I like Crankbrothers pedals. No fuss, no muss, they just work regardless of the crud you have on your shoe. And they are plenty light too. But there are differences between the various designs. First, the eggbeaters. The Eggbeater 3 is essentially a newer version of the eggbeater SL. Approximately the same grade of pedal. The body is different and instead of a nylon bushing on the outboard side, it has a bearing. Should make it better, but you can't actually tell in any kind of real world situation. The other thing to notice is that the pedal clips are closer to the crank arm on the 3 compared to the SL. You can see that in the photo. So your foot will be a bit closer to the crank arm as well. I never actually noticed this either until I lined the pedals up for the photo. Couldn't feel it on the bike, but if you have trouble with ankle clearance, this could be the straw that broke the camel's back for you. You would prefer the older pedal style (SL).

I have noticed one difference though when riding the two pedals. The 3 is slightly trickier to clip in than the SL. This is something that you would never notice mountain biking, but when cross racing I noticed I seemed to be worse than usual at clipping in this year (which was the first year for riding these pedals). I decided to switch back to the older SLs for the last two races of the year and I definitely clipped in quicker on my remounts. The SLs seem to roll better if you need to adjust your foot on the pedal. They have slightly more rounded clips than the 3 pedals. Other than that, I have no theories. I just know what I know. I will use the SLs for racing for now. Unfortunately, they are no longer made - but I have 3 pairs.

The eggbeaters have been very durable for me. I use them for commuting, mountain biking and cross. I have only broken one ever and that was when I bought the cheapest version of the SL-type pedals. I guess the equivalent would be the eggbeater 1 now. And I have hit them on the ground and on rocks on a number of occasions. Although I am sure they can be broken - can't everything?

Now for the Candy C pedals. The new equivalent would be the Candy 3, I suppose. Good pedals as well, but again, they don't clip in as fast. I originally bought them because I thought the small platform would be a good idea for cross. In the end I couldn't tell the difference and I now use them for commuting. They are a little heavier due to the extra hardware.

I have never tried the titanium pedals. Can't imagine they would be worth the extra cost and can't imagine they would be as durable. The 3 and SL pedals are so light I don't see the point.

20 October 2011 Update: This year I gave the 3s another go for cross. I figured 2 bearings have to be faster than 1 bearing and a bushing, eh? After an initial get to know them period, I now find I clip in just as well with the 3s as I do with the SLs. I did have a bad period that was due to installing new cleats on new shoes. The cleats loosened up slightly and this strongly affected clip in. When I re-tightened the cleats, bang - it all came together and worked just fine. The difference in "clip-ability" was surprising to me, given that the cleats required less than one turn to re-tighten. So there you go. The 3s look more bling, bling as well. Win, win.