Like many MTB heads I’ve often drooled over XTR parts but rarely have been able to afford and/or justify going there. So it was with a fair level of excitement I fitted a few XTR bits and pieces to the Mojo HD late last year. At the time the XTR derailleur was the only way to get your hands on Shadow Plus, which has since trickled down through Shimano’s 2013 range with SRAM also releasing its own version. It’s a huge drivetrain improvement IMO, great stuff!
I also opted to fit XTR Trail pedals – the trail cage/platform combo looked schmick and the price was right. I was a little bummed that within a relatively short space of time the drive side pedal started oozing grease, grinding and clicking with a fair amount of side to side play. Checking around online it seems that quite a few guys with the XTR Trail pedals have had the same problem and that Shimano have been replacing the pedals under warranty:
http://forums.mtbr.com/shimano/pd-m985-pedal-issues-711922.html
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anyone-else-had-an-xtr-pedal-come-off-its-axle-jra
I don’t claim to be the gentlest rider when it comes to looking after my pedals and there are no shortage of rocks to bang them on, but it is disappointing for a top of the range trail pedal to fail in a relatively short period of time when for example my original Shimano pedals from 1991/1992 still spin smoothly with minimal play after years of abuse, off road and on road – as you can see by the gouging below.
The XTR Trail pedals are on their way back to Shimano Australia, hopefully they’ll get it sorted. Interestingly for the 20 years difference my old SPD pedal is only ~60 grams heavier than the 2012 XTR Trail pedal. There ya go!
