SPD pedal recommendations

[Jmaxwel8]

I ride both MTN bikes and road bikes fairly often. I have to say for me on shorter rides I would rather use SPD pedals on the road bikes. I have a a set of Shimano SPD ES500 on a bike that I often ride as a commuter around town. They are platform on one side and spd on the other.

I would like a simpler SPD pedal to switch out my other bikes. I was wondering if ya'll might have some recommendations for SPD pedals that aren't as clunky as the ES500. I know there are plenty that offer a minimalist clip (like MTB pedals), but I would like to have some platform.

[Jaybee]

M8020 Xt trail pedals?

[alfordjo]

Great timely post for me.

I am also trying to determine what SPD pedals to use on my new build.

On my current road bike I am using the PD-A600...I believe it is discontinued but can easily be found. I like them with a few minor exceptions.

My wife uses M8020 and seems to like them.

A couple of reasons I might switch from the A600:
1 - Only one sided....I sometimes struggle after a stop to get back in
2 - They tend to get pretty scratched up.

Jonathan

[Jmaxwel8]

I thought about the 600s. They might be the best option

[rnhood]

As Jaybee posted, the 8020 XT is the crown jewel of SPD pedals. They are the ones to have.

[speedevil]

I have a set of the Xpedo M Force 3 SPD pedals. Cro-mo axle, but you can find a titanium axle version if you want. I like the steel axle as a button magnet for the cadence sensor will stick to the axle.

Double-sided, sliver - so they look decent on a lot of bikes from C&V to modern carbon.

[buddybikes]

regular spd's then attach these: https://www.newfrog.com/product/1-pair-road-bike-clipless-pedal-platform-adapters-for-shimano-spd-look-keo-263642.01?currency=USD&gclid=CjwKCAjwp_zkBRBBEiwAndwD9eEppxQZ1NivFScKfUrz 6YZDQlmxmIJ0OBvon5dD9RDKyibFFG3EjxoC2GAQAvD_BwE

[JLQ]

Not sure if your new one must be a platform but If less clunky is what you want, the M8000 is the best SPD I've ever run. I run them for mountain/gravel, you install them and never think about them again.

[MagicHour]

In the past I would've said A-520, the cheaper sibling of the A-600, and if you don't mind silver pedals-love mine. However, looking at the Shimano site looks like they discontinued those and have redesigned their Road Touring SPD lineup:

The Ultegra PD-ES600 (single sided)

https://bike.shimano.com/content/dam/global/cg1SHICCycling/final/products/cg2SHICComponent/cg3SHICPedal/cg4SHICPedalSPD/P-PD-ES600_2019NPP0032.jpg/_jcr_content/renditions/P-PD-ES600_2019NPP0032_750_750.jpeg

and the PD-ED500 (double sided)

https://bike.shimano.com/content/dam/global/cg1SHICCycling/final/products/cg2SHICComponent/cg3SHICPedal/cg4SHICPedalSPD/P-PD-ED500_16877_1.jpg/_jcr_content/renditions/P-PD-ED500_16877_1_750_750.jpeg

[Likes2ridefar]

I’m curious why someone would pick those single sided ultegra pedals vs say an XT pedal.

Does the platform feel more like a road pedal?

[Jmaxwel8]

I personally think it looks more like a road bike pedal so maybe that is why people would choose that over the XT.

Not that it matters on a road bike but on my MTB XT pedals I have put them through serious abuse and they are still performing flawlessly.

I think I will post a WTB in the classified and see what I come up with.

[R3awak3n]

I’m curious why someone would pick those single sided ultegra pedals vs say an XT pedal.

Does the platform feel more like a road pedal?

probably also lighter?

I have the A600 and love that pedal. Its my winter road bike pedal to go with winter spd shoes. I really don't need double side on my roadie and pedal looks better on a road bike than a dual side mtb pedal.. of course in the end it does not matter but its an excellent pedal.

On my gravel bike I have XTR, have had it for a while and it has worked fantastic. Something cheaper I would do 540, its like $40 and it will run forever.

[mj_michigan]

I have SPD A-600 and A-520 pedals. They are virtually indistingushable except for some 30g weight difference. One sidedness is a minor issue until one gets used to it. Now I don't even need to look at them when I clip in.

[Tony]

M8020 Xt trail pedals?

Over 400 grams! Also Shimano's trail version those extensions do not make contact with your shoe, only there to provide protection from rock strikes.

[Monthly Payment]

ES600 may be the answer. A600 if you can find them are great. I have 2 sets of the A600 and love them. I use it on my everyday road bike (Specialized Roubaix with 30mm tires - for slower rides where I don't need the race rocket and full road pedals). There are recent Cyclingtips review of the A600 and ES600 I thought were helpful.

https://cyclingtips.com/2019/02/shimano-pd-es600-ultegra-spd-pedal-review/

https://cyclingtips.com/2018/07/shimano-a600-pedal-review/

[witcombusa]

Another vote for Shimano's PD-ES600 single sided pedal. Very easy to get into and not all the unneeded weight of a dual sided pedal.(for road use)

[benb]

I have the A600s and have been very happy with them.

For me there is almost no benefit I can see in actual road & pedal shoes. As far as I'm concerned the benefits are almost completely marketing. A lot of the 3 bolt shoes have poor bolt placement in larger sizes compared to shoes which fit the same but have the 2-bolt pattern. If the bolts are in the wrong place for me that has big negative effects for me that completely outweigh anything stiffer/lighter shoes might offer. I don't really see any performance benefit & I have had more issues with my feet going numb when I used SPD-SL + Carbon soles. Maybe I'd have some benefit with and SPD Shoe with Carbon soles, hard to say.

Unless you're actually racing 100+ mile races if you are going on rides like that you're going to have rest stops and the longer the day and the more tired you are the more annoying it is going to be to walk around in road shoes when you get off.

And around here lots of those days are likely to end up with a little bit of dirty anyway.

[buddybikes]

I put on my Time ATAC's for the winter, and they have been left on. Perhaps you are right, why walk around in those highly stiff clunky things.

[benb]

Even these cycling tips articles which are highly praising of the SPD setups, I don't get their concern about stability and such.

I've had basically no problems with treadwear on the shoes having any negative effects on pedaling. Good MTB shoes don't exactly have soft quick wearing soles like running shoes. I do wear out the heels on my bike shoes well before the shoes themselves are ready for the trash but that is no big deal, I'm not going running in them and it has zero effect on pedaling. I've seen road shoes with replaceable heels, I wouldn't mind having that available on MTB shoes too.

We've had studies showing flat pedals can be more efficient, I'm not sure why we want to believe having our cleats as locked down as possible is going to be better.

For me the insole setup, sole curvature, & cleat position seems to have the biggest impact on power & foot soreness/resistance to going numb.

What I've mostly seen is:
- MTB shoes have a wider fore-aft capability for cleat positioning. For me road shoes usually force the cleat further forward than I want, which makes me activate my foot more & leads to more numbness.
- MTB shoes have a flatter last, road shoes have a curve built in that kind of puts you heel up when the pedal is level. One or the other will work better for you depending on your foot & pedaling style I think. I have relatively flat feet and pedal with my foot level. The curve in a road shoe effectively means I have my toes curved up the way I pedal which puts all the pressure onto the ball of my foot.
- Stuff like insole selection, wedging, etc.. can have a huge effect.

I just did an experiment with the Specialized Varus wedges for a few weeks.. they are only 1.5mm thick on the thick side. But that feels like a massive change inside the shoe. For me it makes my toes way more likely to go numb once I'm up into the "Sweet Spot" so it's a no go.

[MagicHour]

Thanks for that that ES-600 review - I may have to keep on the lookout for a pair of A600s as backups if my A520s ever need replacement. That flipping issue sounds annoying - might as well go double-sided then and forget about aesthetics.

ES600 may be the answer. A600 if you can find them are great. I have 2 sets of the A600 and love them. I use it on my everyday road bike (Specialized Roubaix with 30mm tires - for slower rides where I don't need the race rocket and full road pedals). There are recent Cyclingtips review of the A600 and ES600 I thought were helpful.

https://cyclingtips.com/2019/02/shimano-pd-es600-ultegra-spd-pedal-review/

https://cyclingtips.com/2018/07/shimano-a600-pedal-review/

[Safepants]

I have two sets of the older Shimano PD-T780 XT trekking pedals. They are weighted so they always hang in the same spot, push forward to clip in, pull back for flats. The flat gets slippery when wet though as there are no spikes. It's about the size platform as an old track pedal platform.
https://www.rei.com/product/878503/shimano-pd-t780-pedals

I also have one set of the new version, the Shimano PD-T8000
it has a slightly larger platform and included spikes now. It's much improved and I prefer it for my commuting bikes. It might push into the too large category for you, I have size 47 shoes so it kind of hides under my shoes anyways.
https://www.rei.com/product/116154/shimano-xt-pd-t8000-spd-pedals

[benb]

I said I have the A600s, I agree with Cyclingtiops they are nicely weighted.

But I don't know that I really care. I've run many pairs of SPD-SLs over the year and they mostly were never weighted as well as the PD-A600s, but I never really had any trouble with the SPD-SLs, I got myself trained up with enough muscle memory that I could rotate them automatically with my toe as I clipped in.

I have an older version of the PD-T8000 as well.. the ones I have weight really well to use the SPD side, but if you want to ride them as flats you have to flip them with your toe like SPD-SLs. Kind of hilarious as flats are supposed to be easier but you're doing a dance just like someone with single sided road pedals.

[feynman]

A little bump to ask for any other experiences with the ES600.

I use EH500 with my generalist road bike (I'm often just in sandals on the flat side), and XTs on MTBs. I sometimes think I should should just use XTs on everything.

Now that I have a racier road bike, the faster-looking ES600 might be a better aesthetic. Looks are a major part of how I choose bicycle gear.

I won't worry about the 100g differences until I'm down 24000g of body fat.

Several reviews say the ES600 don't seem to hold up well over time.

Thoughts?

[Veloo]

I put M8020 XT pedals on the road bike for a week long bikepacking ride. I wasn't going to do the ride with road shoes.
I liked the convenience of the double sided entry so I didn't have to do any flipping of the pedals to get the clip side facing up.

I had the A530 on the commuter for a while and for many years now haven't worn cleated shoes to commute anywhere so constantly flipping the pedals to get the flat side facing up. Recently took them off and put Saint pedals on which are way better than the A530s which have smaller surface area and smooth platform. The Saints are so secure they feel like I'm clipped in compared to the A530s.

Convenience of a double sided pedal trumps aesthetics for me. And larger platform feels more stable.

[feynman]

Thanks.

I also used to have the A530, but that smooth platform was useless. The EH500 is much better with its spikes, and I have no real complaints with those.

The Saints do look good too.

I appreciate the reply.

[donevwil]

I have not tried the ES600, but have many years and thousands of miles on A600s. They have been bulletproof although for some reason 3 out of 4 SPD pedal sets (540, XT, A600) I buy need bearing preload adjustment right out of the box (too loose from factory). The A600s hang perfectly when unclipped so clipping in is a non-issue. Apparently the ES600s loose this feature and require more attention when clipping in. No idea if Shimano downgraded the bearings or not. I say search out some A600s if you can, they still show up quite often.

[reuben]

A little bump to ask for any other experiences with the ES600.

I use EH500 with my generalist road bike (I'm often just in sandals on the flat side), and XTs on MTBs. I sometimes think I should should just use XTs on everything.

Now that I have a racier road bike, the faster-looking ES600 might be a better aesthetic. Looks are a major part of how I choose bicycle gear.

I won't worry about the 100g differences until I'm down 24000g of body fat.

Several reviews say the ES600 don't seem to hold up well over time.

Thoughts?
I've used ES600 and similar dual sided Shimano pedals with SPD cleats and have had no problems whatsoever. I rarely used the flat side (things changed), but they were perfectly fine when I did so. You'll have a little less clearance going around turns with the ES600 or similar, but if you're using pedals like that it's not likely an issue - you're out for a good ride or a grocery run, not a PR screaming around turns.

[AngryScientist]

I've never had any real problems with any genuine shimano pedal, SPD or SPD-SL. I dont think you can go wrong with any pedal in the lineup.

[mtbmoose]

Another vote for the A600s. I have two sets and they’ve been flawless. They come up now and again on fleabay if you’re patient.

[sjbraun]

I've been quite happy with Look's X-trac pedals. They use Shimano's SPD cleat and have a wider platform than most SPD pedals.

[feynman]

I've been quite happy with Look's X-trac pedals. They use Shimano's SPD cleat and have a wider platform than most SPD pedals.

I have been curious about some of those. REI has a couple of models at 50% off (https://www.rei.com/b/look/c/mountain-bike-pedals?ir=category%3Amountain-bike-pedals&r=c%3Bb) right now too.



Thank you to everyone for the replies.

[oldfatslow]

Shimano PD-A530
Single sided, but 383 grams.
Inexpensive, <$50


https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/tiagra-4700/PD-A530.html