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All pedals suck

6K views 56 replies 38 participants last post by  53119 
#1 ·
I've been riding freeride, "All Mountain", and racing cross country for the past 12 years and I am absolutely sick of wearing out my pedals in less than a year, and in most cases less than 6 or 8 months. I ride clipped in on all bikes, for all riding styles, no matter what i'm doing. I moved away from eggbeaters after I flattened my 3rd pair by hitting them on rocks, within 6 months last year and went back to SPDs. Eggbeaters never were tight enoguh anyways. I seem to have the opposite problem as most other people, in that I am yet to find a pedal of any sort that will hold my foot on the pedal as tight as I want it. My last pair, some Xpedo m-force, worked quite well ( at full tension ) for about 2 months, and now they aren't worth 2 shits. Does anyone have any suggestions? should i just duct tape my feet to the pedals? What is the all time highest spring tension found in a clipless pedal? HELP!
 
#29 ·
I had the same problem. I looked at my sons bike and thought "Maybe they are onto something?"
No pedals, cranks, not even a bottom bracket to replace....sick!
I contacted Giant and they are custom fabbing me a 29er.....I really want to maintain my Strava times!!! KOM for this guy.
Tire Wheel Bicycle tire Bicycle wheel Mode of transport


Maybe this could be your solution? Or try the Times, I here they're sturdy.
 
#33 ·
really funny haha
I had the same problem. I looked at my sons bike and thought "Maybe they are onto something?"
No pedals, cranks, not even a bottom bracket to replace....sick!
I contacted Giant and they are custom fabbing me a 29er.....I really want to maintain my Strava times!!! KOM for this guy.
View attachment 794428

Maybe this could be your solution? Or try the Times, I here they're sturdy.
 
#4 ·
Not to toot my own horn here, but I'm almost positive it is not a "technique problem". And no, Ive only ridden eggbeaters, and multiple types of SPDs on my mountain bikes. Maybe I should try the Times, I just want my next pedal purchase to be worth more than 2 months of riding
 
#22 ·
I second this. I'm a big strong rider and crush everything drivetrain...... pedals, bottom brackets, hub bearings etc. I don't understand how people ride crank brother pedals. I've never had a pair last me a single ride even the mallets. I've ridden a lot of pedals over the years but keep coming back to shimano. The shimano's are QUALITY and last me a good long time.
 
#11 ·
what size drops are you hitting? how fast can you ride 12 miles of tech 4 singletrack? i understand rotational physics, force couples, and a concept of centrifugal force to balance my centroidal axis, im just wearing out pedals quickly because i rip
 
#42 ·
+1. Even with loose tension my SPD's never release when they aren't supposed to. I started clipless with SPD, and have owned and ridden Time, Look and Crank Bros. After years of riding, went back to SPD because bottom line adjustable tension is your friend. Also, as far as pedal strikes which are common in rocky NE singletrack, no matter how awesome and acrobatic you are, most pedals except SPD, IME, tend to release on impact. Eggbeaters are the worst offenders.

Old enough to know better and old enough not to care. Best age to be.
 
#16 ·
Have you ever tried flats and 5.10s? Just curious. Not trying to start a big argument about which is better, but at least on FR/AM bikes, many don't see significant reasons to be clipped in. This would help with your durability problem, but, it sounds like you're pretty passionate about being glued to your pedals.
 
#39 ·
Fwiw, I've been riding flats on everything i own (even a road bike) for the last 15 years. I mostly ride XC though because we aren't building man pants trails yet. I never feel like I am at a disadvantage to anybody except when we are climbing steep pitches - especially when going fast downhill, I'm not at a disadvantage to anyone - LOL

IMO, clips prevent otherwise skilled riders from developing proper bunnyhop technique, among other skills they could be mastering by not clipping into the bike.
 
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