Shimano's XT clipless pedals debuted all the way back in 1990, but it wasn't until late last year that an XT-level flat pedal was added to the mix. Of course, Shimano's no stranger to manufacturing flat pedals, it's just that they were usually part of their downhill or BMX product lines. The M8040 pedals could certainly be used for DH riding, but they're also intended to work for all-round trail riding as well.
Shimano offers two different platform sizes in order to allow riders to pick the shape that best fits their foot. The smaller platform measures 100 x 105mm, and is aimed at riders with shoe sizes between 36-44, while the larger platform is 115 x 110mm, for shoe sizes 43-48. The pedals come with two sets of replaceable pins, although the smaller ones are pretty stubby - for actual off-road riding the 5mm high ones are the way to go.
XT M8040 Flat Pedal Details• 10 pins on each side (two heights included)
• Platform dimensions: 110 x 115mm (tested) or 100 x 105mm
• Aluminum platform, chromoly spindle
• Cup and cone bearing system
• Weight: 490 grams
• MSRP: $100 USD
•
www.shimano.com While many flat pedals use a combination of bushings and tiny cartridge bearings, the M8040's use the same cup and cone bearing system found in Shimano's clipless pedals. Looking for a splash of color to brighten up your bike? You won't find it here - the XT flat pedals are only available in grey. MSRP: $100 USD.
PerformanceThe M8040's wide platform is very comfortable, and the fact that there's no inboard bearing bulge means there's a bit more room for your foot right next to the crankarm. There's plenty of grip on tap, thanks to the concave shape and the tall pins, and even when I was wearing shoes that didn't have Five Ten's tried-and-true sticky rubber I didn't have any keeping my feet securely planted. I'd say the overall amount of grip falls in between Crankbrothers' Stamp pedals and DMR's Vaults, or slightly above average on my grip-o-meter.
The race to create the thinnest pedal possible seems to have died down a bit, but it's still worth noting that the M8040's are a little thick for a modern flat pedal, measuring 18mm in the center and 20mm at the leading and trailing edges. Whether or not that's an issue has a lot to do with bottom bracket height – on some bikes I never gave it a second thought, while on others I found myself wishing for a few more millimeters of ground clearance.
DurabilityI've smacked these pedals on all sorts of rocks and roots, dragged them through deep dust, and fully submerged them in mud puddles on countless occasions. In other words, they haven't had an easy life. Other than a few scuffs and some squashed pins they've handled it very well, and they're still spinning smoothly without a hint of play. I'm a fan of Shimano's bearing system – I've found it to be more reliable than cartridge bearings and bushings, and it's super easy to adjust and re-grease when the time comes.
IssuesI wish Shimano had gone with a rear-loading pin design, something similar to what's found on their Saint flat pedals. Having pins that threaded in from the underside of the pedal body would make it possible to fine-tune the height with washers, and make it easier to replace them when they inevitably get broken or deformed. I've already mangled a few pins past the point of accepting an Allen key, which means I'll have to bust out the vice grips at to remove them.
Pinkbike's Take | The M8040's aren't going to set the flat pedal world on fire, but they're comfortable, grippy, and built to take a beating. — Mike Kazimer |
jokes aside shimano are finally catching up on the pedal game. their new flats look pretty tidy. As do their SPDs
goo.gl/images/BBfgWK
Jokes aside, if you don’t the bikes skills you can’t ride in wet weather. What pedals your on shouldn’t matter
These XTs look good, nice machine work, but minimal advantage over a DMR and they don’t look like they have enough concave for my liking.
I’ve found Saints and Specialized Bennys both good but too heavy for trails.
They are no way near my spank spikes.
The previous Saint pedals were far reliable, hopefully these will be better.
Shimano flat pedals:
Old Saint PD-MX80 ~$55, 9 pins with one removable spacer for 2 pin length options, weight 500g, like 90mmx90mm
GR500 ~$55, 9 pins with 2 removable spacers giving 3 pin length options (longest is 5mm higher than MX80), 90x90mm (one size), weight 533g. Same platform as MX80
Deore XT M8040 ~$75, two sizes 100x105mm for shoes to US size 10.5, or 110x115mm for US size 9.5+. 10 pins are supplied in two size long, and short (no spacers), weight sm/large 469/514g
New Saint PD-M828 . ~$115 105x109mm, 12 pins long and short (no spacers), one size 553g. Pedal is concave.
MX80 and GR500 are basically the same pedal. I'd get the GR500. The M8040 uses the same spindle design as the other two, but the M828 has a narrower axle so one fewer ball bearing. The large M8040s seem like the pick of the bunch to me.
Being realistic, a 20mm V 15mm thick pedal will only give you 2.5mm of extra ground clearance, the thinnest pedals are around 12mm at the edges so have an additional 4mm but the trade off is a terrible convex shape and probably the use of huge pins which remove the benefit (though I can see 4-5mm making a difference 1-3mm isnt going to do much in the real-world)
I am a flat pedal riders and look for a good, concave shape, decent size, pins that are removable without wrecking the pedal and an acceptable weight / reliablity, so basically the Nukeproof, DMR etc - Would like to try the Tmac as I think the non-offset design makes sense.
Flat (not convex or convave) pedals are usually fine (many pedals that claim to be concave are infact not anyway due to the axle bulge, e.g. superstar nano / HT nano) but concave pedals need to use huge pins in an attempt to get grip from the shoe if you are going to use them in rough terrain.
I ride flats for a number of reasons, climbing prowess isnt one of them, neither is running the lightest / thinnest option as I dont have hugely rocky terrain to ride on or have an ultra low BB bike but everybody is different, if you like concave pedals and they work for you then thats that.
If you haven't tried the VP Harrier or the Wah Wah II, you're missing out.
I wish Shimano made current, relevant products, but they seem to make very high quality products a few years after their design specifics are already aged. How long has SRAM had a 7 speed dh group? Come on Shimano do it for the love!
www.pinkbike.com/news/kona-wah-wah-ii-flat-pedals-review.html
Got to ride home on the spindle!
Got hung up on a pesky trail side rock and boom destroyed. That said I know many who haven’t suffered this fate... but for me, and where I ride, plastic pedals do not make sense.
I’m not sure what the next flat pedal innovation is, but it seems like Shimano could have come out with it if they wanted.
Some of the HT pedal internals work OK, its the ones with the tiny outboard bearings that I have found horrendous - I think the Nukeproof uses a HT internal and I have found those fine.
An old pair of HT's I had with grub screws lasted absolutely ages, when they occasionally bent a couple of mins with pliers and you could pop a new one in but that's only if you catch them rocks as I say - Pins should be considered a consumable.
Cheers.
Hugely different application too, a pedal pin is only there to provide grip, it doesn't work as a fastener.
You should be able to google data sheets and find out the relevant specs of different grades and types of fastener, you will need the same type and grade as you are using to make any decision but if they are not failing in use currently your boss is probably right.
If you're finding higher grade cap screws are failing, consider using self colour rather than plated. We build machinery here at work and periodically come across small bad batches of bright zinc plated cap screws which fail waaaaay before they even tighten properly. We think it's hydrogen embrittlement due to poor plating process control, but thankfully these are few and far between.
You shouldn't be relying on a bolt's shear strength to prevent failure in certain cases, the bolt/screw should be sufficiently torqued so that the friction between whatever is being supported against what is supporting it is high and the fasteners are experiencing force purely in tension which is where their main strength lies and shear becomes irrelevant. Consider using more of, or larger diameter fasteners to increase the compression and hence friction between the parts being held together, otherwise use another mechanical design means to reduce the shear force on your fixings, such as lugs or dowels.
With these pedals it's definitely the mashing against rocks which is the problem, but a pin/screw with a larger thread into the pedal is always going to be a shit ton stronger than the next size down. If you shear a pin off of one of these XTs flush you're almost knackered really, with the Saints the head was inboard and protected and if you did shear the pin end off you could still get the remnants out easily with an allen key.
CLIPS used to mean the metal or plastic cages that came over one's foot and were secured by a leather strap. When Look developed a binding-type pedal it was called "clip-less." Everything old being new again, when one uses the term "clips" one is referring to the binding (clipless), rather than the cages (clips). I will get a good chuckle to myself, alone, regarding this VERY entertaining paradox.
Threaded, screwed from the top pins: check
Thank you!
Probably my next flat pedals.
On the plus side they have good grip and despite bending the pins stayed in.
In the world of wider q factors (Boost and ebikes) and low BB's, big traditional flats like these look a bit dated for the use they get, it would be good if the pedal makers started to design with this in mind so we smash less pins in the first place.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4mm-M4-A2-STAINLESS-STEEL-GRUB-SCREWS-CUP-POINT-HEX-SOCKET-SET-SCREW-DIN-916-/221310422197
M4x4 is 3,8 GPB/100 pcs.
They are super grippy with my Giro Riddence shoes amd and i know off a few bmxers who run the smaller ones with short pins cause they are awesome..
Sorry we don't touch crankbrothers with a ten foot pole in Canada(mostly because of shady distribution)
But i have also loved OneUp composites and the new Saints are dope too!
They sure feel bigger with the flat non pinned center..
I think the usable size is larger..
Top load pins are crappy engineering in every way. They save manufacturers on assembly costs, that's it.
Or buy something more fancy for the same price.
I never was happy with Shimano bearings when I had them many years ago on my clipless pedals, they developed play, some cracked. I dont know, are they more solid now?