I've been riding Time ATAC pedals since 1998. I started in Boston since they were praised for their ability to shed mud, and I used to ride through quite a bit of it. Then I ended up with 3 bikes I rode regularly and they all had Time pedals and I only had one pair of shoes so moving over systems would be a serious cash investment. But for the last few years I've been increasingly disappointed with them. I had to replace my cleats every 9 months since they made from soft brass and I also would replace the top plates on the pedals (older Time ATAC) every year or so and those weren't cheap. But no matter how maintained I kept them, after a month or so my foot would always slide to the outside side of the pedal and leave my foot at a funny angle. It always felt weird but never hurt or anything.
I finally bit the bullet and got 3 pairs of Shimano SPD pedals (1 * pd520 and 2 * m970) and I *LOVE* them. My feet stay exactly where they're supposed to be and click in and out with no problems. I looked on ebay and found some great prices and got in touch with the good folks at Cycle Smithy. If you're looking for a deal, get in touch with them (and maybe haggle a bit). After looking at the two models, I'm not sure the 970 warrants almost 3 times the price of the 520's but they don't have Shimano written in ugly letters on the side and they do say XTR all over them and I'm a slut for the XTR stuff. The weight advantage was negligible. I feel like the XTR 970's have a little more float. Either way I'm super happy with my new pedals!
I finally bit the bullet and got 3 pairs of Shimano SPD pedals (1 * pd520 and 2 * m970) and I *LOVE* them. My feet stay exactly where they're supposed to be and click in and out with no problems. I looked on ebay and found some great prices and got in touch with the good folks at Cycle Smithy. If you're looking for a deal, get in touch with them (and maybe haggle a bit). After looking at the two models, I'm not sure the 970 warrants almost 3 times the price of the 520's but they don't have Shimano written in ugly letters on the side and they do say XTR all over them and I'm a slut for the XTR stuff. The weight advantage was negligible. I feel like the XTR 970's have a little more float. Either way I'm super happy with my new pedals!