Wide shoes: why you need them and which brand makes the best | Bike Flat Pedals

More expensive pedals will also be lighter, and will usually use more quality parts, making them longer lasting.

The XC5s are available in either black (as tested) or a lighter grey/orange option. Additional laces are provided, with our black sample supplied with both orange and grey laces. The shoes span a size range of EU38-50, all in a single width option. A women’s-specific version is available too, spanning sizes EU36-44 and in a black/magenta colourway.

Also: Read the manual! Some cleats have easy release/harder release placement options—choose the setup that matches your skill. "It’s worth spending the time to get it right," Compton says.

Still, sandal-superfans hold steadfast, and it’s this dogged passion and Shimano’s willingness to cater for this segment of the market that grants the lowly SPD sandal a place in my heart.

Speedplay pedals are always touted as being super light, but the cleat on the shoe looks like it weighs a lot more than a simple plastic look type cleat. Out of interest what is the total system weight including cleats for the lightest from each brand?

A new chairlift-assisted mtb trail network is being planned as part of a mountain bike park near Sydney.

 Clearly you’re triggered by my positive reaction and descended into some maddened state ranting about damascene, puns and post-purchase-rationalisations. 

For obvious reasons, I’m doing all my riding in winter boots at the moment. I treated myself to a pair of Shimano MW7 boots. Nice and comfy, stiff soled, but not impressed with the new design. I used to be able to get away with the odd ‘dab in a stream’ with my old MW80’s, but the new ones have a lycra tongue hidden under a flap which quickly lets water in when they’re submerged, as opposed to the older design with a waterproof leather tongue. Summer riding is done in a pair of Lake SPD boots.

Look clearly you’re ranting and couldn’t get to grips with them, which is fair enough. But what’s problematic is that if someone else has a positive experience with them, you try to contort their experience into a negative. That’s a bit childish. 

Asymmetric cleats allow you to tailor things even further, with a 13- or 17-degree release angle (though I found the latter a little hard on the knees).

The Shimano PD-A600 pedals offer excellent support and stability when paired with the right shoes, but it’s not hard to see how things can be less-than-optimal otherwise. The quality of the interface will also degrade over time as the shoe lugs – and the pedal body itself – wear.

Without question, the laces are the defining feature and are a contrast from what’s expected of the Japanese manufacturer. These laces flow in a traditional orientation from the knuckle of your toes through to the top of the shoe’s tongue. At the forefoot, the laces deviate through short loops connected directly to the shoe’s upper, the goal being to help tension and wrap the upper more snugly around the curviest part of your foot.