Shimano Flat Pedals PD-GR500

My rolling review of the Shimano PD-GR500 flat pedals for bike touring. I’ve now cycled over 12,000 kms with them and no issues!

Shimano PD-GR500 Flat Pedals

(Installed on bike 16th October 2024 – This is a rolling review updated every few months.)

— Note from Spain, December 23rd, 2025: I’ve recently cycled 12,000 kms from Athens to Nordkapp, and then south to Spain over 6 months. These GR500 pedals have been fantastic, and given me nothing to think about – which is probably a good sign!)

Since my first bike tour way back in 2000 I’ve experimented with all different pedal and shoe type combinations. Starting with toe-cages, I've switched to flat pedals, and then onto SPD pedals for bike touring.

After a bike tour around Iceland in 2023, I decided that the disadvantages of SPD shoes and pedals outweighed the advantages for my personal style of bicycle touring and bikepacking. It was time to go back to flat pedals!

After some research and thought, I picked the Shimano PD-GR500 flat pedals. I quite liked the look of them, and thought that the concept of the pins which offered more grip was a good one. More on this later!

At this point I want to make two notes. Firstly, that I bought and installed the Shimano PD-GR500 Pedals in October of 2024. Secondly, that this is a rolling review, which means I’ll return to this post over the months and years ahead to add further notes. 

Oh, and one more thing. As well as buying the pedals, I also bought a new pair of cycling shoes (because why not!). These are the Adidas Five Ten Trailcross LT Mountain Bike Shoe. Look, they still have the label on!

While I have a separate review about those shoes, I’ll be mentioning them in this review as well, as my experiences with the Shimano flat pedals are linked.

First Impressions and Installation

I think my first impression of the pedals was they are big and it will hurt if one of them hits me in the shin. Which it did the day after I installed it!

The pins were as expected, although I don’t think I appreciated how many there were. There’s 18 on each pedal, which means if you do want to add in the washers to make the pins not quite so long, you’ll be playing around with the supplied key for a while!

Installing was straightforward with the supplied key, and I also added a little grease to the threads. The hardest part (as always) was getting the old pedals off first. 

I left the pins as they were, which was their maximum height of 4mm. I figured I’d take the bike for a ride first, and see what I thought to the PD-GR500 pedals before adjusting the pin lengths with the supplied washers.

First Ride

Time to mention my new cycling shoes again! These are pretty lightweight and have a rubber sole that is designed to ‘stick’ to pedals. Well, not stick, but at least offer more grip if you know what I mean.

I have to say that the ride went really well, and the combination of the shoes and pins on the Shimano flat pedals worked great. In fact, it felt a lot like I was clipped in with my SPDs!

When I got back home, I decided to check the bottom of the shoes out, as I had a nagging feeling that these pins may have dug into the soles of the shoes.

And they had! You can clearly see the pin indentation marks in the soles of the shoes. Also, keep in mind that this was after just an hour’s cycling!

Now if I had a pair of stiff, hard soled mountain bike shoes this wouldn’t have been an issue. But one of the points of swapping to flat pedals, was so I could choose a pair of bike touring shoes that I could also use on days off the bike for hiking etc.

(In the past I’d always taken another pair of shoes with me on a bike tour, and I wanted to avoid this and just have a multi-purpose, single pair of shoes.)

My conclusion after the first bike ride: My new cycling shoes would be wrecked very quickly if I continued with the pins at their maximum height. So, I decided to remove the pins completely from the Shimano PD-GR500 flat pedals for the next ride.

Second Ride With All Pins Removed

The next ride was with the pins completely taken out from the pedals. It was a two hour ride down to the coast at Rafina and back from my apartment in Athens, Greece. 

My thought process here was to see how good the shoes would be with the pedals as they were. After all, the point was to have flat pedals and shoes, and maybe the pins were an extra I simply didn’t need.

On the flat road, having no pins in wasn’t an issue. On the uphill sections, I could notice the lack of grip more, and also noticed I clearly have a dominant leg!

My conclusion at the end of the two hour ride (which was a personal best for that particular route I’ve been doing for 10 years – make of that what you will!), was that I would reinsert the pins for the next ride. There are some supplied washers, and so I planned to have the pins at their minimum extension length.

There was one more thing about the PD-GR500 pedals that I noticed, and that was the quite short distance between their lowest point and the ground. I’m riding a Thorn Nomad MK2 with 26 inch wheels (not that it should make that much difference), and here’s a photo I took with a decimal measuring tape.

A couple of times I did hit the pedals on the kerb when pushing the bike, and I suspect out on a bikepacking tour, this would happen more frequently. Like anything it is a matter of getting used to things and anticipating, but something to keep in mind.

Third Ride: Pins At Minimal Height

So, it was on to putting the washer on the pins! There’s a thick washer and a thinner washer, and I decided to use both. A quick 10 minute job, and the pedals had their pins back in again.

The next test ride was just for an hour halfway up Ymittos mountain and back down again. Even at their most minimal setting, the pins provided plenty of grip.

I also appreciated being able to move my foot position whenever I wanted on the pedals, which is something I had not been able to do with SPD cleats.

So this setting with the pins on the Shimano Pedals PD-GR500 was absolutely fine. Time to check the bottom of the shoes to see what had happened!

From what I could tell there was barely even a light imprint of the pins on the soles of the shoes. Certainly nothing like the marks that had been created on the first attempt.

With all that in mind, I decided that keeping the pins on the pedals at this minimal height was the best choice going forward.

April 2025 Update

A few months on then, and the pedals have had some regular use on my bike rides. There’s not a lot to report, as everything seems to be absolutely fine. They just work!

Going forward, I’ll try to update this guide to the Flat Shimano Pedals PD-GR500 every 6 months or so. The next update should be due around December 2025.

December 2025 Pedal Review Update

Told you I’d update this pedal review again in December 2025!

So, over the last 6 months I’ve cycled over 12,000kms from Athens to Nordkapp and then south to Spain. I’ve not had to think about the pedals once, which I think is a testament to how good they are!

Perhaps one note, is that the soles of the shoes I chose to pair with these flat pedals have worn a lot more than I thought. This could be to do with the choice in shoes as much as the pins wearing them. I think if I had gone for a firmer soled shoe, the wear wouldn’t have happened, but of course the trade-off is that they wouldn’t have been as comfortable to walk in!

Interested in buying these pedals? You can check them on Amazon here:

✓Upgrade your biking experience with the SHIMANO PD GR500 flat pedals. Designed for various terrain types and riding styles, these durable pedals offer a concave contact area for enhanced grip, ensuring more comfort on long-distance rides.

✓The adjustable pin height allows for a personalized grip, and the solid aluminum construction guarantees lasting quality. Top build quality, grip, and appearance, with  adjustable pin height to suit your needs perfectly. The SHIMANO PD GR500 flat pedals are highly functional for bike touring and bikepacking trips.

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