Shimano has launched new high-end gravel race shoes today and claims that, for the first time in thirty years, some changes have been made to its much-loved SPD clipless pedal cleats.
Shimano MTB and gravel categories have seen some updates and new releases this year. Specifically, a new GRX wireless Di2 gravel groupset and the MTB range-topping XTR wireless groupset.
A new Shimano SPD cleat
Shimano has released a new SPD cleat, which is called the CL-MT001. Catchy eh? Shimano claims the new cleat will allow riders to ‘engage the pedal in multiple ways’. The cleats themselves look pretty much identical to the standard black SH51 cleats, but we assume they employ some different profiling to make clipping in even easier.
The brand says you will be able to clip into the pedal using a traditional front of the cleat first, then the rear movement, or the rear of the cleat first, then front, or by simply stomping straight down onto the pedal to clip in.
Shimano is calling this the first major update to its SPD cleat platform in nearly 30 years. The original SPD cleat was the SH50, followed by the SH51, which launched in 1995 and, impressively in the cycling world, given the rate of change in the last decade or so, is still on the market today in the same form.
Shimano also released another cleat in 2006, in the form of the silver SH56 SPD variant, which is listed as a ‘multi-release cleat’.
You can unclip when using the SH51 cleat by twisting your heel outward; this is probably the classic and most popular way to unclip. The SH56 cleat allows users to unclip by pulling up, or to either side, i.e ankle in or out. So what do the new MT001 cleats bring to the…
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