I’ve ridden in Shimano SPD’s for years, I’ve raced DH and XC back in the day, even a spot of Enduro more recently! I’ve always seemed to have problems un-clipping out of them though whilst descending, even with the spring tension wound up.

Are egg beaters/time pedals more secure than SPD’s generally? Unfortunately nobody I can think of rides with Time/Egg Beaters so i can’t borrow a set before investing.

Depends, does the whole pedal sliding off the axle when the bearing fails every few months count?

They’re different. On the plus side they work (almost) perfectly in the kind of mud and snow that clogs up shimano pedals. Clipping in and out is a bit different, they don’t “click” like shimano do, so you twist your foot and pull, but you feel that you’re pushing against a harder and harder spring the whole way and it’s judgement as to when you can pull out.

Time I had reliability issues with too, but that was years ago, and on basic aliums so maybe they got better. Equally people with older pedals never had issues either so maybe it was just that time period/model. They’re kinda halfway between the two. But I did occasionally accidentally unclip from them. And cleats wore quickly (ditto CB on that one).

But I don’t think I’ve ever worn out a shimano pedal, and the cleats last ages too. I can’t remember ever accidentally unclipping from them either.

Even assuming I’ve not done as many miles in the last few years on shimano that’s still:
4 years on time, 3x pedals, 1 rebuild each, rebuilds were done when they felt a little wobbly.
4 years on CB, 3 different pedals, and a rebuild each when the whole pedals slid off the axle.
4 yeas on Shimano – nothing has gone wrong with the pedals, I think I’ve replaced two sets of cleats.

My oldest pair came on a bike and are the original SPD design (same cleat, but they changed the pedal mechanism a few years ago) and still work perfectly.

I’ve been running a pair of Times for 3 years with zero issues. I got them on the recommendation of a mate who’s 10 year old pair have only just packed in. I never got on with Shimano. The design rely’s on spring tension so you’re compromising on the performance of fixing on your foot and being able to get in and out of them easily. No such issue with Times. Their fundamental design means the location of the cleat doesn’t rely on spring tension, yet you can get in and out of them easily. There are no moving parts, nothing to get clogged up with mud. I don’t think mine will last the 10 years of my mates, modern bikes with lower BB’s mean more pedal strikes and pedals getting a harder time, but they’re still going strong after 3 years even if they are starting to look a bit battered.

I replace the cleats on the shoes every year or so. They’re cheap, the shoes are expensive, so might as well if nothing else to make sure the bolts are not seizing into the shoe.

Personal preference ultimately, but i’ll be sticking with Time. More radial float, lateral float, absolutely secure in the fore/aft direction and the up and down direction (no play at all). No faffing with spring tensions, dead easy to clip in and clip out. What more do you want out of a pedal?

Mallet and candy here of various versions for about 10 years, no pedals have come off the axle despite a couple of bearing failures.
Reliable and predictable release point, when the cleats are worn just make sure you change them. The works in any weather part is great. It takes about 15mins to do a bearing replacement which I tend to do annually.

Just gone back to shimano spd as my egg beaters just don’t last. I’d sent a few pairs back under warranty. Looked at replacing the bearings etc but kits were as expensive as a shimano pedal with cleats!

Egg beaters are very light and shed mud well but in my opinion and experience they just don’t last.

I managed to get a set of xtr in the sale and haven’t looked back.

I should probably mention that my Time destroying days were when I lived in Sheffield with that special bike destroying Peak District grit.

The CBs had no such excuse in SE England.

I’m the exception with CB pedals. Personally I’ve not had a failure over 3 pairs in I think 15 years – I was an early adopter. Brother has had one failure in a neglected pair in about 12 years, but no incidents with another at all.

Eggbeaters/Candies feel secure and release well when new, but I’ve found with the recent models, the pedal body wears, the bars wear and the cleats wear to make it so that I only got a year out of the whole pedal (one rebuild kit in that time too).
Just not good enough for the Peak district.

Contrary to most people’s views, I loved the original models – No failures and several years out of each pair.

Currently trying Time and I find them very secure, but harder to gauge the release point. I’ve also destroyed a set of the XC variants on the CX bike with a fairly minor clatter on a rock with each pedal. The Eggbeaters would have laughed it off.
The MX model seems much sturdier however.

I’m still using time atac pedals that are 20y old. My (much much lighter) wife has gone through several pairs of legbeaters within that time.

moved over from egg beaters to times on 4 or 5 bikes. that cost a few quid! but then the time candy pedal ripped the side of my goretex boot when i snapped the stainless axle in half cost a few bob too, and i was tired of constantly having to service them. beaters rely on o-ring seals to keep the retention mechanism sealed up with the pedal body, and when these fail, the internals are effectively open to the elements.
times have the retention mechanism outside the pedal body so do not suffer this problem.

@OP: If you’re anywhere near Cardiff, you can borrow mine.

Stupid question but have you checked cleats arent damaged? I somehow rounded the corner off on one and it became very unreliable