New pedal time: Crank Brothers vs SPD

So my trusty circa 2007/8 Time ATAC ROC Carbon pedals are pretty close to being retired, they’ve been on a few bikes and done many miles in the 10 years I’ve had them, the bearings are starting to develop plenty of play, and the cleats are getting work down, and I think they’re approaching ‘retro’ status based on the reaction from a Cube demo guy at the MBR demo day a few weeks back 🙂

IMG_20180120_113901 by Paul Sims[/url], on Flickr

Time to retire them I think, plus it gives me the opportunity for some new kit 🙂

Question is, seeing as I need new cleats and pedals – Crank brothers Candy/eggbeater or a Shimano SPD based pedal? I’ll be buying 2x lots of cleats for a similar vintage pair of Shimano M086 summer shoes as well as my Northwave GTX booties:

IMG_20180102_192049 by Paul Sims[/url], on Flickr

I’m presuming the Candy/Eggbeaters will feel very similar to my Time pedals, with plenty of float and a release that feels like an increasing pressure until they pop out. SPD’s seem (on my very limited few minutes clipping in and out) to have a more pronounced ‘end’ to the float which I like, but also the float seems a little more, well… floaty! There’s more resistance in the float on the Cranks Bros/Time pedals. I do need to install the cleats with the reduced float on the Time/Crank bros pedals as currently I have trouble unclipping my right foot sometimes, having to turn my whole leg inwards.

One thing to consider is winter riding, I know how legendary Eggbeaters etc are for shedding mud, SPD’s… not so much. I was having trouble clipping in on my Time pedals which are pretty good when it was proper muddy, so Crank bros would be the choice in winter, but I don’t want to be having to swap cleats all the time.

Also a concern with the Crank bros – as above I have issues sometimes unclipping with the 13 degree release angle on my current pedals, the crank bros are 15 or 20(!!) degrees, which might cause more issues! I blame dodgy knees, with my feet pointed straight my knees are angled inwards, with my knees straight my feet are at about a 25 degree angle from straight, so twisting my heel further out causes my knee to turn further inwards.

First up ignore anyone who hasn’t used the more recent CB stuff, big redesign gone on….

Got Candies and Mallet DH’s they release on point every time but not with a bang as such, clipping in is wonderful with the forward and backward ability. riding they are just good. I’ve recently ended up using some shimano style pedals in the gym and borrowing a mates bike, just not as good for me, not as easy to get into and just feel clunky.

Service wise CB is easy these days, can do it in 10 mins

For years I put up with Egg beaters, but in the end I swapped to SPD’s.

The Egg beaters ate the soles of my shoes as there isn’t really any platform to stand on.  The bearings are made of cheese.  Typical Crank bros rubbish. Sure you can service them, but why bother when Shimano’s dont need servicing.

SPD’s last longer than the bikes they are on.  There is enough of a platform to support the shoe.  They are cheap.  The float didnt turn out to be an issue.  Its enough.  Also you can dial in or out the amount of grip before they let loose. so no clipping in/out issues.

Also, they are more common, so you can try out your mates bikes when you fancy a go.

The bearing issue on Crank bros have been sorted now with the new ones, so that’s not an issue.

Each has their own plusses and minuses, crank bros: Mud shedding, easier to clip in, more float. But no adjustment, harder to unclip, more expensive

Shimano: cheaper, easier to unclip, adjustable release tension, more of them about so easier to swap bikes. But, shite mud shedding, less (worse ‘feeling’) float, not as nice to clip into.

Hmmm. I sort of want a pair of SPD’s for summer, and a pair of eggbeaters for winter mud. But don’t want to be faffing around trying to swap cleats every 6 months.

Time.

Time.

🙂

Knew someone would say that. I have heard that the current time pedals are a shadow of their former selves though, plus I fancy a change. Crank bros are similar but seem better than current Time pedals.

So, if I was to go over to the dark side (SPD’s!) what’s the current pick of small body XC/trail SPD pedal? M8000 XT’s? or do I get a set of M520’s which are almost as cheap as a pair of cleats!?

😉

I have XC8s and there every bit as excellent as my Neolithic era Atac DH4s and the Aliums and others that went before. The DH4s will still be going after the apocalypse.

I had many more re issues with clipping / unclipping using Crank bros pedals than I ever did with spds. Changed back after a couple of years trying to convince myself they were any good. I use standard XTR on my road bike and XTR trail on mtb. I imagine XT are pretty much as good.

I’m a crank brothers fan personally, never got on with spds, found clipping in in a hurry or trying to get a pedal stroke in unclipped was comparatively dire on the spds and they became near useless in proper mud but, if you want trouble free riding for another 10 years look elsewhere. They will need servicing – my old egg beater sl lasted about 4 years on one set of bearings, replaced them and used on my comuter for several years (and a couple of sets of bearings) till the spring failed. My big bike has mallet DH on, i get around 12-18months from a set of bearings. I’ve also had a set of egg beater 3s which failed after about 6 months, easy fix but royal pain in the proverbials when the pedal body came off. Ditto an old pair of low spec mallets.

Longtime CB fan and user here, but I recently bought some Nukeproof Horizon CS pedals, and I’m very impressed with them.

I got a bit cheesed off with having to change the CB bearings every year or so. I was running 3 sets of pedals all were 3+ years old, and even with new bearings/bushings there was play.

The Nukeproof are Shimano compatible, but are sprung front and back, so the clip in feel is somewhere in between Shimano and CB.

I also bought some shimano m530 trail pedals for £20 from Evans. Bit clunkier in feel, but for the same price as one CB service kit, you can’t go wrong!

I go with M540s.

Theyre lighter than M520s and are similar to the older XT and can be picked up pretty cheaply on ebay.

The last pair I had was about £23 and came with cleats.

i’m on time. the newer ones with the pressed bars don’t last, sadly. fortunately they still makes ones with the round cross section bars. i just got some dh4s to replace an old pair of z and they are every bit as awesome.

if i was starting from scratch now i might go for shimano just for cheapness.

your atacs don’t look hardly worn. i have a couple of sets like those that look like they been nuked from orbit by comparison, and they still run just fine.

They’re a lot more battered now, but they clip in and out fine, it’s just the bearings/spindles that are going.

I’ll keep an eye out for some cheap M520 or M540’s, the M520’s are only a few quid more than a new set of Time cleats! I fancy giving SPD’s a go tbh.

Some good deals on Time pedals including Xpresso models at Merlin. Half tempted, but means I would need a new pair of 3-bolt shoes.

I used to be a time fan, but that was with the original composite atacs.

Since then I’ve used a few pairs of m520’s and they just keep going – not so good in snow or mud though as the Time.

Got some Boardman spds on my racer as they are lighter than even xtr spds. They aren’t as easy to clip in though – despite being an spd design.

I recently bought some Nukeproof Horizons after running flats on my mtb for a few years and they seem nice so far. Click in / click out ok and if you’re unclipped they’ve got good grip on the platform.

I was tempted by the Time dh4 but I went for spd compatible pedals so I can do some bike swapping easier with a mate who runs m540’s.

Another CB Eggbeater fan here. I’ve been running them for years and years and think I’ve only had one bearing failure. Still running a pair of original 4ti on one bike but might have to swap them soon as the axle is starting to wear but must have done well over 7000 miles through all sorts of crappy Yorkshire weather. Got a pair of newer ones and they are good. Float and release is never an issue, same with clipping in in horrible conditions. I can grease all 4 pairs in about 10 minutes.

I’ve got the look versions of the eggbeaters – so two sets of bearings like the modern eggbeaters.

They have been good for me, used them for years – didn’t fancy even trying SPDs after seeing posts of people getting knee issues with SPDs and then losing them when going to time atacs or similar (I had atacs originally) and then read of someone who got stuck in xtr SPDs because they got clogged up with mud.

Eggbeaters have the edge on the Atacs with ease of entry as 4 sided.

You can also take a dremel to the cleat to reduce the exit angle if you want but I never have a issue – apart from once where my pedal hit a hidden rock and the bike flipped to being perpendicular to the trail, and obviously it was then difficult to unclip – but the same would be the case with SPD I think. Did come out but strained my ankle a bit.

So I picked up a pair of m540 SPD’s for £36 just now, had a little test ride down the road and they’re so much easier to clip out of, I’m actually able to unclip my right foot now! With the time pedals I’d generally have to upclip left then right which obviously could cause some issues.

The float is a little more ”loose’ but the reduced float and easier release angle seems to be much better, hopefully it won’t cause any future knee problems. Got them set pretty loose at the moment, 2 clicks from fully loose, I’ll gradually tighten them.

I find keeping them loose is best.

I have xt on one bike, and m540 on another, as well as m520 on my wife’s bike, there’s very little functional difference between them as far as i can tell, perhaps the xt’s are a little smoother, but unless you’re bothered about weight there’s not much between any of them.

i will be 50 this year, I’m reasonably sure that with a little tlc and a service every 5 years, I won’t need to buy pedals again.