Longterm Review: Shimano XC7 vs XC9 SPD Mountain Bike Shoes | Carbon Fahrrad Umwerfer Installationssatz

In Issue #113 of Singletrack Magazine, we tested 17 different pedals as part of our Flat Pedal Group Test

The fit is superb, the size 45 shoes fitting my feet as good as any other top-end shoe I’ve ever tested and sizing well compared to other brands. The twin Boa dials let you adjust the fit with precision and pressure is spread very evenly over the entire foot. There are no hot spots or pinch points. The Boa dials can be easily tightened and loosed on the fly too, and popping them up releases the tension so you can easily and quickly get out of them.

The winter glove issue has been addressed by Shimano by increasing the paddle/ shifter button sizes, plus of course having the fully customisable options through e-Tube. So again, not really an issue eh? 

Now in my 3rd year of Di2 ownership and it is running as sweet as the day it left the bike shop. Never missed a gear, absolutely hassle free, once ran out of power because I failed to check. Only irritating aspect is remembering where I put the charging cable for safe keeping.

I asked Lohmeyer about this, and he claimed to have developed a shoe to specifically house the Pitbull cleats and make them less obtrusive (see image above). That may be a better option for anyone who uses these in town because the cleats are a hassle on any standard road shoe.

But if you have knees that are in any way fragile, or you want pedals that are incredibly easy to enter and release but fit stiff-soled road racing shoes, their free float and double-sided designs make Speedplays well worth considering.

Taking that into account, the A600’s support platform is actually fairly wide. The four degrees of free float also feels rather, well, free — not quite as silky-smooth as a set of fresh and clean road pedals and cleats, mind you, but not too far off, either.

Every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a real insight into whether it works or not. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective, and we strive to ensure that all opinions expressed are backed up by facts, but reviews are always a reviewer’s informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don’t intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores. It reflects both a product’s function and value. Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad. Here’s what they mean:

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The speed I can clip in now off the lights is wicked. Actually feels a bit show-offy it’s that smooth and fast. I also rub a little lube on the cleat spring every weekend, that makes it super smooth to clip in too now.

Beloved by Carradice-toting touring types and seemingly every other Northern European cycle tourist, lovers of the SPD sandal delight in telling you how they are the pinnacle of cycling footwear design — unlimited airflow, unrivalled comfort and dodgy tan lines are among the many supposed virtues of the open-toed life.

Ride Concepts Traverse The Traverse takes all the goods from the Skyline and adds an ankle strap for on-the-go adjustment. $160