I’m a bit of s a cheapskate really. I mean I’ve always lusted after XTR pedals, but XT’s seemed just fine and I could justify the $70 dollar difference… Recently though Steve Blick at Shimano offered me a set of my dream pedals and a pair of kicks of my choosing! Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth I jumped at the chance and nabbed these beauties here and a pair of ME7 shoes. The differences between the XT Trail and XTR Trails are pretty minor, there’s a small weight saving, that comes from the pedal having a lower stack height, and a slightly thinner axle. This supposedly makes them shed mud better but I’m yet to see the proof of that one. They just have a more refined look to them really, and that extra letter just adds a touch of class to my bike.
And there is nothing like new shoe day. Now those that know me, know that for the last 10 or so years I’ve only ever worn Giro Terraduro or Teraduro Mid’s. The latter being in this ex-magazine owner’s opinion the greatest clipless mtb shoe of all time. Since Giro discontinued that shoe a few years ago I’ve been rotating three pairs of them, you know, just to make them last. Well, there’s only one pair left that are still stiff enough to feel comfortable and their days are numbered. The Shimano ME7 looks like it’s a worthy replacement, a grippy sole for scrambling to get to photo-taking spots and climbing trees, and a huge amount of rearward positioning for the cleats (which is a big deal for people with big feet), I used to have to drill out the original Terraduros’ to get my cleats back far enough. I haven’t ridden in these yet, but I’m pretty damn excited.