I have a pair of shimano m540 spds that have been on my commuter for 5 years. Never greased or attended to other than a qick squirt of gt40 over the surface every now and then and a wipe down with a rag.

Still work as well as new, bearings smooth, clip in and out faultless.

They get an average of 150km a week, i think that is a remarkable feat for something that gets punished as much as a pair of pedals under my bulk!

Hurrah for stuff that just works!

Kev

Amen Brother! My M520 pedals have covered over 2000 miles and have only seen the occasional squirt with GT85 and perhaps a drop of oil on the springs. Function just as well as the day I bought them!

mine died in a heat of crap and non repairable bits
on CB Mallets now much happier

+2

I have a pair of 520’s and 540’s, both 4+ years old, I stick to the same ‘maintenance’ schedule as the OP. They continue to defy logic and work flawlessly.
I reckon they are the best value component on my bikes…

I’ve got a pair of 959’s that have been stripped and serviced once from new. And that was 3 weeks ago. No problems with them what so ever. Not even had to use my back up pair of 535’s which are pretty much NOS as a result 🙂 Both sets must be 10 years old now.

I have a pair of caged Shimano DX SPD’s that are about 9 years old. They have been relegated to ‘spare pair’ status now but they still work perfectly although the cages are a little loose.

You’re all wimps. I don’t touch mine apart from my feet, and sometimes with a screwdriver to knock out bits of mud.

My Time Atac’s were the same, I’m not sure why I swapped to Crank Bros. You can add UN-5* and UN-7* bottom brackets, just keep going on and on.

I’ve a set of the original red dx spuds. Bought them secondhand, over a decade ago. Still work, never touched them.

I actually do reckon that they stop engaging as well after a while. I’ve got a few sets, newer ones definitely have a more positive click and a bit less rattle between the cleat and pedal than the older ones.

But yeah, never have to touch the bearings. Think some of them have done 20k+ miles.

Shimano SPDs in general – we take ’em so much for granted, what a well sussed product though. They ain’t the lightest or the most glam pedal out there, but they work well and keep on working 🙂

So true. Got a pair of M540s, M959s and M770s, they just keep going. Unlike CB, my mate has had 2 pairs die in the last 12 months, they weren’t that old either. In fact sundays ride was cut short for him, mostly because the pedal body remained attached to his show, leaving the axle exposed!

I have no idea which model number I have – however I’ve had some Shimano SPDs on my bike for 10 years. Theyve done MANY 000’s of miles, and had some serious stick. Only attention they’ve had is a quick spray of GT85 every other week, if that!

EDIT: I should add that I also bought them second hand…

My 540s have been going for years. Only greased them once and they didn’t really need it. 520s going well too but not done the same kind of mileage

I’ve had one 540 fail, the bar that you clip into snapped – probably from road salt rust. So bad maintenance really

Same experiences here. Set of DX Spd’s that must be nearly 6 years old and other than looking shocking and one of the plastic cages having a bit of a wobble they are fine. Also have a set of 520’s that are very nearly 4 years old that again look cack but work fine these are used every day and get next to no attention what so ever.

Shimano pedals are brilliant

Stick with t he old ones… the new ones are crap 😡

My 540s are about 8 years old, never had any type of maintenance and have never exhibited any sign of problems. Just purchased a set of 530s to go on a new bike and hoping they retain this flawless performance. Thank you Shimano.

Got set of 525’s which are 20 years old and still smooth as.

Stick with t he old ones… the new ones are crap

I have to agree. I’ve 520 pedals that haven’t been touched for years and I still have a set of SPDs from when they first came out for MTBs from 20 odd years ago. However, I bought some XT Trail pedals last year and they had lots of play after one ride, they went back and I had a second set which also developed a fair amount of play. Another set of newer ‘standard’ XT SPDs also need more maintenance than expected.

I actually find all shimano stuff just works. I don’t think I’ve had a single piece that was proper crap. Their spd’s however are unreal. Nothing should take thy much crap and keep on ticking.

It was my 30th last week. I have a pair of m737’s that I was fiddling around with and put them on my GF’s bike. I realised I got them for my 15th birthday!

How about a pair of onza spd’s, the originals with elastomers….. From 1996 and they still bloody work!

Why can’t Shimano develop some bearings for my FSR frame? 😉

You’re all missing out.. It’s really satisfying to re-grease them. Watching the crud and then clean grease splurge out of the axle assembly is good honest messy fun!
My 540s are 10 years old. One of the best bits of kit I’ve got.

Why can’t Shimano develop some bearings for my FSR frame?

Or.. why can’t Specialized weld their frames straight?

I have Deore DX spds from 1993. Still work ok.

Still got some like this in my shed – not used so often nowadays…

Oldies but goodies

Must be nearly 20 years old now and not serviced properly in the last 13 years at least!

M545s here, still going after 000s of miles of gloop. using flats more now but cant help being impressed every time I see/use them

My 959s were bought as soon as they were released so must be 10+ years old – they are scraped & battered but work flawlessly despite zero maintenance in that time. The SPD pedals I had prior to that (515s?) ended up on the winter bike & are still working today albeit they now reside in the spares box.

Tried Eggbeaters once – they lasted 4 months before needing a rebuild so got rid.

I had a pair of DX spd’s wear out once, they wouldn’t engage properly but they had seen a lot of action