I am in the market for a set of spd's never liked them as a rule but i have commited to a number of long distance rides and think it is time change my ways I would prefer big caged pedal and The Mallets seem to fit the bill. Just wondering what the collective think before I comit.

Also need a recomnedation on shoes please

Many thanks

Now many people seem to dislike Crank Bros pedals, but I have a set on all my bikes and love 'em. Light weight (compared to Shimano), very easy entry and exit, excellent mud-clearing, and more float than other makes.

However they do need regular servicing and maintenance. I have some old SPDs that are still going strong (well my dad has them) and they must be 15 years old, never been serviced. You'll find that Crank Bros pedals need a bearing/bushing service every 2 years or so. Also when you buy them, give them a good internal squirt of grease – as they tend to come quite dry.

The Mallets are a great pedal, I have a set of the original ones. They support your foot very well, and are good if you need to ride unclipped, or without your cycling shoes. But they're nowhere near as grippy as proper flat pedals. Mine are 3 1/2 Years old now, and I did their first service just before Xmas.

As far as shoes go, depends on your riding needs, but you can't go wrong with the midrange Shimano offerings, such as the MT41s, or similar.

They do come with a proper grease port, so keeping them running nicely is easy peasy. I've some older style ones and they seem fine, very little to choose between CB or Shimano in use IMO, but the Mallets just nudge ahead with the nice large cage.

Ran them for 3 years in gritty sandy Purbecks conditons, never serviced them once and they were still working as new when they left with my 456 a couple of months ago. Only thing i had to do with them was re-tighten the plates on the front a couple of times.

Crank Bros pedals are fine so long as you do what everyone else recommends and grease them regularly, change the bearings every year or so and buy a plentiful supply of cleats.

Alternatively, buy some Shimano SPds and save yourself a load of time and hassle.

Also – what's the issue with needing a 'big-caged pedal' for 'long distance rides'?

Thanks for the replies guys.
the issue is that I want a big platform to put my gert big clod hoppers on when the going is rough and not fanny around with a small cage trying to get clipped in ( if you see what i mean) Long distances rides need to be more pedal efficent SPD's are the way to go I have heard?

I'm running mallets on my 5 and they are fine, think the negative reviews are more based on price and the fact that if on a dh bike they don't hold up too well to heavy impact damage (on any bike but i mean riding dh etc).
Think they'll be fine for your described use and i think winstanleys do them pretty cheap but worth shopping around as full rrp is a lot for what they are.
As for shoes i can't recommend my shimano dx's enough – just a pity the latest version are white! I've got them in grey, first versions. Those combined with a pair of sealskins keep off all but the worst of winter too.
Steve

mallets and dx shoes here and i love them both, though wish id got the white ones as iprefer them to my black ones

mallets do need an annual bearing change but 20minutes a year is not intensive maintenance and they just feel, look and work nicer than shimao ones imho

The set Rusty Trowel is referring to are sat in their box on my shelf. I run flats so drop me a mail if you want them.

Really rate mine! have a completely f****d ankle and found my feet coming off flats on jumps (can't flex feet up enough)with the predictable mating of wedding-tackle and headset.. and being clipped in on rocky decents made said joint very sore, also I like to be unclipped anyway on these for a quick dab of the feet.
Found Mallets with the grub screws wound-up work quite well as flat pedals and not yet had any bearing issues