Mountain Biking - What do you think about Shimano SP-M515?

These pedals come stock on the bike im buying and i have heard a lot of different experiences with them. I went over to MTBreview.com and it seems some people can not get out of them, other reviews counter with the pedals were incorrectly set and that is what the problem was in the other negative reviews. Have any of you ever used this pedal before, how easy was exitting the pedal and if you experienced any problems with them? I have used clipless pedals before, LOOK road bike pedals, and set them up myself relatively easy should these pose a problem to me? Here is the review page of the pedals, http://www.mtbreview.com/reviews/Pedal/product_22420.shtml , and if you look down towards the middle and the end of the reviews you will notice a lot of bad feedback. About every 5 reviews there is a person that comes in and defends the pedals and says that the only problems the others are having is in connection to them not setting them correctly. If you had a bad experience or know other bad things about these pedals can you suggest a better MTB pedal? Thanks in advance for any info or experience with these pedals-Matt.

tokus,

I currently use the Shimano M515 pedals on my road bike because I already had SPD clipless pedals on my MTB and didn't want to get a whole new set of shoes to ride the road bike. I have found that they are a bit different to get out of than the Shimano M536 pedals that I use on my mountain bike. I feel that even when I have set them up correctly(I have used clipless pedals for several years) they are a bit tight to get out of sometimes. It could just be personal preference though, As different people are more comfortable with different kinds of pedals and release tensions. I would say that they would be fine for the time being. If you don't like them, you could always try to sell them off and pick up a new pair of pedals. If you haven't bought the bike yet, most good shops will switch out the pedals for you before you buy it. They will usually give you credit for the pedals they are taking off to use towards a different set. You can probably also get them swapped for free when buying the bike.

As for a pedal I would recommend in the lower price range, I have been very happy with the Shimano M536's I have been using. I got them as my first set of off-road clipless pedals and now race on them, almsot two years later. They have held up very well through numerous rock-bashings and abuse. They also shed mud fairly well. They have a bit of a medal "platform" around the cleats, and this gives you a little more stability when remounting the bike in a hurry after running it up something, like in a race. They are not however, the lightest pedals on the market, but they aren't terrible for weight.

If you've got the money though, I'd say go for the Crank Brothers egg beaters or Time Atac's. These pedals are both light and have excellent mud-clearing ability. Both pedals have gotten very good reviews in just about every magazine and internet site, such as www.mtbr.com . The Time Atak's will run you about 70 and the egg-beaters around 90-100 bucks.

Good luck in your search. Hope your happy with the bike!



ALSO: Don't forget to get the right cleat to go with the type of pedals. Some shoes are only comaptible with only certain cleat/pedal combos.

I currently have 3 pair of 515's(me 2 ,wife one)and my inlaws have 4 pair on 2 tandems and i think one other pair.Anyway we love them.Adjust them loose nad you'll have no prblem getting out.As they wear in they get easier.I have had to tighten adjustment recently.I like them a lot though.No problems whatsoever.

Shimano SPD pedals are great pedals for sure. I've used several different types and currently have two pair, a set of 646's and some low end ones(don't know the model #'s). I've got a lot of bikes! There is not a lot to go wrong with these pedals, getting out of them will be slightly different than your Look road pedals, but you'll learn very quickly! I suggest you start out with the spring tension set all the way loose and then tighten to your liking as you go!

Personally, I've been using a pair of Time A.T.A.C.'s on my main XC ride with the composite bodies (msrp @ $110.00) you can get the same pedal in an aluminum body for less, or the carbon fiber body with titanium axles' for A LOT more! These pedals are very easy to use, shed mud incredibly well, have held up to significant abuse and have had 0 maintenance on em, been swapped between my mt. bike, road bike and the spinning bikes at the gym.

I'm tempted to get a set of the egg beaters and will do so if and when my Time's every die!

L8R

I have 2 pairs of 515 and 1 pair of 434 pedals and like them a lot. Like someone else said keep them loose and you won't have any trouble. One other things is they have 2 types of cleats. A single release and multi release and I will say from experience especially on a mountain bike go with the multi releasd which I think are sh-55. I just about killed myself with the singles because I had them adusted to tight and there is only one way to release. They are great pedals though for a reasonable amount.

I was just about to post this when I read gabikers' response. I found just the opposite to be true. I've got two pair of 515's and one pair of 536's. The 536's are heavy compared to the 515's. Anyway, I've ridden with the 515's for a year with no problems at all. Got a second set for my cross bike and set them up the same. But the release would vary greatly. I noticed the cleats I had put on were SH55's instead of the SH51's that I had been using for the past year. The 51's have always been very consistant compared to the 55's. I haven't read the reviews, but I wonder if this might be part of the reason for the negative reactions to the 515 pedals. Possibly some people used 55's and some 51's.

Dirtgrinder,
Well I guess you should send me your 55's and I will send you my 51's and we will both be happy. :) I found when I have the 55's pretty loose on my mountain bike I can release either twisting my foot out, in or just pulling straight up on them. When I used the 51's about the only way to release was to twist to the inside, but that was on the 434 pedals. The only cleat I have used with the 515's is the 55. Too many numbers here you know.

It is funny though how some people think a product is great and others think it is totally garbage. Don't really know what it is unless some of the products are great and some are not. I would imagine it is all of us are different and do things different. Oh well enough of this.

Later...

You're right GA, you just never know how something's going to work for you until you try it.:) I also think the shoes have an enormous effect on pedals, cleats etc. Some have taller rubber cleats which make the steel cleats fit tighter; and the position of the rubber cleats I think sometimes effect how well you can rotate your foot in them. Oh well, I guess that means you just have to buy more toys until you find the right one for you! ;)

I had 515s on my road bike, seemed very similar to my other SPDs, the shoe setup makes the most difference to ease of use.

The bike shop destroyed them when I had them replaced with proper road pedals. They must have been put on by a gorilla, I used a car torque wrench and applied 40x recommended install torque and still couldn't remove them.

Dirtgrinder,
Come to think of it I use Cannondale MTB shoes with the 434 pedals and they do have some pretty aggressive rubber cleats so maybe that was part of the problem. They may have been blocking my release on one side.

I like the idea of buying more toys though.

I hated my 515's. Nothing but trouble for me. When i said i HATED them i meant HATE. They're heavy, dont work well in mud, and take forever to get set right.
I bought eggbeaters and all those problems dissapeared, If you like'em you like'em and if you don't you don't.
No one can tell you what you can and can't like. I didn't like them and switched and love my new pedals. It's all personal really and the only thing people can give you is advice
but my advice is THEY SUCK

my .02