Shimano M540 Clipless Pedals

The PD-M520 are the most basic and cheapest Shimano clipless pedals available. It’s basically an axle and the mechanism screwed on it, no platform or funky colors. This makes for a cheap, reliable mid-weight pedal (380g) with not much to use or break.

The pedals don’t spin too freely on the axle (maybe they end up doing it when the bearings are older), which it is a good thing because it’s much easier to clip in when the pedals don’t rotate too easily. It comes with the Shimano #51 cleats (4 degrees of float) which are supposed to be more secure than the #56 multi-release cleats. I have never tried the easiest-to-release #56 cleats but I like the security that the stock cleats give and they have stayed tight on my shoes. The tension is easily adjustable with an Allen key and since it is indexed, the settings are easy to copy to the other side by counting “clicks”.

Compared to

A few years ago, I bought the Shimano PD-M530 (same Deore-level) pedals which were basically the M520 reviewed here but with a small platform around it. Maybe the small platform helped with stability when not clipped-in, but to be honest, I didn’t feel much difference. If you want to feel the added security of a platform, the Saint M-820, ZEE M-647 or Deore M-424 would be better choices from Shimano as they have bigger cages. In my experience, mud or snow didn’t stick any less or more into the PD-M520 than on the M530.

At 380g, it is 70g more than the platform-less XTR PD-M9100 pedal of a comparative size, which, in my opinion, isn’t a bad place to save a lot of money for the weight difference. If we compare two extremes, with a steel axle, the M520 is probably as strong as the XTR and comes with the same cleats. If you don’t need the XTR bling, weight savings and (maybe) better sealing/bearings, the Deore-level pedal reviewed here will probably deliver 95% of the XTR’s performance for 25% of the price.

Conclusion

I only have 1600-1700km on mine but they still look and work like new. Most of that distance was done on road and gravel rides though, as I didn’t like SPDs on my MTB and put those on my commuter/road/gravel bike. In this quality bracket, for an added 10$ and 75 grams, I’d go for the M530 on an MTB for the small platform around it which would protect a bit more from rock hits. If low price or light weight are the priorities, the Shimano PD-M520 can be found for almost the same price as knock-off brands, but comes with the quality and reliability record of the Shimano brand.