Looking to replace my Time pedals, after recently realizing that when I clip in, the engagement position can change as the cleats tend to move up and down the bars on the pedals (seems a bit naff, maybe the pedals have just past their day?).
But if its just a Time thing, then I think I’ll switch to different pedals. Any recommendations? What are the cool kids using these days? I’ve been using Times for about 5 years so nothing too drastically different please!

Non-Shimano clipless? How retro.

Non-Shimano clipless? How retro.

Used to use Shim pedals back in the day, wasn’t a big fan of the total locked in feeling with not much float.

Used to use Shim pedals back in the day, wasn’t a big fan of the total locked in feeling with not much float.

This is a bit of a misconception about Shimano. If you loosen off the tension (not many pedals have adjustable tension) then you can get plenty of float. Granted some people have them done up far too tight making them a bit of a misery to use.

Time Attacs are functionally brilliant in all conditions but heavy, the cleats wear quickly and the bars wreck shoes.

Crank Brothers are attractive for their light weight but they got sloppy very quickly and had a pretty poor connection to the shoe. Lots of aftermarket spares and axles are nice if you did decide to go for Crank Brothers which means you can customise the Q-Factor but ultimately I was buying 2 or 3 pairs or pedals a year mainly from destroying the springs (axles and bearings also wore quickly but are cheaper to replace). Also the CB cleats needed changing frequently as they wear fast.

Tried XTR with Ti axles which were ok. Reasonably heavy but the connection with the shoe felt better than CB and cleats last much much longer. The downsides for me were the bearings which are just loose balls which I got through quite fast, very poor clogging on the latest XTR in the mud and an “icy” feeling in the internal/ external rotation of the foot as soon as they got wet.

I am currently riding a set of Xpedo XMF08TT at 215g for less than £90 and their function is 10 times better than the XTR pedals they replaced (already considered a great pedal by most and my favourite of the options I’ve tried above). Sealed, replaceable bearings are nice, no more wobbly axles from the stupid loose bearings and the Xpedo seem far better in mud- no clogging and actually stay supportive in these conditions unlike the “icy” XTR at the first hint of dampness. Since they use SPD cleats they also last ages like the XTR.

Clearly local conditions and riding style alter all of this but for muddy, harsh British conditions the Xpedo are like XTR but with none of the disadvantages. Don’t be too quick to discount Shimano style pedals- they are popular for a reason!