Pedals: Shimano 540 or Crank Bros Candy SL?

I have a Klein Attitude, which I love, and I want upgrade the pedals. I currently have Shimano 515's, which came with the bike and they are inconsistent when it comes to clipping in and out.

I am looking at the Shimano 540 and the Crank Brothers Candy SL pedals. I have read decent reviews on both pedals, but can't decide. Price is no issue as the price differential between the two is only about $10. I know the Candys are about 58 grams less in weight, but that doesn't concern me either.

I wear Sidi Dominator shoes, so does anyone have an opinion on which pedal performs better (mud and dry conditions), and which may work best with the Sidi Dominators?

Thanks!!

In my opinion, it is really hard to beat the reliability and practicality of the 545 design. Spd shoes or no, mud or dry. I have raced on mine in east coast mud/freeride for several years and only recently wore them apart(literally. The outer cage broke. 8k miles, what can I say?)

I have only been using them for about 2 weeks but I am using candy SL's. I really like the double, 4 sided entry design. Really easy to clip into without needing to remove your foot from the pedal. Much easier than the Shimano's in my opinion. I haven't mud tested them yet because of a lack of recent riding time, but the general concensus is that the crank bros pedals are the best mud shedders bar none. The candy's are fully rebuildable and looks to be really easy.

Cranks use brass cleats which wear more quickly than shimano's, but this has the effect of protecting the pedal itself since the cleat is a much softer metal.

Crank brothers are also reputed to have excellent customer service and stand by their product so if you do manage to break a pedal they will probably replace it for you, even if you are outside of the warranty.


The other significant deciding factor for me to switch from shimano was the lack of float. My knees are not quite straight and the 6degrees of float offered by crank bros lets me get my leg in line which hopefully will reduce a lot of the pain I found with the shimanos.

I'd decided to go for the Candy's. For me the choice was between Candy's or Time Ataks. Shimano did not come into the picture at all.

Hope this helps.

Dave