If you buy a pair of Shimano clipless pedals, they’ll come packaged with a set of cleats for your shoes.
Many of Shimano’s off-road pedals come with two-bolt cleats designated SM-SH51. However, the Japanese brand has recently started shipping mountain bike pedals, such as the XTR PD-M9220, with its new multi-entry CL-MT001 cleat.
Shimano also has a range of 'Explorer' pedals, which feature the brand's 'Light Action' release system. Most of these come packaged with the SM-SH56 cleats, with SM-SH51 cleats as an option.
What’s the difference between Shimano SH-SH56, CL-MT001 and SM-SH51 cleats, and why might you choose one over the other? Let us explain.
Differences at a glance
- Shimano SH56: Single direction of release, but can only be engaged from the front of the pedal first.
- Shimano MT001: Single direction of release and can be engaged from multiple angles of the pedal for better off-road performance.
- Shimano SH51: Can only be engaged from the front of the pedal first, but has multiple directions of release, making it easier for beginners.
What are SH51, MT001 and SH56 cleats?
There’s not much visual difference between the SH51, MT001 and SH56 cleats.
They are all made from metal with two recessed bolt holes and attach to the soles of your shoes with the included bolts.
To fit the cleats, you'll need to make sure your cycling shoes are compatible with the two-bolt SPD cleats preferred for mountain bike shoes and urban riding, not the three-bolt cleats used on road cycling shoes.
There’s an arrow at the front of each cleat to make sure you attach them to your shoes the right way round. They’re interchangeable between left and right shoes.
The only clue as to which type of cleat you have is that the SH51 and MT001 cleats are black, with the latter featuring a line on the rear-facing tab, while the SH56 cleats are silver-coloured, with an M embossed on the rear-facing tab.
There are also product names stamped into the cleats, but these can be harder to see.
You can buy Shimano SPD-compatible cleats from other brands, too. Look’s X-Track cleats offer two equivalent cleat options, designated X-Track, equivalent to SH51 cleats, and X-Track Easy, equivalent to SH56. The type of cleat is stamped on the front of the Look cleats’ undersides.
What’s the difference between SH51, MT001 and SH56 cleats?
The difference between SH51, MT001 cleats and SH56 cleats is the number of directions in which you can enter and release the cleat from the pedal.
SH51 cleats have a single direction of release; that’s to say you can only disengage from the pedal by pushing your heel out in a flat plane relative to the pedal, or by pushing it in.
Shimano's MT001 cleats keep this single direction of release, while enabling multi-entry engagement, meaning you can connect to the pedal from multiple angles, rather than needing to lead with the front edge on the SH51 and SH56.
The SH56 cleats, on the other hand, enable multi-directional release; as well as pushing your heel out or in, you can also roll your shoe on the pedal or pull up to release it.
The shape of the cleats is subtly different to enable this.
Which cleats should you choose?
There’s no right or wrong answer to which type of cleats to choose. Which cleats work best for you depends on the type of riding you do and also how confident you are riding with clipless pedals.
The fact that SH56 cleats are included with Shimano’s Easy Release pedals gives a clue to their advantage.
Having multiple release options means you’re much less likely to get trapped in your pedals and topple over when you come to a stop. For a clipless pedal beginner, that may increase confidence because it feels more like riding flat pedals, and you may find the easier release is preferable for urban riding.
On the other hand, most riders find it relatively easy to get used to single-release SH51 and MT001 cleats and the twisting-out action necessary to disengage. The learning curve is a lot less steep than with the road-going SPD-SL pedal system.
If you’re riding on more technical terrain, particularly off-road, having multiple release angles may be a disadvantage, because you’re much more likely to come unclipped when you don’t want to. That’s why Shimano’s off-road pedal range comes with SH51 and MT001 cleats rather than SH56.
The pedalling action of some riders may also make them susceptible to unwanted unclipping, making SH51 cleats a better choice.
Although SH56 cleats may be useful for a beginner worried about having problems unclipping, it’s likely that persevering with SH51 and MT001 cleats, and reducing the release tension on the pedal, will help as much as the multi-directional release.
Lowering pedal-release tension is simple, by turning the hex nut on the release mechanism at the rear of the pedal anticlockwise.
The new MT001 cleats are designed with mountain biking in mind, with the multi-entry engagement enabling riders to clip in by engaging the rear first, then the front, or by simply stomping straight down on the pedal.
Riders may prefer this on the trail as it requires less thought than the SH51, which must be clipped in via the front of the pedal first. This means dismounts or foot dabs in technical terrain are less consequential for getting back on the pedals.
