Shimano Deore XT Trekking SPD Pedals PD-T8000

On mountain bikes, either SPD pedals or flat pedals are used, depending on the rider's preference. For flat pedals, there will be traction pins on the pedals to enhance grip. This can been seen on the Saint MX80 flat pedals that I installed last time on my Polygon Cozmic CX3.0 mountain bike.

However, one small issue that I have is that sometimes, I want to ride the mountain bike on the road, with my SPD shoes. I cannot do that when the mountain bike has flat pedals as the SPD shoes cannot grip the flat pedals.

On the other hand, when I do go off road on the mountain bike, I prefer to use flat pedals as I want to be able to pull out my foot quickly to touch the ground on more tricky terrain, so that I don't fall over. These flat pedals need to be those with traction pins, for sufficient grip when going off road.

There are some pedals that have SPD on one side, and a flat platform on the other side. However, most of them are only for riding on road, which means that the flat platform side does not have traction pins. An example would be the A530 pedals.

Recently I found that there is one particular pedal that has SPD on one side, and traction pins on the other side. This is perfect for my needs as I can go off road using the platform side with traction pins, and ride on road using my SPD shoes on the SPD side.

Deore XT Trekking pedals, PD-T8000.

With 8 traction pins on one side, and SPD on the other. Perfect for my needs. SH56 SPD cleats and longer traction pins are included.

Clean looking trekking pedal, which combines the best of flat pedals and SPD pedals.

Weighs 426 grams for the pair. Not the lightest, but acceptable for the features that it has.

Closer look at the flat pedal side. Aluminium pedal body is strong and OK for some off road riding.

The traction pins seem a bit short, but you can switch them out to the longer ones if you want.

Standard SPD on the other side

Slim spindle design, similar to that used on high end road pedals.

This is a pedal that is somewhere in between a dual sided flat pedals with traction pins on both side, and a SPD pedal with the SPD mechanism on both sides. It may seem to be a compromise, if you are either a dedicated flat pedal or SPD pedal user. However, if you are an in-between user like me, this is a good pedal combination that gives you the best of both worlds.