Platform Pedal Palaver

You know those magazine product "shootouts" that just give you a bunch of specs and dreck from the latest product adverts? This isn't one of those. These are pedals I have used or at least viewed up close and personal, measured, thrashed, and generally abused. No, I didn't compare every platform pedal out there, but certainly enough to give you a couple of recommendations and impressions.

First off, I don't ride clipless pedals, so you're not going to see me reviewing them. I have big wide feet and 99% of the bike shoes out there won't even hold three of my toes, much less an entire footsy. I also ride places. If I want to hit a trail I usually ride there. I might run an errand or two on the way back. I commute. I have no interest in hauling around an extra pair of shoes everywhere I go. So it's all platform pedals all the time in my world. Even on road bikes, though those are smaller touring type pedals for the most part.

Ten or twelve years ago the clipless de-evolution had taken hold and you could hardly find a set of platform pedals outside of BMX mailorder places and you were just hoping they were as good as the picture looked like they might be. In those days I was a big fan of the Odyssey Shark Bite cage pedals which are long defunct. Now we've got platform pedals coming out our ears. I swear there are at least 100 models to choose from. Where to start? Well, hopefully this will help you out a little more than just counting grams on a website.

The pedals fall into two categories: BMX/Mountain and Touring/Urban.

In the BMX/MTB category we have: Atomlab Pimplite WRX; Black Ops Torqulite UL; Crank Brothers 50/50 3; Flybikes Ruben; Tioga Surefoot 8; VP Components VP-001; Xpedo MX Force.

In the Touring/Urban section we've got: Genetic Urban Pro; MKS Touring Lite; MKS FD-7 Folding Pedals; MKS Sylvan Touring; WTB Momentum Grease Guard; Xpedo Traverse.

BMX/MTBAtomlab Pimplite WRX: If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all is probably good advice. But the fact is, I found the Pimplites so disappointing I just can't help it. Not only is the name stupid, the pedal faces are poorly machined and full of little pits with a shabby finish. The spinning action is shockingly slow, tight and, as a friend said "they feel like sh*t." The I-Glide bushings do anything but glide. Why this pedal runs $122 I will never understand.

Black Ops Torquelite UL: (about $100, 400 grams) These were first recommended to me by Jon over at Thursday Bikes. Jon built me my first handmade bike and is also a hell of a BMX racer even though he's probably in his 60's. He makes the nationals as a contender more often than I make them as a spectator. So when he recommends things I listen. As usual, he's right, this a freakin' fine pedal. Durable for years, smooth spinning excellent bearings, nice and wide (but not too wide) and if you care about colors, they come in black, green silver, red and blue.

Flybikes Ruben: (about $90, 454 g for the new model) I bought my first pair of pedales Ruben (as the Spanish Flybikes page calls them) some six years ago. The've been put through the ringer with mud, rain, crashes, bashes, rain, sleet and more rain. They were stolen & horribly abused (along with a bike that I finally got back) and beat to crud by some crappy thieves. Then they were ridden through a bunch more rain, mud, snow and snot. At this point they look like it too. The finish is ground off in more places than it isn't, but the pins are all still in place, the bearings spin free as a giveaway Frisbee and really, I have nothing to complain about.

Crank Brothers 50/50 3: (about $90, 433g) Apparently these are called 50/50s because their half aluminum (outer side where the hits happen) and half polycarbonate. The 2nd generation didn't thrill me and the looks aren't my style, but the 3rd generation pedals are smooooooth. I mean really smooth. I didn't actually know such smoothness existed. Seriously. Now I'm a big 200 pound plus thrasher of a guy, so this level of smoothness isn't really required for me. But if you're light, into precision bearings, and you can tolerate theie looks, 50/50 3s are dang good.

Tioga Surefoot 8: (about $60, 265g) The least expensive and lightest pedals on this list, yet totally not recommended unless you're a petite asian woman. These pedals are freaking tiny. Diminutive. Miniscule. Wee. Lilliputian even. The only thing I'm sure of with the Surefoot 8 is that it is totally overshadowed by the average foot. It's like saving weight by putting yourself on a 14" frame when you need a 21" frame. My wife is 5'4" and wears a women's size 7 shoe. She thinks these pedals are too small and I think she's right. If you're looking for a platform pedal for road use these would be fine and they do take a toe clip. I just don't think they're really off-road platform pedals.

VP Components VP-001: (about $65, 360g) Love these. They're thin, light, strong, smooth, and look pretty good too. Each pedal has 12 pins per side for killer grip. I've only had them for a few months, so I can't vouch for the longitudinal wear issues, but for the first few hundred miles I have not a single complaint. These pedals are just about as wide as they come, so if you're worried about cornering clearance, you might want something a skosh smaller. But I corner pretty tight and don't have any problems. I'd feel good about the VP-001s if I'd paid twice as much for 'em. These are pretty much the lightest full sized platforms you can get that are also plenty strong. Four thumbs up.

Xpedo MX Force: (about $80, 408g) Love these too. These have been my winter pedals two years in a row and they're still just about perfect. In Oregon's we winters, that's saying something. Despite the fact that they're magnesium, they're a bit heavier than the VP-001s. They're thicker too, but not abnormally thick. Each pedal has 8 pins per side and the heads are a bit smoother than some others. So the grip is not as extreme. That also makes them a bit kinder on your body when you whack one upside your shin. If you want a bit less grip, go with these. If you want a bit more, go with the VPs.

Touring/Urban

Genetic Urban Pro: (about $50, 240g) These look really nice in their one color, gunmetal grey. They're really quite a decent set of pedals for dry weather travel. For wet (and we all know wet sometimes sneaks up on us) they're a bit too slick. They are toe clip compatible and I suppose that would help. I wish the teeth on the cage were sharper.

MKS Touring Lite: (about $55, 320g) It's hard to say anything bad about anything from MKS. They just make nice stuff. I'm planning a 400 mile ride down the Oregon Coastal Highway this fall and I'll probably ride these. They've got loose ball bearings, but don't let that scare you. Even in the constant rain I've never had to work on them even after thousands of miles. A little Phil waterproof grease or even that nasty smelling boat trailer bearing grease will hook you up for longer than you can imagine. BTW, they're toe clip and strap compatible and look super.

MKS FD-7 Folding Pedals: (about $60, 402g) Yep, they fold. The idea is that they're easy to ship. They're also great when you live in a 7th floor walkup in NYC with super narrow staircases because you don't gouge your neighbor's face off. Of course, when you live in a 7th floor walkup in NYC, sometimes you want to gouge your neighbor's face off with a bike pedal. But that's usually at 3AM, not when you're going up the stairs. This pedal is also a favorite of my wife's because she folds hers down when she puts her bike away and that means she doesn't shin-bark herself when she walks past it. Otherwise, same great quality as any of the top-end MKS pedals. They could use a little more grip in my opinion. If you need a folder, go with this one. Othewise, stick with the cheaper, lighter, gripper MKS products.

MKS Sylvan Touring: (about $35, 360g): A lot of people these days seem to think of the Sylvan pedals and kind of a budget version of the Touring Lite. But aside from weighing an oreo or two more than their more costly cousin, they are not a lesser pedal. Aestheically they're pretty much an old Campagnolo pedal and they're shiny. If you want a shiny pedal get the Sylvan. If you want a matte finish, go with the Touring Lite. Infintely toe clip and strappable. They also come in more costly versions now, one with lovely copper faces and one with a chrome plated boron spindle. The boron spindle (other than being kind of interesting because boron is produced soley by cosmic ray ray spallation) doesn't seem worthwhile to me given that it both costs and weighs more. Plus it comes with dull greyish faceplates that don't look as good as the polished or copper ones.

WTB Momentum Grease Guard: (about $35, 286g) A decent enough little pedal with grease ports to keep things all lubified. They're visually quite similar to the Dimension Pro Mountain pedals I had several years ago. I happen to think they're too small and the real draw is that they're lighter. But by the time you put on toe clips and straps they'll weigh and cost more than the MKS Touring lite which have better grip and don't really need the clips and straps.

Xpedo Traverse XCF03AC: ($??, 210g) Xpedo makes a bunch of pedals that feature the monniker "traverse" and many of them are weird X shaped travesties of taste. The one's I'm talking about are the little normal looking ones with the faux titanium finish. I got mine on ebay and they were shipped from Asia. They're pretty good really, but definitely too small for my feet. They're also ridiculously hard to find and probably not worth the effort. There are plenty of good pedals out there that are a big enough to give you a good perch. Again, if you have tiny feet and are weight obsessed maybe it's okay and I'll sell you mine (which are in near mint condition) for $30 Otherwise stick with something more substantial.