I decided to start the early spring cycling properly. I have been riding with flat pedals all my life and really wanted to get over the mental barrier of clipless pedals since they seemed so foreign to me. After consulting a buddy who's been riding clipless all his life, I dove down the research rabbit hole with Reddit, articles, YouTube reviews, etc. Friend advised Shimano SPD. I found that the Time pedals were a little more niche but well reviewed, albeit way more expensive. Fast forward a week or so and I received deliveries of both Shimano M540 and Time ATAC XC 10. Picked up some Fizik X4 Terra shoes from Bike Closet for a steal of a price.
For the test I installed one pedal of each type on my Scott Addict Gravel 20 (this sounds ridiculous but it made sense in my wacky head). I loosened the tension on both pedals to their lowest setting. For the SPD cleat, it was the standard SH51 with 4 degrees of float and for the Time, I used Easy Cleat with 5 degrees of float. I placed each cleat in the center of the shoes at the top two bolts. Initial testing was riding around the driveway practicing clipping and unclipping, and boy did this quickly give me the answers I needed.
The Shimano SPD cleat and pedal felt leagues more natural to clip/unclip, to the point I didn't have to look down or think about. The Time pedal had 2 glaring issues for me – the surface area was incredibly slippery and the cleat felt too recessed into the pedal. I basically had to fight to get clipped in a few Times. Thankfully I didn't fall during this rudimentary test on a concrete driveway, 😅.
So I immediately installed both SPD pedals and took a quick 2 mile ride around the neighborhood. These pedals feel awesome! I was able to do a short sprint and I never unclipped. The mighty SPD pedals continues to be the tried and true champ for any cyclist. Really excited to start riding clipless full time and I feel like it's less of a learning curve than I made it.
by Astral_Plane9
16 Comments
Don’t forget to tighten the screw again.
The 51 cleats can unclip when you don’t want to, since pulling up from the pedal will also disengage the mechanism.
You are going to love it.
Yeah, I am not a big fan of the time xc pedals either. Pressing down to clip in feels very unnatural and clipping out requires way too much force even at the lightest tension setting. I got a Favero MX-2, so moving back to spd.
To each his own- love my Time XTAC pedals!
I started on SPDs and Speedplay Frogs then switched to TIME ATACs two decades ago, still have a 20 yr old set running strong on my gravel bike. To each their own.
I came up riding during the ‘fixie’ craze and got super used to riding in cages, which made riding flat pedals feel super insecure. Making the jump to a clipless system was a little nerve wracking for the first few rides in public, and I did eat shit once starting from a stop because I couldn’t get my foot in during the down-stroke, but now it’s like second nature and I just loathe thinking about how much wasted power I left behind when I was riding for years without stiff soles and cleats. Welcome to the club!
I ride SPDs the first few months I started riding clipless 27 years ago. Never could get used to them, tried Times and never looked back. They are also great for muddy areas as they clear the mud extremely well.
Either way, the pedal efficiency of clipless is amazing.
I’ve been riding TIME since the first ATAC model, and still riding those too! Both are great platforms, but I always favored the biomechanics of TIME, especially in the early years.
I’ve been on Time since their first off road pedal came out. It was single sided!
The float of the Times is so superior. Yeah SPDs feel crisp, but your knees and hips will thank you for the play the Times give you.
Switched to ATAC on my MTB. Love them. Rode XTR for years.
Both pedals are fantastic. I do use the Shimano SPDs (I used Time road pedals in the late 80’s) and have never had an issue. At this point I think I’m stuck with them, I have 5 bikes with them and I don’t think I can afford $1000 +/- to switch all my pedals.
ATACS or die
I’ve got SPD on three bikes over 40,000km and they’re great, except for muddy trails.
Yeah! Atac is still superior. I have dozens of these from the original atac to the alium to the modern xc series. Never disappointed.
Been riding on Times since 96’. Great in muddy conditions.