I have loved these pedals for the time I’ve had the, but I’ve had the same issue twice with the pairs I’ve had. The seals for on the pedal spindle actually push out of the pedal body onto the axle.
I recently got a pair of XTR M9120 pedals. Today I noticed an elastic ring visible on the axel, and bits of grease on it.
Reasons NOT to buy:
User Reviews
There are some reports of the dust seal popping out after use, limiting the durability.
But, since very early on a rubber o-ring seal would creep out of the pedal body and along the axle. We’d push it back into place, and it’d eventually make its way out again. Surely the seal is there to protect the internals, but it won’t do its job if it’s not in its intended position. We spotted it occurring on several bikes at a recent press camp, and at the EWS in Tasmania, so we’re not the only ones. We’ll see.
After a while of riding I noticed that the seals of the pedals popped out. I pushed them back in, but within a few kilometers, usually less than 40, they popped out again. These seals prevent dirt getting in to the pedal body and prevent premature wear. If a seal wasn’t needed, it wouldn’t be installed, especially on an XTR pedal. So, I returned the pedals to get it repaired under warranty. After about a month I received, not a repaired, but a completely new set of pedals, including cleats. On the first ride, 20kms in, the same thing happened. This went on a couple of times, but after 5 sets of XTR pedals replaced under warranty, I can surely say that these pedals have a flaw that Shimano didn’t manage to solve during my review period. Unfortunately, I didn’t get that many kilometers out of a single set of pedals to get a good idea of the reliability of the rest of the pedal. I rode a maximum of 480km on a single set and a total of 1421km all sets combined, before returning them.
The unwanted dirt ingress caused by the seal can reduce the lifespan of your pedals significantly, but knowing the issue and not solving it is in my opinion even worse. Especially at this price point. These XTR pedals are not up to par to the Shimano standards that I know. It’s strange to say, but I can’t recommend these XTR M9120 Trail pedals, unless they managed to solve the seal issue. I haven’t seen any issues pop up with the XT M8120 Trail pedals, so you might want to look at these as an alternative.