New pedal time any views would be appreciated.
TIA.

I tried Crank Brothers, ended up sticking with Shimano.

Found the CB to be inconsistent. One side would be really easy to clip out, another side would be a nightmare and a panic 🙂

Out of those two I’d pick Shimano.

As mentioned, tension on CB pedals can be a bit finicky. Clipping in and out can be quite vague as well. The worst part though is their longevity, or lack of. Expect to rebuild CB pedals at least every 6 months. Oh, and the cleats wear out surprisingly quickly, but not before they’ve welded themselves to the bottom of your shoes. The supplied cleat bolts were made of cheese so almost certain to round off.

If you’re open to other options then I really like the Nukeproof Horizon. Similar action to Shimano (same cleats) but much more supportive platform. Only downside is they release more easily when wet for some reason.

I use CB’s for the float. I have a pair of Interbike 2012 candys on one of my bikes that have been used with no issues since.. well..interbike 2012..
None of my CB pedals are newer than 2014.
I use shoeshields and new premium cleats once a year but i’m spreading use since i have a few pairs of shoes on the go (bikes too).
Shimano and CB are opposite ends of the spectrum for pedals. I dont mean anything other than the engage/release mechanism. shimano you’re either in or out and you know exactly where you are. CB are less digital so if you’re used to shimano, you’ll probably not like CB to start off with. Kind of like shimano vs magura brakes I guess.
I’d push to Candy 7 though if you want to go that route.

I used Candy’s for many years, I’ve at least 10 pairs in various borked conditions in the garage.

Yes, be prepared to replace the bushes on Candy’s every 6 months or so.

Also, I found that the pedal bars that your shoe pushes against wear grooves in the shoe sole, this then created an unstable platform, it caused me knee issues, shoe saver plates can avoid it but I found the feel a bit different using them.

I’m now on Shimano PD M520 pedals. You can buy the pedal including cleats for £20, which is the price of a pair of Crank Bros cleats! And all the Shimano pedals have renowned longevity. There’s only a couple of grams between each big S pedal, I reckon the M540 is the one to go for, I just picked up a pair for my other bike for £32 Inc cleats.

The cleat release is very different between CB & S, CB being a lot softer, with no adjustments as your cleat wears whilst the S is a lot more mechanical, you can adjust the tension & the S does also offer float.

If you ride places that are real rocky, be aware that the CB pedal bar springs can be prone to bending from impacts, I’m sure you could trash a S pedal too, but I thing the CB is more vulnerable.

I can’t say I found any support from the CB Candy cage, your shoes point of contact is only those two bars, so maybe consider eggbeaters.

I really liked my CB egg beaters. They were light, easy to use and we’re great in mud and snow.

However, I ended up with a pile of pedals and cleats. It was sometimes cheaper to buy a new pair than repair.

I went back to shimano. They are cheap and bomb proof. Cleats last longer too. They are fit and forget.

As an alternative have you considered time pedals?

Used to use Candy’s but have moved to Time Atac.

More durable and just better at everything

I’ve used Candys for years as they used to be the only real option if you didn’t want the shimano ‘welded’ to the pedal feeling and inherent mud issues. Cleats wear quickly and I always take a spare set of pedals if going on holiday…….I think I might give Time a try next but old habits etc

Candys are a great pedal though and I really enjoy using them but they do break occasionally.

I felt I definitely noticed a difference between the support from a candy and the lack of with an eggbeater. Maybe it depends on your shoe.

Not a pedal ‘connoisseur’ in that I’ve only ever used Shimano SPDs. A mix of 520, 540 and more recently the M8000.

To be fair, the only reason I went for XT was vanity, to match XT on the rest of the bike.

Both 520s are still going after 10 years, with no thought or maintenance. They get coated in mud, water and grime regularly, but just keep going.

On that basis alone, I doubt I’ll ever move away from them. They are indestructible and keep a consistent clip in experience whatever the conditions.

Cleats tend to outlast the shoes too, but I find removing them after they’ve born worn and bolts rounded is a PITA, so end up buying a set of 520’s for the ‘free‘ cleats. Consequently I’ve got a number of unused pedals backing up…

On the downside, after all these years, I still don’t know how to service a pedal!

To balance it, I did buy some xtr pedals but they developed play and when I tried to service them the axle snapped. They did get warrantied.

All other shimano pedals have been bomb proof. I now avoid xtr

Oh yeah, Time are one of my favourites. I ended up on Shimano because my missus didn’t like them and wanted to try my Time pedals. I’ve not had them back since 🙂

I tried CB thinking they would be similar to Time, but they were no where near.

XTR axle issue was limited to an early batch of 980/985 pedals from 2 generations of XTR back. Not an issue since.

Flats.

Someone had to say it.

I think the newer Candys have much better longevity. I’ve only rebuilt mine twice in 3 years and only out of habit. My old candy 3s were more like the 6 month schedule mentioned above.

What I love about them is if you need to dab you can pop out, plant your foot and just kick the pedal and it’ll clip every time, because the spring rotates independent of the pedal housing. Plus they never clog.

Agree with the cheese cleat bolts being a pain. Run Shimano on road bike and Candy’s take some getting used to after a few weeks of commuting but the float makes me feel so much more secure, don’t think I could use shimanos offroad