Fighting all my instincts, and adding weight / XTR Pedals 

My opinion from a "been there, done that" perspective... Shimano is best choice for pedals. Most of the super-duper light competitor models are trash - good on the scale, bad on the road. I've been through many different lightweight 'road' and 'MTB' models. I have finally switched all my bikes (light road racer, gravel and cross bikes) to a single sided Shimano pedals (PD-ES600 & PD-A600). They're great for the road and also for some offroad use, except for the most extreme cases. They're lighter than XTR by 30-40g, also have better clearance to the ground. As for the titanium spindle upgrade for Shimano - forget about it (tried this as well)! The spindle is part of the bearing in Shimano pedals (provides the "cup" contact surface), and titanium is not good for this purpose. They wear very fast - I'm talking weeks. You will end up throwing them away pretty soon.

Good to see you have taken the first step to recovery. Good luck in the future adding grams.

I’ve been running xtr pedals for a couple years. No regrets

I think you made the right choice, function over weight is better in this instance (I have the 9100's and think they're great, no issues and I've had them over a year now).

I remember when CanonDany switched his name to SickBiker. Makes me sad to think about. I am looking forward to seeing what you do next to save those 100 grams.

Finally "something that is making sense" 😜, now it's time for the wheels too.

I will weight weenie everything but..... peddles. I’ve been on XTR peddles for 5yrs straight, same 2 pair for numerous bikes. MTB, Gravel, Cyclocross, Urban Road. Grease once a year, spray white lithium on exterior few times a year. Never replaced one part! Except cleats once a year. Mud dries in them all the time. Not the greatest in any category but reliability! For me, there IS nothing else.

RofJ, how about more bike maintenance or component installation videos? Your bike build was one of the best, but I’ll be doing a full build shortly and I still have so many questions (and concerns). Thanks as always for the great content.

I'm on the budget side of parts. Find a second hand Eggbeater 3 for dirt cheap, ordered Ti spindles from AliExpress and new bearings and voila! Total cost 35-40$ and 126gr per pedal. I have Fizik Terra shoes and Crank Brothers premium cleats without spacer. I can walk all day in them, cleat doesn't clak on pavement. Eggbeater pedals confuse casual people ( and hopefully thieves) so this combination makes sense for commuting. I have alternative in Shimano Spd with A600 ( I think) that I inserted little screws on flat side which was too slippery.

I'm ordering one of those ROJ "Every Gram Counts" T-shirts...in XXL (says the 260lb old guy) :)

I recently bought a pair of ISSI pedals with a 64.5mm spindle. Took them to my LBS along with other parts for them to install and the mechanic stared at me very seriously and said “...they’re kinda heavy, these pedals🤨” Haha they are, but my knees are much happier than with my previous SPDs, which are BOMBPROOF, but the older I get the more comfortable I want to be on the bike

Funny I've been going down the almost same road. I've swapped my xpedo rforce ti pedals for shimano pd-a600 pedals about 2 months ago. From 180g to 294g the pair, that's the sad part. But. Issue with the xpedo was they got some play because of the bearing, and some creaking sounds came with that. No more sound now, pedals drops in a better position and even if i got used to the xpedos, the shims are way better. Last bonus, the shims offers a big platform and it feels way more stable.

I do a lot of hiking, at some point I had to stop trying to cut weight for the sake of weight. When my total gear weight went from 13.1 kg to 4.9 kg without food and water I was happy. As far as biking is concerned I'm still working on that, I'm by no means a gram weenie when it comes to riding.

I have booth. Xt/xtr.diference is minimal.

Do not feel bad. You said it; safety is first. BTW nice new logo of ROJ. Cheers.

Weight definitely matters, but his is a healthy course correction, IMO. Looking forward to seeing where this takes you!

I have the Favero Assioma road pedals. The highest priority for me is a power meter. I will swap the Assioma spindle to the Xpedo Ti pedals. I will let you know my experience. Thanks, enjoy your channel. On another topic: Coronavirus: Stay away from crowds. Wearing a mask is controversial but probably would if you are around many people at work.

Time XC12, 248gr. I have 5 sets and no problems, no noice...

Sickbiker's video and his conclusion were wrong. He said, that the higher the pedal stack, the bigger the radius you spin (effective crank length). But it's totally wrong. Higher pedal stack doesnt change your effective crank length, it only elevates your foot at all points of the spinning circle. So to overcome your pedal stack height you only have to adjust your saddle height. It's obvious to see if you'll draw it

Shimano PD-ES600 pedal is the answer. 271grams and gravel specific. Check it out.

Waiting for limestreaming.

すばらしい！ Your videos are just great, so well done, so amusing and clever. It would be hard for me to care less about all this mechanical stuff (for me it’s about the joy of riding a bike), but you actually make it interesting and entertaining. がんばって！

Sickbiker !

Just make sure you go to the loo before every ride... job done (no pun intended)

I love your stories. Keep them coming and tell us more about yourself.

I love your videos! I've been so sad not seeing one for so many weeks, but I'd rather see great content like this than filler just to get a video out there. Knowing what you're switching on your bike is always interesting!

Ive tried both m540 pedal by removing 1 side of the cleat mechanism. Just like a road pedal. So i have 1side clear for riding on flip flop. It does shave some weight and getting used to it was easy. Done off roading no prob. Just a suggestion that you can try if wanna shave some weight off those bling xtr

Yep, after watching your last pedal video I bought the 8100s :-)

I do love a good lime stream.

I use cranckbrothers eggbitter 2 with titan axle for 235g, total price for all 60eur. Also it have full titan version 178g.

Sweet and sour news !

Shimano PD-ES600 SPD are one sided and 280g per pair.

Hey Tobias, If you want some longer rides with good company head over to Audax Japan and have a look at some of the rides they do. Choices from 200-1200k throughout the year. Many riders there are experienced enough to know what works for longer rides. Also... Is your pedal/shoe interface supportive enough with Spd?

its dremel time !

Hearts? A time Lord!🤫

A video about yout commute bike and setup would be also interesting

First like than coment and after that watching the video 😂 love your content and cant wait for more stuff. Im lucky this year i got the big bike train back and a cheap train tiket for Austria, because im Student 😍 so many rides will come

I think you do a great job with the videos. They are informative as well as being fun to watch. You have a great presenting style. I have ordered 2 of you tshirts and I want one of the hoodies, but would like the “rim brake defense”logo on it . Is that possible ? Oh, and I agree that people should not take the whole rim/disc brake debate so seriously, ride what you want to ride !

You did write titanium bad on the xtr search from ebay. Im sure that its not the only time that you did searched from that but, just to poke with your ocd. :) Good video!

I like the idea of doing some more overnighters. I suppose the Darimo post would hold up to strapping a lighter load?

If you want to trim some grams from the PD-M9100's, you can get the METI Rapido Ti spindles and knock it down a bit. Won't be as light as the pedals you took off, but it'll help a bit, and you'll have the best of both worlds as the PD-M9100 pedal is really great other than those pesky seals that keep popping out.

Well, at least you don't have to lift that extra weight with every pedal stroke... Oh, wait... :-P

Have you ever looked into Speedplay SYZR Pedals? I've always liked the idea of Speedplay road pedals, but as a gravel rider, I've stuck to Shimano SPDs. Anyway, I recently learned about the SYZRs and they seem like a great option for gravel riding. Plus, I was looking at the weights and if you buy titanium spindles (rather cheep from Taiwan) you can get the pedal weight down to 275 grams, cleats are 65g per pair By comparison, a pair of PD9100s are 314 grams and cleats are 70g per pair, so you'd be saving 44grams, and getting a better/more efficient pedal/cleat interface.

Ok XTR it is - great vid - thanks

The look x-track carbon titanium pedals are lighter and feel better. I've tried xtr, xt and even the super light Richey titanium ones. The look pedals have it all. In my opinion of course. Give them a try.

I changed mine also .. love the lightweight of the expedo but can’t take the clunky feel and dodgy clipping in and unclipping !!

Nice little video, was wondering what you had been up to.

I come from the mountain bike world.... XTR is fine by me. I have regular SPD's on my road bike.

Sorry for your gain. Adding weight to the bike is always a tough decision. As painful as it can be, sometimes function has to trump form.

They aren't really road pedals but there is the Crank borthers pedals that are light. The eggbeaters (no platform version) can be as light as 179g for a pair and the candy (small platforms) can be 249g a pair. In my experience, they are reliable, have float and are easily serviceable.

This XTR contact pedals are great!

I have the m8 xpedo and the xtr 9000. The xtr are better in every way except weight. The xpedo m8 are tough to find the clip-in sweet spot in race situations. When I back the tension off too much. I sometimes unclip mid-air.

Ho-lee shiet that intro was smooth :-)

Why you don't consider road shoes (SPD SL) are you walking a lot? After a couple of years in MTB shoes and on MTB pedals I have a very strong desire to upgrade to road. Even the fact that it has three bolts and thus the plate is 'twist proof' is a bonus.

I have the M9000 XTR pedals. They're great but I find myself having to service them at least twice per year.

You should try the look x-track race carbon ti, in my experience of 2 years with them they are more durable than shimano

Why didn't you go with a "single-sided" type, like the PD-A600? Here's a quick review sample: "...The A600 pedals even manage to impress on the scales. Actual weight for a pair is just 292g, plus another 51g for the cleats. For comparison, a set of current Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 pedals and cleats weighs in at 305g - a saving of just 38g..."

I'll sign up for the lime stream :-P

Check out the LOOK X-Track Race Carbon TI pedals. Not cheap at $270 USD, but I've read lots of good things about them from those that are long-time SPD users. This model weighs in at 290g for the pair, but they have 3 other options for less money and more weight. I might switch to the mid-price option of theirs for my road bike this year.

Not we know your wattage secret.... multiple hearts.

Hi Tobias, digging your channel. This Video about SPD Pedals reminds me about trying the first Titanium Axles for the original SPD Pedals from 1990. I had a friend which bikes i build and mantained, he insisted on these, back then, extremly fancy and expensive TI axles. If i remember correctly he snapped 3 Sets of Ti Axles within 6 Weeks... :))) Ok, he was like 200lbs and very athletic. My Opinion on TI Pedal Axles is that they are generally not worth it. I mean, back in the days it was tough enough to find a halfway decent TI Bottom Bracket which would not creak and eat bearings due to the Axle deflecting. I think TI Pedal Axles and low maintenance are contradictory. I actually purchased the Steel axle Version of your XPedos and found them hard to clip out , but in my case it was a clearance issue with my Shoes , something i could fix with some minor cutting on the Sole. Cant comment of the bearing quality tough, cause i have not put enough miles on them. On my other bike i am still running very old XTR SPD's which are like 25yrs old and still going strong.

If you're going back out on the gravel, can you do a video on frame protection tape that is lowest gram / per durability?

I consider moving away from Shimano pedals, perhaps to the Look X-track Carbon Ti or so. Mostly because I'm tired of cup and cone bearings, I never seem to fully get rid of the play in my XTR:s.

Nice review. It seems a lot of users are having issues with the seals continuously popping out-often after relatively little use. I was going to get these, but now am not so sure. Have you had any such issues. Apparently it is a problem with both 9100 and 9120's.

Let's see the commuter bike!!

Have you considered the PD-ES600 pedals? For anything but cyclocross it seems like the weight savings is worth needing to flip the pedal to clip in.

Been using the xpedos for a while (moving from look stracks), and yeah, they do feel a bit rough in comparison. XTRs might me even smoother, but against my 540s on my beater, not a huge difference.

I'd love to see some bike packing videos. Not much into the light weight stuff.

I bet you couldn't even sleep after those 100g for just some pedals...

Do you get shimano parts any earlier after release in Japan, compared with the rest of the world?

switch the pedals to KCNC XC Trap-Ti, 240grams & they're pretty much shimano clones. The KCNC Titanium stuff is a lot more affordable then competitors & it's pretty solid.

cool guy, great video.

Live stream would be great

Recover well my friend 😅

I have those xtr race too

You should check the wellgo w01 titanium spd pedals, 230g and less than 100€

Every Smile Counts. #JustStopCountingGrams

I’m too heavy for those super light weight pedals so I’ve got the xtr pedals. They are a good set but i now have a weight target to aim for.

I love the quality of your videos, can I know what kind of drone you have? thanks

Have they fixed the problems of seals popping out on the new XTR pedals?

Love the channel! Dude, read some science on weight/climbing... it doesn’t matter as much as you think. (I struggle with this too... believe me... but the science doesn’t lie)

Avoid xtr 9100 if you can, mine keep having the spindle seal coming out, the issue is pretty wide spread

a 9 of clubs and a 4 of spades together with a 2 of hearts may weigh less than 4 aces but i know which id prefer to have

From one weight meanie to another: you could save around 200g, if you swap your 11-42 cassette to a SRAM XG-1195 to offset your XTR pedals! ;)

What do you mean real gravel bike? Does a 650*2.1 setup the U.P. can take not qualify these days?

You can get those grams back by buying upper lol

Has anybody ever tried to remove the clips from one side of an SPD pedal? Should save a few grams and should be workable if you don't have to unclip many times during a ride.

Have you looked at time pedals much they seem to be higher durability than xpedo and lighter than xtr

Hi, i love the channel, you have no issue pulling hard the pedal and accidentally unclip?

The PD-M9100 pedals aren't sadly bombproof :( The seals regularly pop out and slide their way up the axles. No fix available except for contacting Shimano and warrantying them regularly.

Why not run SPD-SLs? Lower stack height, lower weight, huge platform, no accidental unclips. Not the best for walking, but I ran them all year on my gravel bike without issue. Based on your rides, seems like you would be fine.

Wky not get rid of the boat anchor ti spindle pedals - and replace them with a Ritchey Micro Road WCS v4 witch has a durable steel spindle and is only 208g for the pair? The Ritcheys are singfle sides SPD’s but quite easy to click into i i dont thing they a collecting and excessive amount of mud/dyrt. Other option is that you can rebuild the Xpado SPD’s with powermeter spindles from Favero Assioma’s.

It was only a matter of time, now are you going to get a lighter frame to shave off more grams xD

My old retro Mtb has xray spd pedals, think they are renamed wellgo. And oh boy does the old xrays feel better than the shimano 520 pedals I am using right now. The older pedals are so much more positive when clicking in and out and you are more locked in to the pedal without being restricted. The 520 has too much floar and twisting going on, I dont feel secure at all in the 520. the same feeling with the higher end shimano spd pedals?

Did you consider the Shimano PD-ES600? Single sided but SPD pedals and only 279g for the pair, not too expensive either as they are Ultegra level.

Oof, just got a set of XPedo M-force 8 Ti/Cr. Hope I don't face issues with them :\

Keep up your amazing video edits, RoJ! Why not Shimano Ultegra level PD-ES600 for the same SM-SH51 cleats used in MTB models? I haven't tried them (yet), but theoretically they should offer the same reliability and clip in/out experience while ~35g lighter, lower profile, likely same stack and significantly cheaper. Dual side action is not as important on gravel as it is in MTB, no? bike.shimano.com/en-US/product/component/ultegra-r8000/PD-ES600.html

Have you ever considered compensating by having some non-essential body parts removed. You could save about 140-170 grams by having your appendix taken out and another 56-71 grams by getting rid of your gall bladder. A bit riskier but doable, you could save a further 140 or so grams by losing a kidney (note: the left one is heavier). Regardless, don't let the doctor touch your sense of humor, it weighs nothing but is priceless!

I’ll just leave this here - Candy 11s.

eggbeaters all I use 220lbs never had a problem and you could ride 11s