Review: Shimano GR7 vs GR9 Flat Pedal Shoes | Bike Flat Pedals

The toe area is lightly reinforced, with some protection given to the big toes. I managed to test this out on both gravel and mountain bike rides, where rocks flipped up were deflected away without a stubbed toe.

Cycling shoes come in various forms and as we have alluded to above, some are better for some riding disciplines than others. Starting with the very basics though, cycling shoes fall into three distinct types:

There isn’t a triple option for EPS. In fact I don’t think there’s a triple option for any e-shifting system.

At 333g, these are some of the lightest — and priciest — pedals on the market. A titanium axle helps save 50g (but adds £140/$150) over the less fancy Stamp 7s. Otherwise, they’re more or less the same. 

Both the pedal and cleat appear to be impressively durable – after months of use they still look like new.

Not so with the 3-bolt designs, where the cleat is specific to the pedal brand, if not the specific pedal.

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We still wanted to challenge our habits. For one week in December, some editors, reporters and producers agreed to leave their car at home and try a carless commute for a day into our downtown Phoenix newsroom, near Second and Van Buren streets.

Unlike Shimano’s old Saint and DX flat pedals though, the pins used on the XT body don’t thread in from the back. Instead, Shimano uses steel grub screws that thread directly into the pedal body. This presents an issue if you grind a pin against a rock, as you’re also grinding away the surface that you would insert a 2mm hex key into for installing or removing the pins. Once this happens, it’s a case of getting out the ‘negotiator’ (pliers) to remove those busted pins.

The interior side of the nylon sole is moulded in a gridded pattern, something that attempts to optimise stiffness while reducing weight. While I can’t say I actually noticed it, this type of design does increase the stack height.

Can you handle that? No-one here is saying Surly sucks and didn’t know how to use Speedplays. So don’t take offence. We’re not saying we’re more skilled than you, or more technical than you, or better riders than you. We just got on with them, you didn’t.