Shimano PD-A520

Price Paid:  $60.00 at LBS

Favorite Ride:
Ozaukee Interurban

Bike Setup:
Giant Defy 1 - stock except for the Shimano pedals.

Summary:
I originally purchased the A520s for my Trek 7.3 FX hybrid. Then I decided to upgrade to a full-fledged road bike (a Giant Defy 1). The Defy comes with Crank Brothers Smarty pedals. The Smarties are junk compared to the 520s. Where the Smarties are full of lateral play, the Shimanos are adjustable to your preferences. I like that you can actually feel and hear yourself click in with these pedals/cleats.

I am not a big fan of the weighting on the pedals, however. They tend to flip upside down a bit too often for my taste. After a few miles in the saddle, though, flipping them right side up will become second nature.

The A520 pedals also have more of a platform than a lot of the other SPD-style pedals, which makes for a more comfortable ride. I don't get the hotspots in my shoes like I tend to with the smaller Smarty pedals.

Strengths:
Adjustable
Big platform
Strong cleat

Weaknesses:
Weighted awkwardly
Relatively heavy

Similar Products Used:
Crank Brothers Smarty

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Bicycle Chef, Sacram

Favorite Ride:
Orbea Opal

Bike Setup:
Orbea Opal, SRAM Rival gruppo, Mavic Aksium wheels with Vittoria Rubino 700x23 tires.

Summary:
Like most of the reviewers, I bought these for compatibility with my MTB pedals and shoes. They accomplish that nicely.

I have noticed the weighting problem others point out, that the pedal is often upside down at the top of the stroke. What I found (after a couple months' experimentation) is that the pedal is usually hanging back down on the upward half of the pedal stroke. If I start the cleat in at about 9 o'clock, I can usually click in at the top of the stroke. As this got more ingrained, I found myself liking the pedals more and more.

Strengths:
Compatibility with SPD cleats.

Weaknesses:
Can be difficult to orient at first.

Similar Products Used:
Various Shimano SPD pedals on mountain bikes. No other road pedals used.

Price Paid:  $80.00 at don't remember (onli

Bike Setup:
Bianchi San Jose, single speed

Summary:
I bought these for my commuter, hoping I could use them with normal shoes for running errands. I like them as a clip-in pedal, but the platform side is a big disappointment.

Strengths:
The SPD side works very well, in fact better than I expected. Maybe because I used to ride with Nashbar or Performance imitations in the past, never Shimano?

Clipping in and out is very easy and repeatable, with a positive click.

No accidental unclippings.

Wider platform eliminated hot spots I used to get with Crank Bros and Bebop pedals on longer rides (40-50 miles).

Weaknesses:
Platform side not flat. I don't like slight bulge over the axle, doesn't feel good through a soft sole.

Platform cage is also very smooth, making this side very slippery when wet.

Pedals are not well weighed. They usually position themselves with the SPD side down, but do so reluctantly and not always fully. Sometimes they get stuck somewhere in between. The end result is that I pretty much always have to look down to clip in.

Similar Products Used:
Crank Bros, Bebop, platform pedals

Price Paid:  $46.00 at Philippines

Bike Setup:
giant tcr w/ ultegra 10spd, including ultegtra wheelset

Summary:
Big improvement in comfort from previous product used-pdm540. NO more sore foot on long rides. I suppose using road pedals will improve sole stiffness and performance even more. But I personally like using mountain shoes over road shoes when out of the bike

Strengths:
stiffer than standard mountain pedals.

Weaknesses:
heavy compared to pure road pedals. Still not as stiff

Price Paid:  $65.00 at bike shop

Favorite Ride:
Old mountain bike

Summary:
I needed something cheap for riding around town. I would have sworn that Shimano would have weighted these pedals so they would flip down when released, but nooooo. You must look down to see if the pedal is upside down before you try to clip in and half the time they are.

Strengths:
Look good.

Weaknesses:
Pedals are not weighted so they will flip in the right entry position.

Similar Products Used:
speedplays