Flat Pedal roundup thread

Do flat pedals win medals?

  • Total voters
    30
I've recently moved from Saint to OneUp composites, they are an excellent pedal and offer great value.
 
I made the switch to flats last year, went with some blackspire big slims. I've made the switch before and had all sort of trouble staying on the pedals, but I never bought anything with pins that look anything like this. These fuckers stick to the old 5 tens like shit to a blanket, I've lost a pedal once in six months. They scare the everloving shite out of me with those big sharp pins but the proof is in the pudding, it's like clipless without being clipless
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And my wife just upgraded the old wellgo pedals to a set of funn pythons. They're super wide and thin, I was a little jealous for a bit because they look the goods. Wifey loves them, they're a massive improvement on the old wellgo mag pedals, but I much prefer the stickyness of the blackspires personally.

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Has anyone swapped the standard dmr vault pins with the more savage ones included with the Vault Brendog pedals? If so, what are they like?
 
I had saints and they were woeful - thick, heavy, not very grippy.

Splashed out on a set of spank oozy trail which were a god dam work of art. Didn't play nice with rubber crank boots and the lack of concavity and lower q factor felt a bit weird.

Just running the Nukeproof electrons now. The end cap loosening is definetely annoying - needs re-tightening every second ride. I have 3 sets and they all start to get play after about 1500km, no biggie.

I reckon I'd get Spank Spoons or Deity's next.
 
This is bloody brilliant! Got plenty of good options to work through now. I'll update the initial post with a list of all the recommendations tomorrow so this can become a bit more of a resource thread than the "everyone saying the same thing as last time....

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I have tried;
Saints - cheap, thick and heavy, small platform area, decent grip and bombproof.
Spank Spikes and Ooozys (DH/Trail) - Decent weight, good grip, great platform area and bombproof, but as stated by others, they do not play well with crankholder shuttles.
Catalyst pedals - fairly heavy, fairly thick, decent grip and fairly tough, but excellent platform area - they really do make you ride a different way.
 
I've only ever used saints , they have served me pretty well , long lasting with little to no maintenance , and I find the grip and feel to be quite good .
I have wondered about others , so good reading .
Had a bit of a squiz on eBay etc before buying the last set and nothing really caught my eye - got a few options to look into for next time now though .
 
first set of flats I had were Shimano DX on my CrossRider back in about 1981. I used to rip the ends of the $6/set pedals about once a fortnight and then they'd end up fucked shortly after that. The Shimano DX came in at $30 which was fucking heaps for a set of pedals in 1981. They used to rip my riding footwear of choice (thongs) to shreds. I never needed to by another set of pedals after I got these (well my oldies didn't). They looked ace too. I think the Shimano DX might've been one of the original pedal with pins designs. Best pedals ever.

I'm now running Straightlines. With 5 10s they stick like shit to a blanket. Great pedals also. Look ace. Maybe too much stick.
 
Superstar Nano’s

Best pedals I’ve used. Incredible grip from the “short” pins. Can’t imagine why you’d need the included longer ones. Taken a beating as well.
Cons - they’re a wide pedal so more prone to strikes.


Race Face Chester.

Great value, light, durable. Good grip but I notice the difference coming off the Superstars.
 
I used one set of Wellgo MG-1's for over 6 years and never expected them to last that long, talk about value for money. They do get play in the DU bushes early in the piece but they just keep on going and I'm not easy on them either. They grip really well with five tens and the main reason I bought them originally was the ease of winding the pedal pins in.

I've only just recently changed over to VP-001's on the main bike but still run a set of MG-1's on my dirt jumper. Going to this new low, slack and long geometry of bikes meant a whole new experience with pedal strikes. Not wanting to change crank lengths as I do a fair bit of climbing out of steep trails, I opted for the VPs because of their slimness and thought why not go to a double bearing pedal as sometimes the play on the MGs can be annoying, even though you come accustomed to it after a while. Even though the VP-001's have more pins I have found that they aren't as grippy as the MG's and the VP's are also a tiny bit smaller in surface area.
 
I’m running Crank Brothers Stamp pedals. Great feel under foot, grippy and pretty light. Only negative is the pins are grub screws and screw in from the top. This means rock strikes damage the Allen key slot and there a pain in the arse to get out to replace!!
 
born-again-biker said:
Composite/plastic vs aluminium??
Opinions?
Is price the only difference?

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Click to expand...

Depends what riding you're doing and your skill level.

Composite generally won't hold up as well in pedal strikes and crashes, but is a cheaper way to loose some grams. Generally they will use a bushing somewhere as well which, by all accounts in this thread, results in more maintenance. Can still perform superbly if you don't smash pedals though.

Magnesium is still soft but will hold up better than composite in my experience. Generally used to be as light as possible. Mostly expensive, but can be found in cheaper light pedals. Ipso Facto: the cheap ones will not be strong.

And then some form of aluminium alloy is used in the most bulletproof pedals, as well as the cheap heavy pedals. Expect to pay premium coin for light aluminium.
 
born-again-biker said:
Composite/plastic vs aluminium??
Opinions?
Is price the only difference?

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Click to expand...

Bearing in mind that I'm a heavier rider and 99% of my riding is dh/fr/dj/ss type stuff I would offer the following info on your question...

I switched from aluminium to composites (fire eye hot candy) with replaceable pins a few years ago. This initial switch was based purely on trying to get bike weight down. This pedal ticked my boxes of:
- Sealed bearings
- Replaceable pins
And weighed half as much as the NS leg eaters I was running. These pedals have taken a massive beating. They have stood up to uncounted hours of gravity riding. They survive rock strikes much better than expected. They hold your feet in place. They look good too. Any of the composite pedal should deliver similar performance.

The only issues i have had are the end cap of the pedal body comes loose a little. I just tighten it up every now and then. Maybe I should loctite it? Also the pins...I had to replace them after about 3 years of regular heavy use. Such a short life! I now have them on all of my bikes.
 
born-again-biker said:
Composite/plastic vs aluminium??
Opinions?
Is price the only difference?
Click to expand...
I'm currently running both and the composite are a lot better than they used to be from what I can gather.

My composites (Funn black magic), have taken a fair few rock strikes and there's been no cracking, just grazes in the plastic and they still look respectable because they're the same colour on the surface as below.

My other pedals (Wellgo MG2) have also taken a lot of strikes without issue, but because they're silver (painted), they look a lot more beaten up then the Funn.

So if you're worried about the longevity or fragility of the composite I wouldn't be.
 
Joe_MTB said:
Superstar Nano’s

Best pedals I’ve used. Incredible grip from the “short” pins. Can’t imagine why you’d need the included longer ones. Taken a beating as well.
Cons - they’re a wide pedal so more prone to strikes.
Click to expand...

You forgot the eleventy eight dollar shipping in cons!
 
OK, next question...
(In the interest of building the amount of thread info...)

Who rides with hybrid flat/SPD pedals?

Which ones are the best/lightest/thinnest ?

This style appeals to me - best of both worlds??
(...or crap at both?)

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