2005trek1200

Building a new cross bike and thinking about pedals.

Narrowed down to Shimano XTRs and Candy 3s, wondering what everyone else is running here...

I have m540s on mine now and even slightly muddy courses FUBAR the whole setup pretty bad, so am hesitant to go with XTRs, but have heard so many good things. Like the mud shedding qualities of egg beaters, but would prefer a platform.

-m

ColonelJLloyd 

In to hear the input.

All of my bikes use SPD and I really don't want to invest in a different type of pedal and another pair of shoes right now. I, too, really like a platform. All of my road bikes have Shimano A520s and my errand bike and tandem A530s.

idc

All my bikes have Crank Brothers Candy 1s on them. They have a slight platform but still have the 4-sided entry so are easier entry than SPDs, imo. I used to have Wellgo brand SPD pedals before I tried Crank Brothers. At a street price of ~$40 it was easy to get a pair for each bike (and have plenty of cleats).

Note: I've only done one CX race and it wasn't muddy, so I can't comment on that!

marqueemoon

Cheapo SPDs. The only time I have major trouble with them is when sand and mud combine.

My geared bike has a low bb, so I'm good for one or two pedal strikes per race.

I'd like to try ATACs, but for what it would cost to switch it doesn't seem worth the trouble right now.

Cynikal 

Various Crank Bro's. Never had an issue with getting in to them regardless of the conditions.

cruiserhead

Get the regular eggbeaters. You can clip in no matter the conditions. Candy's platform blocks the easy ingress if they are caked up. They are still better than most but not as good as fully open eggbeaters.

2005trek1200

Agreed, would like to try as well. Looks like it would really shed the crap out of mud, but price and weight are a concern.

ldmataya 

I went from m540 to XTR after trying both XTR and Crank bros in the dry. I know eggbeaters have an advantage in big mud, but with XTR I get better starts and reclip faster, and XTR is much better at reclipping than 540s or Ritchey. I use lots of lube on race day (usually spray Pam or WD40) and that helps. Jingle Cross (Iowa) was super muddy last year and I had to run down Mt. Krumpit with a flat - XTRs clipped in fine that day, but then at Nationals last January they got caked up pretty bad in the mud-thatch.

Commodus

I loved my ATACs. Never any problems, truly a set and forget part.

My SPDs caked up, like everyone's. I see too many broken eggbeaters to try anything from that company. The Look Quartz's work okay, but I had to modify my shoe with a dremel quite a bit to get them fully engaged.

fietsbob

Still have an old pair of Lyotard 460D.. the pedal, Pre Spud..

Toe Clips doubled , for slot cleat SiDis, and the
Rivat un cleated but very Run able .. ones (that dont fit anymore)..

pedal Flipping after barriers was another race skill to master..

wide .. trick learned was cut the strap and screw it to the sides of the pedal
so mud on your shoed fell thru the Pedal.. not sit on top of the strap running thru..

New stuff , Time ATAC Aluminum are reasonably priced.

About to resell the V1 pair I have Of those. [QBP stocks Parts]

Andy_K 

I use Egg Beater 2's on my CX race bike and Candy 3's on my commuter. The Candy platform is nice for commuting, but I tried it for CX racing a couple of years ago and found the platform to be more hindrance than help.

Yotsko

ATACs all the way. I've used them on my mountain bikes since getting fed up with mud-caked SPDs in 2001....translates very well to cx.

simonaway427

Switched from 540's to Eggbeaters and haven't looked back. I also like that if I happen to miss a clip in, I can still put some power down while I search for the cleat. The shape of the eggbeats combined with my shoe MTB treads minimizes my foot slipping off. I could never do that with my 540s....too slick.

2005trek1200

interesting comment there about still being able to put power down when missing a clip-in. that's been my one argument for not getting egg-beaters... hmm/

marqueemoon

I've just heard too many stories about Eggbeaters asploding, plus the cleats are made of butter.

midschool22

I have the Shimano M520's. No major problems. The races in my area are mostly dry with no mud. Only once did a small rock get lodged in the pedal to where I could not clip in but I could clip in on the other side.

It was a million to one shot doc. Million to one.

LOL.

caloso

I have Shimano M540. They're okay, I guess. They hold my feet when I"m pedaling and release them when I dismount, so what's more than that?

jfmckenna

Me too. Cheap and effective. Also easy to get in and out of and don't clog up too badly.