# Shimano M505 clipless pedals



## dissonance (Jun 28, 2004)

I'm thinking of buying a Giant Rainier and these pedals come on it. I went and looked at them and they appear to be clipless on one side and platform on the other. Anyone know anything about these? Will a SBD shoe work with it?


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## WeekendShogunWarrior (Apr 22, 2004)

dissonance said:


> I'm thinking of buying a Giant Rainier and these pedals come on it. I went and looked at them and they appear to be clipless on one side and platform on the other. Anyone know anything about these? Will a SBD shoe work with it?


The giant Rainier is a good intro bike. My buddy has one and i ride it occasinally to mix up the feel of the trail.

The 505 is exactly as you describe it, clipless on one side and platforms on the other. Nice pedals if you want to do a quick trip to the store and also hit the local single track. Another friend of mine uses this on his bike that he has at school (his comuter bike), that way he can still hit the local single track for a quick ride. his nicer bike has eggbeaters on it.

I use the 520's. I like them, but my bike is primarily for trail use. If i commute i just carry my shoes on me or borrow my roomates bike cuz he is not a big biker.

EDIT: THEY DONT DO A GOOD JOB SHEDDING MUD .. JUST A POINT

I dont know much about shoes, but if you have the right cleats i belive all shoes can accept any kinda cleats to clip into the pedals. But i am not sure about that, i am sure someone will know (i am still fairly new to this sport  )

Happy Trails

Sho


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## TFloyd (Mar 17, 2004)

*My HKEK came with 505's, . . .*

seem to get unclipped in time to keep from falling over, no matter how loose I kept the screws. I finally got so tired of falling over that I tried some Power Grips, which I liked much better than the 505's.

I recently decided to try clipless again (after I broke one of the Power Grips in a crash), and I bought a pair of Shimano 540's and matched them with omnidirectional cleats (not recommended by Shimano). There is a vast improvement over the 505's, and I can get unclipped very easily.

All in al, I would recommend going with the more expensive 540's.


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## lushmd (Apr 9, 2004)

The m505s came stock on my '03 Rockhopper Comp. I am not too thrilled with them. As another poster mentioned, they become packed with mud easily and are quite difficult to clip into at these times. The main thing I like about them is the adjustable tension, which is a nice feature for a beginner, IMO. Also, re the platform, the pedals can be changed to clipless on both sides simply by using an allen wrench to loosen the pedal tension and then popping out the plastic sled (that constitutes the platform), using a flat-head screwdriver. And yes, they can be used with any SPD compatible shoe. Just my $0.02, but if you buy the bike, just use the stock pedals and get used to riding clipless. Then, if you like, upgrade. Take care.


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## bike_freak (Dec 24, 2003)

That platform on one side is made so people can ride the bike while it is for sale. Once you get the bike you usally just remove that plastic platform. 
I'd say, if you live in a very dry area then they will be fine for a while, but either way I would reccomend the new 520's(or eggbeaters!), ask the store if they could upgrade the pedals for you for a little money. 
Any shoe that claims to be SPD compatable should work. Some need a bit of trimming away of the sole, but most work fine.


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## GuruAtma (May 17, 2004)

Yeah, the platforms aren't really meant for trail riding, just riding around the parking lot. Be careful, because if you're using them on a bumpy trail, they could come off themselves at just the wrong moment. Or wait for your first good crash and they'll come off. But they are handy for going tot he store.


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## thefish (Nov 25, 2008)

*m505*

I have a Kona Caldera I purchased last early last August with M-505 pedals. I have only been using the platforms, although I have been told they will break off in time, so far despite some rough riding, including crashes, they have remained on the pedals nicely.


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## Linga115 (Mar 23, 2008)

what guru said... they are not meant for trail riding. i suggest getting the M545 if you want platform / clip in pedals or just going purely to flats or clip ins. having that plastic platform gives you the worst of both worlds... having only one side to use as flats or clip in. the flat side will be very slippery as well. 

to take the platform off you have to loosen the tension all the way on both sides of the pedal then twist the platform off.


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## Dgtlbliss (Aug 21, 2008)

My 07 Fisher Cobia came with 505's. I have only ridden them a few times, but already noticed that when either the pedals or cleats get muddy, it's hard to engage them. I have the tension dialed all the way down and it's still hard. Clipping out is kinda tough too. Sometimes it feels like I am twisting my foot 20 degrees to get loose.

I am thinking of swapping to crank bros mallet pedals with the large platform so I can ride with regular shoes on occasion.


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## Linga115 (Mar 23, 2008)

Dgtlbliss said:


> My 07 Fisher Cobia came with 505's. I have only ridden them a few times, but already noticed that when either the pedals or cleats get muddy, it's hard to engage them. I have the tension dialed all the way down and it's still hard. Clipping out is kinda tough too. Sometimes it feels like I am twisting my foot 20 degrees to get loose.
> 
> I am thinking of swapping to crank bros mallet pedals with the large platform so I can ride with regular shoes on occasion.


i had the opposite feel on my kona coilair... i had the tension cranked about half way and it was way too loose. clipped out on the rough stuff. caused me a few shin kickers and rackings.


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## bum621 (Jan 12, 2009)

the shimano pd-m505 came with my Giant Trance 4. they are clipless on both sides. is there a platform that i can purchase to add on so that i can ride it to do quick errands?


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## Dgtlbliss (Aug 21, 2008)

Mine came with snap on platforms on one side, which I removed. I don't know where you'd buy them, but the shop you got your bike from might have them, cause they are supposed to come with I believe. Anyway I have platforms for the winter and CB smarty's for later.


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## crispy (Oct 2, 2008)

bum621 said:


> the shimano pd-m505 came with my Giant Trance 4. they are clipless on both sides. is there a platform that i can purchase to add on so that i can ride it to do quick errands?


I'm not sure if you can purchase those platforms separately, but if you wanna look around they are part # SM-PD22 from Shimano.


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## JAKEEFER (Oct 1, 2008)

I have the feeling your 505's still have the plastic "test ride platform" attached to them... most pedals that come on a bike have those stuck to them... just snap it off... it'll break eventually anyway...

The 505's have the old SPD design... 520's and 540's have the newer design which is much easier to engage and disengage (even when coated in mud) both designs use the same cleat... I would strongly discourage the 3-way release cleats for mountain use... it makes it very easy to disengage when you really don't want to, leading to potential injuries. The 3-way cleat is designed for road/commuter/spin class use. All you really need to do to make 520 and up pedals easy to get out of is loosed the tension.


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## gatordog (Dec 26, 2008)

I just put Shimano pd 324's on mine and it has dedicated platform one side and clipless on the other. Probably heavy, but I wanted best of both worlds for starting out. Yes the learning curve include one "normal" fall after stopping. Very funny so I was told by the other folks who witnessed:madman:


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