I like my SPDs generally, but in the winter they always end up getting mud (kinda sandy mud round here) in them and then it’s hard to clip in/out so either I don’t clip in (which is bad) or I can’t clip out (which is worse).

Are other brands better for shedding the mud?

Some of the Ritchey shimano-alikes are better in that regard as they are a more open design. Might be worth it if you want to stay with that style of cleat.

Eggbeaters seem to offer the best solution (apparently).

Eggbeater apparently shed mud easier, but come with their own drawbacks

Oh – and my Ritcheys didn’t jam up at SITS last year – that#s a testament to them 🙂

Eggbeater apparently shed mud easier, but come with their own drawbacks

such as…?

such as falling apart – 2 friends have now had this problem mid ride (one within 3 rides of new). I think they are OK if you look after them.

Couple of very simple solutions to that problem:

Don’t keep putting your feet in the mud. Clip in when you start riding, clip out when you arrive at the pub!

Get in the habit of tapping your foot sideways on to the end of the pedal before you clip in, thus knocking the grit out before you engage.

Quite a bit simpler and cheaper than changing pedal brand.

Time pedals

Cheers Glen, yeah I do try to do that. I guess it was worse at the weekend as we were on a sort of “skills course” and so there was more stopping and standing around in mud than usual.

Falling apart sounds like a particularly serious drawback for the eggbeaters.

time.

perform in mud FAR better than shimano.
don’t need maintenance every 2 months, before totally failing after a year, like egg beaters.

i’ve a pair 6 yrs old, still going strong.

oops – didn’t mean to sound patronising. Virtually all of my mountain biking time is spent doing the skills instruction these days, so I sympathise! The tapping out of the grit does work really well. Another thing I’m careful about is that if you clip in and it feels gritty then I don’t just ride on – I clip out whilst I still remember and tap my shoe again.

it took 7 replies before Time was mentioned??! Time is the king of mud. and ice. and snow 🙂

Time
My Z Controls are on there third bike. Simple & strong as a box of hammers.

Time never clog.

And never need servicing (in three years anyway).

Bloody fell over yesterday because I couldnt clip out. Good job it was quiet at CyB.

Yep – Time pedals are definitely better in the mud than SPDs

it took a while but we seem to be reaching a consensus here!

Another vote for time. The only time they clog is in the snow, but kicking your foot into the pedal clears it easily 🙂

time atac roc… mine are great 🙂

My SPD 520s used to clog up quite a bit – never had a problem with the XTR ones I’ve got now though.

Time or eggbeaters, both very good in mud. Depends how concerned you are about weight, eggbeaters are a lot lighter but need the bushes and bearings changed every 6-9 months, times seem indestructable.