double sided pedals ?

http://bike.shimano.com/catalog/cycle/products/component.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441763012&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302053522&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181785&bmUID=1201540053254

I have had the Shimano PD-M424, which are double sided SPD, but have a frame that you can use with trainers. They are fine (and very useful if you need to ride without cycling shoes on), perhaps a little slippery when it is wet. Very easy to clip into/out of, even with the cage and comfortable in normal shoes.

There is a slightly more up market version, the PD-M545.

The 424s look really nice, but I've used pedals very similar and not liked them. They may not have been quite the same in that the SPD bit protruded a lot from the cage so despite it being spring-loaded so supposedly it swivels out of the way, in trainers you always have a bump poking into your foot and slightly undermining your contact with the serrated cage unless you're wearing very soft trainers. The 424s look similar, though the SPD bit might not stick out as much as it appears to in the pic.

"make progress without having to 'clip-in' " - I never found that possible with mine, the SPD cleat always found its way into the pedal, but as I say they were a different brand though similar design.

I really like 324s and the alloy-cage equivalent, of which I can't remember the model number but still have a pair that are going strong after well over ten years. They have a cage one side and SPD the other. People have slagged them off a lot so they may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I find they always end up hanging the same way due to where the weight is, so I got used to slipping my foot in from behind to engage the SPD or approaching it from the front to flip onto the cage side. This means that by choosing the cage side I can avoid clipping in even with SPD shoes on when there's a tricky bit coming up where I might not want to be clipped in. In the heat of an off-road stunt the pedal spins about and you can't always engage the side you want - perhaps the reason for gripes, but I've not had problems in normal use, I usually anticipate a dodgy bit and prepare by getting my foot on the right side of the pedal.


Overall, other comments here seem to favour the 424s... I might try them myself!

Drooool. That looks absolutely superb.

When they hang loose (as it were ) do they end up in the same position each time, meaning if you spin them do they come to rest in a position so you can choose which side you pick up without having to look down?

The 324s come to rest vertically with the SPD facing backwards and the cage facing forwards so you can pretty much always reliably choose which side you want.


PS those 530s look like they clear mud really well.