Flat Pedals .. recommendations for Muppet MTBing

[Zimmerframe]

OK, I'm being lazy .. I've searched all 100,000 posts (glanced anyway .... most are about blevo) I got bored looking .. and most were pictures of pedals and not descriptions ..

Requirements ..

Flats ..
Reasonably crash resistant and crap rider focused .. I like to trail build - this often involves the use of pedals for carving rocks and things out of the way.
Easy to change spikey things .. (see, I don't even know what they are called).
Less than €1000 .. though €2000 for a pair is ok I guess, it is for a bike, so you expect to pay a fair price. .. ideally a lot less as they'll be wrecked in minutes.
So basically .. the best value reasonably robust pedal for a muppet.

They don't need to be those fancy power pedals, you know, the ones with a small motor in and batteries and a pressure sensor, which turn when you push down.. I have an e-bike, it's got a far more complicated version of that included as standard.

 

[Swissrob]

A muppet on an ebike doesn't need pedals!



Google Image Result for https://media.giphy.com/media/d3FActtVPJ5XExEY/giphy.gif

 

[apac]

I use these... Pedals £50 so not that cheap but they come with a set of both 8mm spikes and 10mm spikes. I use the 10mm cause i love shin pain. Ive had a pair for a couple of years now without any issues

 

[steve_sordy]

I have seen queries like this on other non-emtb websites and my take from them is to go to Superstar Components for their Nano X pedals. It is acknowledged that they have the best balance of cost, quality, spares availability, performance, and cool looks.

Pedals - Superstar Components

Even if they exist, you don't need "e" pedals!

 

[Zimmerframe]

That's 2 for 2 proposing the superstar components... ?

 

[MinusPrevious]

Just ordered & installed my RACEFACE / Chesters. Cant beat them. Super light & the reviews are super solid.

 

[net wurker]

I'm a fan of these composite pedals.

CHESTER

 

[net wurker]

Oops, I missed that post directly above mine. But yeah, Chesters are a great value....super tough.

 

[CjP]

These are my favourite, they’re not cheap but I think they’re the perfect compromise between flats and clips. They dig right into the soles of my shoes and man they grab.
Only downside is pedal strikes to the shins are absolutely horrible with these. Think of the seen from Rambo one when that guy gets the spike to the thighs. Reminds me of that every time.
Still they’re just so nice looking and work so well on the trails.

 

[Gary]

Zims. It's the internet. what you're mainly going to find here is a list of rather weak recommendations of "what I've got"

As for your top "recomendation" so far... The HT components AN01 flat pedal Neil at Superstar components originally bought in bulk direct from HT branded with Superstar logos were arguably a better shape, better designed pedal than the Nano-X he now makes in the UK and sells at a more premium price.
Those old pedals can still be purchased in various guises at a fraction of SS current pedal price.
eg,
CarbonCycles.CC :: Components :: eXotic Shop :: Flats - Alloy :: Alloy Flat Pedals, 10 Colours :: CC-PED07F
I'm not for one second saying this is what pedals you need/want BTW, just that I personally prefer them (and they're a lot cheaper) - their one weakness is that the pedal axles are prone to bending under extreme loads/impacts - And Superstar pretty much seem to have copied the axle design/construction when coming up with the new design for their UK made pedals. replacemet axles are cheapAF, easy to fit and still readily available.

Pedal choice should be as personal as grip and saddle choice. FFS you only have 5 contact points for control when mtbing! So please don't simply buy what the most complete strangers off the internet happen to have recomended with zero actual basis for their own choice.
How you ride makes a massive difference. As does what sort of terrain/conditions and what footwear you choose to ride in. eg. 5:10 shoes offer possibly the most flat pedalgrip available and can actually mask a poor pedal design but this also offers among the least pedal feel (feedback) through the soles/edges of the shoe. They also make it more difficult to re-position your foot while riding. also more shoe flexibility means more pedal feel. (obviously too flexible or too much feel will genuinely hurt your feet.
I'm not going to recommend any pedals for you at all as i've no idea how any of the above details pertain to you personally (plus i'd like you to learn to think for yourself ) but I will say no matter how you ride or what footwear you choose avoid any flat pedal without a true concave platform.

A few other things to consider if you ever aim to progress towards being a stylish rider who pulls tricks I'd avoid any pedal body with funky overly rounded/ergonomically shaped edges (consistent, straightish edges just work way better for that sort of riding). large inboard bearing designs like the Boomslangs someone else above recommended are also pretty awful for a rider who moves their feet around the pedal/cranks (tabling etc.)

 

[Zimmerframe]

Think of the seen from Rambo one when that guy gets the spike to the thighs. Reminds me of that every time.

I did something like that two weeks ago and never did find out what punctured me .. So little spikes will be just tickles ... Anyway, due to my earth friendly riding technique, I wear shin pads now, so it's opened my mind to the idea of spikes !

Other than "expensive" you didn't say what those bad boys were ??

Edit : found them - the clue was in the name on the pedal .. and only $200 Aus. The spare pins are neat .. Gary's told me I've got to think .. I think they're expensive .. You said they're expensive .. So I also think I'm right about what I'm thinking.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Zims. It's the internet. what you're mainly going to find here is a list of rather weak recommendations of "what I've got"

As for your top "recomendation" so far... The HT components AN01 flat pedal Neil at Superstar components originally bought in bulk direct from HT branded with Superstar logos were arguably a better shape, better designed pedal than the Nano-X he now makes in the UK and sells at a more premium price.
Those old pedals can still be purchased in various guises at a fraction of SS current pedal price.
eg,
CarbonCycles.CC :: Components :: eXotic Shop :: Flats - Alloy :: Alloy Flat Pedals, 10 Colours :: CC-PED07F
I'm not for one second saying this is what pedals you need/want BTW, just that I personally prefer them (and they're a lot cheaper) - their one weakness is that the pedal axles are prone to bending under extreme loads/impacts - And Superstar pretty much seem to have copied the axle design/construction when coming up with the new design for their UK made pedals. replacemet axles are cheapAF, easy to fit and still readily available.

Pedal choice should be as personal as grip and saddle choice. FFS you only have 5 contact points for control when mtbing! So please don't simply buy what the most complete strangers off the internet happen to have recomended with zero actual basis for their own choice.
How you ride makes a massive difference. As does what sort of terrain/conditions and what footwear you choose to ride in. eg. 5:10 shoes offer possibly the most flat pedalgrip available and can actually mask a poor pedal design but this also offers among the least pedal feel (feedback) through the soles/edges of the shoe. They also make it more difficult to re-position your foot while riding. also more shoe flexibility means more pedal feel. (obviously too flexible or too much feel will genuinely hurt your feet.
I'm not going to recommend any pedals for you at all as i've no idea how any of the above details pertain to you personally (plus i'd like you to learn to think for yourself ) but I will say no matter how you ride or what footwear you choose avoid any flat pedal without a true concave platform.

A few other things to consider if you ever aim to progress towards being a stylish rider who pulls tricks I'd avoid any pedal body with funky overly rounded/ergonomically shaped edges (consistent, straightish edges just work way better for that sort of riding). large inboard bearing designs like the Boomslangs someone else above recommended are also pretty awful for a rider who moves their feet around the pedal/cranks (tabling etc.)

You just had to go make it more complicated didn't you ! But thankyou, very informative .. and yes, I have the shoe thing going on in parallel to consider and conclude .. It is the usual maze of the compromises ..

 

[StuR]

Oops, I missed that post directly above mine. But yeah, Chesters are a great value....super tough.

+1 for Raceface Chesters
Black composite , not pimp but cheap , light , low profile - take a beating and still look ok

 

[Gary]

You just had to go make it more complicated didn't you

I don't actually *make* anything more complicated than it already is. I'm simply here to remind you to think inbetween typing dross about each subject you bring up

 

[StuR]

Mate of mine bought these - soooo sexy until he went through a rock garden on his 1st run
There were tears ???
Probably not the wisest choice for longevity

 

[Pabs]

Did they break? I've been through many a rock impact and random pedal strike with my coming up to 3 year old Vaults, never serviced still spinning like new albeit missing some paint. All I did to them was change the 4 pins closest to the axle for the fancy upgraded ones to give a concave pin contact shape and I love them. They are on my normal mtb, but I'll be most likely buying another set for the emtb too.

 

[Dan63]

OneUp composite pedals. I've read a lot of good things about these and they are seriously cheap! To be my next set.
Currently running xpedo spry... Very light and thin which is why i bought them. Cannot recommend as after no more than 8-10 rides they have play in the bearings and make clicking noise on rotation. Will be going in the bin soon

 

[StuR]

Did they break? I've been through many a rock impact and random pedal strike with my coming up to 3 year old Vaults, never serviced still spinning like new albeit missing some paint. All I did to them was change the 4 pins closest to the axle for the fancy upgraded ones to give a concave pin contact shape and I love them. They are on my normal mtb, but I'll be most likely buying another set for the emtb too.

No . Just badly scuffed
Certainly not as pretty ?

 

[Alpman]

These are my favourite, they’re not cheap but I think they’re the perfect compromise between flats and clips. They dig right into the soles of my shoes and man they grab.
Only downside is pedal strikes to the shins are absolutely horrible with these. Think of the seen from Rambo one when that guy gets the spike to the thighs. Reminds me of that every time.
Still they’re just so nice looking and work so well on the trails.

View attachment 20433

These pedals are great but really really unforgiving. My shins got a proper working over the first time out with them...

 

[HORSPWR]

OK, I'm being lazy .. I've searched all 100,000 posts (glanced anyway .... most are about blevo) I got bored looking .. and most were pictures of pedals and not descriptions ..

Requirements ..

Flats ..
Reasonably crash resistant and crap rider focused .. I like to trail build - this often involves the use of pedals for carving rocks and things out of the way.
Easy to change spikey things .. (see, I don't even know what they are called).
Less than €1000 .. though €2000 for a pair is ok I guess, it is for a bike, so you expect to pay a fair price. .. ideally a lot less as they'll be wrecked in minutes.
So basically .. the best value reasonably robust pedal for a muppet.

They don't need to be those fancy power pedals, you know, the ones with a small motor in and batteries and a pressure sensor, which turn when you push down.. I have an e-bike, it's got a far more complicated version of that included as standard.

My number one rule is to get the thinnest pedals I can get that are quality and don't require me to hand over my first born.

I can recommend these pedals for these reasons, they are 8.3mm thick at the thinnest point and only 12mm thick at the thickest, I want to try and minimise the amount of pedal strikes as much as I can. No point getting pedals that are 17mm thick, on ebikes with 160mm of plush suspension you can tend to use up a fair bit of stroke and lower the BB when you least expect it.

OneUp Components Aluminium Pedals

 

[HORSPWR]

These pedals are great but really really unforgiving. My shins got a proper working over the first time out with them...

View attachment 20438

Haha, been there and done that heaps of times, my shins look like Italian sausages!

 

[HORSPWR]

Zims. It's the internet. what you're mainly going to find here is a list of rather weak recommendations of "what I've got"

As for your top "recomendation" so far... The HT components AN01 flat pedal Neil at Superstar components originally bought in bulk direct from HT branded with Superstar logos were arguably a better shape, better designed pedal than the Nano-X he now makes in the UK and sells at a more premium price.
Those old pedals can still be purchased in various guises at a fraction of SS current pedal price.
eg,
CarbonCycles.CC :: Components :: eXotic Shop :: Flats - Alloy :: Alloy Flat Pedals, 10 Colours :: CC-PED07F
I'm not for one second saying this is what pedals you need/want BTW, just that I personally prefer them (and they're a lot cheaper) - their one weakness is that the pedal axles are prone to bending under extreme loads/impacts - And Superstar pretty much seem to have copied the axle design/construction when coming up with the new design for their UK made pedals. replacemet axles are cheapAF, easy to fit and still readily available.

Pedal choice should be as personal as grip and saddle choice. FFS you only have 5 contact points for control when mtbing! So please don't simply buy what the most complete strangers off the internet happen to have recomended with zero actual basis for their own choice.
How you ride makes a massive difference. As does what sort of terrain/conditions and what footwear you choose to ride in. eg. 5:10 shoes offer possibly the most flat pedalgrip available and can actually mask a poor pedal design but this also offers among the least pedal feel (feedback) through the soles/edges of the shoe. They also make it more difficult to re-position your foot while riding. also more shoe flexibility means more pedal feel. (obviously too flexible or too much feel will genuinely hurt your feet.
I'm not going to recommend any pedals for you at all as i've no idea how any of the above details pertain to you personally (plus i'd like you to learn to think for yourself ) but I will say no matter how you ride or what footwear you choose avoid any flat pedal without a true concave platform.

A few other things to consider if you ever aim to progress towards being a stylish rider who pulls tricks I'd avoid any pedal body with funky overly rounded/ergonomically shaped edges (consistent, straightish edges just work way better for that sort of riding). large inboard bearing designs like the Boomslangs someone else above recommended are also pretty awful for a rider who moves their feet around the pedal/cranks (tabling etc.)

It's always strange how you define other peoples opinions/recommendations and products as rather weak or incidental but when someone has the same product you use then it's the best there is and can't be beat or anything you use or buy is the best you can get!

Plus putting a wink at the end of a comment doesn't prevent you from sounding like a condescending prick!

 

[Husky430]

Haha, been there and done that heaps of times, my shins look like Italian sausages!

Me too, got the shins of a 12 year old, most flat pedals would make great meat grinders. Never good when you can see white flesh after you have opened yourself up on the shin

 

[CjP]

Ha

These pedals are great but really really unforgiving. My shins got a proper working over the first time out with them...

View attachment 20438

Ha ha ha yeah my shins are pretty fucked from them but since going to shorter cranks I haven’t done it since. I do how ever shin, leg, face, arm them when carrying or transporting the bike to and from the car. Still nothing hurts quite as bad as full speed back spin from those bad boys.
Straight to the bone no problems.

 

[CjP]

large inboard bearing designs like the Boomslangs someone else above recommended are also pretty awful for a rider who moves their feet around the pedal/cranks (tabling etc.)

This I’ll agree with, it does at times annoy me but I really love the way these spikes grab my shoes. It was the main reason I chose these and besides they’re pretty, feel nice to ride on, and they’re from the same shop I bought the bike from.

 

[Beekeeper]

There are parts on my car (crumple zones) which are purposely made weak so they deform / break instead of my bones in the event of a crash.

I would have thought that having indestructible pedals would not be a good thing as something more expensive e.g. motor would break instead from a huge pedal strike?

Is this the same principle behind the mech hanger?

The cheaper thing is designed to break before the more valuable thing.

 

[Dan63]

There are parts on my car (crumple zones) which are purposely made weak so they deform / break instead of my bones in the event of a crash.

I would have thought that having indestructible pedals would not be a good thing as something more expensive e.g. motor would break instead from a huge pedal strike?

Is this the same principle behind the mech hanger?

The cheaper thing is designed to break before the more valuable thing.

Feedback I've read relating to composite pedals suggests that they absorb a little of the shock and tend not to dig in so much. I don't tend to have many pedal strikes but occasionally i find a rock jumps out at me and boom! I have also thought the impact this has on the motor

 

[outerlimits]

@Zimmerframe, I can highly recommend DMR Vaults.
I have beat the life out of my Vaults for over 16,000km and they have not been apart till just recently when I thought I should put some fresh grease in them. In the time I have used them, on 3 different bikes I might add, they have never let me down. I have moved some rather large rocks/ boulders with these bad boys, and at least a few truck loads of dirt. I’ve been swinging my 110kg mass off them all that time and they have only bit, once when my foot slipped out of my riding thongs. The thongs stayed glued to the pins however whilst I limped around leaking claret everywhere from my wound. Now I do recommend you buy a spare set of pins, as moving heaven and earth can take its toll and you may loose a few if you ride hardcore. Don’t worry, they are easily replaced with the right tools, and it’s something I looked at when making my choice.
Here’s a pic or three of the Vaults after mass abuse, and how they can help you defy gravity. ?

 

[Trail-Niels]

My absolute favorite is the Nukeproof Horizon Pro pedal. The pedal provides a good platform with plenty of grip. Many reviews rank them as a reference.

My current ones have been run for +10.000 kms and the cost is around €85. They have taken quite some beating, virtually stopped the bike at a milestone, taken rocks and carved roots, from wet and muddy conditions in Denmark over the Alps to dusty and rocky Spain.

They got well sealed bearings that just lasts (still on the first beating set), and no grit and grime goes into them even thought I ride around the year. Pins are easily adjustable and replaceable. The pins are able to (as all real flat pedals) produce some great scars on the shins if you fool around with your feet. @Zimmerframe they make a great signature tatoo

 

[wepn]

Another random 'recommendation' - Deity Black Kats. Must be the concave shape & 8 pins that make them the most effective knee shredders I've tried. Also not bad for getting more grip without going clipless.