shimano pedals

HyperPhreak said:

I have a 2004 trek 2100 and it came with a set of pedals. I noticed that the pedals the riders were using in the TDF they had bigger pedals with a wider base than mine. Should i get a bigger pedal like the shimano spd or just stick with my shimano 520's? and what kind of difference would i experince if i switched between the 2?

The 520's actually are the SPD type of pedal. What you are referring to are probably the newer SPD-SL type of pedal (PD-R540, PD-R600, PD-7800) which are closer to LOOK style of pedals.

I have personally found the SPD-SL style (Shimano PD-R600) to be much easier to clip into for starts. The wider platform seems also to feel better to me in hard acceleration.

The cleats are much larger on the SL pedal system and cannot be recessed like they can on some more casual styles of SPD shoes.

I've heard that Shimano is revamping the PD-R600s already with the new even wider base PD-6610s that are debuting with the new Ultegra-10 groupo. Not sure if the cleat design is being revamped as well.