A love letter to the Shimano SD5 SPD Sandal | Bike Flat Pedals

It took Carrie Watters, an editor, about two hours to get in from Surprise, via Lyft and then the Surprise Express bus. She somehow had the energy to write about it once she got in.

Rode it from Innertkirchen in June, having first done the Grimsel pass in freezing rain & fog. It’s a long old climb, but never feels overly…

So what do we have here in total with the humble Shimano PD-A600 pedals? Good performance, sleek looks, outstanding durability and toughness, and a low price to boot. Sign me up.

 I took my bike to Tenerife recently and there were lots of compliments about how I could hold 90rpm up steep multi hour climbs.  At the end of a long week my legs felt very good and not wrecked like some others 

OWN FR-01 The Kevlar upper is bonded to a Vibram sole, reportedly making this a light and super durable high top. €110.

I’ve found platform clip-in pedals ruin my knees. They can effectively remove the free rotation in the clip-in pedal because the sole is in contact with the platform. How good a grip the pedal has on the shoe depends on the combination. I learnt to avoid them many years ago… YMMV

Many riders swear by flat pedals for mountain biking, and the flat-pedal shoes from FiveTen are both legendary and widely popular among riders. Not to leave clipless riders out in the cold, FiveTen offers the Hellcat, a flat-style shoe that’s designed to work with clipless pedals. Does this shoe offer the best of both worlds? Read on to find out.

For mountain bikers, Shimano pedals also represent a solid investment. In our opinion, they provide basically the gold standard compromise of weight, durability and performance — and typically for Shimano can be found at very reasonable prices.

Shimano’s SPD-SL system has remained fundamentally unchanged for many years. Each new generation of pedals typically only receives minor improvements, often to slightly reduce weight.

Time’s new Xpro 10 pedals have some notable improvements over the previous Xpresso range, with a wider pedal body, a redesigned cleat that is really hardwearing, and very easy engagement. I really like them and prefer the engagement system to that of Look or Shimano, my only issue being a peculiar squeaking noise that I was getting (but a road.cc colleague didn’t), which Time says it is trying to get to the bottom of…

Herrigstad and Bendiksen pedal the most typical type of e-bike — those with a battery-powered “assist” that comes via pedaling. When you push the pedals on an e-bike, a small motor engages and gives the rider a boost. The more effort applied, the faster the bike will travel — up to a limited speed assist. Most e-bikes, including Herrigstad’s, come with a power to adjust the boost setting from low, such as on flat terrain, to high, such as on a hill.

Ed Fischer, owner of Camas Bike and Sport, is not counting on most potential e-bike customers living near the store to be as civic- or practical-minded as Grall.