Clipless Pedals - Sorry!

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Sam4a
I've never used clipless pedals on my MTB although I used Look on my road bike.
I've just bought a pair of FPD Trail Comp clipless pedals. These are double sided like Shimano PD-M515 and are SPD compatible. Their selling points are they are lighter, cheaper and wider than the Shimanos.
Before fitting the pedals to the bike, I fitted a cleat to a shoe (Shimano SH-M051) & tried engaging and disengaging.
Because the rubber shoe sole had a huge amount of contact withe the pedal body (the sole was deeply indented) it was impossible to unclip from the pedal. The friction between the sole & the pedal body caused the cleat to rotate - and yes, they were extremely tightly bolted!
The suppliers have accepted a return but now I don't know what to do. Can I expect this same problem with other SPD pedals like the PD-M515 or PD-M520, remembering that the FPDs are wider? Are the pop-up one's (PD-M424) better? or should I just stick to toe clip and straps?

I have installed quite a few PD-M515 pedal and Shimano shoe combinations with good results.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by daveornee
I have installed quite a few PD-M515 pedal and Shimano shoe combinations with good results.

Thanks for your reply. Have you ever used FPD pedals? Did you have the same problem?

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Sam4a
Thanks for your reply. Have you ever used FPD pedals? Did you have the same problem?

Sorry...no FPD experience.

On my MTB I just fitted Shimano PD-M505 pedals and bought Shimano SH-M038 Training shoes.

For quick release, I have set the spring tension at 3 turns. Once I am used to the system, I expect to tighten the tension back to around 1-1.5 turns.

Have you tried adjusting the pedals release tension?
http://www.shimano.com.au/publish/content/australia/en/cycling/customer_support/service_diagrams/pedals_service_diagrams.html
cheers
George

Hi Geoge
They were loosened to the minimum tension. The problem was the "grip" between the shoe sole & the pedal

I use Shimano SPD cleats in my shoes, and have Shimano 626DX pedals that are very easy to get in and out of. I also have a set of Ritchey SPD compatible double-sided MTB pedals that difficult to get in and out of using the same cleats. Still have to mess around the with tension a bit, but my experience tells me "compatible in design" does not equal "identical in operation."

On my backup commuter, I have really good luck with Wellgo SPD compatibles.

If you live anywhere where you might get mud then forget about Shimano SPDs, they clog up with mud and refuse to release.

Get some crank bros or Time ATAC pedals instead, they clear mud and stuff much better

I have used speedplay frogs for years. They clear mud out of the cleat easily and have LOTs of float (easy on the knees). I've had no desire to look for another pedal.

I've heard though that the "new and improved" 1 molded piece frogII cleats are a real POS. Make sure you get the previous gen clips.

I have Diadora shoes with m515s and they work fine.

the problem you are experiencing is mostly because the Shimano shoes are designed to work best with Shimano pedals. Try the new PD-M520 - they are the same mud shedding design as the PD-M959 yet at a fraction of the price. Absolutely fantastic design! They have a team of engineers working on this stuff - not like FPD who's R&D department stands for "Rip off and Duplicate".

My 2 cents