Shimano PD-M520 SPD Clipless mountain bike pedals

Shimano PD-M520 SPD Clipless mountain bike pedals

FYI, this and the next few reviews tie into my last review of the Reid Falco Elite as in they are all road bike related. They will generally be shorter and can be thought of as an extension to the bike review. This is to balance out the fact that it's not entirely random (not that this blog is 'entirely' random, but you get the idea).

Durianrider, an Adelaide based YouTuber has a few videos on cycling tips for new cyclists. One of those is to get mountain bike, or touring pedals and shoes, as the standard road shoes while lighter, make you walk funny at the cafe. A quick search online revealed that the M520s should work with any SPD compatible shoe, of which there are a large range, so I bought the pedals with a mind to get some shoes locally where I could try on some sizes.


Not going to lie. The main driving force behind me choosing these pedals was the price. They were AU$26 delivered from ChainReactionCycles in the UK. The cheapest other pedals I could find locally were about twice that for pickup in store.
Also they were white which goes well with my bike colour scheme.

They are made of aluminium and chromoly steel, and are probably the heaviest SPD pedals in this category of PD-M pedals. There are other heavier pedals from Shimano but they usually have something extra like a flat platform or are reversible for use with non-clip shoes.


Given that the toe-clip pedals I was replacing weighed more than the M520s and had also already contributed to all 2 of my crashes, I looked forward to the day I could swap them over.

A few days later they arrived.

The pedals were easy enough to install with the advice I had been given when I bought my shoes: The left pedal needs to be threaded the opposite way from intuitive. The right pedal is as you would think, just like a normal threaded screw. My shoe purchase also had some lithium grease thrown in which came in very useful as anti-seizing agent on the threads.

Of all the upgrades to make to a bike, I think clipless pedals are right near the top in terms of how they affect the way the rider interacts with the bike. When in the saddle, there is a reassuring feeling that you can thrash the crank through the full rotation of the pedal cycles and not worry about your foot slipping off. Out of the saddle, that same reassurance is there, and also provides the ability to lift up with the back foot to help get up climbs easier. The release mechanism is also very deliberate and this aids in getting your foot out quickly to prevent toppling over (something that can't be said about the toe-clips).

Unfortunately, on my first outing with these pedals, I crashed rather badly (but not at all due to the pedals). Long story short, my right pedal took most of the damage that was bike related. The skin on the left side of my body didn't fare as well. After getting some help from the other cyclists in the immediate area, I was happy to discover that though most of the outward facing name plate on the pedal was sheered off, the pedal itself, clip system, and the spindle still worked as before. There was quite literally no functional damage. I was able to ride home with no issues.

Since recovering, I've ridden a few hundred more kms and they are still going strong. I can firmly state that these pedals are tough and do everything they claim to do and at an amazing price.


The Good:
- Price. Cheapest SPD compatible pedals around.
- Build quality. Survived a crash taking most of the initial impact and related scraping on the road surface.
- Clipless. More pedaling versatility than flats and a bazillion times better than toe clips.
- Colours. Comes in silver, black, and white.
- Narrow. Since they don't provide a platform for the entire foot, the overall width of the bike is about 5-10cm narrower. This is great for getting it in and out of my car boot, and walking beside the bike through narrow or semi-blocked off doorways.

The Bad:
- Weight. Probably the heaviest Shimano SPD pedal offering only clipless with no platform or dual function.
- Addictive. They can make you go faster. This is both a good and bad thing.
- No included/pre- grease. You need to supply your own grease or anti-seize compound when installing.
- Nothing. There is literally nothing else bad I can think of about these pedals.

Overall:
Clipless pedals are amazing and there are a multitude of brands and models out there. These are the most basic of basic pedals but it gets the job done, and is durable at an extremely good price point. For most road cyclists in my situation (eg. not racing or doing 100km+ a day), this pedal will cover 99%. The other 1% would be those with specific physical needs or those who cannot guarantee the availability of their SPD shoes (in which case they will need the dual function pedal). As always, more can be spent to go to a better looking or lighter pedal, but apart from longevity, functionally there would be little difference. If these wear out, just get a new pair. They are so cheap.

Score:
9.9/10

Up next:
Shimano 2014 SH-XC30 Mountain bike shoes.