Shimano PD ES 600 SPD Pedal
279g £74.99

The Shimano PD ES 600 SPD Pedals are an Ultegra grade single sided SPD pedal, arguably at road riders wanting the stability of a bigger platform with the convenience of a recessed twin bolt cleat. They’ve provided an excellent balance of support and power transfer, compensating for more compliant soles common to touring and bike packing shoes, are easily to strip and service too. However, though not poor, I found the finish on our samples disappointingly soft, especially for this tier of groupset.

Pros: Lightweight, supportive platforms, high quality bearings, easy to service, walkability.

Cons: Single sided design less convenient in some context, paint surprisingly soft.

Specification

We have neatly sculpted aluminium alloy bodies treated to a classy looking gunmetal grey finish. Their shape has a very definite road aesthetic, which is very fitting to road builds, without looking out of place on touring, or gravel bikes. A single sided nickel-plated SPD cleat is hardy and should resist not only the everyday clippings in and out, but the salt monster’s caustic tongue, given the odd quick squirt of maintenance spray.

Cro-moly axles offer an excellent balance of strength, weight and price and aren’t subject to a designated maximum rider weight. Though seemingly well protected from the elements, access to the internals is very straightforward. 17mm, 10 and 8mm spanners are all you’ll need to strip and service the ball bearings. Oh, and an 8mm Allen key to whip them on and off the crank arms-10nm torque.

Convenient at home, but realistic on a big tour, or similar endurance events. As you’d hope, the bearings turn very smoothly and in my experience of Shimano, continue to do so, neglected for several years. The cleat mechanisms are also easily stripped, say should you wish to get the bodies blasted and powder coated to coincide with a comprehensive tear down.

I’ve stripped one of ours to illustrate this. I’ve also gone for a stodgy, water-resistant lithium grease on one pedal, since it was on the test bench. Secondly, someone suggested it might help with pedal weighting/alignment when clipping in-especially in stop go-traffic, other environments requiring more frequent, rapid engagements. Fear not, from the packet, the PDES600 are buttery smooth and to my surprise, smoother than the M540, which are loosely comparable grade. Weather sealing at the axle is very snug - as you’d hope.

SM-SH51 single direction release cleats come in the box, but in my experience, VP, Wellgo and similar patterns play very nicely. New converts to clipless, or those just fancying more release options, can go for multi-release models, such as SM-SH56 (although bear in mind, unwanted disengagements are possible when pulling hard on the upstroke. In my experience, this has only been noticeable when I’ve been sat and grinding up a climb but has also saved my bacon on some technical forest sections). Yes, and I had tweaked the mechanism’s spring tension with a 3mm Allen key.

Test Bikes & Contexts

I’ve run ours on Muffin , my fixed gear winter trainer and Denise, to give different perspectives and indeed, possibly challenging some preconceptions. I have also paired them with assorted shoes, from stiff soled mountain bike and gravel to bike packing and touring models with more compliance. The latter so I could assess claims that the pedal’s angular profile offers greater support. I was also curious to see how much impact their slightly wider bodies offered compared with designs such as these Wellgo RC713.

Performance 3.75/5

Obviously, factors such as soles and their degree of wear have an influence, but the slighter broader, angular profiles have paired particularly well with the FLR MTX Vibram Shoes, which are designed to be ridden but also walked in for longer periods- bike n’ hike you might say. Aside from compensating for some mid sole flex, there’s none of the slight rock that can strike, most notably when on the fixed and climbing out of the saddle, or at the end of a long ride when fatigue are setting in. Characteristics that in my view lend them nicely to Audax and touring.

Worn with my gravel defaults, the Shimano RX6, power transfer is excellent, while the broader bodies help counteract fatigue that can strike around the balls of our feet. Like for like, especially on rides covering several hours, it’s better than the old A520, which are slightly narrower, although served well for road biased touring and training, if you wanted the convenience of walking, rather than hobbling. Another advantage of the ES600 is the generous crap clearance, meaning mucky lanes and similar detritus tend to drop away very effectively, so no issues with clipping in and out.

This song remained unchanged with cross country mtb and race slippers. Even with my full weight dancing on the pedals (riding the fixed - honking on gravel or touring rigs), there’s been no hint of wobble from body, or axle. Staying with fixed a moment, the relatively low profile also rules out grounding, when turning sharply-unless you’re riding a conversion with long cranks and low bottom bracket.

I’ve had no qualms using them off road, where the bodies offer ample support, without being a hindrance and the seals should lock the elements out.

That said, think training and exploring, rather than competitive stuff, A common remark and one I have some sympathy with, is that they’re not weighted, so don’t align the cleat mechanism at an optimal point for rapid engagement. I’d also noted this on the fixed, say riding in slow moving traffic, or other congested contexts when dabbing down and clicking in again is required and frankly, where dual sided models have a pronounced edge.

Having given the matter some thought from the post ride comfort of my bathroom, I stripped a filled the right-hand side with a stiff lithium grease. Not because there was any issue with refinement, rather it helped to weight the pedal slightly, making my earlier point less problematic, albeit not eliminating it completely.

Durability/Care 3.5/5

Other than basic annual overhaul and fresh grease coupled with periodic shots of maintenance spray on the cleat mechanisms, they should soldier on very reliably. The only, uncharacteristic disappointment has been the soft gun metal finish.

Value 3.5/5

£74 is arguably upper mid-point (we’ve seen them discounted online, which may well influence your decision). Exustar E-PR50 (£69.99) could be viewed as a homage, although the specification is slightly different. It’s another low profile single sided design with a 6061 extruded aluminium alloy body; CNC machined heat treat cro-moly axles turn on LSL sealed bearings bodes well for durability.

However, we’ve not tested them, so can’t make direct, real-world comparison. If you didn’t mind a broader, tourist cum mtb platform and weren’t allergic to a few extra grams, Shimano’s EH500 (£69.99) offer sealed cartridge bearings, a grippy side for those times when you need to scoot along and dab a foot down quickly or just want to run some errands in flat soles.

Summary

The Shimano PD ES600 are a comfortable road biased model for road riding where you want to marry riding efficiency and mooch around comfortably off the bike. I’ve done a lot of mixed terrain riding, the sort you might do on a more adventurous tour and in my experience, they’ll shed mud fairly well, although these are best suited to general road riding. Packing them with a stout grease improved the weighting, making engagement easier, especially riding fixed or contexts where you’re frequently clipping in and out. Given the price, I found the finish both disappointingly and uncharacteristically soft.

Verdict 3.5/5 Good, easily serviceable road pedal for those wanting more support and to walk comfortably sans bike. However, finish merits improvement.

Michael Stenning

Madison.co.uk – The UK’s largest cycle parts & accessories distributor

PUBLISHED OCTOBER 2025

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