I use ‘two bolt cleat’ shoes on all my bikes. Even my time trial bike. Just to keep things simple, first of all. Because it doesn’t make one whit of difference, second of all. And, finally, because the cleats last just about a lifetime & they are handy if you want to walk around like a normal person.
Specifically for gravel, I use the Sampson Sports Fondo pedal. It’s super light. It sheds mud really well. And if you’re savvy you can pick up a pair on sale for less than $40. I have no financial or personal relationship with Sampson (although they should be paying me) I just think those pedals are a monster value for ~$40.
Well, I was cranking out a whopping 150 watts on the trainer for my recovery ride yesterday and the spring in my eggbeaters bit the dust.
I’ve had the eggbeaters for less than a year, so it’s a little disconcerting that they’re already broken. I’m positive that I haven’t had any pedal strikes or other undue wear and tear. I know they’re still under warranty and a replacement part is available, but I don’t have a lot of confidence in these pedals moving forward.
Before I pull the trigger on some PD-M8000s, are there any other pedals I should be thinking about? Looking for reliability and something that “just works”.
I don’t think you can go far wrong with XT or XTR pedals for cross. I ride them all winter on cross and mountain bikes with no problems. Mud clearing is pretty good and they’re hard to break.
Having said all of that, I prefer Time ATAC in the summer as the float is a little better. The cleats wear faster and the mud clearing isn’t as good but I’m cool with that. The old models were bullet proof. Not used the newer ones enough to know if they’re as good yet.
I’m a long time Time ATAC user here. The old ones were awesome, but the last set I had gave me constant issues with parts breaking. The (plastic) tension screw/knob/thing came loose multiple times, causing parts to fall out mid ride. The metal bar you clip into kept getting bent. Springs got mangled, and didn’t hold tension properly, causing the pedal to be loose while clipped in. Eventually I snapped a pedal body literally stepping onto the bike for a trainer ride. I do most of my riding indoor, and occasionally ride/race local XC trails. I’m not particularly hard on my bike at all.
I’ll add that their mid spec pedals (2 and 4) don’t have any adjustability in the spring area, which I think would do wonders for reliability, as that was the area that seemed to be most prone to issues. I also don’t think the adjustability is really necessary at all. I left mine in firm, and it was always super easy to get in/out. I still love how these pedals feel, but probably won’t buy another set.
I replaced them with a set of Xpedo Mforce3, mostly because they were fairly light, and cheap enough to try out. I’ve been pretty happy. I don’t like them quite as much as my old pedals, but they’re cheaper, and seem more robust so far. Will be getting another set for the new bike.
I’ve been using these Time ATAC alium’s for at least 15 years now. They’re so heavy but never fail. Apparently they’re vintage, according to the Ebay listings lol
I do have some Favero Assiomas coming today though. Out with the old…
SPD (mountain bike type) for me too, although I only have road bikes. So much easier to walk in, light and simple. Can’t see a reason to use anything else. I’ll freely admit to not being a competitive rider
There was a pretty long thread on MTBR.com a while back where a bunch of folks were complaining about wearing out the XTR race pedals within a year or less.
I’ve been running the old M520’s for several years now. The only issue I’ve had was needing to get the bearing preload set right so one of them would spin freely.
I upgraded my MTB to XT and moved the old 520s to my gravel bike.
And then I tried to work out how old the 520s are and still work flawlessly, last 5 years heavy use in wet, salty muddy conditions, probably at least 12 years old. I don’t have the tool to remove the plastic collar so I have never re-greased them, still work.
I suspected as much. The way of the world these days. I still have a pair of ATAC XS which I’ve had for years and one of my mates is still using a pair of Aliums…
Great… Mind you, I’ve been using my XTRs 3 seasons of Scottish cross and some winter mountain biking and they’re still working like new. Fingers crossed.
I second the durability of older Time pedals. Some of the newer lighter ones have had bearing or axle problems, albeit still lasted at least two CX seasons.
I’m using a set of old Time ATAC XS Ti’s on my gravel bike. They must be 15 years old now and are still in great shape. Love the old Times. The float of the ATAC pedals are the closest to Speedplays I use on my road bikes. For the OP, it looks like the trade-off is durability of SPD (especially the 520’s) and float of the new ATAC’s.
