Time Atac Alium > Reviews > Not just your average clipless pedal

Author's product rating:   

Value for money
Durability
How does it compare to similar products?

Advantages:	Good for knee complaints, works well in mud
Disadvantages:	Can be difficult to get used to, not Shimano compatable

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I've been using clipless pedals for some time now, but for a few months now I've been suffering from tendonitis in my right knee, which was causing me considerable problems, and I was even considering going back to flat pedals. Fortunately, there is another option out there, in the form of the Time Atac. Instead of the binding brought to us by the Almighty Shimano, which allowed nearly no float whatsoever, the somewhat unusual design of the Atacs allows either 15 or 20 degrees of float.

The design of the pedal is frightfully simple. Two bars, one fixed, one sprung, hold the cleat in place and allow the cleat to be positioned anywhere between the bars, with quite high tolerances for twisting, which of course, can lead to the biggest gripe with these pedals: "I can't unclip so easily". This is certainly true when you compare them to other clipless pedals, but as any clipless pedal user will recall, they had problems unclipping with SPuDs at first, so it's just a matter of getting used to it.

Out and about, the Atacs are a dream to use. Even caked in mud, they are easy to clip into and once you've got the hang of it, fairly easy to get out of. The wider float also means that you are less likely to unclip accidentally going uphill, something which has left me with nice binding-shaped marks on my shins several times with other clipless designs.

My only real complaint about the Atacs is that it's put an end to bike swapping. All my friends are devoted SPuD users, a design which is 100% incompatable with the Atacs. Ah well. Such is life.

And finally, the tendonitis again. It's not gone completely, but I move my leg now, and it's certainly less painful than previously.