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Platform Pedal Shootout, the best flat is...

1M views 2K replies 506 participants last post by  shwinn8 
#1 · (Edited)
Platform Pedal Shootout!

2018 Update for best pedal:


  • high range: Gamut Podium for class, weight, height, uniqueness, aesthetics, performance, size, desirability with roots in the SF Bay Area Point One Racing small CNC operation, 3rd generation design lineage
  • low range: Lixada Y2259B for value, comparable to any VP/HT/Wellgo ultra-thin-light-wide pedal, and an unbeatable value $24-29 shipped to your door from multiple online sources



As a single speed rider, I prefer the simplicity and get on and ride how you come approach. The general rule when it comes to pedals is, if you cant ride with flip flops or jack purcells, your bike is a failure.

Figured I could pop this in any category like singlespeed or 29er but downhill freeride riders are the most renown for rocking platform pedals in even the most intense, dangerous gravity induced situations successfully.

While weight is often shaved and marketed in connection points on the bike (saddle, handlebar, pedals), these are the most important to me to feel solid to the rider. Saving weight elsewhere is a better move 'cause the solid feel equals confidence.

I reviewed four foundational pedals. While all superb pedals, I found the winner of these four - the Sunline V-One platform pedal.

:eekster:

Atomlab Trailking: an innovative design that has been copied by everyone, the 17mm thin crowd got its inspiration from this pedal. Sweet looks, my favorite in the looks department, CNC machined minimal with a fantastic shape and really looks tits mounted to a single speed and is thinnest body of the lot. Due to DU bushings (which are the least desirable), it develops play quite easily, so have a stash of DU bushings for replacements and the problem is solved. Atomlab is good about providing these replacements and they're fast, simple to replace with an allen key. The performance is least of the lot due to pin placement, flat body, and DU bushings - my foot has slipped jumping off street curbs! Studs did rip a number of holes and lines into my shins causing permanent scarring and for the lackluster amount of grip they provide, wasn't worth it. The newer Pimp and Pimplite mag pedals have resolved the DU bushing issue with sealed bearings while staying with a similar shape. 540g pair, $100

Easton Flatboy: a design that is over ten years old! Classic, beefy, concave and grippy. Comes in only ano black, matches your Easton cockpit. A bit boring as the design hasn't changed for decade - meaning the pedal works well! 572g pair, $75

Syncros Mental Stainless Steel: the rawest of the bunch, made of stainless steel versus aluminum like the others. Also like the fact that you dont see rebrands of this pedal 'cause they're so ugly, no one is going to copy them. Random non-bike people will ask you about the pedals. A whopping weight penalty, almost double that of the other pedals, but it's easily justified as these just are the last to break from any ravishing hit or scrape. I treat them badly and they look identical to new. I really like the way these spin and the heaviness works by providing a solid connection to the bike. Lifetime warranty on the bodies to prove it! 800g pair, $80

Sunline V-One: Solved the problems of the Atomlab Trailkings by using loaded sealed bearings, concave body, and added the machined pyramids from the Brooklyn Machine Works Veggie Burgers and notorious Shin Burger pedals. When the stud screws are installed on top of the pyramids, your foot is not slipping, at all. Best grip of the lot. Anodized gunmetal blue titanium to match the Sunline V-One cockpit. Also very close to the Hope Tech X2 Pro Mini carbon fiber edition anodization. 580g pair, $120

MTBR reviews 5 stars for the V-One's: https://content.mtbr.com/cat/drivetrain/pedal/sunline/v-one/PRD_416992_135crx.aspx

:eek:

This shootout comparison test is missing some serious talent, help me fill that in, MTBR members!



Shimano DX, Straitline, Burgtec Penthouse, Odyssey Trailmix, DMR V12, NYC Freeride Glory Hole...



Brooklyn Machine Works (CNC) Veggie Burger: Brooklyn Machine Works Veggie Burgers Pedal user reviews : 5 out of 5 - 26 reviews - mtbr.com

Canfield Brothers Crampon: Canfield Crampons 6 month review = they are solid- Mtbr.com

Point One Racing Podium: Point One Racing Podium Pedals short review- Mtbr.com



Answer Rove FR, Nukeproof Proton, Deity Decoy and the lot of re-branded HT Components (Taiwan) pedals. Hey, if you can get the HT originals for fifty bones with titanium spindles at under 300g, who's to say?... :rolleyes:



:madmax:
 
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#1,385 ·
In July of 2012 I made a post with pictures comparing the Shimano Saint MX80 to some other familiar pedals. The Saints seemed like the perfect pedal and have served me well, but it might be time to try something else. The Saints developed play that didn't go away after a full rebuild. The bearing surfaces look surprisingly good but none of the inner bushings make contact with the spindle anymore (I assume they did at some point).

Has anyone seen a Syntace NumberNine Titan pedal in person? Where can you even get those in the U.S? I have one of their stems and I'm impressed enough with their engineering that I'd consider buying the pedals if I could just find them!

How are the Spank Spikes holding up? Can anyone do a size comparison to one of the pedals in the pictures from my July 2012 post?
 
#1,386 ·
How are the Spank Spikes holding up? Can anyone do a size comparison to one of the pedals in the pictures from my July 2012 post?
Over the last 2 years my spikes have gone through two whistler trips and an entire summer at the local bike park. I weigh about 170lbs geared up and the pedals have taken a beating by several rockstrikes. The sparks are a great pedal, with a large platform. Would definitely buy again for my dh bike.
 
#1,393 ·
Yardstick, yes, there are 2 loose ball angular contact bearings preloaded against each other. A bushing-like part connects them, and it's the part that should have no play relative to the axle, which is achieved by outboard cone adjustment. (This play is what's perceived as pedal body play on the axle.)

Check out this little article, up to the section on Dura-Ace, which are a different design. The special tools mentioned are not mandatory, they are for convenience. And the plastic part mentioned in that example is metal on Saints.

Park Tool Co. » ParkTool Blog » SPD Pedal Overhaul

For illustration, this is an XTR 98x spindle assembly. The part that should be adjusted out of play is the shinier grey cylinder next to the locknut and outboard cone.

 
#1,394 ·
Yardstick, yes, there are 2 loose ball angular contact bearings preloaded against each other. A bushing-like part connects them, and it's the part that should have no play relative to the axle, which is achieved by outboard cone adjustment. (This play is what's perceived as pedal body play on the axle.)

Check out this little article, up to the section on Dura-Ace, which are a different design. The special tools mentioned are not mandatory, they are for convenience. And the plastic part mentioned in that example is metal on Saints.

Park Tool Co. » ParkTool Blog » SPD Pedal Overhaul

For illustration, this is an XTR 98x spindle assembly. The part that should be adjusted out of play is the shinier grey cylinder next to the locknut and outboard cone.
That makes sense. I found that Park article after the rebuild too. Oops! :) On the Saints, the gold nut part has bushings inside. Should those make contact with the axle at all if the bearings are properly adjusted? I'm trying to figure out if my bearings got out of adjustment and I rode so long on the bushings that I wore them out. I found replacement axles with all the bearings and locknut for about $20 each. At that price it almost makes sense to buy new Saints on sale somewhere.
 
#1,397 ·
Wow, yes that's an idea, just need to find aluminum alloy chunks the right size, and a good anodizing shop. Imagine those in hard ano?

BTW, maybe do them truly double concave like Saints? That will be at the cost of some extra thickness, but still thinner than most ball bearing pedals, and with a strong fat axle.
 
#1,398 ·
I understand the Shimano pedal much better now. I don't know why the system didn't make sense to me at first. I pulled one apart from a second set with less time on them (still tight). The bushings in the gold locknut must be backups in case the bearings get loose. Those bushings are nowhere near the axle in terms of mechanical tolerances/clearance. Once apart that gold locknut is loose on the axle of the tightest pedals I have. Its purpose is to lock that outer race into the pedal body. All of the load on the pedal goes through those bearings only. Interesting system. Even though they got loose, the bearings and races looked perfect. I'm rather impressed!

Shaping is a little limited with the AMP/DeFacto hybrid. I was using the AMP for pedal body dimension references and the DeFacto for axle reference. The axle area of the pedal body is always going to have a bulge unless the pedal gets really thick. By the time you stack up the size of the axle and bushing and then allow for enough material to house it all, it gets big. I wanted to add a bulge or housing for the outboard thrust washers to keep them from dragging and squeaking on shoes too. I'm not sure how to proceed with that project. It wouldn't be hard to finish the design. I couldn't commit the money for even a small production run. Should I start a kickstarter project to judge interest and get funding? Then again, I wouldn't want to have Straitline coming after me for royalties or something. :eekster:
 
#1,399 ·
Oh thank you for clearing up the deal with those safety bushings! Yes that sounds very Shimano to implement such insurance.


As for the custom pedal bodies.. first off yes, staying under the radar, at least until (and if) that takes off, would be safer I think.

Isn't it possible to order just one prototype set machined, within reasonable price? There should be one-off CNC machine shops? It should go in very small quantities at first few iterations, for testing. Word will pick up in no time and you will have tester base among local cyclists (I hope). And those prototypes don't even have to be anodized. The very first thing to do would be to test bushing and axle fit; then proceed to machine the body shape.

And to avoid washer to shoe contact, just make the axle channel bulge (well, pedal perimeter thickness would have to be increased accordingly) slightly thicker than it is on AMPs?
 
#1,403 ·
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Nickel Bicycle part Rim Jewellery Household hardware
No worries about the grip of Deity Compounds when muddy (was some questions about that in this thread). Here's what mine looked like after a day at Post Canyon and never lost footing once. That said, my Decoys and Podiums have slightly better grip presumably due to slightly wider pins. I like the Compounds for AM use, especially over rock gardens as they don't hang up like aluminum cage pedals.

Also attached a pic of the new Podium 2 pedals that will soon be released! Really like those for DH/FR use where it's critical to keep your feet on the pedals. Note the new center pins unlike the first gen!

Have FUN!

G MAN
 
#1,405 ·
@Yardstick. I was hoping to get some Syntace pedals to try. I'll ping Syntace again!
It would be great to hear more about those pedals. I tried to contact Syntace about them but didn't hear anything back.

My Saints are officially toast. They still spin but there is some play that I can't eliminate. I thought I had it fixed by tightening up the bearings and cranking down the gold locknut, but it was only temporary. One quick pedal in the driveway loosened them up again. I still rode them one more time. I don't really notice the play while riding and pedaling. They should still be under warranty so I'll try that next.
 
#1,407 ·
It certainly seems like that's the cause. At one point I tightened the bearings until there was significant drag and then installed the pedal body with plenty of torque on the gold locknut. That still wasn't enough to eliminate the play that I could see between the axle and gold locknut. Maybe I rode them loose too long and wallowed out the section of the pedal body where the outer race is supposed to be captured.

They are on their way to Shimano. If they want to warranty them, that will be great and I'll keep a closer eye on them and the other set I have. If not, they survived longer than some pedals I have had and I like them well enough that I'd buy them again.
 
#1,408 ·
Xpedo SPRY XMX24MC Platform Pedals Bootleg

@yardstick - the bad Shimano Saints should be sent directly to Shimano warranty department (search for it). It'll be a replacement or repair, no biggie (that was my experience).

Below: Bootleg photo on Superfly Team SS from the Wellgo XPEDO Spry platform pedal review. Confirmed 261g total for the pair!

 
#1,409 ·
@yardstick - the bad Shimano Saints should be sent directly to Shimano warranty department (search for it). It'll be a replacement or repair, no biggie (that was my experience).
On their way! I thought my others were tight but on closer inspection they have a little play too. They have a lot less time on them. Were there bad batches? I'll probably pick up another set or two anyway. They work well for me and I haven't found anything else with that kind of width (or length -distance from crank to pedal end).
 
#1,410 ·
Update: Sure enough, Shimano replaced the pedals! I found a smoking deal on new ones so I have two spare sets now, too. It seems they all have some play from new. If I clamp the pedal body in my vice (just enough to hold it, not crush it) I can push/pull on the axle with my fingers and see relative movement between the axle and gold locknut. There was more movement in the ones I sent back but maybe they were still okay. I wouldn't have been disappointed if they sent them back and said they were fine. In fact, I was kind of proud of all the scratches on those! :)
 
#1,414 ·
i'm a single speed rider. got a pair of black ops ultra light pedals towards the end of last season and i love them. super light, large platform, and nice and grippy. cost about $80. i'm a fan of deity compounds as well. light, thin, and cheap.
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