Just bought Boardman CX. Planned use is going to be everything from 50mile-ish rides taking in mostly roads and bits of bridleways/woods, to the reverse…as well as some commuting and popping the pub.

I currently have some DHB road shoes with SPD-SL cleats, but assuming if I am going to be doing any off road/walking then I should probably get some more off road orientated pedals/shoes.

I’m on a budget, so would I be ok with either/any of these choices? ….or any others I may not be aware of.

Pedals:

M530s or M520s

Shoes:

DHB 1.0 MTB Shoes or Shimano MT23

Thoughts?

I’ve been using mt43s for a while on mine for everything from 100-ish mile road rides to all day XC rides and I commute in them. They look almost acceptable as a casual shoe and are fine to walk in.

I personally like any shoe that takes studs in the front, because once winter properly arrives, dismounting and running are so much easier with studs, no slipping and tripping, just grip and rip.

Don’t use shimano pedals, prefer the crank brothers, candys for when it’s drier but when it gets real mucky never ever clogged a set of egg beaters.

For the shoes, the shimano one benefit from being able to fit studs so better for getting up steep muddy slopes. However, they look like a lot of mesh so frozen feet in winter. It looks like you could duck tape up the DHB ones to winterise them a bit.

I have 2 sets of M520 pedal, one M530 and M540.

M520s are great, however those shoes above won’t be very stiff so you might benefit from the extra support on M530s. The 530s are quite heavy if that bothers you. Even the M520s will probably outlast the bike so don’t worry about durability.

I have M530s on my Inbred and my CX bike and have no issues with them. They’re great. These bikes both tend to hit big mileages.

I use Shimano AM 31’s for general long rides and commuting and have a pair of AM 51’s for serious mud.

Flats on the big bikes.

I know a few people with M520s and 530’s and I’ve not heard any real complaints. Plus at about twenty quid including cleats they’re almost disposable…

I have 520s on my mtb and cx bikes and they have been faultless.

@tomd re mesh on shimano shoes: The big plus of the mesh is it dries do much quicker.
Wet soggy shoes will freeze feet far more effectively.
I’ve never really had cold frozen feet since giving up on skate trainers 🙂

The M530 and M520s seem a similar price, so i guess it just weather I want that extra platform.

As for shoes, well, I do wish the DHB ones didn’t look quite so…well…’special’.

M520s are great, however those shoes above won’t be very stiff so you might benefit from the extra support on M530s.

I don’t buy this argument at all. I suppose it depends what shoes you use, but even my (very casual) Shimano MP66s don’t flex enough for the cage portion of the pd-m530s to come into contact. The only argument I can see to justify the extra 70g is that they’re easier to clip in / out (apparently, again not something I’ve found but I suppose this is subjective) or they’re easier to use with normal shoes to pop down’t pub.

On another note, I’ve never clogged a Shimano pedal with mud. Ice, on the other hand 😡

Good bike choice, ive had one about 6 months myself and find it very capable off road to the extent the mtb doesn’t come out as much now

Good bike choice, ive had one about 6 months myself and find it very capable off road to the extent the mtb doesn’t come out as much now

…and how do you find it on road?

The only argument I can see to justify the extra 70g

It’s irrelevant in cross once the mud starts building, you just want something that works and keeps on working.