Mountain biking has changed quite a bit from the days when Shimano launched its XTR group roughly three decades ago. Back then, cross-country was king and the group was created for the racing crowd who was after peak performance and low weight. Since that time, off-road cycling has segmented into different disciplines, and although racers were seeking lightweight parts to drop grams, for trail riding and enduro racing, ultimate lightness isn't always the first priority. In fact, a greater platform that offers additional support while bombing down a rocky descent, or a pedal that possesses a little more security for the clipless mechanism against rock strikes might be your jam. That's why we're excited about the XTR PD-M9120 Pedals as it packs a larger platform for better bike control that's fine-tuned to work efficiently with Shimano's ME and AM shoes, all with that famous XTR quality. These XTR PD-M9120 Pedals have bindings that operate exactly like the XTR Race pedals in both performance and function. The main difference is that the pedal body extends fore and aft of the retention mechanism as a lightweight cage to better support the sole of your shoe. Otherwise, they're still super light, and shed mud better than ever before.