. For the dual-sided set up, it comes with a y-split cable which allows you to charge both at the same time. It’s also handy to charge other USB-C equipped devices, like a Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM V2 and my Lupine Mono SL light. Battery life is claimed at 75 hours, which seemed pretty accurate in testing. The left pedal acts as the main pedal that connects to your device. The right pedal connects to the left. There are some LED’s to provide info on the system. Blue lights are about the connection, green and red are power levels. Slow blue means it is searching, fast blue is connecting, and solid blue is connected. This turns off after 30 seconds to save battery. For charge levels, Solid green means they are completely charged, slow green is charging, and three red flashes that repeat means less than 15% left.

Wahoo says the accuracy is +/-1% across a range of temps, and dual-sided power metrics are available to show you total power, cadence, and left/right balance. Left/right balance does help to show any imbalances you may have and allow you to work on strengthening to find a more equal balance and a more efficient pedal stroke. This isn’t something that is always available with dual-sided power meters, like crank based models from Stages, but is included on the discontinued Pioneer crank based models. Cadence is measured using an internal gyroscope for accuracy.

Set up was just like any other pedal. A little grease on the threads, add the spacer to ensure clearance for the pod, thread on, and tighten using the 8mm hex wrench. Before you calibrate, do a few hard, powerful starts to make sure they are seated properly. To calibrate, pair the pedals to the Wahoo Fitness app, find the Calibrate button on the app, and follow the instructions. You can also do this through any Wahoo ELEMNT computer as well. Afterwards, the POWERLINK ZERO pedals will auto-calibrate any time the bike is in a vertical riding position, and hasn’t moved for 30 seconds.

I tested them against a dual-sided Stages equipped Shimano Ultegra 8000 power meter crankset. Each were connected to a Wahoo head unit (ROAM V1 for the crank, ROAM V2 for the pedals). Comparing during and after the ride, they were reasonably inline. There were some slight variations due to the different types of power meters and with two different head units, but I didn’t have any concerns about accuracy.

In every day usage with the ROAM V2 head unit, I had no complaints. They paired with the head unit quickly and began reading info right away. The left/right info was interesting to see since I had not had it in my data since the Pioneer I reviewed many years ago. I was generally only a few percentage different between legs, so not something that I was really concerned with. I think it is a nice touch though, and can help to identify imbalances or possibly even injuries.

Traditionally, I’ve ridden crank based power meters, which are nice, but generally locked into the bike you have it on. These days, it is pretty easy to swap a crank between bikes, but it is easier to swap pedals, which is especially useful if you are traveling and renting a bike on your ride.

Final Thoughts

It turns out, the stockpiling of legacy Speedplay pedals wasn’t really necessary. The new Wahoo SPEEDPLAY pedals live up to the legacies. Riding experience was the same, with any stickiness getting into the new SPEEDPLAYS attributed to not having a new set of legacies in, well, probably 10 years. Looks changed a little, but functionally, it’s the same great pedal. About the only negative I can see is that the new Wahoo SPEEDPLAY isn’t as serviceable as the legacy Speedplay design. On the other hand, the change from the bowtie to the round cover for durability and the new spindle design are definite improvements.

Starting at $149.99 for the COMP, it’s a bit more of an investment than other entry level pedals. It’s about on par with the 105 level of Shimano’s SPD-SL pedals. From there, prices go up a bit, $229.99 for the ZERO, $279.99 for the AERO, and $449.99 for the NANO, edging out the Time XPRO SL for one of the most expensive road pedals on the market, but a little behind the Crank Brothers Candy or Eggbeater 11’s at a staggering $499.99. While the NANO might be hard to justify unless you are looking for the best of the best and lightest possible build, the COMP and ZERO are much more reasonable options, with the AERO a premium for anyone trying to add any additional aero gain they can. Any of these options gives you the adjustability, dual -sided entry (except the AERO), low stack height, better cornering angle, etc., for a small weight penalty. Being I’m not a skinny climber, the NANO was out of the question right away.

When it comes to the POWERLINK ZERO pedals, $649 for the single side and $999 for the dual sided are right on the mark for other power pedals on the market, aside from the Favero Assioma Uno single sided power pedals, which come in at $495. Again, for me, the POWERLINK ZERO is worth it for the ability to get everything I love from the Wahoo SPEEDPLAY pedals with a power meter added. If dual-sided is in your budget, I recommend that option, as you are getting a true power reading from each pedal instead of a measurement from only one side.

I’m not quite ready to unload all of my legacy Speedplay Zero’s yet, especially the Pave and Track versions, but the Wahoo SPEEDPLAY line up has definitely taken over where the legacy pedals left off. Whether you are a long time die hard fan, or curious about what the fuss is all about over those lollypop pedals, do yourself a favor, and take the chance on a pair. For many of us that did, we never went back.

www.wahoofitness.com