Hey guys,

I have two mtb's, I have ridden SPDs for quite a long time, recently switched to Egg beaters for better mud clearance but I've had enough of how they feel. So, I'm going back to SPDs, I would really like a solid feel which I think partly comes from contact area of which the XTR Trail pedals have 158% more of than the XTR Races. But I don't want much extra weight and I don't need to be able to ride the bike without cleats on.

So if I was to buy the XTR Trails and cut the front and back cage off would I get the weight close to the 310g Race pedals whilst keeping the increased contact area?

I know this might seem stupid but I'm curious

I think they are counting the front and back cages as the extra contact area. The cleats are the same so the cleat contact area would be the same and I don't see much other contact area. If you have stiff shoes you don't need much contact area. I would spend the money on shoes.

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For certain parts stiffer is more important than lighter.

I hear what your saying but the flat area around the cleat is still larger than the race ones. Your probably right though. I have Sidi carbon shoes which are not very stiff but I'm considering Bonts.

get the bonts. I ran 2 pair for cross this year and the shoe with the xtr pedal
gives you an almost road like quality for stiffness and power transfer.

you will not be disappointed

nathan

i just got the new xtr m980 pedals and they are awesome. i really didnt think they would feel that much different but they do. you feel so solid on the pedal. i have the top of the line shimano shoe and it made them feel much stiffer compared to the standard spd pedal. i would leave the pedals and lose the weight somewhere else. i cant wait to use them for cross season next year.

scott

I went for the 980's in the end, I'm really looking forward to them! Thank you for your help guys.

I would advise against the Bont's MTB-1 (as it was described) at the moment.

Bont them selves have "downgraded" (in terms of sutability) the MTB-1's as they were from; XC shoe to a "Commuter shoe" as the tread blocks would fall off, the upper would get stripped from the lower when having to run / walk in them, and the damage to the carbon glass fibre sole was severe.
Additionally the ratchet strap posidtion was exposed and could very easily sufer impact damage (i.e. no protective mouding around it and not a very low pro design).
The very high sole stiffness actually works against them in the fore foot reducing grip on super steep run ups for instance....as all the load rocks onto the tip of the toe, the grip blocks there can;t manage the load and eoither get torn or peel away from the sole.

If you run very smooth untechnical courses then they would be OK. Same benefits as road variant, (and in some people minds same deficiencies).
If you run technical trail requiring walk / run, then they are IMO sub optimal in their current guise

Better off getting an established and proven design. example Sidi, Shimano and a myriad of other options curently available.

I sadly sent mine back and got a full refund due to the issues listed above.

I am back to running SIDI.

Hope this is helpful.

Really helpful thank you! I'll stick to my Sidi's for a while then.

OK, quick update! I've ridden the new XTR races about 6 hours now and I really like them, they have a much more secure feeling over the previous XTR's and the platform increase is indeed noticeable to me

did you pop the new 980's on a scale before fitting them??

somebody did:

http://bikescale.com/index.php?d=artyku ... 4&art=3106

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Mine were 308g, but I forgot to take a picture .

Nice website,great info on weights,thanks very much!!

Great pedals. Have been using them on my CX bike, they will be on my MTB soon

I'm just "bumping" this old thread... Any feedback on the durability of these pedals

I've seen quite a lot bad reviews on these, but am unsure if the problems with bearing durability have been fixed

I have raced cyclocross years ago on the former PD-M970: And they seemed indestructible + I loved the solid feel.

But I really do not wan't these if the bearings die on you after a couple of months...