Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As others have said Shimano does not label this as an Ultegra pedal. Also, they do not call it a road pedal. The nomenclature is a little confusing and is not helped by the way Amazon labels this product. What most bike riders I know call a road pedal, at least in the Shimano line, is a wide bodied pedal that accepts an SPD-SL cleat. This is the large cleat that protrudes from the bottom of your shoe and is usually called simply a road cleat or a SL cleat. The Shimano PD-A600 accepts an SPD cleat, not the SPD-SL cleat. The SPD cleat is configured differently and SPD pedals consequently have differently shaped clipping mechanisms than pedals that accept SL cleat. The two are not compatible. Pedals that accept SPD cleats are usually called mountain bike pedals An important difference is that the SPD cleat is much smaller. Consequently it can be recessed in the sole as is common with mountain bike shoes. It also requires a shoe with different holes on the bottom for mounting them to the shoe than that for a "road" pedal. The idea behind the SPD cleat is because it can be recessed in the sole of the shoe it enables people to walk in their bike shoes without the difficulty encountered with SPD-SL cleats that stick out from the bottom of the shoe. And the reason it is used for mountain bikes is because mountain bikers who do true mountain biking are frequently off their bikes walking the around obstacles and can't do that very easily with SL cleats To further assist in walking most mountain bike shoes are made with less rigid soles than road bike shoes and the soles are usually made of a rubber-like substance to enhance "grip". As I said, most riders I know call any pedal with an SPD cleat a mountain bike pedal. However, Shimano officially calls the PD-A600 a "road touring" pedal. What has kept most road bikers on the SL pedal system even given the walking problems is at least four things. First, you aren't off your bike walking that much. Second, the mountain bike pedal usually has a smaller foot print which can lead to foot pain on longer rides as the pressure on the foot is not spread over a large area. This is generally not a problem for mountain bikers because their rides are usually shorter. Third, mountain bike pedals are usually more rugged and thus heavier. And, fourth, though not directly related to the pedal itself, historically mb shoes have been the only shoes that accept SPD cleats, they also are more rugged and heavier, and the more flexible sole on the mb shoe means that some of the rider's energy is spent compressing the sole of the shoe rather than being transmitted directly to the pedal as the rigid sole of the "road" shoe allows. Thus the SPD pedal-shoe system is not as efficient as the SL pedal-shoe system. The PD-A600 solves the second and third problems and does it well which goes a long way to making the walking comfort associated with a SPD cleat work for road bikers. It is wide like a road pedal to give you a comfortable platform and light enough not to extract a huge weight penalty. It is really an excellent road pedal and even if not "Ultegra' it is the top of their "Road Touring" line. I have not noticed any difference in riding between it and excellent quality "road" pedals. I guess Shimano bills it as a touring pedal as those types may be off their bike more walking around in their bike shoes and Shimano may want to keep "road racing" pedals as a separate category with slightly lower weight, SL cleats, and attaching to the stiffer road shoe. But, if like me, you do walk around in your bike shoes even if you are a road biker, this is a great way to be able to do that without the inconvenience and sometime danger of an SL cleat. And if you pair it with a reasonably stiff "touring" shoe as opposed to a mb shoe, you compromise very little in the way of performance or weight. It rocks my world.