I use SPD pedals on all my bikes, keeps the shoes collection down, and it's easier to clip in pulling away from a junction being double sided (I don't care if you've all learned to do it instinctively with Look pedals, this old dog ain't learning new tricks)
Looking to replace a pair of 540s on one of my road bikes and wondering if anyone uses the SPDs with cages - think they are the "Trail" versions - and whether they feel that the wider platform offers any benefits? Any weight penalty is not an issue, but just if they help with hotspots or feel they offer useful extra support
Thanks
I went from CB Eggbeaters to Candys due to the little added area for the shoe to press down on (Candys can also be customised somewhat), so I can imagine a similar, if less noticeable, change with the Shimano pedals. Very much depends on the shoes though - the stiffer the shoe, the less you'll notice it.
Shimano PD ES600 pedals work a treat for me on longer spins >100km with xc shoes. Better than the xt version of the 520's as I'd get hotspots sometimes.
Light with a small cage.
Have you seen the Shimano PD A600?
Downside is they're single side, but that's neither here nor there if you're not doing anything too gnarly and they do have a bit of a platform to them. I've had mine a few years now, pretty happy with them.
i found 540's on my road bike, i was conscious of a slight up and down clicking sensation due to the float, i chucked some off those one sided pd's on and its much nicer, all the rest of my bikes i ride with some sort of cage spd anyway, on the mtbs its to prevent my foot rotating more than anything else, and to give me other options if unclipped for any reason
SPDs with cages
I have these on a couple of bikes. Main advantage is that I can use them in normal shoes.
Downside is Thud can also borrow the eeb to visit his girlfriend.
Don't feel any advantage in SPD shoes.
I have caged SPDs on my Fugio and non-caged on my Croix de Fer. Couldn't say I feel any benefit from the cage. I am using Shimano RX8 gravel shoes with carbon soles. They are cracking shoes, I rate them highly.
I have used the older m424 on a road commuter before and on a gravel bike.
TBH I'd hoped the cage would be of benefit if I missed a clip in at lights or whatever and needed to do a few pedal stroke not clipped in, but as I was generally wearing XC type shoes they're not that comfortable to use unclipped and actually missing the cleat is pretty rare, ended up getting good old m520s again after a while...
The M424 was similarly useless on a gravel bike (IMO) with the bonus being they caught the ground or stumps a little more easily. Again M520 FTW.
The cages are good to just stamp on, they seem to locate better because they're less 'square' I used m530s on my commuter for years and found them great.
That said, I'm back on 520s at the moment and they're fine too, I'd just get whatever is cheaper.
Shimano PD ES600 pedals work a treat for me on longer spins >100km with xc shoes. Better than the xt version of the 520’s as I’d get hotspots sometimes.
Light with a small cage.
I've done loads of miles on those, with carbon soled gravel shoes. It's a great setup.
I use Shimano pedals with a bigger cage on my commuter so I can also use normal shoes.
I have used caged SPDs on road bikes for years . I originally used Spez road shoes that take two bolt but when they wore out I just started using MTB shoes and haven't noticed any real difference. I prefer cages because they seem easier to get into but I have some 520s that also seem fine
Apart from looking "more MTB", I've never found any benefit from the platform SPDs I've used. I buy em cos they look proper. On my road (well, gravel) bike I use XTR non platform ones and they've been perfect for 9 years now. I think I'd probably clip a pedal leaning round a corner if they had platforms.
With some good really stiff carbon soled shoes the pedal doesn’t really matter. ..............
If you are wearing a more flexible MTB shoe then a small cage will help.
Sums it up.
I'd caveat that it depends on the shoe a lot too. 5.10's I can feel the reinforcing shank because it ends at the back of the arch and doesn't support the heel for some reason. Which makes it a bit uncomfortable when pressing on on the road and a platform SPD isn't going to help that, but does help the front of the shoe feel a bit more supported
I agree there isn't really a good argument for 3-bolt cleats for casual riders, they do feel better IMO but it's marginal, especially with proper "SPD shoes" rather than "SPD trainers".
don’t like a platform as i found they interfered with clipping in and out.
+1
I'd far rather 5.10 etc just made a proper carbon midsole to their shoes so they didn't need a platform.
, and to give me other options if unclipped for any reason
It's a self perpetuating problem though. In disco slippers and good old M540's I can hit the cleat first time every time, and the channel in the tread just guides it in.
Adding a platform makes it far more likely to miss the cleat and then you're reliant on that platform and your foots out of position so everything feels wrong just as things are getting sketchy and you really want as much control as possible.
I don’t care if you’ve all learned to do it instinctively with Look pedals
It's definitely an art, and guaranteed the time the pedal spins the wrong way will be just as you need to accelerate quickly across a junction!
520s are fine for xc shoes. If you want to be stamping at pedals in hellcats or whatever dh type shoe then Saints. The cage type inbetween- eg 530s, not really sure as the cage doesn't contact anything. Maybe the me700s do? Dunno.
I shifted to the caged SPDs on my bikepacking bike to alleviate hot spot problems with shoes that aren't completely rigid and it works. This is over trips of 1000s of miles though, not just day rides.
For the road bike I'm a big fan of the PD-ES600s. Perfect audax/touring/road pedals imo.
For MTB and gravel riding I've recently swapped out the 520s and XT/XTR shapes XC pedals that I've been using for ~20 years for ME700s, found the ME700s wider platform really helped with foot stability on one side and the nagging tension I got in my hip area on that side. My shoes aren't the stiffest so I may try a stiffer shoe on 520s again but still, the reduced foot roll from the wider cage of the ME700 feels very good to me - easier to put out power on hills and out of the saddle. The front sections seem pointless for the gravel bike, it's just to make finding the pedal and clipping in a bit easier, I might Dremel those bits off a pair and see how they go.
For the road bike I’m a big fan of the PD-ES600s. Perfect audax/touring/road pedals imo.
Interesting, are they really noticeably better / different compared to M540's? What sort of shoes? Is that using a roadie shoe with MTB cleats or MTB shoes? I've used 520/540 fairly extensively with winter boots in the past.
I've got a deep gravel driveway which is destroying plastic cleats every time I ride as I have to walk down it and back again. It'd be at least nice to have a winter bike that was immune to that!
520s are fine for xc shoes. If you want to be stamping at pedals in hellcats or whatever dh type shoe then Saints. The cage type inbetween- eg 530s, not really sure as the cage doesn’t contact anything. Maybe the me700s do? Dunno.
I think it varies by specific pedal and shoe. Some shoes have quite deep recesses that make it harder to clip in and support the shoe against the pedal more. I've got a set of Hellcats though and it's more like a flat sole so probably wouldn't feel M530's.
I've tried a few of these. From worst to best I'd rate them as follows
ES600 - They don't hang consistently so clipping can be really annoying. Not as comfortable as others.
A600 - Very light but not quite as conformable as some of the others. Not made anymore (I think).
EH500 - Relatively heavy but very comfortable. Come with pins.
A530 - Very close to EH500 although no pins, but cheaper.
I use the A600 on one bike. They are no longer made. The A520 is the lower end version of the same pedal. Also not made any more. I have bought several sets on eBay and have them on two bikes and 2 or 3 spare pairs.
I find they give a bit of foot support.I don't use shoes with Max stiffness soles.
The spare pedals are part of my stockpile of out of production odds and ends like a few of a particular saddle and two Deore LX 9 speed rapid rise derailleurs.
Interesting, are they really noticeably better / different compared to M540’s? What sort of shoes? Is that using a roadie shoe with MTB cleats or MTB shoes?
I'd say so - they feel more stable and better suited to road miles. Used with resin sole (low to mid stiffness) Shimano MTB XC shoes and SPD cleats. I think the issue I had with 520/540s was the smaller contact area meant the areas of the shoe that rested on the pedal and the pedal surface wore faster plus it's a greater area in total on the ES600, and flatter, that should reduce wear rates.
For me the difference in foot stability and reduced strain or ache/tension sensation in the hip flexor tensor muscle area was immediate. It seems that controlling the foot roll on the right side where I don't pedal as smoothly was the cause of the imbalances and discomfort. Made a huge difference to my climbing. A stiffer shoe may have done some or a lot of that but a wider pedal contact is the first thing to do to reduce foot roll there. I've been riding 520s and 540s for a long time so there's probably some age and accumulated imbalance stuff going on. I rode a bike with 520s on a while ago and the old discomfort started to come back after a couple of hours - so I'm unsure if what I'm doing to strengthen or correct the issue in me is working but the pedal swap seems to have got rid of it.