eggbeaters or spds?

dempsey1

As above

Chunkers1980

I use spds of the 520 and xtr varieties.

cooldad

Flats

stannie

Time ATAC

zbiegu

I used 520 as well but my were with a cage, they clog up with mud easily, i swapped them for eggbeaters. Problem solved

The Rookie

Any Shimano without cage, Ritchey's are good as well, or exustar.

Crank Bro's if you like replacing bearings a lot!

lawman

The Beginner wrote:

Any Shimano without cage, Ritchey's are good as well, or exustar.

Crank Bro's if you like replacing bearings a lot!

Why shimanos without the cage? I'm no seasoned SPD user but I've found the extra cage is much more supportive and stops the pedal flipping over when trying to clip back in. It gives abit more protection to the mechanism too if you happen to smash a pedal into the rock. Like I say I've only recently switched, but trying a caged SPD back to back to one without I fail to see why anyone not too fussed about weight would go for the ones without a cage.

Chunkers1980

Cages are pointless, use stiffer shoes and it is not needed. I fail to see how it helps in any way, if it flips over you clip in the other side

The Rookie

A cage doesn't protect it as it sits lower (or higher from below) than the mechanism, I never have a clip in problem so a cage wouldn't help with a problem I don't have, also most decent SPD soles are stiff enough (they should be) that they never touch the cage, so there is no support, yes they also add weight.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=67249 Is i presume what you are referring to.

They also cost circa 1/3 more!

lawman

Yep thems the ones, I've got a pair of those and the xt version and they are great, the extra platform helps me when I'm unclipped and rest my foot on the pedal, I also find it easier to relocate the pedal and clip back in faster than the normal shimano pedals on my road bike. As I say I've only recently switched after years on flats, but I certainly prefer the cage type

warpcow

Time pedals if you want the float of Crank Brothers but the reliability of Shimano. Or Shimano if you want... Shimano. I'm also of the cages are pointless school, unless it's more towards the CB Mallet/Time Z Control type where the extra support can be useful in fast, technical situations.

stubs

The Shimano cage isnt for the foot to rest on the sole shouldnt touch the cage when clipped in. They are designed so there is a bigger area for your foot when your seaching for the pedal. The cage also protects the binding. When I started on them I was amazed the difference it makes clipping in no rolling off the pedal and smacking the back of your leg as your flying down some techy woodwork or rock garden. Its one of those you have to try it to understand it things.

The Rookie

stubs wrote:

Its one of those you have to be inept at clipping in to understand it things.

FTFY

A stated, never had a problem finding the pedal and clipping in the first time it gets on a downstroke, on that basis the cage wouldn't help!

stubs

The Beginner wrote:

stubs wrote:

Its one of those you have to be inept at clipping in to understand it things.

FTFY

A stated, never had a problem finding the pedal and clipping in the first time it gets on a downstroke, on that basis the cage wouldn't help!

Your so lucky you always clip in 100% of the time, unfortunately I'm not perfect and need help occasionally.

Greer_

I went from M424's (caged) to M520's and never looked back. A lot of our new trails are narrow and lined with rocks (which I happen to keep bashing my pedals off) but other than the pedals looking battered, there's is nothing wrong with them. If I was still using the caged versions, it would most likely be smashed to bits by now.

I do miss the pedal when clipping in occasionally, but more often than not its because they're clogged with mud - a quick stamp and they're back to normal again. I'd recommend the cage for newbies to clip ins, but after having used the M520s for a year I don't see any benefit of the cage.

Chunkers1980

I don't think we are talking caged pedals as such, more the new style trail pedals as opposed to the race 'normal' spds, like m530 or xt trail with the 5 after mxx5.

bennett_346

The Beginner wrote:

stubs wrote:

Its one of those you have to be inept at clipping in to understand it things.

FTFY

A stated, never had a problem finding the pedal and clipping in the first time it gets on a downstroke, on that basis the cage wouldn't help!

But if you had a cage you could clip in first time 110% of the time!

Chunkers1980

That makes no sense, it is impossible.

omegas

I use without cage M540 and with cages M647 for years and for some unknown reason caged are easier to clip into.

allthegearnoidea

okay, the beginners info on eggbeaters refers to the Old style, where you'd be looking at 18 months for a set of bearings tops, and would often end up with the pedal attatched to the shoe and not the spindle! but since then they have dramatically improved the design, aas it was a rebuild kit was only a tenner anyways,
Crank brothers dont offer any tension adjustment, the springs are set and for the first half a dozen rides they are quite stiff to clip into but they become a Great pedal,
i went form CB's cands to Time roc atacs, the times have some adjustment, but even on the minimum compared to the cb's they are a much more solid feel when clipped in, they do loosen over time but a lot slower! mine are over 2 years old now, on original bearings, original cleats, and they are still a Solid platform,
Shimano's are the better choice realistically if your a Newb to spd style pedals, they are cheap - the 520's are often £20! they offer a nice amount of adjustment on the tension so you can have it set to minimum until you get used to it, then wind them up a bit, what i'd suggest is that you start of with the 520's and see how you get on, if you like them then have a look at the time's or cb's, both offer greater float over shimano, iirc shimano are 6 degree, cb's 7 degree and time 8 degree of float, which doesn't sound like much difference but in practice does become more obvious!
as for caged Vs non caged, makes very little difference, my candies were effectively caged, and the times have a minimal cage around them, but, you dont notice when your foots in!!

bennett_346

Chunkers1980 wrote:

That makes no sense, it is impossible.

Well done...

dusk

I personally much prefer spd's, I always found it much harder to clip into eggbeaters and eventually switched back to spd's. I also don't believe the cage makes any noticeable difference.

njee20

Egg Beaters for me. Lighter, shed mud better.

dusk

I tried egg beaters having had clogging problems with old style spd's but the new versions are far more open. I also think spd's are the best performance wise even if they are slightly heavier than other brands.