Cyclocross - Crank Brothers Eggbeater or Shimano XT pedals?

I am looking at buy a set of new pedals. Right now I am not using a clipless pedal.

Since I cannot try these out anywhere locally, I am wondering which pedal un-clips the quickest and easiest?

The crank brothers are the easiest to get out of IMHO. Pedals can be a matter of taste. I use both SPD's and crank bro's and I prefer the crank bros for cross.

I ride eggbeater,butEggbeaters bearings are poor.
cleats wear out fast.
Shoes wear out faster,too,because the pedal works itself into the sole.

Shimano is much more durable.

I ride eggbeater,butEggbeaters bearings are poor.
Yes but rebuilt kits are cheap and easy to do. Every tried to rebuilt a shimano, its a pain.

cleats wear out fast.
Its the case with any brass cleat pedal system like CB or Time

Shoes wear out faster,too,because the pedal works itself into the sole.
Get the cleat protectors. CB sells them, some shoes even include them.

Shimano is much more durable.
In general yes, but they cost more and weight a lot more.

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When a free crank arm spins around and the pedal whacks you shins, Eggbeaters are also kinder than most any other pedal.

Eggbeaters.
Even the klutzy :twitchy: guy I used to train with could clip in & out of them without drama. Before that it was riduculous :roflmao2: watching him for minutes trying to clip back in.

I'd recommend Time ATAC pedals. I really like mine. I've had them for 3 years now. They are pretty easy to get in and out of, don't get messed up by mud, and reasonably sturdy. Some of my friends with eggbeaters have had them break.

My crank pedals are on my wet weather bike and I'm using Look pedals for cross now - they are even more reliable in my experience. I hit a few barriers still clipped on my left side because I couldn't get out and getting back in is easier with the Looks. Similiar cost and weight but the look quartz are better, plus I don't like spd stuff - only LX maybe the XT is nicer.

I'd recommend Time ATAC pedals. I really like mine. I've had them for 3 years now. They are pretty easy to get in and out of, don't get messed up by mud, and reasonably sturdy. Some of my friends with eggbeaters have had them break.

I'll second the recommendation for the Time ATAC XS pedals (which I recently purchased). I had Shimano SPD before. The ATAC are nice and solid, and seem good for cross. They got a little clogged with sand in a race last weekend, but a few kicks and they seemed to clip in just fine. On the whole, they seem very good. Easy in, easy out.

Just got some new XT's to replace my old 747's, very pleased - much better mud clearing.

I like Crank Bros.

Specifically the Candys. They're eggbeaters with a platform. I found that with straight eggbeaters, if I missed the click, I would roll off. With the platform, I can pedal a few strokes while I curse the heavens and get clicked in.

THey go for $65 at Performance Bike right now.

The broken eggbeaters I have heard of are all the cheapo MXRs.

I've used both the eggbeater c's and mid level shimano pedals, and they both seem well made and easy to use. If you're using clipless pedals for the first time, you may find the eggbeaters easier to clip in and out of, but with a little practice shimano pedals aren't much more difficult. In the end, I've chosen to keep the crank bros pedals over shimano, as the eggbeaters greater float seems to agree with my knee joints better. Everyone's body is different though, and you may find that you prefer the stiffness of shimano pedals. Try out a set of each, if you can. They're both good pedals.