Best Engineered Winner: Hope F20 Flat Pedal Review | Bike Self Locking Pedals

In the box you get 4° and 8° float cleat options. Release angle is 13° and they’re supplied with plastic shims, and metal shims for use with carbon soles. A nice touch is that HT includes an 8mm socket in the box so you can pull them apart for routine servicing. After a wet winter of abuse, I did just that. Five minutes and some fresh grease later, they were feeling nice and smooth again.

Many riders swear by flat pedals for mountain biking, and the flat-pedal shoes from FiveTen are both legendary and widely popular among riders. Not to leave clipless riders out in the cold, FiveTen offers the Hellcat, a flat-style shoe that’s designed to work with clipless pedals. Does this shoe offer the best of both worlds? Read on to find out.

Also: Read the manual! Some cleats have easy release/harder release placement options—choose the setup that matches your skill. "It’s worth spending the time to get it right," Compton says.

“We buy these bikes (and) we end up owning these bikes,” Fischer said. “It’s not like they’re on loan to us until we can sell them.

Not that I’m in the market for light pedals myself, as I’m quite happy with my SPD’s for commute/CX duties and my Shimano 105 SPD-SL pedals on the road bike. Hard to beat when it comes to performace/durability/cost considerations.

I’ve got the M324 pedals mentioned above on my pub bike. They are great for what they are, but you do have to watch it if you’re clipped in, as it’s very easy to catch the cage on the floor when cornering.

So again, calm down and accept that I, and several others on this thread now, bought Speedplay pedals and love them. 

Going to unbox the missus’ set soon and try lubing the spring and see if it’s easier from the get-go (took me a while to pick up that tip). 

Unclipping “toe in” is not an option when the crankarm is in the 6-o’clock position, even with the cleat slammed all the way forward or back. photo: Leah Barber

Actually, I needn’t have worried. The trails soon venture into the woods proper, and traction issues largely disappear. All that chalk is hidden under layer upon layer of leaf mulch, and as lacking in traction as it is, it’s much more of a known quantity for my delicate Northern sensibilities – and it’s no match for the tyres. It’s gratifying to be able to lean the bike over into corners and accelerate out the other side without worrying (too much). The trails are everything I’d imagined them to be – a happy flowing middle ground where there’s fun to be had riding them gently, and fun to be had riding them hard. Short, flattering climbs lead onto flowy, bermy descents. A short, steep chute gives a few of us pause, before we decide that our collective confidence is up to the task, and we ride it anyway. And, once again, grip was there in unexpected but welcome profusion.

“The original DMR V8s, now referred to as the DMR V8 Classic, have been around for longer than some of us have been mountain biking. They are indeed a classic design, but nowadays with so much choice, and so many sleek pedals around for the choosing, perhaps that design is looking a little long in the tooth. Enter the DMR V8 V2, a revision for 2017, more on trend and more in line with its current V12 and Vault pedals…” Read the full review here.

The X2 uses the same clip mechanism that differentiates HT pedals from all others on the market. This hybrid mechanism combines a tension bar on the front, like Time, but uses a cage at the back, like Shimano (though the HT cleats won’t work with either system). The result is a feel that straddles the two – engagement is positive, with an audible ‘click’ as the cage snaps down over the back of the cleat, but the rounded tension bar smoothens both entry and release. It’s a really nice balance – like riding a set of quality carbon wheels that are responsive, yet nicely damped on the trail.