Fairly good value but limited durability

Advantages: Cheapish
Disadvantages: Heavy, Poor durability

...cassette, I was stuck with having to get off to go up hills due to the horrendous banging and slipping coming from behind me. And the bike wasn't too happy either. So then, off to buy a new cassette. At the time, the Deore was all I could afford. It's a fairly substantial piece of kit. Many high end cassettes have fairly little metal in them, the sprockets being held together by plastic spacers. On this one, you've got no such luxury. Everything is metal. Fortunately, not solid metal, but still rather a lot, and it can add quite a bit to the weight of your bike. Anyway, the upshot is that my bike didn't skip when I pedalled. Nice. Now the downside. Having just had a peek at it, the teeth are starting to wear at an alarming rate. I've had it about four months. Granted, it's been ridden in some rather bad conditions. My local...

Pritch 07.01.2002 · Read review
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Review of Shimano HG50 Deore 9speed Cassette

Shimano SPD M072 Cycle Shoe to infinity and beyond

Advantages: Strong, well made, functional
Disadvantages: Nothing yet.

...SPD INTRO Shimano M072 shoes are SPD cycling shoes so here's a quick explanation of what SPD is. For those who may not know SPD stands for Shimano Pedaling Dynamic. All very nice I hear you say, so to explain they are Clipless pedals. Basically you get a pair of shoes, bolt on some clips to the shoes, get a pair of SPD pedals which are like a clamp, step on the pedals and your feet are locked to the pedals. Rotating your feet to the side then releases you from the pedal. (not as dangerous as it sounds). GENERAL Shimano mountain bike shoes have been around for a number of years now and in my opinion if you are a user of SPD pedals then you can't beat Shimano PSD shoes for reliability. I have used number if different types over the years, most of which I cant remember the name off and ones that usually found the bucket because they...

skrg28 30.03.2007 · Read review
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Review of Shimano MO72

The Shimano M520 is an excellent all round SPD pedal!!

Advantages: Ease of use, Ease of installation, Versatile, Recessed MTB style cleats, Aesthetically pleasing!
Disadvantages: For road cycling the pedals are slightly heavier than more expensive alternatives

...I recently purchased a set of Shimano M520 SPD pedals for my road bike. Although they are technically mountain bike pedals, I much prefer the Shimano cleats supplied with mountain biking shoes, which are recessed and hence make the shoes a lot easier to walk in! After installing the pedals on my bike (which took no more than five minutes) and fixing the supplied cleats to my Shimano SPD shoes, I was ready to ride. The pedals give you the option to adjust the tension in the clips however I found that they worked fine straight out of the box!! One thing I like about these pedals is the ease in which you can clip in and out. With clips on both sides there is no hassle trying to flip the pedal over, and you simple need to place your shoe anywhere near the correct position and its really easy to clip in! For the price these pedals are...

Sheph 09.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of Shimano PD-M520 Click Pedal

Shimano Dura Ace Rear Mech (RD-7700-SS)

Advantages: Top of the range "bling" rear mech
Disadvantages: 9 speed "only", superceeded by RD-7800 10-speed version

...I bought this rear derailleur to replace an Ultegra mech when upgrading my bike from 8 to 9-speeds (well, 16 to 18 speed really with my double front chainset). Apparently, this mech is also compatible with 8-speed systems, you just need to change the cable mounting position. Dura Ace is the name of Shimano's top of the range group of bicycle components, or "groupset", for road race bikes, and the 9-speed 7700-series was introduced to the public in 1997 after Shimano sponsored riders using Dura-Ace 7700 series equipped bikes in 1996. Year by year, it's been enhanced, and this review is of rear mech from the 2004 model year. For the non-bike-ophiles among you, the rear mech (or mechanism) is the device at the back end of the bike that moves the chain across the muliple cogs (cassette) on the back wheel to change gear - bigger cog...

matt_fantastic 07.04.2006 (10.04.2006) · Read review
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Review of Shimano DuraAce

Shimano XTR M970 SPD pedal

Advantages: quality, use, price
Disadvantages: None

...Previously, I had a pair Of Ritchey WCS Ti spd pedals (i paid £60 on ebay, but the retail at £140!!). These were next to useless - the bearings failed within 12 months. They looked good and weighed not a lot, but didn't work very well, at all :O( I begrudgingly purchased the XTR spd's for £56.99 from wiggle, as I didn't want to go the "shimano" route again. First impressions of quality were superb, especially for under £60!!! The smoothness of the bearings is silk like. fitting is just like any other pedal. Adjusting the tension springs was also the same as any other spd, although I didn't have to do them as tight as previoud spd's I'd owned. Clicking in and out of the pedal gave a satisfying quality click. In riding i've done so far, they perhaps clogged more than i'd have liked, but the riding was very very extreme. After...

EasyExercise.co.uk 30.08.2008 · Read review
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Review of Shimano M970 XTR MTB SPD Pedals

Shimano Baitrunner Aero RE

Advantages: Fantastic quality for a budget real!!
Disadvantages: Not quite as well balanced as the GTE range.

...This is an excellent reel by no mistake. I have had this reel for 3 years and fished many gravel pits around the UK using it. The RE reel shares many of the same features that the more expensive GTE range has including the Shimano's patented Aero Wrap system, Rotor Cast Control and Positive Bail. This is designed to prevent any problems whiles casting long distance. Using the 8000 versions loaded with 15lb line the casting ability is amazing! More than adequate for the UK size lakes. The main difference between the RE range the GTE range is that the GTE has 3 more ball bearings. This means that the GTE by comparison is lot smoother and allows for better handling. Also the RE only has a single crank handle oppose to the double handle on the GTE. This means that the reel does not feel as well balance while reeling in how ever some...

Mjacko79 09.06.2006 · Read review
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Review of Shimano Baitrunner Aero Re

Shimano hyperloop AX rods

Advantages: High quality for a budget price.
Disadvantages: none.

...The Shimano hyperloops are an excellent range of specimen rods especially for those anglers who are trying to keep to a budget. In my opinion the quality of these rods is second to none for any rod priced bellow £50. The rods are 12foot long and have 7 rings to guide the line. They are also available in four test curves 2.25, 2.50, 2.75 and 3.0lb which make these rods extremely versatile. The rods are very sensitive to the movement of the fish allowing you to feel through the rod the change an shift the fish. This makes playing the fish a pure joy. Personally I own three of these rods. Two 2.75lb test curves for my main set of rods used for ledgering, and one for 2.5lb which is used for surface fishing. Combining these rods with a good quality reel and this is more than adequate set up for any level of fishing....

Mjacko79 09.06.2006 · Read review
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Review of Shimano hyperloop specimen ax sl

Shimano M535 - SPD - Bargain...

Advantages: great value and functionality
Disadvantages: might fall off once or twice whilst learning!

...The Shimano M535 pedals are my pedal of choice these days, I?ve used other pedals and even other manufacturers but I have found that for value for money and ease of use these cannot be beaten. At first, using clipless pedals can be daunting but its not really an option when riding cross country as the added power and control are more than worth the effort of overcoming the fear and the odd bumps and bruises that you might get during the learning process. Obviously using these pedals you also need to have shoes which are compatible, mind are the top of the range Shimano units (which I would highly recommend) at a cost of around £120 but these are by no means the only option as compatible shoes can be picked up for as little as £20 to £30. Back to the pedals, they?re reasonably light, easy to maintain, set up and use and even...

chrisradband 22.10.2004 · Read review
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Review of Shimano PD M535 LX

M532 Chainset + external Bottom Bracket

Advantages: built in external BB, good quality
Disadvantages: None

...I bought this to replace the SR Suntour cranks and stock Shimano Bottom Bracket on my Trek 4300. A fantastic upgrade, extremely sturdy, nice stiff cranks, excellent machine work. And to top it off, no internal Bottom Bracket is needed. Something I dont think a lot of the adverts for the item make enough of. You don't need to bother measuring your spindle as you just need to remove the entire bottom bracket and fit the M532 with the inbuilt external BB. You will need additional tools to fit this, but they can be picked up relatively cheaply and you never need to worry about wearing out any bearings in the bottom bracket again. It took me 15 minutes to fit, simply remove your old cranks, remove the BB and slot this in place. It comes with various spacers to adjust the width depending on your frame size and once fitted it...

KitsuneAndy 19.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Shimano M532 Deore 2 Piece Design Chainset, 9-Speed - 44/32/22T

105? Is That The Mileage Between Adjustments?

Advantages: Easy to fit
Disadvantages: Tricky to adjust ,at least if it's your first time

...Well, s*** in a bag and punch it, Chris has written a short(ish) one! If ever there was an item that I?ve bought purely on price, it?s my Shimano 105 ?rear mechanism? for the pushbike I?m currently cobbling together. The name ?Shimano? is now very nearly ubiquitous*, especially on new bikes bought from Halfords, the PC World of the biking fraternity! That of course is not necessarily good publicity, but since I?m only putting together a ?hybrid? bike, in more senses than one, I?m not into ?Roll-Royce solutions?. A hybrid bike would I suppose have been called a ?tourer? the last time I was into buying a new one, it having fairly slender less knobbly tyres compared to a mountain bike, with similar gears but larger diameter wheels, (almost as large as a racing bike) and straight handlebars. When I say ?rear mechanism?, if you...

BNibbles 28.02.2004 · Read review
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Review of Shimano 105