Shimano’s advertising line for the mighty Deore XT pedals should be ‘If only everything in life was a reliable as a Deore XT pedal’. These descendants of the original clipless mountain bike pedals come close to being the default trail pedals for their sheer reliability.
There are cheaper Shimano SPDs than the Deore XT – the budget M520 costs around £20, for example. However, your money gets you uprated bearings and excellent sealing, longer spells between services, a lighter weight and better long-term durability.
Okay, so the main Achilles heel of SPD pedals – they tend to fill with mud – remains. But it doesn't seem to stop them working. We’ve lost count of the times we’ve been astounded when throwing a mud-caked shoe at a lump of crud on the end of a crank arm, only for the pedal to defy all probability and engage with its tell-tale click. Fantastic.
The pedals to bbuy if you want to ride like the wind and simply forget about your pedals.