I recently installed the pedals and I took them out for a ride and here are my initial thoughts. The M959s that this pedal is replacing has had very good reviews from our test reviewers and generally regarded to be a very good pedal in the industry. So when it came time to introduce the new line of XTR, Shimano didn't really have to reinvent the wheel but rather clean it up a bit and shave off a bit of weight while claiming to be more rigid then before.
Installation
Installation was a breeze as with any pedal really. You just have to find a big enough allen key as this pedal doesn't have the option of installing with a 15mm wrench. It's a fairly large allen key so keep it handy in your tool bag if you plan to remove your pedals for transportation.
Look and Feel
The pedals look great with the 2 tone matt dark grey and light titanium grey coloured aluminum body coupled with the shinier silver chromo spindle. It matches well with the other 2007 XTR parts. The XTR logos on top and side of the pedal lets your friends know that you're riding XTR. It's obvious but not overly obnoxious. If you're paying for XTR quality, then it's fine to display it on your ride but it's nice that it's understated rather than look at me bling. The 2007 line has a more industrial feel to it that I much prefer rather than the jewel smooth finish of the 2006 line.
Both pedal bearings feel smooth out of the box with no binding or roughness. No play detected so it is what you'd expect in an XTR branded component. There is a way to adjust the tension on both side of each pedal but I don't see an indicator as to how much tension is set. So you basically have to set the tension by eyeing how much the set screw has turned. It would have been nice to have a visual indicator but it's not a deal breaker by any means. It's not something that is adjusted very often anyway so not a big deal.
Shimano hasn't had too many bad apples when it comes to pedals. Other manufacturers certainly offer other types of pedals and certain pedals work better for different people. My suggestion is to try as much as you can even though it can be a hassle changing cleats going from one pedal to the next but well worth the effort in my opinion.
Technical
The trail is a mix of everything thrown in except for really thick mud as the weather was fairly dry and cool. There was morning dew in the air so some parts of the trail was quite soft and the rocks were quite slippery at times. So this trail is just about perfect for testing these pedals.
Pedals in a nutshell have a pretty simple function. They have to clip in when the rider steps into them and clip out when the rider is finished riding. If only it were that simple. First of all, there's float where the pedal allows the natural movement of the leg to pedal without unclipping. People in general would benefit with some form of float in the pedal as everyone's pedal stroke is different and having your foot locked in one position can be pretty hard on the knees. There's angle of release, different pedals have different angles and Time ATAC pedals allow you to change the angle by switching the cleat around from right foot to left foot. There's also tension adjustment, this is the amount of force you need to twist your foot to release from the pedals. Again, some pedals have an adjustment for this and others do not. And last but not least, the pedals have to work in varying conditions from dry dusty trails to wet, clay sticking onto everything mud. Oh and they have to be light weight, sealed well and be able to take a beating against rocks, logs and other hard inanimate objects along the trails. So not only do pedals have to perform well in different conditions, they almost have to be able to read minds to know when the rider wants to get in and out of them. There's a reason why there are only a handful of reputable clipless pedal manufacturers in the industry.
Ride
Having said all that, I think the Shimano pedals does pretty well in all the above points. They're a respectable 325g without the cleats. Not the heaviest pedals but not the lightest either.
They're very easy to clip in so you don't need to put too much pressure to clip into or out of them. The cleat/pedal interface is designed so that you likely won't don't need to shave anything off the bottom of your shoe to make the pedal fit. The pedal is easy to "find" so to speak meaning that you don't have to hunt for the pedal while trying to clip back into them once off the bike. Simply wiggling your feet on top of the pedal is pretty much all you need to mate the cleat to the pedal and step in to clip in. Done and done. The audible and feel feedback from the pedal is also very good. You know when you're clipped in as you can clearly hear and feel the pedal lock. There is nothing more annoying than thinking you're clipped in and having your leg fly off as soon as you hit the next set of rocks or bump in the trail then humbling trying to clip in.
The pedal offers a generous amount of float so people with knee problems shouldn't have any problems with this pedal. The angle of release from the pedal is non adjustable but is at an angle that won't cause many issues. So the pedal has enough float but not so much that you have to rotate your foot 90 degrees to get out. The tension is adjustable so as you become more comfortable with the trail and or the pedals, you can increase the tension so you don't unclip unintentionally.
On the trail, the pedals work like they're suppose to. Clipping in and out was a breeze and I didn't have to fight the pedals trying to clip in or out. I didn't have to force my feet into the pedals trying to clip in or fall flat on the side trying to get out. Nothing more embarrassing then falling sideways coming to a stop to greet your friends. Over the technical sections, I was able to half unclip while maneuvering on the bike and simply clip in once I cleared it. Very cool.
On the muddier sections when the shoe/cleat got more packed with mud, the audible click and feel of the pedals clipping in was a bit less but still noticeable. I would say they're much better than comparable Frogs but quieter than Time ATACs. However there is no mistake that once I'm clipped in, I'm in and no mistake that I may or may not be. The true test comes when the conditions get worse or if the mud is thicker and stickier.
One thing I did notice when the pedal / cleat gets wet is that the pedal body gets a little slippery. The pedal body is not a platform style pedal so can be a bit tricky when trying to pedal unclipped. Not a major issue but depending on where you ride and what kind of trails you do, if you need to unclip and ride some sections, a larger platform pedal may be more suitable. So mileage may vary. Look at what others are riding in your area and that'll give you a pretty good idea of where to start.
All in all, a very positive ride with the pedals. I would probably increase the tension a tad for the next ride but straight from the box, it's pretty good already.
Positive
- lightweight (enough)
- does not have a steep learning curve so anyone picking them up should be able to install and ride without having to fall all over the place to get used to the pedal
- Excellent quality fitting of XTR brand, smooth bearings
- Durable (as past Shimano pedals have shown)
Negative
- No tension indicator on pedal
- Pedal bit slippery when wet (smallish platform)
