Shimano PD-A530 Flat/Clipless Pedal - Long Term Review

Long term review of the Shimano PD-A530 flat / SPD clipless pedal with added pins.

I used the Shimano PD-M324 SPD pedals when I built the bicycle in early 2012, but found them too slippery. So I changed to the A530s and later modified them by milling off the raised bumps and drilling/tapping the pedals for some #6-32 set screws. An M3 or M4 set screw would work as well. I drilled the holes in the spaces between the bumps but Shimano seems to have the EH500 holes drilled in the raised areas. I was looking to keep the platform height as low as possible.

I really like having a dual sided pedal as most of my rides involve several hours of pavement with several hours of dirt riding in the middle. I find clipping in on the pavement and on long fire road ascents / descents is more efficient. When the trails get technical, rocky, and narrow, I like to unclip and get on the pinned flats. The A530 pedal, when on the flat side, has very little hanging down below to cause pedal strikes.

PD-A530 pedal:
https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/tiagra-4700/PD-A530.html

PD-EH500 pedal:
https://amzn.to/2y11WDB

More to come with a look at the multi-release SPD cleat...

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