Sorry, that was a general response rather than aimed in particular at maninthenorth!

Also, over the years I have used every iteration of the Shimano DX's (PDM 636, 646 & 647), the older PDM747 XT pedals, multiple pairs of Mallet's and both Time ATAC XC pedals and their Z-Freeride's (multiple pairs). So I have experienced the majority of the main pedals out there suitable for my riding. Why no mention of the Time's in the review? Well first of all their xc pedals are very, very good, but their platform versions just don't perform as well as I would like for my riding and thus weren't mentioned in the review as they are neither a particularly popular alternative (at least here in the UK) nor a better performing alternative. There seems little point in comparing one product against another product that riders are even less likely to have experience of, especially if it's with a view to quantifying a fact or opinion. At the end of it all, it's a single product review (not the mechanism in general) and the other common clipless pedal that a lot of riders use is the Shimano and so it makes the most sense to use them as the main benchmark.

As background for tests I always try to quantify the conditions in which a product has been tested as well as the reasons for the test. To me, a comparison should be made against a product which is the main rival so that at least people have a more likely base line from which they can compare their own experiences. In the UK I'm struggling to think of any serious racers who use the Time's. Of course when they came out, they were bought by a number of riders (in the UK at least) who were keen to try them both for the extra float and their improved mud shedding over the then PDM646 model of the DX. However, very quickly, people were knocking the poorly designed corners off the Time's and also struggling to get clipped back in thanks to their fixed mechanism positioning within the pedal body that didn't pop up like on the Shimano's or rotate as with the subsequent Mallet's which meant you could lose vital tenths trying to get clipped back in. And in racing, that's what counts: speed. The Time's may be perfectly suitable for you if you just ride trail centres or aren't desperate about speed but as a racer, I am, and as a reviewer, I have to base my reviews on what I do (back to the quantification of testing conditions). I did also point out that I feel there were issues with longevity in the past with the Mallet's but that also, thankfully, these are now a lot less prevalent than they were. It's worth remembering that I chose to use these pedals through experience and personal preference. If Time were to give me free pedals would I use them? No, as much as I enjoy testing products and writing about them, my main priority has to be to use products I feel comfortable with for racing.