I’ve only been using Devil pedals for a couple of years, my initial choice was to default to Shimano, “industry standard” Cheap functional and pretty durable, having heard various stories about CB pedals I decided to steer well clear, Glad I did…
Using bottom end again here M520 and M424:
Not too bad in mud, it actually makes more difference if you can keep the shoe sole/cleats clear I find, I also try to keep the pedal bodies clear-ish by spraying a bit of silicone on them post cleaning, although this only really lasts a few miles…
I Would consider the M540s but I’m a budget led kind of fella so wil probably stick to M520s.
For XC I have to say Ritchey WCS Mountain V4 are my wish list pedals, silly money, spanky finish, totally unnecessary, probably total gash…
I’d quite like some M647s for my trail bike maybe, but I’m a wrongle and actually like the resin caged SPDs…
A friend of mine once pointed out that given the differences in weight/price/function between the M520 and just about every pedal above it in the shimano range you may as well get them and spend the difference on lighter stiffer shoes as that would make a greater impact on your pedalling:
M520 ~ £20 – weigh 415g while M770 ~ £50 – weigh 352g, that extra £30 could probably save you much more than 73g if spent on shoes…
But yep Shimano FTW…