Shimano m520 spd pedal - any good?

[jashburnham]

Bought some last week - changed form SPD-L to SPD on the commuter along with some SPIUK MTB shoes - means I can now pootle about London without needing spare shoes in the bag. So far so good. Not a patch on my Speedplay Zero's but they serve their purpose very well.

 

[nilling]

Come on PunkyP support your LBS - late night opening till 8pm on a Mon and Thu

 

[Headgardener]

Hi all. I have just gone clipless with a pair of Revoloution Duo Contact pedals from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op which are cliples one side and flat the other so for short journeys I don't need to wear SPD shoes. Still practicing clipping in but getting there, at least I haven't fallen off yet.

 

[DLB]

i haved had those pedals for a short while and they are, so far, pretty good for the money. I'd recommend them.

 

[punkypossum]

Come on PunkyP support your LBS - late night opening till 8pm on a Mon and Thu

But Merlin is not my lbs - have never even been...and my current lbs is so family orientated they don't even sell clipless pedals as far as I can see! Might cause a bit of a problem when it comes to fitting the little monsters!

 

[Blue]

The pedals aren't such a problem - but do spend a bit of time getting the cleat position correct.

 

[nilling]

When I needed some new pedals on my Dawes my lbs fitted them for free

You cannot beat good service

 

[rootes]

- but do spend a bit of time getting the cleat position correct.

correct or you will get knee trouble!

you should aim for your heels to be a bit in towards the bike (slightly)

the quickest way to get the cleat lined up is to take a bendy plastic ruler and lay it along the sole of the show so that it lines up with the centre of the toe and the centre of the heal drawn a line with a marker pen.. align the cleat along this line then adjust cleat front to back along this line to get the correct feel for your foot.

Si

 

[piedwagtail91]

correct or you will get knee trouble!

you should aim for your heels to be a bit in towards the bike (slightly)
Si

not quite right,as a starting point thats ok, but the angle of the foot is unimportant, you need both feet to feel like they are in a natural and unforced position.
both my feet are heel to the right, i.e. my left in to the pedal, my right out away from the pedal..
if i set them up as the quote i'd be in agony.
some of my clubmates positions are more extreme than mine, but they work for them.

 

[rootes]

not quite right,as a starting point thats ok, but the angle of the foot is unimportant, you need both feet to feel like they are in a natural and unforced position.
both my feet are heel to the right, i.e. my left in to the pedal, my right out away from the pedal..
if i set them up as the quote i'd be in agony.
some of my clubmates positions are more extreme than mine, but they work for them.

yes should of said that is the starting point and only 'slightly' - did receive shimano training when I used to work at my LBS when spd first came out (had one of the first pairs of M100 shoes!).. but good point being comfortable + remember to make use of the float in the cleat system - spd is rubbish compared to some otehr system but hey

on the issue in setting up spd as apposed to look type cleats is that as you tighten then up they indent the shoe sole, making further minor adjustment difficult as the cleat tends to slip back into the original indents you can for setting purposed put some thick card under the cleat during setting to lessen the indenting - then remove before fully tightening..

also a dab of coppa slip on the threads and countersink helps with gettting them out in the future.

Si

ps if you have heal out you must have funny legs ;-)

 

[piedwagtail91]

if you think i've got funny legs ,you should see some of my clubmates

i'd definitely agree with the coppaslip, it saves a lot of grief if you need to change the cleats later.

i haven't got round to buying coppaslip yet so just take out one bolt at a time and grease it every couple of months.

same for the pedal/crank threads.

 

[punkypossum]

What do you grease them with? And what is this grey plastic tool for stripping them down that someone mentioned?

 

[piedwagtail91]

dunno about the tool, i just use some grease i've had for years, just to stop the pedals seizing into the cranks,i ruined a good pair once trying to get them off!
i've never dismantled the pedals to grease the insides of them.

 

[Christopher]

Agree with Piedwagtail. I have two sets of Shimano MTB pedals, the M520 and the next model up (M540?) and have never had to strip either pair down over years of use, but have had to take the axle out of my old Looks (PP296) several times to try and get them to turn better.

I do oil the guts of the Shimano pedals sometimes with sewing machine oil, lovely fine stuff it is and gets right in there without dripping everywhere.

I was reading that you get hotfoot with Shimano SPD's if the shoes don't have a stiff enough sole, I get hotfoot with my Shimano shoes but not with my Specialised ones.

 

[maurice]

I use loctite on my cleat bolts. Having them go loose whe you are still clipped in is not an experience I savour.