Which pedals?

Pedals are a tough one. So much is just personal preference and there is little way to know if you will like them until you have ridden a set for a while. In regards to your knee, cleat location is a huge part of that, no matter what company or model you choose. Your shoes should have some forward/backward positioning for the cleat so that you can a proper position and avoid knee pain. There are many resources online to help you determine that.

My personal favorites are the Crank Bros products. I have Mallets, Candy's and Egg Beaters. Simple to use and have been exceptionally reliable for me. I have owned Shimano and Time ATAC's, neither were comforable for me.

Good luck!
-glueslug

Another vote for the Crank Brothers pedals. Have a pair of their Mallets myself but thinking of moving to Candys as I don't use the platform that much anymore. Same as you, couldn't get on with my Shimano XT pedals, but find the CBs a lot easier to get out of and they have a bit of float so much easier on the knees.

It's a personal thing. I can't stand riding anything but time ATAC XS. My HIFI came stock with Crank bros and i tried them for the first 2 months and I just couldn't do it.

Having said that I have a friend with knee problems and he said he tried Time pedals and they made his knee worse and crank bros are the only pedals that don't hurt his knee. So It's up to you.

I'm a big fan of time pedals.

what is this float you speak of?

Float is the amount of sideways heel movement possible without unclipping. Crank Bros usually have about 6 degrees so they don't strain your knees as much as those that really lock your foot into place (like most roadie pedals).

I've used Crank Bros Mallets, Smartys and Eggbeater SLs. The SLs are fantastic and easily my favourite. They are light, easy to use, and comfortable.

how do the crank brothers compare to the shimano 540's in terms of float, and is this float adjustable?